CATCH Neighborhood Housing relies on volunteers from the community to give their time, talent and treasure to help ensure that CATCH creates a community where every person is confident of a home.

There are many ways to get involved – as a volunteer, as a donor or as a customer of one of the services we provide. Or maybe you just want to learn more about CATCH – who we are and what we do!

Ways to Help:

Make a Donation – Each year, CATCH fundraises nearly 60 percent of its annual operating budget. We ask for financial support from individuals, businesses and corporations, foundations, civic groups and religious organizations. Every dollar counts at CATCH!

Become a Donor – Join The Builder’s Circle

• $5,000 and above Champion’s Circle
• $2,500 – 4,999 Patrons’Circle
• $1,000 – 2,499 Partners’ Circle
• $ 750 - 999 Sustainers’ Circle
• $ 500 - 749 Supporters’ Circle
• $ 250 - 499 Advocates’ Circle
• $ 1 - 249 Friends’ Circle

As a member of The Builder’s Circle, you’ll be invited to special events and occasions at CATCH. CATCH deeply values each and every donor we have. It is because of you that CATCH has helped hundreds of families and individuals find decent, affordable homes.

In-Kind Donations – Donate goods or items in good condition for low- and moderate-income people. Donate paint, tools, kitchen cabinets, curtains, sheet rock or furniture for Homes Downtown renovation work. Or donate an item to be sold at the CATCH residents annual “Giant Yard Sale.”

Volunteer – Volunteers are very important to CATCH – and there are many different ways to get involved! If you’re a lender or REALTOR, CATCH needs your help as a “guest lecturer” at the Home Buyer and Financial Success Center. For Homes Downtown, we need skilled and unskilled laborers, painters, landscapers and interior designers. Resident Programs at CATCH hosts some grassroots fundraisers each year such as the “Giant Yard Sale” – volunteers are always needed to tag and bag items.

CATCH Neighborhood Housing also has a number of working Committees, made up of staff members, Board members and volunteers from the community. Join a CATCH Committee and help us effect positive change in our community! CATCH Committees include:

• The Asset Management Committee – overseeing CATCH’s entire real estate portfolio for long-term financial health;
• The Finance Committee – providing oversight for CATCH’s operating and capital finances;
• The Project Committee – reviews and approves of potential new housing developments;
• The Public Policy Committee – sets priorities and parameters for CATCH’s advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal level;
• The Development Committee – provides oversight and guidance to the board and staff related to all fundraising activities and events;
• The Resident Outreach and Opportunity Team (ROOT) – guides the staff and board in shaping strategic planning goals and activities related to CATCH residents and homebuyers; provides opportunities to build resident leaders for Board membership.

Sponsor a CATCH event – Every year, CATCH hosts a number of community events to raise awareness about the critical need for affordable housing in Merrimack County. CATCH Comedy Night is our one major fundraiser each year.

For local businesses, sponsoring a CATCH event is a great way to generate publicity and awareness of your company.

CATCH Comedy Night, held each year in January, is our annual fundraiser. Become a sponsor or place an advertisement in our program book.

CATCH Annual Celebration, held each year in April, is a gathering to celebrate the accomplishments of the year and to announce plans and projects for the coming year.

The Home Buyer Bash, held each year in June, celebrates all the people who have purchased homes in the last year and to recognize the community partners who helped make it happen. Every homebuyer family or individual who attends the Bash leaves with a wonderful housewarming present!

CATCH Community Day, held on the second Saturday every year in June, is our biggest community volunteer event! Part of National NeighborWorks Week, CATCH Community Day brings together 100 or more volunteers to improve our housing and community. Past projects have included planting trees, flowers and gardens, renovating homes sold through the Homes Downtown program, building playgrounds and soccer fields, installing privacy fencing, and building outdoor common spaces for CATCH residents.

Groundbreakings and Dedications for new affordable housing developments are held as each new property is built. CATCH’s housing developments almost always draw local media coverage because they are permanently affordable, workforce housing solutions!

House Parties for donors, friends and volunteers are held four times a year, usually at the home of a CATCH Board member. It’s a chance to hear about what CATCH has been accomplishing lately, in a comfortable, cozy setting.

Planned Giving – Consider including CATCH Neighborhood Housing in your long-range financial plans. You can designate CATCH Neighborhood Housing to receive a portion of your estate in any of the following ways:

• Designate a fixed dollar amount;
• Designate a percentage of your estate;
• Designate the residual after all other bequests have been distributed.

With a bequest for CATCH you will leave a lasting legacy and know that you have helped a family or individual find a decent, safe, affordable place to live.

Without the support of individuals and local businesses CATCH Neighborhood Housing would not be able to continue to provide attractive, safe, permanently affordable rental apartments, Home Buyer Education classes and counseling, resident programming, and homeownership opportunities through Homes Downtown, whose homes are the starter homes for the 21st century. Your support is critical to our work.

Please visit Make a Donation to volunteer, make a donation, make an in-kind donation, or to sign up for our newsletter and e-updates. If you have questions please contact Angel Colarusso, Director of Development & Marketing, by e-mailing acolarusso@catchhousing.org, or call 225-8835 ext. 32.

Thank you for helping CATCH Neighborhood Housing create a community where every person is confident of a home.

Donor privacy policy: CATCH deeply values and appreciates each and every donor and volunteer. CATCH Neighborhood Housing does not rent or sell the names of its donors to any other organization or group. CATCH Neighborhood Housing is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and subscribes to the AFP’s published Donor Bill of Rights (click here to read).

CATCH publishes the names of its donors once a year in the annual report. However, donors may choose to remain anonymous. Please contact Angel Colarusso, Director of Development & Marketing, at CATCH if you would like to be listed as an anonymous donor: (603) 225-8835 ext. 32.

"My wife, Eleanor, and I always make a yearly contribution to CATCH Neighborhood Housing because we can't imagine the community without CATCH. They not only transform housing -CATCH transforms lives." -Ignatius MacLellan, Donor, Director of Fannie Mae's Northern New England Community Business Center