Americus, Ga. ? The firing of Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller has shocked volunteers nationwide who say he is instrumental in fund raising and has inspired them to carry out the group’s mission of building homes for the poor.

Habitat Partners, a loosely knit group of volunteers, posted a “call to action” on its Web site, urging the 1,700 U.S. chapters to ask Habitat’s board of directors to reconsider the dismissal of Fuller, 70, a former millionaire who gave up his wealth to help the poor.

Habitat for Humanity International announced Monday that the board had fired Fuller from his job as president and also dismissed his wife, Linda Fuller, who co-founded the Christian home-building organization with him 28 years ago.

The board’s executive committee said in a statement that it fired the Fullers after months of conflict and a lack of cooperation by Millard Fuller in response to allegations of his “inappropriate conduct” toward a female staff member.

Fuller has adamantly denied any wrongdoing. The board said it found “insufficient evidence” to substantiate the harassment claims.

Former President Jimmy Carter, a friend of the Fullers and one of Habitat’s most prominent supporters, had served as a mediator between the board and the founders.

Perhaps to show Carter’s continuing support, Habitat posted on its Web site an advance copy of a column Carter wrote about his involvement with the housing ministry. Carter does not mention the controversy, but says he and his wife, Rosalynn, remain committed to helping Habitat to “build a better and more caring world.”

David Snell, secretary of an association of 29 Habitat affiliates in Colorado, said volunteers often get visits from Fuller, who helps lead fund-raising campaigns, but seldom have contact with the organization’s headquarters staff in Americus, a town of about 17,000 about 140 miles south of Atlanta.

“Millard is a resource,” Snell said Wednesday. “He comes out and animates and raises money. He motivates the volunteers and he preaches the founding principals. He’s sort of the conscience of the organization.

Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller is pictured by a home in Habitat's Global Village in Americus, Ga., in this Nov. 19, 2004, file photo. Habitat for Humanity International announced Jan. 31 it had fired Fuller after a lengthy dispute over allegations of inappropriate conduct toward a female staffer.

“The concern is that the board of directors is not managing that asset,” Snell said during a phone interview from Colorado City, Colo. “They’re throwing it out.”

Affiliates are most concerned that their fund raising could take a hit because of the Fullers’ firings.

“A healthy, ongoing succession with them as ambassadors should be possible,” said Jim Killoran, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Westchester, N.Y.

Bob Knebel, president and CEO of the Habitat affiliate in Bridgeport, Conn., said Fuller had visited Bridgeport five times in the last year to help recruit corporate sponsors for the housing ministry.

Habitat’s U.S. affiliates and overseas chapters are building houses at 3,700 sites in 100 countries, including making plans to build in tsunami-stricken parts of Asia. The group plans to dedicate its 100,000th home in August.

“If it were a smaller organization, a weaker organization, a younger organization, it’s future would be uncertain, but this is an institution that is big enough and visible enough to stand on its own,” said Kathleen McCarthy, director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at The City University of New York.

“Habitat for Humanity is much bigger than one man, and that speaks of Mr. Fuller’s success,” she said.