Final Casebook

Kent State University Bateman Blue TeamTimothy Roberts, Faculty Adviser

Jenn McElhatten, Professional Adviser

theRAISI NG

Justin GraciHanna MooreKatie SmithEndya WatsonErin Zaranec

Campaign SummaryExecutive Summary ..........................................................................................................................Situation Analysis ..............................................................................................................................Secondary Research ..........................................................................................................................Primary Research ..............................................................................................................................Publics .................................................................................................................................................Theme ..................................................................................................................................................Key Messages ......................................................................................................................................Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics ......................................................................................Obstacles .............................................................................................................................................Budget Summary ...............................................................................................................................Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................................Budget ..................................................................................................................................................

Testimonials ....................................................................................................................................... Recommendations .............................................................................................................................Communications Elements ...............................................................................................................Media Relations .................................................................................................................................“Raising the Roof” Street Team ....................................................................................................... Informational Tables .........................................................................................................................Random Acts of Kindness Day .........................................................................................................You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs ............................................................................................ Additional Research ..........................................................................................................................

Appendix

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A1A2A4A9 A14A15A16A17A18

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The Bateman BLUEprint (Executive Summary)

When speaking about some-thing that excites you, your eyes light up, your mind races and, who knows, maybe you even put your hands up to “raise the roof” in praise. This is the reaction the Bate-man Blue team witnessed when attendees at Home Repair Resource Center’s (HRRC) classes talked about the benefits of the center’s hands-on home repair work-shops. And so, “Raising the Roof” was born, aiming to spread the value of HRRC and Home Matters® to a broader audience.

HRRC, a proud supporter of Home Matters, is a Cleveland Heights-based nonprofit that empowers homeowners to maintain well-kept houses through hands-on educational classes and financial assistance.

Near the end of 2014, the center began its efforts to expand in the city of Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, and is looking to further spread its mission to other inner-ring Cleveland suburbs. Bateman Blue was tasked with creating a strategic public relations plan to help promote HRRC in Shaker Heights, and if successful, eventually use that plan to enable HRRC to expand to other Cleveland suburbs.

Through our research, the Kent State Bateman Blue team found that Shaker Heights’ residents did not feel as though HRRC’s services were available to them due to the organization’s physical location in Cleveland Heights.

To change this perception, the Bateman Blue team aimed to increase awareness of HRRC as a resource for Shaker Heights residents by 15 percent in the month of February, expose 15 percent of the city’s population to Home Matters’ mission and its partnership with HRRC, re-establish HRRC’s social media accounts and build interactions, and motivate 40 Shaker Heights residents to attend HRRC events in the month of February.

This plan will serve as a template for HRRC to successfully reach new audiences and empower new clients. This is The Bateman BLUEprint.

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Surveying the Land (Situation Analysis)Home Repair Resource Center Home Repair Resource Center is a nonprofit located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, which has served the community with housing initiatives since 1970. HRRC attempts to spread the idea of homeowner empowerment through hands-on classes, financial education and counseling, and fi-nancial assistance with home repairs. Although participation in HRRC’s services has grown over the years, the Center still faces issues with awareness outside of the city of Cleveland Heights.

HRRC established its relationship with Home Matters in 2014; however, our research found the Center had not promoted Home Matters in the year before our campaign started.

The Bateman Blue team’s primary research showed that only 38 percent of Shaker Heights residents surveyed were aware of HRRC and its services. The consensus of our focus group and survey findings was clear: increased awareness was a must.

Home Matters®

Home Matters is a nationwide initiative started by National NeighborWorks Association in col-laboration with housing professionals and industry leaders. Its focus is to make Home a reality for every American. Home Matters is working to spread its mission nationwide by using social and traditional media, as well as partnering with housing nonprofits across the country. Of those surveyed during our primary research, no respondents were aware of Home Matters.

Due to a general lack of knowledge about HRRC and its support of Home Matters, the Bateman Blue team chose to focus a majority of its tactics on increasing awareness.

The Bateman Blue team researched Home Matters and HRRC to better understand the mission of each organization.

We researched national, regional, and local housing trends, as well as Shaker Heights’ demo-graphics. The city’s estimated 2013 population based on the 2010 Census was 27,935. Fifty-four percent of Shaker Heights residents are female and 45 percent are male. The homeownership rate in the city between 2009 and 2013 was 62.2 percent, and our primary research revealed that a number of homes are more than 60 years old. Shaker Heights’ median household income between 2009 and 2015 was $77,951.

Nationally, the average income of a first-time homebuyer in 2014 was $68,300, and 76 percent relied on their savings to make initial house payments, meaning that a house needing renova-tions is a more likely buy than a move-in ready home.

The Foundation (Secondary Research)

Online SurveysThe Bateman Blue team created two online surveys to gauge awareness in the Shaker Heights commu-nity of the HRRC program. One survey was targeted to Shaker Heights residents and was sent through the city school district’s listserv. The second survey was sent through the HRRC listserv to determine how respondents first heard of the Center and what classes they valued most.

The Foundation (Primary Research)

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Focus GroupThe Bateman Blue team conducted a focus group with women who have taken classes at HRRC to learn more about the value of its resources. We also discussed the overall lack of awareness HRRC has and ways to improve it. Some of our key findings were:• HRRC classes provide attendees with valuable

knowledge about maintaining their homes and interacting with contractors

• The instructors are professionals in their trades and able to explain projects in simple terms

• The classes at HRRC build a sense of commu-nity among participants

Interviews with Local StakeholdersWe interviewed eight area professionals in the housing industry prior to the start of the campaign. During these interviews, we discovered that most of Shaker Heights’ residents were unaware of HRRC’s services, face-to-face communication was the best way to reach residents, and that Shaker Heights residents face maintenance issues due to the age of their homes.

19 of 48 respondents knew about HRRC

The average age of respondents’ homes is

81.7 years old*

No respondents knew about Home Matters

Housing is our business, so it’s got to be good… we’re truly a bedroom com-munity in Shaker. Our business is providing a great neighborhood to live in, a good house, and a great school.

Julianna Johnston Senturia Shaker Heights City Councilwoman

38.9%

25%

19.4%

11.1%

5.6%

*based on responses from awareness survey

60 years or younger:65-74 years:75-84 years:85-94 years:95 years or older:

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The Homeowners (Key Publics)

PrimaryThe primary audience was young parents in the Shaker Heights area. HRRC wants to expand to other Cleveland suburbs, beginning with Shaker Heights. This group would benefit most from HRRC’s services and is also one of Home Mat-ters’ target audiences. Of the people we surveyed from Shaker Heights, 45.8 per-cent were between 35 and 44 years old and had at least one school-aged child. More than 95 percent of this group of respondents indicated interest in at least one of HRRC’s services.

SecondaryCleveland Heights residents and Northeast Ohio media outlets were secondary audiences. HRRC is located in Cleveland Heights, and it would like to not only maintain but expand its presence with residents in the community. HRRC has received media attention in the city of Cleveland Heights but would benefit from reaching a broader audience.

• Home Repair Resource Center welcomes residents from the Greater Cleveland area. • Home Repair Resource Center is a proud supporter of Home Matters. • Home Repair Resource Center’s programs and workshops empower homeowners.

Selling Points (Key Messages)

The Bateman Blue team’s campaign name, Raising the Roof, was conceptualized after hearing testimonials from people who are currently taking classes at HRRC. The phrase “Raising the Roof” has a positive connotation and is in line with Home Matters’ and HRRC’s mission of em-powering homeowners to maintain their homes.

Raising the Roof (Theme)

Map showing the distance between Shaker Heights and Cleve-land Heights courtesy of Google Maps.

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The Framework (Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics)GOAL: To spread the mission of Home Matters throughout the city of Shaker Heights by empowering homeowners to use HRRC’s services.

Strategy One: Use pre-existing communication channels to connect with Shaker Heights residents.Rationale: Through our primary research, we received several recommendations to reach out to the established network of community members registered for the HRRC newsletter and the Parent-Teacher Organization newsletters from the Shaker Heights public schools.

Tactic: Partner with the city of Shaker Heights School District to distribute a benchmark survey in its e-newsletter.Result: The survey had 48 respondents. Sixty percent of respondents had not heard of HRRC, and no respondents had heard of Home Matters. The enewsletter’s reported click through rate for our survey was between 1 and 2 percent, so between 60 and 120 people would have seen HRRC’s information.

Tactic: Partner with the city of Shaker Heights School District to promote upcoming HRRC events in its e-newsletter.Result: Approximately 6,000 parents in the city of Shaker Heights are subscribed to the e-newsletter and receive information about HRRC events. Our event information was emailed to the school district two weeks prior to our event, but it was not included in the e-newsletter.

Tactic: Distribute a survey in HRRC’s existing e-newsletter as a benchmark for current interest in the Center’s programs and classes.Result: The survey had 56 respondents, 60 percent of whom had previously taken a class at HRRC.

Tactic: Promote HRRC and Bateman Blue “You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs” event on February 18 in the HRRC e-newsletter.Result: Approximately 1,700 residents of the Greater Cleveland area are subscribed to the e-newsletter, and our event was promoted in it. A total of 105 people clicked on on campaign-related activities in the newsletter. Strategy Two: Collaborate with local businesses and organizations to further spread HRRC’s mission and key messages. Rationale: Through our primary research, we were informed of popular local places in the city of Shaker Heights that draw people in our target audience’s demographic.

Tactic: Have an informational table at two key locations in Shaker Heights throughout the month of February.Result: A total of 262 people passed through while the Bateman Blue team’s table was set up at the

OBJECTIVE ONE: Increase awareness of HRRC as a resource for Shaker Heights residents by 15 percent by Feb. 28, 2015.

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Indoor Farmers Market and Shaker Heights Public Library. We distributed 248 HRRC brochures and hotcards from our campaign to interested people.

Tactic: Create marketing materials including web addresses to HRRC’s social media and website, along with information about the Center’s classes and programs. The Center’s partnership with Home Matters was also described in all marketing materials. Print materials were distributed at local businesses and placed on community bulletin boards. Result: We distributed a total of 70 hotcards to be placed on information tables at local businesses and informational flyers about HRRC and Home Matters at a local grocery store, coffee shop, and the Shaker Heights Public Library.

