By late spring in 2014, the Campaign, through its local partners, had provided permanent housing to 98,000 people. Using its social media, the team was both providing updates as well as building suspense and excitement as the 100,000 target was in sight. Margiotta's Facebook feed was made up of "largely chicken f'ers at the time." One person changed his profile to a rooster, setting off a trend and suddenly Margiotta's feed "was full of different versions of roosters."
Uniforms with roosters on the sleeve in Whittier, CA
Despite being rooted in somewhat vulgar language, Margiotta thought it was "cool" that the rooster had become a powerful symbol in the Campaign. Understanding the rooster symbolism signified that people were part of the movement. Margiotta referenced the science of movement building to explain,"It has to be an 'us.' It can't be, 'oh, we are doing this nice thing for Becky'...although it might have started out that way."
Slide from Margiotta's reflections on the 100,000 Homes Campaign
According to Margiotta, the rooster symbolized the transition from a charismatic leader (her) to a group of people "actually after the joy in the meaning and the purpose of the work they were doing together."
Jennifer Loving of Destination: Home summarized the collective impact of the Campaign: "This small group of people wanted to solve this massive challenge that no one else was responsible for. And it was a game changer. It was a game changer for the country." Talking about Margiotta, Sandor, and rest of the Campaign team, Loving said, "They are some of the most talented people I've ever met. And it was really great going into battle with those guys for those years."
Margiotta Puts Some Skin in the Game
Margiotta got the call from a team member when the Campaign actually hit the 100,000 target. "That was one of the best moments."
Having promised to get a full tattoo of the 100,000 Homes logo when the Campaign reached the target, Margiotta followed through on that commitment.
On June 10, 2014, the 100,000 Homes Campaign announced that it had reached its goal:
The 100,000 Homes Campaign Celebrates Hitting the Goal and the 100,000 Person to be Housed (4:25)
With an official end date of July 31, 2014, the Campaign had actually hit the target more than a month early. Partner communities kept going and by the end of July, a total of 105, 580 people had been housed, including 31,171 veterans.
In August 2014, Margiotta said farewell to the 100,000 Homes Campaign and Community Solutions to dedicate herself to spreading social change efforts. She and McCannon founded the Billions Institute to "help leaders scale solutions to the world's biggest problems."
Community Solutions, the organization that powered the 100,000 Homes Campaign, built on the Campaign success to launch the Built for Zero Initiative. The new initiative had a broader set of goals: