Habitat International dissolves Branch County Habitat for Humanity
Branch County Habitat For Humanity ended 30 years of service by closing its Restore last Friday.
The IRS dissolved the non-profit corporation in 2020 after it failed to file the required tax returns for three years. The last was in 2017.
Habitat President Jim McDaniel said the group would continue to work to close out the group's 30-plus years of service to the county.
The final decision came, McDaniel said, after "Habitat International said we could not be Habitat anymore. They wouldn't let us appeal. They said we have to dissolve. From what I understand, paperwork never got filed that was supposed to be filed. When (the board) and when I found out about it, it was too late."
Habitat owns eight parcels of property, most vacant lots, in Branch County. It includes the Resale Store on Division Street, where donated items and materials were sold. The 2017 tax return showed assets over $577,000.
McDaniel said if the local group does not make arrangements to transfer the assets to another non-profit, "Habitat International comes in and takes it all. They sell it and take the money."
The local board continues to work to transfer the assets and keep them in Branch County to benefit the local community.
"We're working on a few things, which I can't really disclose at this time," he said. "I'm trying not to blame anyone because we're all volunteers."
During its 30-year history, the local Habitat built 15 homes for low-income residents who committed their own "sweat equity." There were also countless projects to improve existing homes, such as ramps for the disabled or repairs to bring homes into code compliance.
"We are getting older. A matter of fact, I'm the youngest one. And I'm 66," McDaniel said of the local organization. He and another volunteer did 80% of the work on the last home Habitat completed and sold. "And that's part of the problem. We can't get young people to step up and help."
McDaniel and Chuck Hauska worked with Habitat International to bring the local organization into compliance.
"They were making it harder and harder on us paperwork-wise," McDaniel said. "We worked hard for the last two years. We're out of compliance in a lot of areas. Chuck and I got us back in compliance in all but one thing, the most important," IRS tax returns.
McDaniel said Habitat International said it would not authorize another local chapter in Branch County.
"It is a very sad situation," he said.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Habitat International dissolves Branch County Habitat for Humanity