Strategy Three: Use guerilla marketing tactics to engage the Shaker Heights primary audience through face-to-face communication.Rationale: In our primary research, the Bateman Blue team found that our client had a strong desire to use face-to-face outreach as an integral part of the campaign.

Tactic: Use “Random Acts of Kindness Day” on February 17 to surprise Shaker Heights residents around Shaker Square and in a local coffee shop. Present six people with gift cards to local businesses with the HRRC and Home Matters hotcard and an event invitation attached. Pay for three people’s purchases at a coffee shop and give them an event invitation. Result: Nine people in Shaker Square were presented with a gift, a personal invitation to our culminat-ing event, and information about HRRC and Home Matters’ missions.

OBJECTIVE TWO: Expose 4,000 Shaker Heights residents (15 percent of the city’s population) to Home Matters’ mission and its partnership with HRRC by Feb. 28, 2015.

Strategy One: Use pre-existing print and digital communication to connect Shaker Heights residents with Home Matters and HRRC.Rationale: Using these established communications channels allowed us to directly reach our key publics.

Tactic: The Bateman Blue team used invite-only Shaker Heights Community Organization Facebook groups to post HRRC and Home Matters related content.Result: Campaign information was posted in five Shaker Heights specific groups an average of three times during the month of February. In total, these pages have 1,566 members.

The Bateman Blue Team exceeded this objective and increased awareness of HRRC as a re-source for Shaker Heights residents by 17 percent. The team’s awareness survey showed that 35 percent of respondents knew about the Center prior to our campaign. At the end of our cam-paign, 52 percent of respondents knew about HRRC.

OBJECTIVE ONE OUTCOME: NAILED IT! (Objective exceeded)

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Tactic: The Bateman Blue team created an informational hotcard to be placed inside HRRC’s existing brochures and distributed to Shaker Heights residents throughout the month. The hotcard gives a brief overview of HRRC services and Home Matters’ mission.Result: We distributed more than 250 informational hotcards at outreach initiatives throughout the month. Tactic: The Bateman Blue team provided HRRC with Home Matters’ logo and tagline to be added to HRRC’s website, which links to Home Matters’ website.Result: HRRC placed Home Matters’ logo on its “About Us” page and indicated that the Center is a proud supporter of the movement.

Strategy Two: Use Northeast Ohio traditional media outlets to inform our key publics of HRRC’s and Home Matters’ partnership.Rationale: In our secondary research, we pinpointed the dominant radio and television stations in the Greater Cleveland area so we could focus our media relations efforts.

Tactic: Create an informational article about HRRC’s support of Home Matters for Cleveland.com and Patch.com. Result: An informational article about the Center’s support of Home Matters and Bateman Blue’s special event was posted in the Community Voices section of Cleveland.com, as well as the local news website, Heights Observer. Two articles were posted in Shaker Heights’ Patch Community Bulletin Board. These articles re-ceived a total of 526 combined social media impressions.

Tactic: Pitch campaign activities to local news stations to garner coverage of partnership on broadcast, radio, and web platforms.Result: We sent four email pitches about the campaign and culminating event to local philanthropic reporters, and we sent Public Service Announcements to four local radio stations. The Bateman Blue team did not receive media coverage as a result of these pitches.

OBJECTIVE THREE: Re-establish HRRC’s Twitter and Facebook presence so the Center receives five interactions per week on Twitter and 10 interactions per week on Facebook in the month of February.

We used owned media to post on Cleveland.com and Patch.com to help spread awareness of HRRC and its partnership with Home Matters. We did not calculate the advertising value equivalency of these postings because we believe it is unreliable. The Bateman Blue team exposed 2,363 Shaker Heights residents to HRRC’s support of Home Matters through social media impressions, as well as our information tables and events. The Center’s website re-ceives an average of 1,890 unique visitors per month, and the Heights Observer receives 3,000 unique visitors per month. In total, we exposed 7,253 residents to HRRC and its partnership with Home Matters.

OBJECTIVE TWO OUTCOME: NAILED IT! (Objective exceeded)

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Strategy One: Use HRRC social media channels to connect with current followers and gain new followers.Rationale: In our primary research, we found that community members would like to access HRRC’s social media channels for updates on classes and events; however, the pages were stagnant prior to the campaign.

Tactic: The Bateman Blue team changed HRRC’s Twitter handle from @HRRC1 to @HRRC_NEO to make the page easier to distinguish. Additionally, the team added that HRRC is a Home Matters supporter in its Twitter bio.Result: The change did not have an apparent effect on HRRC’s Twitter interaction; however, the Bate-man Blue team felt the adjustment made it clear that HRRC is not exclusive to one city. Tactic: Create a photo frame shaped like a house to bring to events. Residents could take pictures in-side of the frame and post their photos to Twitter with an @HRRC_NEO mention and the Home Matters hashtag #ShareHomeIs and post to the HRRC Facebook wall.Result: Taking pictures of people in the house generated eight responses to the “Share Home Is” hashtag on Twitter. Tactic: Post content relevant to the campaign and general home repair once a day on Facebook and twice a day on Twitter.Result: We increased the average weekly Facebook interaction by 21.25 percent and the weekly average of Twitter interaction by 24.25 percent.

OBJECTIVE FOUR: Motivate 40 Shaker Heights residents to attend HRRC events by Feb. 28, 2015.

Strategy One: Use a well-known space in Shaker Heights to introduce residents to HRRC’s services and events.Rationale: During our primary research, residents of Shaker Heights said they felt as though HRRC was exclusive to Cleveland Heights residents due to their physical location and most workshops being held in Cleveland Heights.

Tactic: Host a “You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs” event at the Stephanie Tubbs-Jones Community Center in Shaker Heights.Result: Of the 55 registered attendees, 46 came to the event on February 18. Sixty-three percent of the attendees were Shaker Heights residents.

We generated a weekly average of 33.75 interactions on Facebook, which encompasses pages likes, posts on the HRRC timeline, liking, commenting, and sharing HRRC page posts, and mentioning the page. We also generated a weekly average of 24.25 Twitter interactions, which includes retweets, favorites, follows, and mentions.

OBJECTIVE THREE OUTCOME: NAILED IT! (Objective Exceeded)

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Renovations (Challenges and Opportunities)Challenge One: HRRC is located in Cleveland Heights, approximately one hour away from our university campus in Kent, Ohio. Finding time to travel to HRRC proved to be challenging for our team.Opportunity: The Bateman Blue team found value in visiting Shaker Heights and HRRC. We developed strong relationships with our client and target audiences.

Challenge Two: Extreme weather conditions compromised two of our outreach events and may have discouraged some residents from attending our culminating event.Opportunity: We took advantage of social media to make up for the lost outreach. Using this form of communication was fitting because it can be assumed that others would not have wanted to travel in the inclement weather.

Challenge Three: One of our primary research subjects deterred us from reaching out to represen-tatives from the Shaker Heights city council and employees of the city of Shaker Heights because she preferred that the voice of the city remain consistent. This made it difficult for the Bateman Blue team to gather a broad range of input for our primary research.Opportunity: Despite this obstacle, we received valuable feedback and testimonials from focus group participants and a member of the Neighborhood Revitalization/Housing/Building committee.

Strategy Two: Use digital communications to promote HRRC events.Rationale: HRRC’s e-newsletter listserv has more than 1,700 subscribers from the Greater Cleveland area, Shaker Heights’ School District’s PTO newsletter has more than 6,000 subscribers from Shaker Heights, and HRRC has pre-existing social media accounts.

Tactic: Use HRRC’s social media (Facebook and Twitter) and e-newsletter to promote HRRC’s “You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs” and HouseMender University events in February.Result: February events were promoted nine times on HRRC’s Facebook, 15 times on the Center’s Twit-ter, and mentioned four times in HRRC’s e-newsletter. Tactic: Add HRRC’s February events to Shaker Heights’ community calendar on ShakerOnline.com.Result: ShakerOnline.com receives an average of 5,580 unique visitors per month who had the ability to see our event on the community calendar.

The Bateman Blue team motivated 30 Shaker Heights residents to attend HRRC events in the month of February. While we fell short of our set objective, all Shaker Heights residents who attended were new to HRRC’s programs, and it was also the highest-attended event the Center has ever held. In total, 46 people attended our campaign-specific event, “You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs.”

OBJECTIVE FOUR OUTCOME: MISSED THE MARK (Objective Unmet)

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Expenses*The Bateman Blue team spent $270.84 of its $300 budget. The majority of the budget was spent on gift cards for “Random Acts of Kindness Day” giveaways and team T-shirts. The Bateman Blue team also used money from the budget to print the casebooks.

In-Kind Donations*The Bateman Blue Team used $530.36 of its $1,000 in-kind donation budget. The majority of this budget went to tickets for attractions in the Cleveland area. Our printed promotional materi-als were also included in this budget.

*See page 11 for a more detailed breakdown of the budget.

The Materials (Budget Summary)

Home Sweet Home (Conclusion)The Bateman Blue team was tasked with raising awareness of HRRC in the city of Shaker Heights. The team’s extensive research served as the basis for its strategic plan to expand HRRC’s reach.

The team’s objectives were to increase aware-ness of HRRC as a resource for Shaker Heights residents by 15 percent, expose 4,000 Shaker Heights residents (15 percent of the population) to Home Matters’ mission and its partnership with HRRC, re-establish HRRC’s Twitter and Facebook presence, and motivate 40 Shaker Heights residents to attend HRRC events by the end of February.

The Bateman Blue team met three of its four objectives and raised awareness of HRRC and Home Matters. We agree with HRRC Director Benjamin Faller that the plan can be used as a blueprint to allow the agency to continue its expansion to other Cleveland suburbs.

Benjamin Faller, HRRC Executive Director See page A1 for additional testimonials.

Home Repair Resource Center has been looking to expand its reach in the community, both by engaging new communities and reconnecting with our historic service area. The KSU Bateman Blue Team’s work has been a huge help to us in this process, and has helped to introduce us in a powerful way to the residents of Shaker Heights.

