Dallas Habitat for Humanity Receives $9M Gift from MacKenzie Scott

American author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has been busy doling out more funding to various nonprofits across the country over the last 48 hours, including a $9 million gift to Dallas Habitat for Humanity.

The organization said Tuesday that the gift was the largest unrestricted donation in its 36-year history.

“This generous and unexpected gift from MacKenzie Scott will ensure that we can go much further and faster in our efforts to serve our mission,” said Dave Crawford, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity CEO. “As the cost of land continues to dramatically rise across our region, a gift of this magnitude ensures we are able to make significant land investments that will help keep the cost of homes within reach for thousands of Dallas residents. We are immensely grateful to Ms. Scott, and our hope is that this donation inspires others to take a look at how their gifts to Dallas Habitat can build on this momentum, and this new $9 million fertile ground.”

Dallas Habitat provides financial education and affordable homes for lower-income Dallas families to purchase. Over the next several years, Dallas Habitat will use the $9 million donation to purchase and develop land in areas where it currently builds, such as the Joppa and West Dallas neighborhoods, and potentially new areas that, until now, were unattainable for the nonprofit organization. Securing land as well as investing in innovative financial literacy programs are how Dallas Habitat can help ensure that as costs around us increase, the organization will remain in a position to keep Habitat homes affordable, and Dallas families achieving their dreams of homeownership.

Habitat for Humanity International also received a gift from Scott, as did 83 U.S. Habitat affiliate organizations, totaling $436 million.

“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.”

This donation provides Dallas Habitat with the ability to significantly invest in critical resources, but because Dallas County has an approximate 20,000 affordable housing shortage, there is still a dire need for additional support. Dallas Habitat relies on the generosity of donors and volunteers to come alongside them to not only build homes, but also invest in financial education programs for Dallas residents, as well as advocate for systemic changes that will make housing more affordable and accessible.