S.A.Y. DETROIT AND A HOLE IN THE ROOF PASS THE MILLION DOLLAR MARK IN CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTION
The S.A.Y. Detroit charity and A Hole in the Roof Foundation have surpassed the $1 million mark in their efforts to help the homeless in Detroit and orphaned children in Haiti, according to financial statements released today.
The organizations have raised a combined $1,022,090 and distributed all of it to the needy since January of 2011 – when fundraising began in earnest for the Have Faith Haiti Mission - with zero dollars spent on administrative salaries or expenses, a promise made by founders Mitch Albom and Dr. Chad Audi when the charities were originally established.
“We are extremely proud to have passed the $1 million mark in less than two years in our efforts to make lives better for those less fortunate,” said Albom and Audi in a joint statement. “We hope to continue our track record of raising funds and delivering them straight to those most needy, without many of the normal expenses or salaries that often eat away at the effectiveness of other charities.”
The audited financial statements, which reflect the period from January 1, 2011 to July 31, 2012 show that multiple organizations have benefited from S.A.Y. Detroit and A Hole in the Roof Foundation. Amongst these are the S.A.Y. Detroit Health Clinic for homeless children and their mothers, which received $472,679 and the Have Faith Haiti Mission, which received $418,530 for the reconstruction, feeding, housing, and education of orphans in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The financial statements also indicate that in addition to funds raised from outside contributors, Mitch Albom donated over $62,000 of his own money since January 2011 toward the various causes, in particular the mission in Haiti.
“We said when these charities were started that we wanted to be transparent, so that people donating to our causes knew their money was going straight to the people who needed it the most,” Albom and Audi said. “We will continue this practice of reporting on an regular basis, and posting our audited statements and federal tax documents on our websites, because we feel this is how charities should be operated.”
Wayne County Commissioner and former State Senator Martha Scott congratulated the charities, saying, "They have done wonderful work in Detroit and in Haiti. Their clinic in Highland Park is a beautiful place with quality medical care for women and children. And their long distance efforts for Haitian children speaks to their willingness to help the needy everywhere."
Amongst the many causes aided since the inception of S.A.Y. Detroit and A Hole in the Roof Foundation are the following: Working Homes/Working Families, a charity created to refurbish donated homes and give them to needy working families; My Brother’s Keeper Church repairs, a church whose hole in the roof became a national story; the COTS Bright Beginnings day care center, where single mothers leave their children during the day as they search for work or participate in transitional programs; and A Time to Help, a monthly volunteer organization that performs charitable tasks in the region, including the upcoming “100 Houses Project” to board up 100 abandoned houses in a Detroit neighborhood.
Here are our finanacial documents:
Form 990 for "hole in the roof" 2010