Budget

In-Kind Donations Remaining Budget

Item Cost $1,000.00

Focus Group

Focus Group Food $12.98 $987.02

Special Event

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Room Rental $90 $897.02

Special Event Food (pretzels,chips,plates) $10.37 $886.65

Special Event Food (cookies) $24.96 $861.69

65 surveys + Ticket Voucher (66 total) $0.99 $860.70

Promotional Elements

292 colored hotcards $6.57 $854.13

20 business letters $0.30 $853.83

30 tear-off fliers $1.35 $852.48

13 pages invitations $0.59 $851.89

50 sheets hotcards (100 total) $2.25 $849.64

Farmers Market table space $30 $819.64

Giveaways

Home & Garden (4 tickets) $60 $759.64

Home Repair (4 tickets) $40 $719.64

Lake Erie Monsters Tickets (4) $100 $619.64

10 Free HRRC Classes $150 $469.64

Total used: $530.36

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Expenses Remaining Budget

Item Cost $300.00

Target giftcard - survey $25 $275.00

Dewey's Giftcards (2 @ $10 each) $20.00 $255.00

Foam Board $10.23 $244.77

Shirts $90 $154.77

Home Depot Giftcard (2 @ $10 each) $20 $134.77

JMC Printing $50 $84.77

Target Giftcards (2 @ $10/each) $20 $64.77

Dewey's Coffee Purchase $10.90 $53.87

Pens for exit survey (3 packs of 10) $4.71 $49.16

Target giftcard $20 $29.16

Total Spent: $270.84

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Additional TestimonialsThe HRRC is a fabulous resource and many more people should know about it. I’ve taken several workshops, etc. at HRRC but when I tell friends about it, they’re surprised because they’ve never heard of HRRC. More marketing/communication is needed to inform others about this marvelous organization.

Evaluation survey respondent

Focus group participant

Evaluation survey respondent

Event attendee



“A lot of people there [Shaker Heights] don’t know about HRRC. I tell my neighbors, I tell my friends, and I’m very, very pleased to hear there’s going to be an emphasis on trying to get it better known in Shaker Heights.

I was so impressed with the instructors. They were fantastic. They had the ability to speak the correct language and translate that into a way that makes sense to those of us who don’t know about home repairs.

This is a great offering for the community - especially considering the age of the homes in the area, as well as the economic means of many of the residents.

I am a new resident of Ohio, and specifically Cleveland Heights, and I have attended several classes already. This is a great resource for the city of great homes

There was a sense of community that I didn’t anticipate. I expected to learn some things and to meet some folks, but the dynamic that happened after getting together week after week. There was this real camaraderie. We’re all homeowners just trying to figure it out.

During the “Raising the Roof” campaign, we found that HRRC could benefit from more frequent use of social media and additions to its current outreach. Below are recommendations for the Center to use this plan as a blueprint in its expansion to other cities.

General The Center has binders full of contractor evaluations at its headquarters. The Bateman Blue team suggests HRRC post the evaluations on its website for homeowners to view. We also sug-gest creating a form for evaluators to upload their own submission directly to the HRRC website.

Outreach Prior to the campaign, HRRC executive director Benjamin Faller stated that marketing efforts were often not included in the Center’s budget. We feel the Center could truly benefit from build-ing a low-cost marketing plan and hiring a marketing and outreach intern to execute strate-gies and tactics. Prior to the “Raising the Roof” campaign, HRRC events were promoted on the Center’s website and schedules were available at the Cleveland Heights location. By promot-ing events on social media and in local hotspots throughout Shaker Heights, a larger audience learned about HRRC events. By continuing these practices, the Center will reach a larger audi-ence for events. We also suggest the Center continue reaching out to neighborhood organizations in Shaker Heights and other local cities for possible partnerships.

The Bateman Blue team collaborated with Shaker Heights’ Family Connections by having a table outside of its class at the library and leaving informational materials at its offices . By continu-ing this collaboration, HRRC can reach more young parents who may be in need of the Center’s services and programs.

Our focus group participants also suggested the Center reach out to columnists who write for Shaker Life Magazine. This outreach would have to happen three to four months prior to publi-cation.

The Center has a “city of the month” for each Cleveland suburb. During each suburb’s designated month, classes at the Center are discounted for residents. We suggest the Center host outreach events in the library or local hub for the “city of the month” prior to that location’s respective month.

Recommendations

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Social MediaPrior to the “Raising the Roof” campaign, HRRC did not actively use its social media. Based on the interaction we received throughout the month, we have suggestions on how HRRC can move forward with its social channels.

Facebook We found that photos and videos received the most engagement from followers. HRRC can add photos from classes and outreach events. The Center should create Facebook events and share them on community association Facebook pages. We found direct outreach to be more effective than just posting on the Center’s Facebook page.

Twitter The Center could improve its interaction on Twitter by following people (local homeowners, HRRC clientele, local business people who work in housing) rather than organizations and city-based accounts. Because Twitter was less successful than Facebook during our campaign, we suggest monitoring engagement after following people. If engagement has not improved, the Center should consider deleting Twitter.

Recommendations (Continued)

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Communication ElementsFlyers The Bateman Blue team created flyers to promote HRRC’s resources and our special event throughout the month of February. The flyers had general information about the Center and fea-tured tear-offs at the bottom of the page for residents to take HRRC’s contact information with them. These flyers were displayed in high-traffic areas around Shaker Heights, such as Heinen’s Grocery Store, Shaker Heights Public Library, Shaker Heights Woodland Branch Library, Dew-ey’s Coffee Cafe, Shaker Heights Family Connections, and Yours Truly restaurant. Hotcards Hotcards were created to explain the relationship between the Center and Home Matters. Hot-cards were placed in pre-existing marketing materials and left in high-traffic areas around Shak-er Heights. Brochures with hotcards were handed out at each “Raising the Roof” street team event.

Event Invitations Event invitations were created for Bateman Blue team’s “You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs” class, as well as other HRRC events throughout the month of February. These invitations were passed out at each “Raising the Roof” street team event and shared on social media.

Social Media Along with revamping HRRC’s social media accounts, the Bateman Blue team posted in pre-existing Shaker Heights Community Association’s private Facebook groups. These groups had a total of 1,566 Shaker Heights residents as members. Our posts and special event were also shared in other Facebook groups by community members, including a group with 369 members and a Cleveland Social page with 1,659 members.

On the following pages are examples of our communication elements.

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HRRC is a local nonprofit based in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. We have worked since 1971 to foster diverse and sustainable neighborhoods through well-maintained homes by empowering and educating homeowners. Our mission is accomplished through a creative mix of self-help programs that include financial assistance, education and skills training to enable homeowners — particularly homeowners of low or moderate income — to accomplish repairs on a contracted or do-self basis.

About HRRC

Keeping neighborhoods in good repair...2520 Noble Road Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44121

T: 216.381.6100 www.hrrc-ch.org

Information on Home Repair

Our counseling and financial education programs help residents learn to manage money, improve credit standing and make wise financial decisions. HRRC is a HUD certified counseling center.

Home Repair Resource Center offers special assistance to homeowners age 62+. Par-ticipants benefit from personalized in-home consultations, help with the contracting process and specialized workshops.

Financial Education/ Counseling

Senior Citizen Repair Program

Project Repair hands-on classes (nominal fee, hands-on instruction), HouseMend-er University (free expert advice seminars on home repair issues), Home How-To hands on program (multi-session women-only repair classes)

Hands-on Home Repair & Maintenance Classes

HRRC is a proud supporter of Home Matters.

Home Matters® is a na-tional movement uniting America around Home.

For more information visit www.homemattersamerica.com.

– Repair instructions – Material guidelines – Model specifications – Videos – Contractor evaluations

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is a proud supporter of


Home Repair Resource Center is a non-profit organization located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. HRRC offers services such as:

Budgeting, Home Purchase, Refinancing, etc.HRRC is a HUD certified counseling center.Repair needs assessments, help with es-timates, senior-focused classes for home-owners age 62+.

WHY? Because Home Matters!Twitter: @HRRC_NEOFacebook: Home Repair Resource Center

Nominal fee, hands-on instruction

Free, expert advice sessions on home repair issues

Multi-session women-only repair classesContractor evals., repair instructions, mate-rial guidelines, model specifications, videos



Project Repair

HouseMender University

Home How-To

is a proud supporter of


Home Repair Resource Center is a non-profit organization located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. HRRC offers services such as:

Budgeting, Home Purchase, Refinancing, etc.HRRC is a HUD certified counseling center.Repair needs assessments, help with es-timates, senior-focused classes for home-owners age 62+.

WHY? Because Home Matters!Twitter: @HRRC_NEOFacebook: Home Repair Resource Center

Nominal fee, hands-on instruction

Free, expert advice sessions on home repair issues

Multi-session women-only repair classesContractor evals., repair instructions, mate-rial guidelines, model specifications, videos



Project Repair

HouseMender University

Home How-To

(front)

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(back)

Home Repair Resource Center Presents...

You Can Do It! 10

Simple DIY Repairs

Feb. 18, 2015 at 7 pm Stephanie Tubbs Jones Community Center To register, contact Becky Stager, 216-381-6100 ex. 16

or [email protected]


You Can Do It! 10

Simple DIY Repairs




You Can Do It! 10

Simple DIY Repairs




You Can Do It! 10

Simple DIY Repairs




You Can Do It! 10

Simple DIY Repairs




You Can Do It! 10

Simple DIY Repairs




You Can Do It! 10

Simple DIY Repairs




You Can Do It! 10

Simple DIY Repairs



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The Bateman Blue Team pitched a PSA about the “You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs” event to local radio stations such as 95.5 The Fish, 99.5 WGAR, 100.7 WMMS, and 104.1 Q104. The Bateman Blue Team did not hear back from the radio stations through the month of February.

The Bateman Blue Team also reached out to Jenny Day from Fox 8 and Julie Washington from Cleveland.com to promote the “You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs” event, but did not hear back from either reporter.

