Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity International and 83 Habitat affiliates receive transformational $436M gift from MacKenzie Scott
JONESBORO, GA (March 22, 2022) — Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity, along with Habitat for Humanity International, and 83 U.S. Habitat affiliate organizations recently received $436 million in unrestricted giving from American author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Of that, Southern Crescent Habitat received $1.25 million. This transformational donation will substantially help further Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has equitable access to a safe, decent and affordable place to call home.
“We are very grateful for this amazing gift from MacKenzie Scott and for our Lovejoy homeowner Toyea who is featured as the face of this partnership. We are proud to be 1 of 5 affiliates in Georgia to receive this gift after a thorough vetting process by their consultant. This gift acknowledges our effectiveness and the powerful collective efforts of our team, families, sponsors, volunteers, and community. We are currently focused on land acquisition and building. In the current market, there is a shortage of affordable housing and this gift will allow us to address the need in the South Metro Atlanta area,” expresses Southern Crescent Habitat CEO, Cynthia Jenkins.
Southern Crescent Habitat will continue to focus on land acquisition, building more homes per year, and expanding their services to meet the needs of the community. This gift is a building block for reaching their financial goals to impact the community for many years to come. Their efforts will create more equitable homeownership opportunities for individuals and families in Clayton, Henry, and Fayette counties. According to the Habitat “State of Home Affordability” study, there is a shortage of over 190,000 affordable and available homes in Georgia. In addition to Southern Crescent Habitat, four other Habitat affiliates across the state received substantial donations, including: Atlanta Habitat and Gwinnett-Walton Habitat.
Habitat International will use its $25 million portion of the donation to prioritize advocacy and programmatic efforts designed to dismantle systemic racism in housing. Specifically, the donation will allow Habitat to advocate for policy proposals and legislation that enable millions of people access affordable housing through its Cost of Home advocacy campaign; increase Black homeownership in the U.S. by targeting current systemic barriers through a new initiative that will launch this summer; and leverage innovative capital investments that service communities of color.
“Habitat works to break down barriers and bring people together — to tear down obstacles and build a world where everyone, no matter who we are or where we come from, has a decent place to live,” said Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford. “This incredible gift helps make that work possible.”
