Assisting women, children and families in greatest need.

A Message from House of Ruth

Thank you for visiting our website!

House of Ruth deeply appreciates the generous outpouring of support from the community following news that we were facing a $500,000 cut in our funding from the DC government. This support is helping House of Ruth sustain the scope and quality of our services, despite the uncertainty surrounding our future funding.

The situation appears to have improved. The city has offered assurances that our funding will be maintained.  We remain concerned about the stability of city funding after October 1, 2010.

The tough economic times continue to affect House of Ruth in other ways as well. Investment earnings are down at foundations, so they are reducing their grants – we’re expecting $200,000 less from this source this year.

Time will tell how the economic downturn will affect individual donors, whose gifts are the lifeblood of House of Ruth. “With the community’s financial support,” said House of Ruth President Christel Nichols, “we will weather this storm and continue assisting more than 600 women and children at a time at our 13 locations.”

Of course, the same economic conditions that are hurting our funding are fueling increases in homelessness and domestic violence.

House of Ruth has been able to sustain our services and even expand a little. In November, 2009, we relocated Herspace by consolidating two small programs serving 11 families into one apartment building with a capacity for 13 families. “We can staff the new building more efficiently and save at least $200,000 per year, while helping more families escape homelessness and abuse,” said Nichols.

One of the buildings we vacated was sold, the other, a five-unit apartment building in Southeast DC, is now home to 14 women who were homeless, alone and unable to manage safely on their own. The women are facing tough challenges. Each has a serious mental illness, as well as a history of homelessness and abuse. Now, they are safe at House of Ruth, and getting the ongoing supportive services they need to sustain their safety and stability. Their small, tidy apartments are the finest home the women have ever known.

Earlier this year with an extraordinary grant from the city – made before the economic crisis – House of Ruth opened A New Way, where we provide service-enriched housing to 12 more families left homeless as a result of domestic violence.

House of Ruth was only able to proceed with this expansion because the gifts of more than 20,000 contributors are keeping our current programs strong.

“I can’t emphasize enough how important gifts from individuals and organizations are to House of Ruth,” said Nichols.

“Since 1999, the only new government funds available to House of Ruth have been for expansion,” she explained. “ Charitable gifts from thousands of donors sustained our current programs for the last decade, putting us in a position to be able to accept government funds to expand.”

“Now,” she concluded, “we need that individual support to continue.”

“Everything the brave women and children at House of Ruth accomplish is possible only because of the generous investments of thousands of individuals and organizations in the region who give what they can,” said Nichols. “In return,” she concluded, “our donors know they can rely on House of Ruth to remain fiercely dedicated to the women and children who we serve and to be good stewards of their donations.”

House of Ruth continues to operate very frugally, with 90% of expenses allocated to programs and only 4% spent on management and 6% on fund-raising. Fully 110 of our 115 staff members work directly with the women and children at our 13 programs. A team of five handles management, operations, finance, fund-raising and personnel.

House of Ruth is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
Our Federal Tax ID number is 52-1054102.