Instead, the team created an informational article about Home Repair Resource Center’s sup-port of Home Matters and Bateman Blue’s special event was posted in the Community Voices section of Cleveland.com and Shaker Heights’ local news website, Heights Observer. Two articles were also posted in Shaker Heights’ Patch Community Bulletin Board.

Media Relations

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“Raising the Roof” Street TeamOur primary research showed that residents of Shaker Heights felt as though HRRC was exclu-sive to Cleveland Heights residents. Although HRRC’s physical location is less than 15 minutes away from the city of Shaker Heights, the Bateman Blue team wanted Shaker Heights residents to feel welcome at the Center.

Our team traveled to Shaker Heights at least once a week during the month of February, inter-acting with the city’s residents and spreading awareness of HRRC’s resources.

The “Raising the Roof” street team aimed to raise awareness throughout the city in fun yet informative ways, such as having informational tables at the Shaker Heights’ Public Library, par-ticipating in Random Acts of Kindness Day, and creating a special event in Shaker Heights.

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The Bateman Blue team hosted informational tables at Shaker Heights’ Public Library and the North Union Farmers’ Market at Shaker Square. These tables were in high-traffic areas in the city. The Bateman Blue team’s informational table was set up at Shaker Heights’ Public Library during a Saturday morning Family Connections class. Family Connections is a local organization that hosts class for parents to attend with their young children. Brochures, hotcards, HRRC resource sheets, and a Home Matters and HRRC photo frame were used at each informational table. Ten people signed up for HRRC’s e-newsletter and approxi-mately 262 people were at the library and farmers’ market when our tables were set up.

The Bateman Blue team had additional informational tables reserved at Shaker Heights Hard-ware and Thornton Park’s Ice Arena but could not complete these tactics due to severe weather conditions.

Informational Tables

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February 17 is National Random Acts of Kindness Day. The Bateman Blue team participated in Random Acts of Kindness Day on behalf of HRRC. Six Shaker Heights residents were randomly given gift cards up to $10.00 in value, and Bateman Blue picked up three tabs at a local coffee shop. HRRC provided vouchers for 10 free classes.

By using the hashtag #RAKE (Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere), our participation was shared by Ricky Smith, the founder of Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere. Smith has 23.6 thousand followers on his personal Twitter account.

Each resident was given a free gift, an informational card about HRRC, and an invitation to the “You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs” event.

Random Acts of Kindness Day

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After discussing primary research findings with our client, it was clear that HRRC needed to host an event in the city of Shaker Heights. The Bateman Blue team collaborated with Ben Faller, the executive director of HRRC, to create a welcoming and informative event for Shaker Heights residents.

“You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs” was created to show attendees how the Center’s resourc-es and workshops can benefit them. The event was similar to HRRC’s HouseMender University classes, which 75 percent of survey respondents expressed interest in.

Each home repair was demonstrated step-by-step by HRRC Executive Director Benjamin Faller and HRRC Senior Repair Specialist Wesley Walker. Informational packets about the repairs were given to attendees. The event was hosted in Shaker Heights’ Stephanie Tubbs Jones Com-munity Center.

HRRC demonstrated each home repair by using models of products that homeowners are likely to repair in their homes. Sheets of drywall, vinyl and wood siding, cinderblocks, doors and win-dows were brought in for homeowners to learn exactly how to conduct repairs on a do-it-yourself basis.

Prior to the start of our event, the Bateman Blue team explained HRRC’s support of Home Mat-ters and how the two organizations are working toward similar goals.

After completing a Home Matters quiz, event attendees were eligible to win a four-pack of Lake Erie Monsters hockey tickets. The Lake Erie Monsters donated the tickets for our event.

You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs

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Client Research: Home Matters

History: In March 2013, National NeighborWorks Association collaborated nationwide with housing professionals and industry leaders to launch Home Matters. The National NeighborWorks Association Fund, a tax-exempt 501(C)(3) organization, supports Home Matters’ educational and charitable activities. National NeighborWorks Association works to “unite housing and community development practitioners to advocate for housing and economic opportunities for individuals, families, communities, and neighborhoods across the country.”

General Overview: Home Matters is a national movement focused on making home a reality for every American along with access to education, healthcare, public spaces, and community services. According to the Home Matters project brief, a core value of the movement is redefining the American Dream. The movement’s New American Dream is defined, as “a societal commitment to improve and balance quality of life and that home is our nation’s common denominator.”

Mission: Home Matters’ mission is to make Home a reality for all. This mission is relevant because, according to www.homemattersamer-ica.com, more than half a million people in the United States do not have a home, with a quarter of those individuals being children. For those who have a home, more than half of all Ameri-cans have had to make at least one sacrifice to pay their rent or mortgage. Many neighborhoods lack amenities that make for safe communities, such as afterschool programs for children and sufficient legal enforcement.

Home Matters’ mission is implemented through education, collaboration, engagement, support, and celebration. Home Matters raises awareness of the benefits of Home, brings organizations and industries together for a common cause, interacts with leaders and the public, raises funds towards making Home a reality for everyone, and promotes the impact of Home. Supporters: 250 national and local organizations support the Home Matters mission.

Social Media: Home Matters has an online presence on its personal website and its Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages. Home Matters has 1,202 followers on Twitter, 1,201 likes on Facebook, and 31 subscribers on YouTube. Home Matters also sends email newsletters.

Media Impressions: Home Matters has had 31 media impressions since its launch.

Additional Secondary Research

10 Year Goals

-Decrease Homelessness

-Increase Affordable Rent

-Increase Homeownership

-Increase quality of home and communities

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Client Research: Home Repair Resource Center

History: In 1970, members of Forest Hill Church established Forest Hill Church Housing Corporation to maintain housing quality in Cleveland Heights. The next year, the group became Home Repair Resource Center (HRRC). It started with a demonstration project of buying and renovating a two-family home into a single-family home. After cuts in government funding brought the initial project to an end, HRRC refocused its efforts in 1973 and formed the Chal-lenge Fund. It was created to guarantee bank loans for homeowners who didn’t qualify under certain circumstances.

General Overview: Home Repair Resource Cen-ter has become the main advocate for housing in Cleveland Heights. HRRC offers financial and educational counseling along with a tool rental program for residents in need of home repair. HRRC has a pre-existing partnership with the support base from individuals in the community. Grants from the Cleveland Foundation provide support for the Challenge Fund, and the George Gund Foundation provided funding to start a tool loan and to support the Project Repair program. Operating support from Community Development Block grant funding through the City of Cleveland Heights has helped HRRC offer financial assistance programs to help homeowners repair their homes. Both organizations communicate regularly to meet the repair needs of the community. With regards to the future, HRRC’s focus has broad-ened to include programs for residents of other communities and to ensure the sustainability of older housing.

Goals: • Guarantee bank loans for homeowners in need of assistance. • Provide tools, instruction, and other resources to enable homeowners to repair and maintain

their own homes economically. • Promote community recognition of the need to preserve, maintain and upgrade the commu-

nity’s older housing. • Strengthen financial management skills of homeowners. • Combat the impact of deteriorated foreclosed properties by purchase/renovation projects. • Address forces that negatively impact the maintenance of the community’s housing stock.

Organization Goals

-Provide tools for stable homeownership

-Maintain community’s homes

-Improve homeowners’ financial management

-Combat foreclosure

-Address threats to the housing stock

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Mission: According to http://www.hrrc-ch.org, “Home Repair Resource Center empowers homeowners to maintain their homes for sustainable and diverse communities.” This mission is accomplished through a mix of self-help programs, including financial assistance, education, and skills training to enable homeowners to repair the physical structure of their homes. HRRC also has a resource library in the Cleveland Heights Library with repair handouts, videos, con-tractor evaluations, and suggested specifications for 14 major repairs to assist homeowners in obtaining comparable estimates and better quality work.

Workshops: HRRC holds “hands-on workshops” available to residents of the community. Most of these workshops are held at the teaching center in Cleveland Heights and cover various home repair topics. While these workshops come with a fee, those who cannot afford the materials can qualify for scholarships.

Financial Assistance Programs: HRRC offers loan programs to Cleveland Heights home-owners who need help completing repairs. Residents able to qualify for these programs own or live in one- or two-family homes and their income falls within the low- and moderate-income (LMI) guidelines or they don’t qualify for a conventional bank loan. In addition to the programs, residents can also find information on other community resources through the HRRC, such as the County HELP and Historical Preservation Loans. • Assist 0% Benefit: Allows homeowners to borrow for home repairs with a smaller monthly

payment. The homeowner will only pay the actual repair cost.• Assist Deferred Loan Match: Lets a homeowner defer paying half the cost to repair a

major system of the house — roof, heating, masonry rebuild, exterior painting, major struc-tural repairs to footers and foundations, and replacement of storm or sanitary sewer lines. There is no monthly payment and zero percent interest on the deferred half of the loan; instead, the homeowner will “match” half of the cost.

• Incentive Grant: Provides a grant of $1,000 for the cost of replacing one of four major systems — roof, heating, masonry rebuild, or exterior painting. This grant is an incentive for homeowners to work on these repairs before damage occurs to reduce the cost of the repair.

• Senior Grants: Provides $1,500 for low- to moderate-income (LMI) homeowners age 62 or older — or are totally and permanently disabled — toward replacing a roof or furnace. The grant reduces the cost and monthly payment for the repair.

• Senior Water Heater Grant: Provides half of the cost of materials and installation (up to $500) of a replacement water heater for LMI homeowners age 62 or older or who are totally and permanently disabled. The rest of the cost can be paid for by the applicant’s personal funds or can be combined into one of HRRC’s other loan programs.

• Challenge Fund: Can guarantee a bank loan for homeowners who can afford a monthly payment but can’t qualify for bank funding because of past credit problems, not enough eq-uity in the house, too much debt, or other reasons. There is no income limit for this program, and the maximum loan is $8,000.

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• Cleveland Heights Down Payment Assistance Program: In partnership with the City of Cleveland Heights, HRRC accepts applications for the city’s Down Payment Assis-tance Program, which provides up to $10,000 to eligible homebuyers of one- and two-family homes in Cleveland Heights.

