What is Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative’s mission?
Our mission is to promote, support and develop inclusive and diverse communities.
Our purpose is to work with local partners to create diverse pocket neighborhood communities consisting of families who have the opportunity for home-ownership, and to include individuals often seen as ‘at-risk’—elders, people who experience disability and people below median income. Our Home communities will be based on strengths, interests and shared values, not deficits and needs.
How did Our Home, Inclusive Community start?
Our Home, ICC was started from the primal need to provide for our families, and families like ours. In 2013, Founding Neighbor Alicia DeLashmutt began looking for community-rich home and housing options for her young daughter—who experiences a rare and complex genetic disorder—and her aging matriarchal family members. Believing deeply in the importance of reciprocal community and choice for everyone, and understanding that segregating people based on deficit and need has unforeseen personal, societal, and financial costs, Alicia set out to find a community that was inclusive and strength-based. But in her research on housing options for people with disabilities, for the elderly, and for low-income populations, the examples she came across in her research tended to be segregated, deficit based, and systems-dependent. Additionally, it was challenging to find opportunities for home ownership for those groups in supportive communities.
Not finding existing options that fit her family’s needs, Alicia became determined to create an integrated, diverse inclusive community where people could purchase homes and come together around strengths and common interests, rather than around need and deficits. Combining concepts from the co-housing community and best-practices for community integration, OHICC was built to support the needs and dreams of one family, but by its very nature, it also fills a significant hole in community support for the wider population.
Is my contribution tax deductible?
Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative is a 501c3 non-profit charitable organization. Your contribution is tax deductible in accordance with applicable current state and federal laws. Consult with your tax preparer for further information.
Is there a way for me to contribute other than financially?
Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative is always looking for volunteers to help with fundraising, special events, and other projects. If you have a specialty and you would like to help us please reach out to alicia@ourhomeicc.org.
Where does OHICC get its funding?
Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that receives funding from a variety of sources. We attract funding from public and private foundations, granting organizations, individual donors, and hold regular fundraising events. We do not fund our organization through the development projects we build—our communities are built through a combination of donor funding, foundation funding, and buy-in of our neighbor-owners.
Is there a minimum donation?
There is no such thing as an insignificant contribution. We are happy to accept whatever you can afford to contribute monetarily. We are also always looking for people that want to volunteer their expertise and welcome collaboration. While we are not currently set up for in-kind donations, such as vehicles and boats, we will be on the look out for construction matereials and services as we break ground on our first community, Our Home – Cathedral Park. Please reach out to us if you would like to participate in any way. [LINK TO?]
How do I know where my money is going?
Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative, like all 501c3 non-profits, files an annual 990 tax document. This document provides contributors with some general information regarding our annual revenue and where we are applying donated funds. We also produce an annual report (beginning in 2020) that outlines where our funding comes from and where it goes.
Where does Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative operate?
Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative is currently working on its first development project in Portland, Oregon. Throughout the development process and into Our Home – Cathedral Park’s early years as a community, OHICC will be developing a curriculum that will allow interested organizations in other locations to build developments of their own after the OHICC model. Alicia is also available for consultation both in-person and virtually to help communities, developers, and housing providers think more inclusively as they seek housing solutions in their area.
Is Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative affiliated with a religious organization?
Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative is not affiliated with any specific religious organization or religion. We respect all religions.
Who does Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative serve?
Our Home, Inclusive Community Collaborative is designed to serve the community at large by not leaving people who experience disability, are below median income or are aging out of the community discussion. We all benefit from the gifts and strengths of each other. We serve people of a wide range of ages, abilities, and incomes and build inclusive communities collaboratively.