Archuleta Housing

""It is money well spent...""

Archuleta Housing Corp. is a nonprofit organized in 1971 by the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church who saw the need for low-income housing in Pagosa Springs, Colo. A 20-unit apartment complex was built in 1973 and as time went on Archuleta answered the increased housing need with what are now 52 low-income family unit apartments housing over 166 residents. A second program, Archuleta Housing for the Elderly, was created in 1996, providing an additional 12 low-income housing units for Pagosa Springs’ senior population. Financed and constructed under Section 8 of Title II of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, Archuleta’s housing is provided to low- and moderate-income families through a subsidized housing assistance contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program enables Archuleta Housing to provide safe, affordable housing and to utilize that housing as a platform for improving quality of life, promoting self-sufficiency and building community.

For two years, Executive Director Nicole Holt was stressed out and having nightmares trying to handle all the financial reporting and prepare for HUD-required annual audits, on top of her other responsibilities plus dealing with tenant issues, property management and collecting rent. The burnout caused her and her board of directors to realize she needed some help. “I’m a people person, a program person. I have an MPA but I’m not a financial whiz,” she says. No one on her board had high-level financial expertise either, and in a small town in southern Colorado there are limited resources.

When Holt heard about Your Part-Time Controller on NPR radio she knew she had found her solution. “The real thing that pulled me in to YPTC was my need for high-level financial guidance. The financial reports and getting materials ready for the auditor were all on my shoulders. Since neither I nor anyone on the board is a financial professional it was a recipe for disaster.”

Working remotely, YPTC staff are able to make journal entries, clean up the books, make sure everything is in compliance with no mistakes, and prepare everything for the audit. A financial policy and procedures manual was created. “It’s been like a tag team,” Holt says. “All the financials are off my plate and it’s so much easier for me by far. And the auditor is happier because the books are in better shape.

“It is money well spent knowing that everything is OK and organized properly. We also have better presentations to the board so we look more prepared and professional and that makes our organization look better,” she adds. “YPTC has a cool business model because I can’t find anyone in Pagosa Springs with that level of expertise.

“It’s all just worked out perfectly. It’s so easy. YPTC’s services for small nonprofits spoke right to me. I couldn’t be more happy with the outcomes that have come from YPTC.”