Programs: HRRC offers other programs to help people in every stage of home ownership.• Senior Repair Program: Homeowners age 62 and over can receive assistance to deal

with repair needs and to contract repairs. The program also helps seniors to learn how to plan for changing physical needs to live at home safely and independently. Participants in the program receive a 90-minute home inspection, help with reviewing contractor estimates, an inspection of completed work, and individualized workshops for seniors.

• Project Repair: Offers homeowners services to help complete home repairs, either do-it-yourself or contracted, and promotes sustainable home renovation. The workshops are available to residents of any community or income. Participants in the program learn and practice repair skills from an instructor.

• Tool Loan: Offers a variety of hand and power tools to help Cleveland Heights homeowners complete home repairs. All loans are for three days, and a cash deposit must be left when a tool is borrowed.

• Home How-To for Women: A series designed to empower female homeowners to take charge of their home maintenance needs. It is open to women of all communities who want to gain confidence and experience in home repairs. The curriculum has four modules — Home Maintenance 101, Carpentry, Electrical, and Plumbing and Heating — each of which is made up of eight two-hour classes held in the Teaching Center. Each module costs $120 for Cleveland Heights residents and $150 for non-residents. Scholarships for reduced tuition rates are available for low-income women.

• Home Buyer Education: Combines classroom instruction with one-on-one counseling to prepare future homebuyers. The program is free and open to all Ohio residents. The curricu-lum meets industry standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling and includes information on budgets and credit, mortgage applications, eligibility for down payment as-sistance programs, foreclosure prevention, and home maintenance.

• Home in the Heights: Created in response to Cleveland Heights’ foreclosure crisis. The program’s purpose is to renovate vacant homes that can be sold to owners. The houses chosen for renovation have been vacant for some time and need a lot of work. The construc-tion in this program uses green technology, high-quality materials, and finish detail to meet neighborhood and community standards.

Social Media: HRRC has an online presence on its personal website and its Twitter and Face-book pages. Although it is not updated regularly, HRRC’s Twitter account has 240 followers, and its Facebook page has 355 likes. HRRC also sends weekly email newsletters to 1,700 subscribers. As of February 1, both media platforms were not being actively used by HRRC.

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Traditional Media Impressions: HRRC communicates with its publics through traditional media outlets. In 2014, HRRC was mentioned 22 times in news articles on Cleveland.com, twice in news articles in Cleveland Jewish News, and once in a story in Freshwater Cleveland. The majority of the stories, 17, were event briefs. There was also one question and answer profile, two briefs about the new director, and two stories that used a HRRC staff member as a source. HRRC regularly communicates through “The Weekly Fix” blog on Cleveland.com. The blog is written by HRRC staff member Becky Stager and included 57 posts in 2014 about do-it-yourself home repair tips.

HRRC Local Competitors

Cleveland Housing Network (CHN)Director: Rob Curry • Founded in 1981• Located in Cleveland, Ohio• “Northeast Ohio’s largest community development organization”• Audience: low- and moderate-income families• Successful “Lease Purchase Program” is being implemented in other cities• Housing development and property management• Affordable and sustainable housing opportunities -Energy conservation and weatherization• “CHN is northeast Ohio’s largest energy conservation provider”• Safety net and support services -Foreclosure prevention and tax preparation• Training and education -Provides educational training to more than 2,000 clients annually

Community Housing Solutions (CHS)Director: Andy Nikiforovs• Founded in 1973• Located in Cleveland, Ohio• Mission “is to assist low- and moderate-income families obtain and maintain safe, decent,

and affordable housing.”

CHS’ programs include:Housing counseling (1,000 houses served yearly), Home weatherization, Home repair and tool loan services (2,500 homes served yearly)

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Heritage Home Program • Founded in 1992 in the City of Cleveland • Began expanding to other cities/counties in 2001• Partner with Cuyahoga County, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, and the Treasurer of the

State of Ohio• Support for HHP provided by: -Cleveland Foundation -Cuyahoga Arts & Culture -National Trust for Historic Preservation -Ohio Arts Council -Participating Communities

Since its founding, HHP has provided over 5,500 homeowners with technical advice on projects. HHP’s loan program has revitalized more than 1,020 houses, totaling more than $37 million in neighborhood reinvestment. HHP’s services are available to homeowners in Cuyahoga, Summit, Richland, Geauga, and Lucas counties.

Heritage Home Programs has the following workshops/programs: Exterior Painting and Histor-ic color, Maintenance and Efficiency, Planning a Rehab Project, Preservation 101, Why Preserva-tion?, Designing an Appropriate Addition for an Old House, Think Green! Preservation and Sus-tainability in Your Older Home, The American Home Interior: Treatment and Transformation, Interior Painting in an Older Home, Recently Historic: Houses of the 1950’s-1960’s, Porches: His-tory, Design and Construction. Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland (NHSGC).

Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland (NHSGC)President: Tanisha Rush • Founded more than 37 years ago• Located in Cleveland, Ohio• One of the first chartered NeighborWorks organizations, which is a network of more than

235 organizations nationwide• NHSGC’s mission is “to provide ongoing programs and services to help residents achieve,

preserve, and sustain the American dream of homeownership.”• Collaborates with corporations, governmental, and nonprofit partners• Offers homeownership education, home repair loans, and foreclosure prevention programs• According to its website, NHSGC has had the following impact on the Greater Cleveland

area: -Contributed more than $105 million to the economy -Generated $14 million in tax revenues -Generated $36 million of income -Sustaining 153 jobs on an annual basis -Leveraged $15.40 for every dollar received

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-Reached more than 1,000 families with its Homebuyer Education program; 306 of them purchased a home -Assisted 1,100 families with foreclosure prevention, which kept 53 percent in their homes -Provided more than $420,000 in down payment assistance loans, leveraging $4 million in housing investment -Assisted more than 1,000 clients with free tax preparation and retaining more than $1 million of refunds in the local economy

Relevant Housing Initiatives and Best Practices HUD Strategies The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) seeks to provide services that will help residents with quality of life and ultimately help whole communities. HUD works to in-crease awareness about access to health services. HUD creates physical spaces to collate health and wellness services with stable housing. The organization has a special focus on children, aim-ing to provide them with education and development. Children in HUD-assisted households are targeting because their education will eventually contribute to the economy. HUD offers access to health services (such as onsite clinics) by building partnerships with both public and private healthcare providers. According to the HUD website, “Stable, healthy housing is inextricably tired to individual health. Improving health outcomes starts by increasing knowledge of health and access to health services.” For HUD, education is a best practice in combatting housing and health issues. Initiatives to promote homeownership and/or decrease homelessness

Locally: The Cleveland Housing Network has a hand in many community collaborations that take initiative with this issue -Cuyahoga Land Bank: Acquires vacant and abandoned homes to rehab, sell to private owners, demolish to create community gardens, etc. -Cuyahoga County Foreclosure Prevention Coalition: working with 500-1,000 at risk homes per year to help homeowners avoid foreclosure -Cuyahoga County Housing First initiative: Established in 2002 to help persons with disabilities maintain permanent housing solutions -Cuyahoga County EITC Coalition: provides tax preparation services for low- and moderate-income tax filers

• A number of Community Development Corporations (CDC) in Cuyahoga County specifically target home ownership issues with foreclosure prevention programs

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-These CDC’s offer foreclosure counseling and, in some cases, loans to aid homeowners into stable housing • In 2010, HUD awarded $175 million to Ohio for Neighborhood Stabilization Programs -The money benefitted Cuyahoga County’s Land Bank program through the purchase and renovation of foreclosed homes • “What we saw in Ohio was a real testament to the work that was being done already on • foreclosure and other neighborhood stabilization activities,” said Shaun Donovan, HUD

secretary• A number of community initiatives in Cuyahoga County attempt to assist with home owner-

ship and homelessness

Nationally: President Obama is proposing to make mortgages more affordable and accessible -According to President Obama, “Too many creditworthy families who can afford—and want to purchase—a home are shut out of homeownership opportunities due to today’s tight lending market.” -The new policy would require the Federal Housing Administration to reduce annual mortgage insurance by about $900 per annual mortgage payment

The Significance of Homeownership

Homeownership, and its relationship to life satisfaction, is a topic that has been widely studied, particularly during the national housing crisis in 2007. A general consensus among researchers in this area is that homeownership has an influence on both the individuals and neighborhoods affected.

• According to Rohe, Van Zandt, and McCarthy (2001), owning a home offers a benefit to both individuals and society as a whole, as it creates good citizens, stable neighborhoods and strong communities.

-“In American society, buying a home is a rite-of-passage symbolizing that a person has achieved a certain economic status. Thus, attaining this goal should increase an individual’s satisfaction with his or her life.”• Rohe and Lindblad (2013) state that the key elements of homeownership experience can be

organized into three categories: economic, physical, and social

Social Influence • Some of the most frequently mentioned reasons for wanting to own a home are the social

benefits. -This includes providing a good place to raise children, having a safe shelter, and having control over living space.

Physical Influence• Research on the relationship between health and

homeownership has found positive associations be-tween homeownership and overall satisfaction.

• Threat to homeownership, such as mortgage delin-quency and poor home conditions; have been linked to forms of psychological distress such as depression, loneliness, and anxiety.

• As a result, “the magnitude of the associations be-tween ownership and a range of physical and mental health indicators are substantially reduced after housing and neighborhood conditions are controlled,” (Lindblad, Rohe).

Economic Influence • Rohe and Lindblad (2013) say that, as of 2013, 72 percent of homeowners still believe that

housing is a good investment. • When one owns an asset, he or she is more likely to engage in behavior that ensures the

future value of it.

Significance of Home Conditions • The social, physical and economic influences of homeownership aren’t the only effects that

the actual home has on the individuals who inhabit it. -Rohe, Van Zandt, and McCarthy (2001) state “conditions of home, particularly for lower-income homeowners may have a negative impact on the homeowner’s psychological health. It may be negative if the house is found to have major problems or if the owner doesn’t have sufficient income to maintain their homes.” -Because improving housing conditions in the form of home repairs can become expensive, homeowners have increasingly taken on do-it-yourself (DIY) methods to improve their space.• A Forbes article titled “Growth of the Home Décor Market Shows No Signs of Slowing

Down,” attests that growth in DIY projects is fueled by increased popularity of home supply stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot.

