Downtown Rescue Mission

What Downtown Rescue Mission does

Downtown Rescue Mission (DRM) is a faith-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at 1400 Evangel Drive NW in Huntsville, Alabama, serving homeless men, women, and children across North Alabama and South Tennessee. Founded approximately 50 years ago, the organization delivers emergency shelter, nightly lodging (80,000–100,000 bed nights annually), daily meals (300,000–450,000 meals annually), a structured Life Recovery Program addressing addiction and life-skill gaps, specialized Women & Children services, and a Community Food Pantry. Keith Overholt serves as President and CEO, and Men & Women's Programs and Emergency Shelters are currently operating at capacity, indicating demand-driven utilization of services.

Operationally, the organization combines direct service delivery at its main campus with a network of five thrift stores ('Bargain Centers' plus an Agape Shop) located across Athens, Decatur, Meridianville, Madison, Winchester Road, and Albertville. The technology backbone is standard web infrastructure (Squarespace-hosted site with SSL) augmented by Classy (GoFundMe Pro) for online donation processing and Plaid for payment verification, plus Resupply Cloud for donation pickup scheduling. There are no proprietary AI/ML systems, mobile apps, or developer APIs in scope.

The revenue model is donation- and retail-based rather than fee-based. Funds are generated through individual one-time and recurring (monthly) donations, legacy/planned giving, vehicle donations, DAF/crypto/stock transfers, in-kind giving (Amazon wish list, barrel drives), and proceeds from the thrift store retail network. Because all services to beneficiaries are provided free of charge, the customer base is bifurcated: homeless individuals and families receiving no-cost services, and a broad base of individual donors, church partners, volunteers, and thrift store shoppers sustaining the operating model. Growth and visibility are driven through community-led channels including facility tours, a Speakers Bureau, the 'Stories of Hope' podcast/YouTube series, email newsletters, and per-store Facebook pages.

Name

Downtown Rescue Mission

Legal name

Downtown Rescue Mission

Website

https://downtownrescuemission.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Downtown Rescue Mission is a Huntsville, Alabama-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing emergency shelter, meals, life recovery programs, and thrift store retail across North Alabama and South Tennessee, serving homeless men, women, and children through a community-led donation model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homeless and Social Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Temporary Shelters (624221), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC), Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD), Substance Use Recovery & Harm Reduction Support Services (BPAGAEAO)

Keywords

• Homeless shelter services
• Emergency housing assistance
• Life recovery programs
• Thrift store retail
• Food pantry services

Headquarters

HQ city

Huntsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individual supporters, including monthly giving programs. Donors can contribute via the website donation portal, DAF, crypto, or stock transfers.
2. Thrift Store Sales: Five thrift stores (Bargain Centers) generate revenue through retail sales of donated clothing, household items, furniture, electronics, and appliances. All proceeds benefit the mission's programs and services.
3. Vehicle Donations: Program accepting vehicle donations as another giving channel for supporters.
4. Amazon Wish List & Barrel Drive: In-kind donations through Amazon wish list and barrel drives for physical goods.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Downtown Rescue Mission provides emergency shelter, meals, and long-term life recovery programs for individuals and families experiencing homelessness in North Alabama and South Tennessee. The organization also operates a network of thrift stores (Bargain Centers) whose proceeds help fund its charitable programs. Additional services include a community food pantry and specialized programs for women and children in crisis.

Product overview

Downtown Rescue Mission is a private, Christian non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) providing compassionate programs and services to help men, women, and children in North Alabama and South Tennessee for over 50 years. The organization operates as a unified set of services centered around homeless shelter and recovery support, combining emergency lodging, life recovery programs, and food services with thrift store retail operations that generate revenue to fund mission activities. The service portfolio includes emergency shelter beds (80,000-100,000 annual bed uses), meal programs (300,000-450,000 meals annually), specialized Women & Children programs, a Life Recovery Program, Community Food Pantry, and five Thrift Store locations. Revenue generation is supported through various giving programs including monthly donors, legacy/planned giving, vehicle donations, and DAF/crypto/stock contributions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bargain Centers: Thrift stores operated by Downtown Rescue Mission that sell donated clothing, household items, furniture, electronics, and other goods. Proceeds benefit the mission's programs and services.
• Agape Shop

Products and services

• Emergency Services

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Classy (GoFundMe Pro)coreTechnology or IntegrationClassy (now part of GoFundMe) provides the donation processing platform for Downtown Rescue Mission's online giving. The platform handles donation transactions, recurring giving, and campaign management. Their website donation portal is powered by Classy with Plaid for payment protection.
• Huntsville Chamber of CommerceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive member of the local Chamber of Commerce, providing networking and credibility within the business community.
• Citygate NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated with Citygate Network, a fellowship of rescue missions, providing best practices sharing and mutual support among member organizations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Atlanta Mission: Faith-based rescue mission in Atlanta providing emergency shelter, recovery programs, meals, and community support. Direct peer in faith-based comprehensive homeless services.
• Los Angeles Mission: Christian nonprofit in skid row Los Angeles offering emergency shelter, recovery, meals, and thrift store operations. Direct peer in faith-based, multi-service homeless assistance.
• Phoenix Rescue Mission: Christian nonprofit in Phoenix providing shelter, addiction recovery, meals, and thrift retail operations. Direct comparable in mission and program mix.
• Union Rescue Mission: Large faith-based rescue mission in Los Angeles providing emergency shelter, recovery programs, meals, and thrift retail. Highly comparable in mission, program mix, and faith-based identity.
• Wheeler Mission: Christian rescue mission in Indianapolis providing emergency shelter, recovery programs, meals, and thrift stores. Direct peer operating a similar comprehensive faith-based service portfolio.
• Nashville Rescue Mission: Faith-based rescue mission in Middle Tennessee providing emergency shelter, meals, recovery programs, and thrift retail. Closest geographic comparable to Downtown Rescue Mission, with a similar Christian, multi-program service model.
• The Bowery Mission: Long-standing Christian rescue mission in New York City providing shelter, meals, recovery programs, and workforce development. Direct comparable in faith-based comprehensive homeless services model.
• Portland Rescue Mission: Faith-based rescue mission in Portland, Oregon providing shelter, recovery programs, and meal services with affiliated thrift retail. Strongly comparable in program and funding model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=URQJ85FQTUo
• Facebookfacebook.com/DRMHuntsville
• Xx.com/DRMHuntsville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drmhuntsville

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Downtown Rescue Mission