Ruth's House of Hope

What Ruth's House of Hope does

Ruth's House of Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2003 and headquartered in Faribault, Minnesota. It provides emergency and transitional shelter and supportive housing programs for women, children, and families in crisis across the Rice County area. The organization's core service offering is direct, in-person residential care: Ruth's House in Faribault operates up to 9 family units delivering safe housing for 6 months up to 2 years, with 24-hour staff and volunteer support, weekly case management, life-skills education (parenting, stress management, healthy communication), basic necessities, and employment/education assistance including GED and college support. A 2016 sensory area expansion added dedicated programming for mothers and children.

In 2020, the organization extended its footprint with Sarah's House in Northfield, MN, a structured step-down sober living facility for women transitioning from inpatient addiction treatment, incorporating accountability structures (AA/NA meetings), case management, and employment preparation. The organization is faith-based, grounded in Christian principles, and integrates the Virtues Project — a global character-development initiative adopted as a Faribault-wide community program — into weekly resident programming.

Revenue mechanics are entirely donation-based, with no fees charged to residents. Funding streams include individual donations (one-time and the Champions of Hope recurring monthly giving program), Thrivent Choice Dollars from eligible Thrivent Financial members, financial support from Rice County Area United Way and other community partners, in-kind donations, and annual fundraising events including the Helping Hearts Event (auction), Purple Porch Project (domestic violence awareness), and a Golf Tournament. The organization employs a small staff of 1-10 supported by approximately 4,000 annual volunteer hours, distributes services through direct intake at two physical locations plus community-partner referrals, and markets via Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, email newsletters, local newspaper placements, and community events. Recent capacity-building includes a 2025 Development Manager hire and a 2025 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency.

Name

Ruth's House of Hope

Legal name

Ruth's House of Hope, Inc.

Website

https://ruthshousemn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ruth's House of Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing emergency and transitional shelter and supportive housing programs for women, children, and families in crisis in Rice County, Minnesota, through its Faribault shelter and Sarah's House sober living program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency and Transitional Housing Services

NAICS

Temporary Shelters (624221), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

Keywords

• Emergency shelter services
• Transitional housing
• Sober living program
• Women and children services
• Faith based nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Faribault

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individuals, including the Champions of Hope monthly giving program. Donations can be made via card, bank account, PayPal, Venmo, check, and GiveMN platform.
2. Thrivent Choice Dollars: Eligible Thrivent Financial members can direct their Choice Dollars to the organization.
3. Community Partners: Support from community partners including financial contributions from organizations like Rice County Area United Way and Thrivent Financial.
4. Event Fundraising: Annual events including the Helping Hearts Event with auction items, and the Purple Porch Project campaign.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ruth's House of Hope provides emergency and transitional housing for women and children experiencing homelessness in Rice County, Minnesota. Its core shelter offers nine family units with personalized case management, while Sarah's House in Northfield delivers a structured sober-living program. The organization supplements housing with faith-based recovery support, volunteer engagement, and community outreach programs such as the Purple Porch Project and Champions of Hope.

Product overview

Ruth's House of Hope is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing transitional housing and support services for women and children in crisis in the Rice County, Minnesota area. The organization operates two core shelter programs: Ruth's House in Faribault offering emergency/transitional shelter with up to 9 family units, and Sarah's House in Northfield providing structured sober living for women transitioning from inpatient treatment. These housing programs are complemented by community engagement initiatives including the Purple Porch Project (domestic violence awareness), the Champions of Hope monthly giving program, and the annual Helping Hearts fundraising event.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Champions of Hope: Monthly giving program where donors make recurring monthly gifts to support Ruth's House operations and budget planning.

Products and services

• Ruth's House Transitional Shelter Emergency and transitional housing with nine family units in Faribault, Minnesota, providing safe shelter and case management for women and children. Residents receive personalized plans to stabilize and transition to permanent housing.
• Sarah's House Sober Living Program Sober-living residential program for women in recovery, offering structured transitional housing in Northfield, Minnesota. Participants receive recovery support and accountability in a faith-based environment.
• Purple Porch Project Community outreach program associated with Ruth's House of Hope, designed to engage volunteers and donors in supporting sheltered families.
• Champions of Hope Donor recognition and recurring-give program supporting the shelter's annual operating needs.
• Helping Hearts Annual Event Annual fundraising event generating operating support for Ruth's House of Hope's shelter, sober-living, and outreach programs.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Hope CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn-kind partner organization serving the community alongside Ruth's House.
• Faribault Chamber of CommercecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for Purple Porch Project and Chamber Fall Festival event. Ruth's House collaborates with the Chamber to bring together the community, local organizations, businesses and advocates to raise awareness about domestic violence.
• Sarah's HousecoreOthersA safe sober living space operated by Ruth's House in Northfield, MN. Designed to help women transition to healthy independent living after in-patient treatment. Opened in 2020.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Sojourner Project: Minnesota-based nonprofit providing emergency shelter, advocacy, and support services for survivors of domestic violence. Directly comparable to Ruth's House's primary mission of sheltering women escaping DV, operating in an overlapping Minnesota geography.
• Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota: Minnesota-based faith-affiliated nonprofit providing housing, refugee services, and family support across the state. Comparable mission and service mix to Ruth's House (emergency shelter, case management, DV/poverty services) within the same regional geography.
• Domestic Abuse Project: Minnesota-based nonprofit providing counseling, advocacy, and education services for survivors of domestic violence. Comparable target population and service approach to Ruth's House, with overlapping community partner networks in the Twin Cities/SE Minnesota region.

Others

• National Network to End Domestic Violence: National advocacy and policy organization supporting local DV shelters and service providers. Not a direct service peer, but a key ecosystem partner that influences funding, policy, and best-practice standards relevant to Ruth's House's DV-focused shelter work.

Broad incumbents

• The Salvation Army: National faith-based nonprofit providing emergency/transitional shelter, addiction recovery programs, and social services in communities nationwide. Operates comparable transitional housing and sober living programs to Ruth's House, but at far greater scale across hundreds of locations.
• Volunteers of America: National nonprofit operating affordable housing, recovery programs, and family services across the U.S. Provides transitional and supportive housing with wraparound services comparable to Ruth's House, including addiction-recovery pathways similar to Sarah's House.
• Catholic Charities USA: National faith-based network of agencies delivering housing assistance, family services, and refugee resettlement. Comparable to Ruth's House in providing transitional housing and case management for vulnerable women and families, but offers a much wider service mix through diocesan affiliates.
• YWCA USA: National nonprofit operating local affiliates that deliver emergency housing, domestic violence services, and women's empowerment programs. Overlaps with Ruth's House on shelter and DV support, but operates a much broader portfolio (childcare, workforce, racial justice) across many geographies.

Emerging players

• Agape House: Faith-rooted community nonprofit providing transitional housing and supportive services for women and families in crisis. Highly comparable niche operator to Ruth's House with similar faith-based identity, life-skills programming, and small-staff nonprofit structure.

Direct peers

• Family Promise: National nonprofit focused specifically on preventing and ending family homelessness through emergency shelter, transitional housing, and stabilization services. Most directly comparable in mission and operating model to Ruth's House's transitional shelter program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCp5q2DsmmV_n9otqTlf6yVw
• Facebookfacebook.com/ruthshouseofhope
• Instagraminstagram.com/ruthshousemn/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ruth-s-house-of-hope-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Ruth's House of Hope