-A 2011 study done by a Harvard student predicted “spending on homeowner improvements is expected to grow 3.5 percent annually.”

Significance to HRRC • With a mission centered on the idea of homeowner empowerment, the HRRC’s financial

counseling, hands-on home repair education, tool loan program, and loan program aim to provide the tangible resource homeowners (and potential homeowners) need to reach overall life satisfaction.

• The Forbes article notes that often times DIY projects are abandoned because the homeown-er took on a project that was too difficult for his or her limited skills and knowledge.

Campaign Driver: “Because improving housing conditions in the form of home repairs can become expensive, homeowners have increasingly taken on do-it-yourself (DIY) methods to improve their space.”

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• Much of the research indicated that reasons for lower general well being among homeowners were connected to limited financial resources and the adequacy of the home’s interior space

Important facts about first-time homebuyers

According to the National Association of Realtors, first-time homebuyers made 33 percent of home purchases in 2014. Prior to purchasing a home, 75 percent rented an apartment and 18 percent lived with parents. More than 52 percent of these buyers were ages 24-35 and 21 percent were ages 35-44. The average age of a first-time homebuyer is 31 and he average income of a first-time homebuyer in 2014 was $68,300 and 76 percent relied on their savings for making initial house payments, mean-ing that a house needing renovations is a more likely buy than a move-in-ready home.• Twenty eight percent of first-time homeowners have plans to move within the next five years.

They are not looking for their dream home, but a starter home instead. Within the popula-tion of first-time homebuyers, 8 percent plan to move even sooner — within two to three years.

• Thirteen percent of buyers purchased a multi-generational home due to cost savings, chil-dren over the age of 18 moving back into the house, or health and caretaking of aging par-ents.

• Sixty-five percent of recent homebuyers were married couples.For 24 percent of recent home buyers, the primary reason for the home purchase was a desire to own a home while 9 percent purchased due to a job-related relocation or move, and eight percent bought for the desire to be in a better area or a change in a family situation. The typical home purchased was 1,870 square feet in size, was built in 1993 and had three bedrooms and two bathrooms.• There are 10.8 million households with children that have parents ages 25-34. • Millennials as new parents: -10.8 million U.S households with adults 25-34 who have children -Sixty-three percent are married -Median income: $50,000 -Living in urban area: 28 percent -Living in suburban area: 51 percent -Living in rural area: 20 percent

Campaign Driver: “The average income of a first-time homebuyer in 2014 was $68,300 and 76 percent relied on their savings for making initial house payments, meaning that a house needing reno-vations is a more likely buy than a move-in-ready home.”

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Estimated Population(2013)

27,935Estimated Population

(2010)

28,488

Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights

Home Repair Resource Center, located in Cleveland Heights, has a goal of raising awareness about its services among Cleveland Heights residents as well as branching out to Shaker Heights residents. Below are demographic, economic, and geographic information about Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights compared with the city of Cleveland.

Shaker Heights Quick Facts• Race -White: 55 percent -African American: 37.1 percent• Other statistics -Living in the same house for one year or longer (2009-2013): 88.7 percent -High school graduate or higher by age 25: 95.9 percent -Bachelor’s degree or higher by age 25: 65.3 percent -Housing units in 2010: 13,318 -Homeownership rate 2009-2013: 62.2 percent -Median value of owner-occupied housing units (2009-2013): $223,800 -Median household income (2009-2013): $77,951 -Persons below poverty level (2009-2013): 9.2 percent, 15.8 percent (Ohio) -Land area in square miles (2010): 6.28 -Persons per square mile (2010): 4,528.5 -The average family size is three people

Estimated Population(2013)

27,935Estimated Population

(2010)

28,488

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Cleveland Heights Quick Facts • Race -White: 49.8 percent -African American: 42.5 percent • Other stats -Living in the same house for one year or longer (2009-2013): 82.1 percent -High school graduate or higher by age 25: 94 percent -Bachelor’s degree or higher by age 25: 50.2 percent -Housing units in 2010: 22,465 -Homeownership rate 2009-2013: 56.9 percent -Median value of owner-occupied housing units (2009-2013): $132,600 -Median household income (2009-2013): $50,109 -Persons below poverty level (2009-2013): 20 percent, 15.8 percent (Ohio) -Land area in square miles (2010): 8.11 -Persons per square mile (2010): 5,689 -The average family size is three

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“2013 Cuyahoga County Profile.” Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 2013. Web. 28 Dec. 2014.

“2014 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.” National Association of Realtors, 2014. Web. 10 Jan. 2015.

“About.” Community Housing Solutions. Web. 18 Jan. 2015.

“About NHSGC.” Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.

“About Us.” Cuyahoga Land Bank -. Cuyahoga Land Bank. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.

“Cleveland Heights at a Glance.” City of Cleveland Heights. Web. 28 Dec. 2014.

“Cleveland, Ohio (OH) Profile.” Onboard Informatics, 2013. Web. 28 Dec. 2014.

“Community Initiatives.” Cleveland Housing Network - Community Initiatives. Cleveland Hous-ing Network. Web. 18 Jan. 2015.

“Do Children Lose More Than A Home?” Tax Policy Center. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.

“FACT SHEET: Making Homeownership More Accessible and Sustainable.” The White House. The White House. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.

“Homeownership and Neighborhoods Satisfaction Among Low-And Moderate-Income House-holds.” Journal of Urban Affairs. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

“Growth of the Home Décor Market Shows No Signs of Slowing Down.” Forbes. Web 26 Jan. 2016.

“History.” City of Shaker Heights. Web. 28 Dec. 2014.

“Home Matters Home Is Where It All Starts.” Home Matters. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2015.

“Home Repair Resource Center.” Web. 13 Jan. 2015.

“HOUSINGfirst - Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services.” Cuyahoga County Homeless Services. Web. 20 Jan. 2015.

Works Cited

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“How It Works.” Heritage Home Program. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

“HUD Strategic Plan.” FY 2010-2015 HUD Strategic Plan. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Web. 18 Jan. 2015.

“New Research: The Millenial Generation Becomes Parents” Millenial Marketing. Future Cast. Web 13 Jan. 2015.

“The Ongoing Impact of Foreclosure on Children.” The Brookings Institution. The Brookings Institution.Web. 15 Dec. 2015.

“Reexamining the Social Benefits of Homeownership After the Housing Crisis.” Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard Univeristy. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

“The Social Benefits and Costs of Homeownership: A Critical Assessment of the Research.” Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

“State and County QuickFacts: Cleveland, Ohio.” United States Census Bureau, Dec. 4, 2014. Web. 28 Dec. 2014. “State and County QuickFacts: Cleveland Heights, Ohio.” United States Census Bureau, Dec. 4, 2014. Web. 28 Dec. 2014.

“State and County QuickFacts: Shaker Heights, Ohio.” United States Census Bureau, Dec. 4, 2014. Web. 28 Dec. 2014.

“Who We Are.” Cleveland Housing Network. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.

“Why Homeownership Still Matters” U.S. News and World Report. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.

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Pre-Campaign Surveys

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Social Media(Facebook, Twitter)

Word-of-Mouth Local News & Community Websites

Email Newsletters Community Advertisements

Preferred method of receiving information

Awareness Survey

Questions for Shaker Heights residents: 1) Are you a resident of Shaker Heights? 2) What age group are you in?3) Do you have school-aged children? 4) If so, what level of schooling are they in?* 5) Have you ever heard of the Home Repair Resource Center? 6) If so, how? 7) What home ownership services and programs would you be most interested in?*8) Do you own a home? 9) If so, what type of home? 10) If you are a homeowner, approximately, how old is your home? 11) Home Repair Resource Center is a partner of the national movement, Home Matters. Have you ever heard of Home Matters? 12) How are you most likely to receive information?**These questions allowed respondents to select multiple answers from a list of options.

Key Findings: The Bateman Blue team created two awareness surveys to be electronically distributed prior to the start of our campaign. One survey was sent through HRRC’s e-newsletter and was targeted to residents of the Greater Cleveland area who have previously used the Center’s services or participated in its programs. This survey had 50 respondents. The team received the following information from this survey:

When asked how participants discovered HRRC, 48 percent of respondents said word-of-mouth was the most effective way to discover new programs. Thirty percent said they discovered HRRC through a print or digital newsletter and 16 percent of respondents discovered HRRC through outreach or events hosted by the Center.

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Forty-eight percent of respondents previously attended hands-on maintenance classes hosted by HRRC, with 18 percent of respondents using HRRC’s information library or online resources about home repair.

The Bateman Blue team’s second survey was sent through Shaker School’s Parent-Teacher Orga-nization e-newsletter listserv. This survey was targeted to Shaker Heights residents and had 48 respondents. The Bateman Blue team received the following information from this survey:

Of 48 respondents, only 19 Shaker Heights residents had previous knowledge of HRRC. Al-though less than half of respondents knew about the Center, all but two respondents said they would benefit from various HRRC programs.

Seventy-five percent of respondents said they would be interested in taking a HomeMender Uni-versity class, a free lecture-based program hosted by experts from various home-repair fields. The Bateman Blue team’s “You Can Do It! 10 Simple DIY Repairs” special event was similar to a HomeMender University, as it was a lecture-based event.

Another 75 percent of respondents said they would be interested in taking a hands-on home repair workshop, and 63 percent of respondents said they would be interested in learning more about working with contractors and using HRRC’s contractor evaluations.

The Bateman Blue team was interested in how Shaker Heights residents were most likely to re-ceive information. Residents were given a list of options and could select all that applied to them, including social media, word of mouth, local news or community websites, and community advertisements.

Social media was the most popular way respondents receive information, with 65 percent of residents saying they check Facebook and/or Twitter to learn more about community resources. Word-of-mouth was the second most popular way to receive information, with 59 percent of respondents relying on friends, family and neighbors to learn about community events. Print community advertisements was the third most popular form of information, with 40 percent of respondents saying print communications was a preferred form of communication.

