The Phillips Brooks House, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138    ph. 617.495.1970  |  fax 617.496.2461  |  email

You Can Help!

As a 501c3 non-profit organization without paid staff, HOP relies each year on the commitment and imagination of a small group of undergraduate students to run daily operations and ensure the program's future in the Greater Boston area. Through a 'comp' process which includes assignments in each of the program's departments, we pass on to new volunteers our accumulated experiences of social service in Boston. We emphasize the fact that the trainees of today will in a few short years be the senior leaders of the program. If you are an undergraduate student interested in volunteering with HOP, please contact us to find out more about our current needs and the comp process.

Despite HOP's close ties to Harvard University through the Phillips Brooks House Association, the program receives no financial backing from the school and relies entirely on the altruism of individual donors and socially-conscious local corporations to raise capital for the loan fund. Individual members of the Harvard faculty have been our biggest supporters, demonstrating to academia their concern for low-income residents of college towns. Individual support is particularly welcome given the scale on which HOP operates - as a $500 loan can mean the difference between a family in their home and a family on the street, a $500 donation to the loan fund has an immediate and dramatic impact.

As HOP branches out within the Boston community, we will continue to solicit the financial support of socially-conscious businesses. It is continually gratifying to see players in the real estate market, from agencies to banks and development corporations, honor their commitments to the community by supporting our program. If you or your business is interested in supporting HOP annually or through a one-time grant, please contact us, or simply send your donation to:

The Housing Opportunities Program
The Phillip Brooks House, Harvard Yard
Cambridge, MA 02138

HOP periodically honors its individual and corporate donors through advertisement in the Harvard Crimson, the university newspaper with a circulation of 14,000 faculty, students, and alumni.

Although HOP is an autonomous group within the Phillips Brooks House Association, we often look to form partnerships with other organizations. In the past we have built special relationships with social service agencies, with housing providers, and with other microlenders pursuing goals similar to ours. We welcome contact from groups interested in findings new ways to cooperate.

Besides developing relationships with organizations, HOP often works with individuals from outside Harvard College to improve specific aspects of our program. In the past, we have worked with students from the schools of Business and Law as well as with bank loan officers and case workers. We welcome outside ideas and encourage people with an idea for a project within HOP to contact us.

  2009 The Housing Opportunities Program.    All rights reserved.