February, 2025

Thanks to Core Roofing and Solar, we moved full steam ahead with the installation of new gutters and downspouts on Regina and Frank’s home in late February. The best part? Core did all of this in-kind (aka free of cost to this family who's already lost so much). 

I attended on install day to see the work first-hand and it certainly filled my cup to see efforts in action toward helping this family return home. I met the three installers as well as one of Core’s partners, Andrew, and wanted to learn more about why they felt compelled to get involved with Restoring Trust and support this project. In addition to capturing a whole lot of photos and videos of the work being done, I also captured an on-camera interview with Andrew to ask these questions directly.

During his interview, Andrew said “When we first started in the roofing business, it didn’t take us long to get a sense of a lack of trust that the consumers in this market had towards roofing contractors. We really started to try to make a difference in that and change the reputation of an industry within this world. When we heard about this program, we feel that you restore trust one client at a time and so when we had the opportunity to participate in this and help someone that had been wronged by a previous contractor, we jumped at the opportunity because we feel like that’s how we move the needle.”

This is a theme I keep hearing when I talk with our growing number of Accredited Businesses jumping on board to lend a hand with Restoring Trust projects. Many of them started or joined their business because they know many players in the contracting industries are less than honest and don’t have the best reputation when it comes to taking care of customers in an ethical way. It can be infuriating for a reputable contractor to hear the horror stories and see first-hand the damage left behind by unscrupulous businesses that purport to be trustworthy, while leaving customers worse off than when they found them (like Regina and Frank). Restoring Trust offers an opportunity to spotlight truly trustworthy contractors and businesses that are not only doing the right thing in their everyday practices but going above and beyond to provide their neighbors with quality work, even at discounted or in-kind costs.

I’m excited to share the video of Andrew’s interview and the gutter installation so you can see firsthand the Restoring Trust program in action! Check it out below: 

Do you have any stories of honest businesses that have helped you in a significant way? Do you know of contractors or other individuals who you think would be interested in giving back through Restoring Trust? You know where to find me: bbbfoundation@thebbb.org

Yours in trust,

Meghan Conradt, Director of Foundation

January, 2025

It’s a brand-new year and hopefully the beginning of a brand-new start for Frank and Regina, the beneficiaries of the Teller St. Project. The end of 2024 and beginning of this year haven’t been without their challenges, but we’ve also had some very encouraging developments that continue to energize all of us to stay motivated and laser focused on our collective goal: help this family go home.

In order to install insulation, and then drywall, the house first needs to pass mechanical and plumbing inspections from the city. We’re happy to report that the mechanical inspection passed at the beginning of the year, though there’s been continued issues with passing the plumbing inspection. The frigid temperatures and snow this season haven’t helped and every time one leak in the plumbing is fixed, another one pops up. Luckily, Frank and Regina have trusted friends who are able to work on the plumbing for them.

In the meantime, we started thinking: what else can we help them with while we wait on interior projects to pass inspection? One need that Frank mentioned was ensuring they have a strong gutter system on the house, especially in an effort to keep water away during this wet winter season. This sparked a light bulb in my brain: we have a BBB Board member and President of an Accredited Business, Core Roofing and Solar, who has been anxious to lend his services to a Restoring Trust project. I reached out to him and asked if gutters and downspouts are something they can help with, and he immediately jumped on it. Talk about another kismet moment that confirms our hunch with creating this program: great businesses are hungry to help those around them and make our community a better place to do business. Core Roofing has generously offered to take care of the entire gutter, downspout and extension installation in-kind for Regina and Frank. It may be one project on a long list of needs for the family’s home, but it is HUGE for continuing to restore their trust in others.

BBB Foundation was also able to connect Regina and Frank with some pro-bono legal assistance to help them determine possible next steps with the contractor who left them in this situation. After talking with Regina and Frank about Core Roofing’s offer and the legal opportunity, Regina said “Thank you so much for all you have done and continue to do for us!!!! We are eternally grateful. It brings me to tears reading your message, and just knowing that you are doing this all because you are simply a good person!!! You and the whole team have truly restored so much of what I lost.”

All I can say is that it’s the businesses stepping up to help in this situation who are the good people making all this possible. I am honored and humbled to be involved in any capacity, but would like to once more express our gratitude for Core Roofing and Solar, The Wall Rebuilders, and everyone else who has had a hand in restoring trust for this family.

What other examples of restoring trust have you seen in action? It’s not just about restoring someone’s home, but more about restoring their faith in contractors and other people in general. I’d love to hear your stories about businesses helping people recover emotionally from traumatic experiences, because I think it’s happening a lot more than we think.

Yours in trust,

Meghan Conradt, Director of BBB Foundation  

October/November, 2024

Jason Wardrip at the Building and Construction Trades Council is at the helm of the efforts for Regina and Frank's home restoration process. He told me that they were finishing up the electrical inspection and getting ready to insulate the walls. So, the next industry needed to continue re-building the interior is drywall services. 

I started going through our BBB Accredited list of drywall contractors and came across our 20+ years Accredited Business, The Wall Rebuilders. I remembered them, and specifically their owner Laura, from our BBB Lunch 'n Learn seminars we hosted before the pandemic. Laura and her team were always  eager to learn more about best business practices and were engaged with our BBB events and programs for years, so I got to know Laura a little bit. We hadn't reconnected post-COVID, but she was first on my list to reach out to for this project. Laura got back to me right away and immediately told me "We want to help." 

After talking more about the scope of the project, Laura at The Wall Rebuilders agreed to lend their labor in-kind to install the drywall materials left at the home by one of the previous contractors, totaling over $5,000 in donated time. I started working with her co-owner, Steve, on logistics and how we can get this project rolling. These developments, and one where Denver7 viewers donated $2,000 worth of insulation for the home, prompted the news station to do a follow up story to highlight everyone's contributions. You can watch that story, which features The Wall Rebuilders and their partnership with BBB Foundation, here.