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Jeff Coryell, Cleveland Heights City Councilman, Community Relations Committee ChairCleveland Heights’ Housing Climate • Has faced challenges in past six to seven years, but housing climate is improving • “Much additional attention and effort is needed to restore our housing situation on a com-

munity-wide basis.”

Housing Issues • Foreclosure hit the city hard • This left vacant housing, decreasing property values and residents owning more on their

mortgages than their homes are worth • Approximately 700 homes in the city are vacant; these homes are vulnerable and unsafe• Hardest hit area: northern part of city -“Recovery has been slow or barely noticeable.” • “In many parts of the city there is a higher proportion of rented homes to owner-occupied

homes than is healthy for our community.” • Shortage of housing for elderly community members

Strengths of Cleveland Heights Housing• Variety of architecture • Neighborhoods are centrally located to local business districts • Close proximity to University Circle -Arts and culture neighborhood located on east side of Cleveland

Housing Programs’ Impact on Cleveland Heights • “HRRC has been critical over the past 40 years or so in assisting homeowners in maintain-

ing and renovating our housing stock.”

Housing Program similar to HRRC• Neighborhoods Stabilization Program -Funds to renovate and sell run-down houses • Land Trust Program of Neighborhood Housing Services -Funds to purchase, renovate and lease homes in stressed neighborhoods

Benjamin Faller, Executive Director of HRRC Home Repair Resource Center Mission • “At the core of what we do is homeowner empowerment. We’ve been around 43 years. A lot of

that is centered on hands on education and assistance with providing physical improvements to homes in Cleveland Heights.”

Additional Primary Research

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Home Repair Resource Center Services • The Challenge Fund is the core of the financial programs at HRRC -HRRC takes people through an evaluation process in an attempt to grant them a loan if they have been denied by the bank -If the person meets the program criteria, HRRC will back the loan; this could range from 40 percent to 100 percent depending on the need • The original pool for The Challenge Fund was $150,000, but it has grown to $14 million over

the years • Various other grants and loan are administered to HRRC clients through the city of Cleve-

land Heights (e.g. small grants for seniors or small repair grants) • HRRC is an HUD certified counseling center providing foreclosure and financial counseling • HRRC adheres to the growing needs of seniors in the community to get specialized assis-

tance in making changes to their homes • Classes are open to everyone, but Cleveland and Shaker Heights residents receive discounts

for classes -The normal charge is $15 per class; these residents take classes for $10

Status of programs and services • HRRC has seen constant growth in the last few years with the financial counseling and pre-

purchase home buyer education • The Home How-To program (women only) has been very popular; other classes vary as far as

attendance -Some topics for the home how-to classes are more popular than others; windows, roofs, basic electrical and basic plumbing are most popular • The tool loan program is for low to moderate-income residents of Cleveland Heights -“It has tapered. Lots of people who could use it don’t know about it and for the people who are in the lower end of income, fixing a house is not a priority, keeping the lights on is.”

HRRC Future Goals • HRRC is looking for ways to figure out which services are portable and can be taken to a

broader audience outside of Cleveland Heights • HRRC recently developed a partnership with the city of Shaker Heights and is looking for

activities to gear toward that area

HRRC Issues and Challenges • Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights have been the biggest participants in HRRC pro-

grams, however, there still could be more awareness in these two cities

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-“That’s been one of our big challenges—even within Cleveland Heights, we’re not well known, and so I want to end that. There’s a number of people who run into me in Cleveland Heights who say ‘oh, if I only knew HRRC existed.’”• The people who HRRC needs to help the most, it struggles the most to reach -“If we’re not helping the people that need it most, we’re not where we want to be as far a stabilizing the community and improving homeownership.” -“I would like to strengthen the awareness of us in the low to moderate income sector, but I would also like to make it clear to folks about the median income that we have something to offer them as well.” • HRRC does not have the marketing budget to do mass or targeted mailings• While email is cheap and easy, HRRC suspects it misses a less affluent population -HRRC does have access to data about new home purchases and owner occupancy data • Traveling from Shaker Heights to Cleveland Heights is a challenge due to traveling north

to south, there are no easily accessible ‘straight-shots’ from one city to the other, making a north to south trip more of a hassle and more time consuming than a trip west to east

HRRC Outreach • Primary outreach and marketing from HRRC includes: -Weekly email (MailChimp) with general information about programs, classes, home tips and so on -Regular columns and notices in the Sun Press, a newspaper in Cleveland Heights -Ads in the Plain Dealer -Social media (Twitter and Facebook) -“We try to have a presence at community events as much as possible. We’re starting a more active process of connecting with faith-based organizations both for financial support but to also let them know what services are available and reach members of the community who aren’t on the electronic grid as much.”• HRRC struggles with media contacts because most reporters only work on a city-wide basis,

meaning they can get coverage in Cleveland Heights or Shaker Heights but the article will not be published in both cities

Frank Ford, Senior Policy Advisor for Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Thriving Communities Institute Impact of Foreclosure Crisis on Cleveland • Housing crisis caused major issues for ‘rust-belt’ Midwest cities due to pre-existing weak real

estate markets • Cleveland-area housing values peaked in 2005, began to decline in 2006 and continuously

declined until 2011 • In today’s market, values are now more stable but not back near 2005 levels

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• Average cost of demolishing a condemned house is $10,000 • Demolishing all condemned houses in Cleveland would cost the city approximately $80 mil-

lion • The Cleveland Land Bank has demolished approximately 14,000 condemned houses and

renovated approximately 1,000• The Cleveland Lank Bank is a leader in renovating homes

Stacey Reed, Shaker Heights Parent-Teacher Organization Email Coordinator Communicating with Shaker Heights Parents• Knew of initial efforts of HRRC to reach out to Shaker Heights, but she has yet to see results

of those efforts • Coordinates weekly email newsletters for Shaker Heights School District • All eight schools send weekly e-newsletters, which are sent every Friday • The e-newsletters are sent to 6,000 subscribers• Believes that parents/families would use HRRC if it had more of a presence in Shaker -“When we first moved here, we would have used [HRRC], especially with all the older homes in the area.”

Julianna Johnston Senturia, Shaker Heights City Councilwoman, member of Neighborhood Revitalization/Housing/Building Committee Home Repair Resource Center in Shaker Heights • “My experience has been so far that people still think that [HRRC] is strictly for Cleveland

Heights residents because it is so identifiable as a Cleveland Heights organization.” • Home Repair Resource Center began reaching out to Shaker Heights in 2011 with efforts to

educate staff and city council on its programs • HRRC is perceived as a city-based organization

General Information on Shaker Heights • “Housing is our business, so it’s got to be good… we’re truly a bedroom community in Shaker.

Our business is providing a great neighborhood to live in, a good house and a great school.” • Shaker Heights City Council is always looking for housing-based nonprofits to partner with • Shaker Heights fared better than surrounding suburbs during the housing crisis, but it

struggles with maintenance issues of older homes • The City of Shaker Heights has a housing plan that is currently being updated. The previous

housing plan was created prior to the housing crisis• The City of Shaker Heights currently owns more than 100 homes that were abandoned, va-

cant, or going through foreclosure • Low- to moderate-income areas in Shaker Heights: below Lee Road and South of Van Aken,

southern Shaker Heights is perceived to be a lower-income area

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• Shaker Heights’ Popular Locations/Potential Outreach: two public libraries, Stephanie Tubbs Jones Community Building, Thornton Park, Churches, PTO Council, Neighbor-hood Associations, city-wide email distribution list

Shaker Heights Housing• “It’s very clear to me as a councilperson that there is more work that needs done than

we can do as a city, there is no question that we need as many partners in the housing industry because there is so much work to be done. I can’t even estimate the value the programs like these bring to Shaker.”

• Fund for Future Shaker, a nonprofit that provided down-payment loan programs, ceased operations in March 2012

• The ending of the Fund for Future Shaker created a need for more housing programs in the area

• County programs provide similar services as HRRC, specifically to Shaker Heights resi-dents

• Neighborhood Revitalization/Housing/Building Committee is a policy-based committee that focuses on the quality of housing

• Older homes in Shaker require lots of maintenance and upkeep. DIY projects are more affordable and reasonable than hiring professional workers

• Home Heritage Program, a program similar to HRRC, is difficult to qualify for because entire home must be original – any home updates will disqualify a home

Rebecca Stager, Home Repair Resource Center Repair Education Programs CoordinatorHome Repair Resource Center General Information• Writes all HRRC-related information published on Cleveland.com • HRRC currently has binders of printed contractor evaluations, HRRC staff would like

those to go digital to drive website traffic • HRRC has pre-existing media contacts with Growing Heights and Heights Observer

Home Repair Resource Center Promotions• HRRC sponsors ‘Community of the Month’ promotions; those cities’ residents receive

classes for $5• Shaker Heights residents pay $10 per class due to agreement with city. It was Community

of the Month in November and will be again in June

Home Repair Resource Center E-Newsletter• HRRC weekly newsletters sent between December 31 and January 22 averaged a 21.98

percent open rate

Individual open rates are as follows:

December 31, 2014

January 8, 2015

January 15, 2015

January 22, 2015

• MailChimp, the analytic service used by HRRC, cites 20.9 percent as the average open rate for nonprofit e-newsletters. HRRC constantly exceeds that average.

• HRRC weekly newsletters sent between December 31 and January 22 averaged a 1.72 percent click rate on links within the e-newsletter

• Individual click rates are as follows: -12/31/14 – 1.5 percent click rate -1/8/15 – 2.7 percent click rate -1/15/15 – 2.5 percent click rate -1/22/15 – 0.25 percent click rate (as of 7 a.m. morning of e-newsletter) • MailChimp sites 2.4 percent as the average click rate for nonprofit e-newsletters

Shaker Heights Participation in HRRC Classes

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0 100

25.3%

26.7%

25.7 %

1000

1000

1000

10.2%

Shaker Heights Workshop Participants (July- December 2014)

MonthJulyAug.Sept.Oct.Nov.Dec.

