‘Stunned.’ Charlotte-area Habitat for Humanity groups get $18.5M from billionaire donor
Charlotte-area Habitat for Humanity chapters will receive a share of a blockbuster $436 million donation from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott to the nonprofit’s chapters across the country.
Habitat, which builds and repairs affordable housing to increase access to homeownership, is the latest local recipient of a massive donation from Scott.
Habitat Charlotte Region received a $13.5 million unrestricted donation, the largest in the organization’s history. The Catawba Valley and York County chapters each received $2.5 million.
It started with a nondescript email, said Habitat Charlotte President Laura Belcher, who soon realized it was a serious inquiry and a “game-changing” sum.
“The first time I saw the email, I had to read it a couple times,” Belcher said.
“It was really hard to process,” she said. “There is both the stunned, overwhelmed joy and the serious responsibility of stewarding this gift really well.”
Habitat Charlotte’s board will meet soon to discuss how the money will be spent. But broadly, it will be used to speed up goals laid out in the chapter’s recent strategic plan.
That plan calls for expanding current services — including building more new houses and increasing the number of critical home repairs done each year — as well as new advocacy and policy work to make it easier for people to become homeowners and reduce risk of displacement in fast-changing neighborhoods.
Habitat for Humanity International was awarded $25 million, which will be used for advocacy and programs to address systemic racism in housing, according to the announcement. The rest of the $436 million will go to 81 other local chapters across the United States.
The current affordable housing crisis and historic racial discrimination in housing “highlights the urgency and collective necessity of the philanthropic community to devote substantial resources” to the problem, Tim Veeck, executive director of York County’s chapter, said in a statement.
Housing has become increasingly unaffordable in the Charlotte region, where recent data shows the median home sale price was just under $350,000 in January, according to Canopy MLS.
Other Charlotte donations from Scott
Tuesday’s announcement is not the first time Scott has given to Charlotte-area nonprofits. Scott, after divorcing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, has made massive gifts in a pledge to give away a majority of her wealth to charity.
In late 2020, the philanthropist gave YMCA of Greater Charlotte $18 million, the largest gift in the organization’s history. Leaders have said it will fund youth programs and developing health equity initiatives that were shelved during the pandemic.
Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont received $10 million from Scott, also its largest donation to date.
In February, Scott gave Communities in Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg $5 million, to be used for programs including college and career readiness and re-engaging students who stopped attending or otherwise struggled during the pandemic.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 11:01 AM.
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