The Wall Rebuilders also shared Regina and Frank's story with their supplier, who then offered to donate 100% of the materials needed for the finishing phase of the drywall installation. And, they received another unexpected surprise: a previous customer of The Wall Rebuilders saw the Denver7 story above, recognized Steve, and sent them a $2,000 check to help with materials costs. Laura, Steve and I started referring to these developments as the "ripple effects". And they are powerful! It's incredible to see how many people and organizations want to get involved and provide help when they see a family who needs it.

BBB Foundation is also contributing funds to close the gap between the labor needed to complete the finishing phase of the drywall services and its associated cost. Because of all these partners working together, and the incredible ripple effects of people and organizations jumping in to help, we are building a strong foundation for Regina and Frank's family to go home to.

I can't wait to update you soon on our next developments and eventually share pictures of those beautiful walls all done and ready for paint! Until then, I'd like to pose this question: what does trust mean to you? For myself, I used to think of trust as a big, abstract concept. But through the work of Restoring Trust, I see how trust is built little by little based on human interactions. Even though we talk a lot about the businesses that are stepping up to help families in need like this, there are always people behind the business. And their reliability, kindness, and willingness to go the extra mile is what fosters the journey of restoring trust in not only contractors, but other people in general. Regina said that she lost her trust in people through this experience and "it kind of broke me". Now she says she feels restored and "I get a little piece of me back". If that's not enough to further motivate this team effort, I don't know what is. 

BBB Foundation can always use help with funding for programs like Restoring Trust and the projects we're working on. If you're interested in supporting us, please visit the link here. 

Yours in trust,

Meghan Compton Conradt, Director of BBB Foundation

August/September, 2024

My name is Meghan Compton and I'm the Director of Foundation for Better Business Bureau. I couldn't be more excited to share this journey with you as I've worked over the past couple years to rejuvenate and reinvent our BBB Foundation, the charitable entity of Better Business Bureau. When our Board and Executive Team decided to revive our charitable arm and asked me to lead the charge, I came to the table with a background in Marketing, six years of BBB experience, and unbridled enthusiasm for the chance to effect change in our community. 

Through this role as a nonprofit leader, I've been privileged to sit at the helm of developing a new program that allows us to provide tangible help to consumers who come to us for assistance. Here's how it started: because I've also lead the BBB Torch and Spark Awards programs for years, I knew there's a wealth of Accredited Businesses in our community that are dedicated to giving back and helping people around them. On the other hand, I also knew BBB receives lots of reports from consumers who are targeted by scams or have poor experiences with businesses - sometimes resulting in money loss or even worse (keep reading). I had a lightbulb moment one day: what if we could find a way to connect these two groups and work to solve some of the issues we're seeing with fraud in our community? Why not help consumers who need to recover find resources and solutions in our Accredited Businesses who are already engaging in outreach work? Thus, the BBB Foundation Restoring Trust program was born with a purpose to help people recover from fraud by connecting with BBB's network of outstanding Accredited Businesses that want to help.

One of our partners I "kicked the tires" with while building Restoring Trust was none other than Denver7, our local media group who we often collaborate with for stories on consumer tips and best practices. They shared Frank and Regina's story with me and told me why they think this family would be a great candidate for one of our first projects. To say this family is deserving of help is an understatement. 

In 2022, an electrical fire destroyed the interior of Regina and Frank's home. Then not one, but two contractors who began restoration work on their house, backed out on the project and took off with their insurance money. Meanwhile, Regina, Frank and their two children were living in an AirBnB, anxiously awaiting the renovations on their home. Once the insurance money ran out and the contractors disappeared, they moved in with friends and shared their story with Denver7 to see who might be able to help. 

Although the Restoring Trust program was new and still in the building phase, I knew that Regina and Frank were representative of many stories we at BBB often hear from consumers. Contractor fraud is a multi-million dollar issue in the United States every year and home improvement scams were named the fourth riskiest type of scam in the 2023 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report, with a susceptability rate of 75% and a median dollar loss of $2,073 per consumer. These are the people BBB Foundation wants to help most and not only restore their homes, but also restore their faith in trustworthy businesses. 

In doing some digging, I learned that the Building and Construction Trades Council was leading the charge on finding discounted and in-kind restoration services for Regina and Frank. I got to talking with my contact there, Jason Wardrip, who painted the picture for me of what Regina and Frank are dealing with: a beloved home that they've raised their kids in that was 100% gutted by the fire. Thank goodness the house is still standing and the exterior was relatively unaffected, but to lose the entire interior of one's home? I couldn't imagine. Then, to be taken advantage of by businesses that are supposed to help them rebuild not only their home, but their hope, was hard to swallow.

Jason also told me about the amazing volunteer work that was already in motion for their house, including HVAC installation and electrical work and inspections. I asked how BBB Foundation could help and he mentioned that drywall is the next big project on the list. I knew I could find a reputable drywall company through BBB's network that might be willing to give back and provide pro bono services for this family, and I had a few ideas to get started.

Please take a moment to watch the first Denver7 story on Regina and Frank here. That's when you'll be able to truly feel the gravity of what this family has gone through. And let us know your ideas: do you know of businesses in your community who would be good for Restoring Trust projects? Do you know suppliers who might be willing to donate materials? Are you looking for volunteer opportunities for yourself and/or family? This project would produce ripple effects more powerful than I could have imagined, and people like you (yes you, reading this!) are the ones who are helping our ripple effects grow bigger.

Yours in trust,

Meghan Compton Conradt, Director of BBB Foundation