New PR Sign-ups

057210

No. of workshops

given 214340

No. of house-holds attending

1 /+ classes 21565

n/a

Cumulative atten-dance for month (by household)

216117

n/a

No. of atten-dences for mult.

people from same household

00223

n/a

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Julie Voyzey, City of Shaker Heights Communications and Marketing Representative HRRC partnership with Shaker Heights • Prior to the formal relationship, HRRC sent a press release about its programs and classes to

the City of Shaker Heights • Currently, the City of Shaker Heights advertises HRRC classes through various channels -Social media (Facebook; Twitter), e-newsletter via Constant Contact • The City of Shaker Heights sent out a specific e-newsletter in October announcing the part-

nership with HRRC • The newsletter was an active push to met people know about HRRC and home maintenance

Shaker Heights Climate • Shaker Heights has an aging housing stock, and many residents that like to do things them-

selves

City of Shaker Heights Outreach • Residents can subscribe to the e-newsletter by visiting the City of Shaker Heights’ website • Shaker Heights publishes a quarterly magazine called Shaker Life • The city uses Facebook and Twitter extensively -All of the Shaker Heights neighborhood groups have Facebook pages that the city’s marketing department posts on.

Opportunities for Campaign Implementation • The community calendar on the City of Shaker Heights website is kept up to date with events

going on the city • The best way to reach and connect with people in the area would be through the Shaker

Heights community building • The skating rink at Thornton Park is heavily trafficked, especially in February -It’s more family-oriented and a good place for face-to-face outreach

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On Jan. 28, 2015, the team facilitated a focus group with four women who had previously taken classes at HRRC. The education and outreach coordinator for the Center asked the women to participate in the focus group. We asked the women the following eight questions. 1. How did you hear about HRRC?· The Sun Press newspaper· Lives nearby. Bought her house and was curious. Walk-in.· Housing Fair at Cleveland Heights City Hall.· Seen in Sun Press and Housing Fair. 2. What prompted you to sign up for classes and what was the process like?· I was becoming broke. I was trying to find qualified handymen to do the work, but I didn’t know the kind of questions to ask. I felt HRRC had to be able to give me some kind of informa-tion. Then I found out about the classes that you could take.· I was woefully ignorant about so much about home maintenance. My husband died. Within a couple of months, I realized I was way in over my head with taking care of the house. One day my fence went, and I have a dog, and I was trying to figure out how to use my husband’s drill. When I found out about the classes here, I thought that’s exactly what I need, and I took a bunch.· Been in Cleveland Hights for 24 years and until last year, she was traveling for work often. I retired and decided to do 24 years worth of deferred maintenance. I took a whole series last year particularly offered for women. I never thought about how my house worked; it was only when something didn’t work.· First home she’s owned on her own. Being responsible for your own home is a very different concept; I had to learn everything. If I took these classes, I’d be able to hire a good contractor, I would be able to do work, and I would be able to at least know the “verbage.” The all-woman atmosphere made it easier. It made me want to try it.· Knowing the verbage when dealing with contractors is especially important. When contrac-tors look at women, the dollar signs start flashing.· Knowing the language has really helped build my confidence.· I don’t have any real desire to do the work, but for example, I contacted a plumber because of a leaking shut-off valve. The conversation I had with him let him know that I know that I can do this if I had to. He respected that. I don’t believe I would have gotten that same level of confidence from him had I not used that kind of language. I feel really good about knowing the language. 3. Expectation for the class before and how the expectation was met or not?· I think it was exceeded and honestly I don’t really know if I had a ton of expectations going into it. I was thoroughly impressed with the instructors, what I learned, and what I got out of it.

Focus Group findings

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The group atmosphere was good. Different people asking different questions you hadn’t thought about.· Absolutely. I knew so little, so there was nowhere to go but up, but it was so much better than just up. I was so impressed with the instructors. They were fantastic. They had the ability to speak the correct language and translate that into a way that makes sense to those of us who don’t know about home repairs. I really appreciated the other women asking questions, too.· There was a sense of community that I didn’t anticipate. I expected to learn some things and to meet some folks, but the dynamic that happened after getting together week after week. There was this real camaraderie. We’re all homeowners just trying to figure it out.· I don’t know what my expectations were. I didn’t know how the instructors were going to be. They were all professionals in their trade and not trainers, but they were able to communicate what it is they do, how you do it, what your expectations should be of a contractor, and how you can do it yourself.· The notion that the instructors were experts at their craft. You could see there was this love, this pride in what they do, and the joy of sharing it. It was really neat to see that pride in their trade. 4. Have you taken any other classes or used any other HRRC services?· I went through the women’s series, and I also took a couple of classes that were both men and women.· Lecture session on windows, floor sanding class, women’s series.· Didn’t take any individual classes, but women’s series.· Taken four or five. They were good – they were great actually. I like the in-depth classes. Women’s classes are in modules. You focus on different topics for several weeks like carpentry or plumbing or electricity. All very informative. Had an architect do complementary consulting. Drew up a couple things for me based on some dreams I had. I’ve also rented tools here.· Tool rental is very cheap.· Took a seminar for aging in place. 5. Are there any specific examples of something you learned at HRRC that you actually took home and did?· Toilet issue, after class about replacing a flapper in the tank. I went right home and lifted up the tank, I looked in there, I saw what kind of flapper it was, and the next day I went out to Lowe’s, and I got two flappers and within one weekend I replaced both the flappers in two of the toilets in the house and changed out the shower heads in both bathrooms, and I fixed a leaky faucet.· Two days after we had the class on plumbing, I unplugged my kitchen sink. I rented an auger. I’m doing a lot of painting; the instructor was very clear. Every job you prime, tape, wash with TSP and all that. Get good equipment. I’ve used power tools. Re-glazed front windows and re-paired a crack in fleshing on front door. Re-caulked bathtub the other day.

· This past summer I felt that I could caulk around the driveway, and I caulked around my side door. It demystified a lot for me. If it takes the mystery away from it, it allows you to do something on your own. If you really do screw something up, you know you can call someone to fix it.· Fixed a retaining wall, painted, painted her sun porch floor, and planning on painting living room floor. Done 20 little things here and there.· Had an energy audit done on her house. Had four different contractors come in. She knew what questions to ask and once she chose a contractor to work with she felt very confident in her choice.· I think another really great thing was we had a manual for each segment with the informa-tion on it. You could write notes and business cards were handed out. You had your own resource book.· Yeah, I go back to those regularly. 6. Would you recommend classes to a friend? What would you say to them about the value of taking a class here?· I already have.· For me, especially at the time of my life, it was perfect. It was invaluable; I really needed the confidence, and I really needed to know that I could do it. That I could take care of my house – that I can take care of this investment. It was a big deal for me that I was able to do it and for me, it was invaluable. Everything really came together. I would definitely say go, learn something, so you won’t be taken advantage of.· I think it adds value on a lot of different levels. There is also the camaraderie of the other people in the class, so you don’t feel like the only stupid one particularly when somebody asks a question you were thinking of. The series is over a few months, so you have a chance to know people and to commiserate about what other issues that you’re having. Plus the instructors were really good. Then you have your own personal confidence building level. I have intent of doing the work, but it took away the mysteries of certain things, it gave me the confidence to know what you know as a contractor, so I can communicate with you, and I know your language and what it is that you do. That level of confidence is huge plus they have a program that if you con-tract with someone you can actually go through HRRC. They will march you through the entire process, so you don’t get screwed. So much stuff available that you can take advantage of.· I post things on Facebook about things I’m doing. Friends will ask oh where’d you learn how to do that? So I tell them all the time. Just joined Noble Neighbors, and I’m hoping to share information about HRRC with folks there. This neighborhood in Cleveland Heights has been hit really hard by the housing crisis.· Different price points for houses in Cleveland Heights.· Twenty-five years ago I bought my house for $75,000 now houses on my street sell for $30,000. So I’m staying in my house and making it nice.· In Shaker Heights the same things are true there. A lot of people there don’t know about

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HRRC. I tell my neighbors, I tell my friends, and I’m very, very pleased to hear there’s going to be an emphasis on trying to get it better known in Shaker Heights.· Awful lot of houses in Shaker that are selling for $25,000 or $30,000, and they’re in terrible shape. Shaker is also unbelievably nit-picky about anything you do with your house. There are a lot of absentee landlords, and the houses aren’t in good shape, which affects the neighborhood, affects the street, it’s a whole slippery slope. 7. Anything you think HRRC can do to improve classes or something more you would like to see?· More marketing.· For me, I would like to see the classes come out of the classroom. I think it would be invalu-able if they had houses in the City of Shaker Heights or in the City of Cleveland Heights that were a project house that students worked on, I think that would be so great. I would also like to see some of the other women’s classes to be expanded just a few subjects to be expanded a little more in connection with the ability to do a hands-on outside of the classroom project.· Maybe some kind of partnership with Habitat for Humanity. We could do the theory in the classroom then we could go to the site. 8. Anything to add?· Shaker Heights has a whole bunch of neighborhood organizations – gave us contact informa-tion.· Shaker Online has a lot of stuff on its website for residents, which has to do mostly with home maintenance. They have a whole listing of contractors who have been certified by the city. Why don’t they get together with HRRC? Also, there could be more done with aging in place. Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, and the whole east side have a lot of older people. Even if they’re not in a position to tackle it themselves, HRRC could do more to get the word out about small things people could do to make their homes safer. Connecting with some of the senior groups in the area would be good. Posting information on bulletin boards. It’s just a shame that more people aren’t aware and using HRRC. It could save people so much money and frustration.· I would love to see the senior housing fair and housing fair done more than just twice a year. You just miss out if you can’t attend it in April. Maybe the senior housing fair twice a year and the housing fair twice a year.· Maybe even expanding into Shaker. Having one in Cleveland Heights and one in Shaker.· I’m in an online group for my neighborhood. There are people who post things like I’m look-ing for a carpenter. Anyone know of someone? It could be a strategy of how to reach people.· Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) would be a perfect group to make connections with. Advertise in Shaker Life Magazine. They also have other columns in there that appear in every publication – try to get in there.

Final Casebook

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Transcript of Final Casebook