%
of charities either urgentlyor very urgently need a renovation.
%
of charities believe a renovation will increase their ability to deliver services.
The Problem:
DIMINISHED BUILDINGS
Many charity buildings and infrastructure are in poor condition, inhibiting non-profits’ ability to deliver important social services, to be innovative, and respond to changing needs.
However, for decades the importance of charity buildings has been largely ignored, even though these places are where many of our most important social services are provided. They are our food banks, our community halls, our shelters, our counselling centres, our community kitchens…
Many charity buildings are not only a blight on neighbourhoods, they actually diminish the ability of charities to do their important work, negatively affecting programs, work efficiencies, staff and volunteer morale, maintenance costs, neighbourhood support and the psychological state of clients. As well, the state and design of a building often inhibits an organization’s ability to innovate.
Since the creation of HeroWork, our organization has been working with charities, understanding their visions, developing renewal concepts and plans, and delivering millions of dollars’ worth of high-quality renovations that transform both buildings and the way in which charities operate within those buildings.
Infrastructure Study
Through the years, HeroWork has repeatedly seen the same challenges: the condition of charity buildings is diminishing non-profits’ ability to be innovative, create deep social change, and respond to changing community needs. In response we embarked on a three-phased study that investigated the state of charity buildings, the specific challenges faced by charity organizations in relation to their infrastructure, and the system of societal stakeholders in which non-profits buildings exist. See the results of this study.
%
is how much money HeroWork saves partner charities.
%
satisfaction rating from HeroWork volunteers.
The Solution:
RADICAL RENOVATIONS
HeroWork’s mission is to organize and complete community-based, quality renovations for and with charities, to increase their capacity and efficiency to serve vulnerable populations. HeroWork transforms charities by transforming their buildings.
To do this we mobilize the community—dozens of companies and hundreds of volunteers—to come together on a project in a very short period of time, obtaining donations of labour/materials. We call these events Radical Renovations, which transform a standard renovation into a spectacular community event, giving participants life-affirming experiences.
Good charity buildings ripple out positive effects in our community. A well-designed and renovated building increases operational efficiencies, lifts up volunteers and staff, revitalizes neighbourhoods, improves relations, engenders innovation, and, most importantly, empowers better services for vulnerable populations in our communities.
To enable the expansion of HeroWork, we have developed a model that is akin to a social impact franchise model.
HeroWork Canada’s role is to empower local chapters to efficiently execute Radical Renovations, through training, systems, and collaboration.
A Chapter’s responsibility is use HeroWork Canada’s pre-designed systems to efficiently, safely, and sustainably complete Radical Renovations events.
Our Dream
As HeroWork replicates into more communities, we envision a movement of charity renewal that will impact urban centres across the country.
HEROWORK VICTORIA’S
CASE STUDIES

HeroWork partnered with them and developed concepts, plans, and drawings that brought their vision to life. Then HeroWork mobilized over 100 companies and 500 volunteers, contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of in-kind labour and goods.
Today the Mustard Seed operates one of the most innovative programs in the province, serving the food insecure of Victoria in a more efficient and humane way.

Our Place researched an innovative solution, modelled from an Italian community called San Patrignano that reports a 72% full recovery rate for thousands of residents who complete their program. Through several deep partnerships they were able to get a long-term lease of an old youth detention facility to operate a Therapeutic Recovery Community. The problem was that the facility needed extensive and expensive renovations to make it look, feel, and operate like a home, not a jail.
They partnered with HeroWork to save hundreds of thousands of dollars on a complex and wide-ranging renovation that now enables them to operate an innovative Therapeutic Recovery Community that, we believe, will become a new model of treatment in Canada.
PEERS BIG REVEAL
Big Reveal video for the Peers Victoria Resource Society Project.