DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION
If you can not fill out the online form, please print and mail the form below to P.O. Box 325, Rensselaer, IN 47978
| application_for_a_fuller_home.pdf |
what is involved in the EXPERIENCE?
As a future owner you will be on call for the whole process. You will be expected to work most, if not all, Saturdays along side the volunteer crew. Weather normally does not stop us from building. Future owners are involved in choosing a blueprint, building, and shopping for and picking most materials. You will work side by side with the members in many aspects. The last home took about a year and three months from ground breaking to finish, just as an idea for how long the next build might take. When the build is finished the future owner will be expected to pay for a year of insurance then the home will be mortgaged and dedicated. Family participation is highly encouraged. No skills are needed from any of the future owners, their families, or volunteers, everything can be taught as we build the home together. The members may require you to partake in related activities, such as financial classes.
why do we do it this way?
The largest aspect of what makes Fuller Center unlike other charities is that what is given is more education and trust, than a monetary donation or the donation of goods. In the late 60's in a place called the Koinonia Farm, Millard Fuller decided that "what the poor need is not charity, it's capital, not social workers, but co-workers." (found in a letter from Millard Fuller to Clarence Jordan) Fuller Center gives the opportunity to create a home and pay for that home in "sweat equity" and then the remainder over time on terms that are tailored to what you can afford.
This process is not just to complete the main goal of providing housing, but also to help teach the family financial independence, encourage pride and teach skills to all involved.
