Charity Contest Winner Gives $10,000 to Organization Helping Renters Stay Housed

For some renters, an unexpected emergency can mean the difference between making rent and risking eviction. That’s where Hope+Door comes in. The charity, which was nominated by the winner of a recent Apartments.com giveaway, offers rent grants for qualified families to help keep them in their homes.

Amber Cappiello, who won the opportunity to donate $10,000 from Apartments.com to the charity of her choice, said Hope+Door’s mission resonates with her.

“It fits in line with my morals and goals with what I do every day,” said the community manager of Butler Square Apartments in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

As the community manager of a 147-unit property, Cappiello knows the challenges residents can face.

“I see a lot of families fall on hard times, especially with children being involved,” she said. “It not only affects where you sleep at night but every aspect of your life.”

The $10,000 charity giveaway was part of Apartments.com’s ThanksGifting campaign.

Keeping families in their homes

Hope+Door provides up to two months of rent grants to families at risk of eviction because of a no-fault financial emergency.

“It is those things in life that happen,” said Amy Krulik, executive director of Hope+Door.

Common reasons include medical emergencies, a death in the family, or a job loss because the employer has closed or downsized.

In one example, a mother in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, lost her second part-time job when her children’s day care unexpectedly closed for three weeks for renovations.

Recipients of the program must have a solid 12-month history of rent payments before the no-fault emergency.

In the three years that Hope+Door has been in operation, the organization has helped nearly 250 families nationwide, focusing on those with children under 18 living at home. Nearly three-quarters of recipients are single-parent households headed by women, including single mothers and grandmothers raising their grandchildren alone.

Children affected by eviction can lose months of academic advancement, Krulik said. And for children with special learning needs, a disruption during the school year can be “devastating,” she said.

“The impetus behind this is to make sure that kids can have a stable environment academically, socially, and emotionally,” Krulik said.

Back on track after a serious accident

For Jazmyne, who lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband and two children, Hope+Door was a lifesaver. Jazmyne had been working for a mortgage company when the vehicle she was in was hit by a car running a stop sign.

“She was completely T-boned,” Krulik said.

Jazmyne suffered major injuries, including a serious concussion. She had to avoid bright lights and screens for months. Unable to work, she lost her job. During the financial strain that ensued, the family was threatened with eviction.

“My loss of job and everything made things hard,” Jazmyne said.

She then discovered Hope+Door. She applied for and received a rent grant to keep her family in their apartment.

Thanks to this support, the family is back on track.

“She is back to working, and the family’s in great shape,” Krulik said. “They’re on a path to save enough money. They’re looking at home ownership at this point.”

Giving back to the multifamily industry

Hope+Door was founded by Dan and Steve Berger of the Pennsylvania-based multifamily company Berger Communities.

The nonprofit, which maintains a strict firewall between Berger properties and its philanthropic work, seeks to prevent homelessness before it happens.

“It was really a way to amplify this idea of helping a family stay in their home,” Krulik said.

Amber Cappiello, the community manager who nominated Hope+Door (pictured right, above), was thrilled when she found out she had won the Apartments.com charity giveaway.

“I was speechless,” she said. “I couldn’t be happier. I love the cause so much that it helps, families, and especially around this time of year.”

Explore Hope+Door’s work

Hope+Door supports qualified renters across the country, excluding Berger properties. Do you know any residents in need of a rent grant? Find out more about Hope+Door and how its program works. You can also learn about ways to support its mission.

Meet other charities doing important work

Hope+Door isn’t the only charity that does philanthropic work with a multifamily angle. Four charities each received $10,000 in November as part of Apartments.com’s annual ThanksGifting campaign: Entryway, Hatching Hope, Move for Hunger, and United Way Centraide Canada.

Like Hope+Door, Entryway also combats homelessness, but it focuses on individuals who have already lost their homes. The organization offers situationally homeless individuals a path to housing and economic stability through a career in the multifamily industry.

Based in the Southeast, Hatching Hope helps multifamily residents recover from disasters by providing humanitarian aid. The organization recently mobilized to support renters hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton across North Carolina and Florida.

Move for Hunger fights hunger and waste by coordinating with apartment communities and movers to redirect food to local food banks. The nonprofit works with 3,000 multifamily properties across the United States and Canada, representing half a million units.

And finally, United Way Centraide Canada provides a helpline to help people access essential resources in their local communities. The organization’s 211 helpline serves over 2 million Canadians a year, including many living in multifamily housing.