Habitat for Humanity – Quad Cities:
Sweat Equity Policy
Updated 2021
Habitat for Humanity Staff and appropriate Committees are responsible for meeting the criteria set in this policy. Any exceptions must be approved by the Executive Director in consultation with the Executive committee of the Board of Directors.
• Each adult family member must complete 6 sweat equity hours per month
• Each family must submit a sweat equity report to the office by the 5th of each month. 2 hours are earned simply by turning the reports in on time.
• Submitted hours will be reviewed and approved by the Family Services Director or Volunteer Coordinator
• Staff will prepare a monthly report that contains the current total of sweat equity hours for each adult monthly.
• The first month the sweat equity form is NOT turned in by the 5th of each month or the 6 hour minimum per adult is NOT met, a written warning will be issued. A second occurrence will require an in-person meeting with Habitat staff as well as a written warning and a third occurrence can result in de-selection.
• When each adult family member has completed 75 hours of sweat equity, the family’s progress will be reviewed by staff and the family support chair and the family’s mentor. Feedback from ReStore staff and construction site supervisors might also be included in review. The purpose of the review is to determine if the family is ready to be assigned a lot. The following areas will be reviewed:
o Reliability – are scheduled sweat equity opportunities and appointments with the staff or mentor kept?
o Communication – are we kept informed of address and phone number changes and are phone messages, emails, and/or letters answered?
o Partnering – Does the family cooperate with the construction site supervisors, ReStore, office staff, and do they accept direction and work well with others?
o If the Partner Family Classes have been held, did the family attend the required classes? (A family cannot miss more than 2 classes. If this occurs, they will need to retake the class series.)
• If partnering is going well, a lot can be assigned. If a family is struggling in any of the above areas, a meeting will be held with the partner family, staff, family support chairperson and/or mentor to discuss the issues. A written plan will be formulated to remedy any identified problem areas and a date will be established to review progress.
Sweat Equity Criteria for Lot Selection to Closing and Dedication
• Criteria for a family to be assigned a lot:
i. Have been partnering successfully
ii. Each adult has completed at least 75 hours of sweat equity
iii. Past credit issues have been resolved and further debt has not been incurred
iv. The Affiliate is prepared to offer a lot
• Criteria to set Groundbreaking:
i. The Affiliate is ready to start the house
ii. Each adult has completed at least 125 hours of sweat equity
iii. The family is ready to commit to working every week on the house
• Criteria to set closing & Dedication:
i. The house is ready for final inspections
ii. An occupancy permit is received or expected by the dedication date
iii. The family has their down payment and has paid for any extras
iv. Each adult has completed at least 250 hours of sweat equity
Friends and Family Contribution
Friends and family can contribute sweat equity hours by volunteering or babysitting while the partner family is volunteering. These hours can be applied to the total required hours as shown in the chart below. Friends and family can contribute up to 100 of the 250 required hours per adult. Anything over that will continue to be counted but will not count toward the 250 total required hours.
Sweat Equity Hours Breakdown
Each Adult Family/Friends Total
at least 45 up to 30 75 Total
at least 75 up to 50 125 Total
at least 150 up to 100 250 Total
Revised April 2021
