CENTER FOR HEIRS' PROPERTY PRESERVATION

Financial Trends

Organization Details

CENTER FOR HEIRS' PROPERTY PRESERVATION, founded in 2005, is a community nonprofit in the Crime & Legal sector that reported $6.2M in total revenue in fiscal year 2023. Revenue surged 60% from the prior year, signaling strong growth momentum. The organization ran a surplus of $2.0M, a strong 33% operating margin.

Mission

THE MISSION OF THE CENTER FOR HEIRS' PROPERTY PRESERVATION (CHPP) IS TO PROTECT HEIRS' PROPERTY AND PROMOTE THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF LAND TO PROVIDE INCREASED ECONOMIC BENEFIT TO HISTORICALLY UNDER-SERVED AND LOW-WEALTH FAMILIES THROUGH LEGAL AND FORESTRY EDUCATION AND SERVICES. HEIRS' PROPERTY (HP) IS LAND THAT IS OWNED IN COMMON BY MULTIPLE FAMILY MEMBERS. IN THE LOWCOUNTRY OF SC, MUCH OF THIS LAND IS THOUGHT TO BE OWNED BY AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILIES, WHO PASSED DOWN THEIR LAND WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF A WILL, SO IT BECAME HEIRS' PROPERTY. THIS IS AN UNSTABLE AND RISKY WAY TO OWN LAND BECAUSE IT IS EASILY LOST. THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE HP ISSUES IS THROUGH A LEGAL PROCESS, WHICH MANY HP FAMILIES CANNOT AFFORD. THE CENTER HELPS PREVENT THE LOSS OF HEIRS' PROPERTY BY PROVIDING LEGAL EDUCATION AND DIRECT SERVICES AND PROMOTES THE WEALTH-BUILDING ASSET OF LAND OWNERSHIP THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY EDUCATION AND SERVICES. FORESTRY IS A $23 BILLION INDUSTRY IN SC. RAMPANT DEVELOPMENT ACUTELY THREATENS HEIRS' PROPERTY (HP) ACROSS SC. TAXES AND LAND VALUES CONTINUE TO INCREASE. HP FAMILIES ARE MORE LIKELY, AND ABLE, TO KEEP THEIR FAMILY LAND AND PASS IT DOWN TO THE NEXT GENERATION IF IT IS ECONOMICALLY PRODUCTIVE. THE SUCCESSFUL IMPACT OF THE CENTER'S WORK IN 2023 IS NOT ONLY MEASURED IN NUMBERS (QUANTITATIVELY) BUT QUALITATIVELY, AS WELL. QUALITATIVE IMPACT IS MEASURED IN CHANGES IN ATTITUDE, BEHAVIOR AND ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE FAMILIES WITH WHOM WE WORK. OUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS PREDOMINANTLY RURAL, OFTEN LOW WEALTH, HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AFRICAN AMERICAN LANDOWNERS WHO HAVE BEEN TRADITIONALLY LEFT OUT OF THE EDUCATION AND PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES THAT WOULD HAVE HELPED THEM AS LANDOWNERS. IN SOME CASES, IT RESULTED IN THEM LOSING THEIR LAND. WHEN ONE OF OUR CLIENTS WAS ASKED WHY HIS FATHER DID NOT KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT TO DO WITH THE FAMILY LAND - "MY FATHER WAS NOT WELCOME WHERE THEY MIGHT HAVE FOUND OUT." WHEN THESE HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED LANDOWNERS (HULOS)COME INTO THE CENTER, THEY SHARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS. THEY ARE DISTRUSTFUL, AFRAID OF LOSING THEIR LAND, SKEPTICAL OF ANYONE OFFERING HELP, STRUGGLING WITH OWNERSHIP OF LAND WITH WHICH THEY CAN DO VERY LITTLE TO BENEFIT THEIR FAMILY, NOT INCLINED TO CHANGE THE STATUS QUO, CONFUSED ABOUT HEIRS' PROPERTY AND RELUCTANT TO ACT. WITH ACCESS TO EDUCATION, TOOLS, PROGRAMS AND EXPERTS PROVIDED BY CHPP, THESE FAMILIES INCREASE THEIR CONFIDENCE, PRIDE AND SENSE OF SELF-DETERMINATION AND BELIEF IN THEIR ABILITY TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT PROTECTING THEIR LAND AND REALIZING THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF LANDOWNERSHIP. THEY ARE ALSO PROUD TO BE HONORING THEIR ANCESTORS' LEGACY BY TRANSFORMING THEIR LAND INTO A WEALTH-BUILDING ASSET FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. THE WORD EMPOWERMENT HAS BEEN OVERUSED BUT, IN THIS INSTANCE, IT IS 100% ACCURATE, AND IT IS CHANGING THE FACE OF PERSISTENT POVERTY ACROSS THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA - ONE FAMILY AT A TIME. A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAMS/SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE CENTER FOLLOWS. IN ADDITION, CLICK ON THESE HYPERLINKS TO ACCESS THE CENTER'S NEWSLETTERS. NEWSLETTER LINKS: HEIRS PROPERTY MATTERS NEWSLETTER V24 AND HEIRS PROPERTY MATTERS NEWSLETTER V25.

Program Service Accomplishments

Financial Overview (2023)

Year-over-Year Comparison

Governance

Special Practices & Reported Activities

Compensation of Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Historical Data