Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity receives $4.5M gift from MacKenzie Scott
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Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity, which also serves Henrico County, has received a donation of $4.5 million as a gift from author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The monetary gift, which is the largest for the organization, will be used to help with the affordable housing shortage in the Metro Richmond area, according to organization officials.
The gift was part of Scott’s overall donation of $436 million to 84 branches of Habitat for Humanity. Scott is the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Mary Kay Huss, the CEO of Richmond Metro Habitat, was ecstatic about the gift and what it would mean to the organization.
“Access to affordable housing is at a crisis level, particularly access to homeownership opportunities,” she said. “Coupled with the increasing need to bridge the racial homeownership gap, we’ve been working hard over the past few years to double the number of families we serve annually.”
Legalized housing discrimination, Huss said, “has led to the racial disparity that exists in housing today. This gift will make achieving that goal of doubling the number of families served more attainable, and will help us equip our homebuyers with the tools they need to build equity and wealth that can be passed down through generations.
“We are stunned by this donation and cannot thank MacKenzie Scott and her team enough for their generosity – it is truly incredible!”
Richmond Habitat has completed two new homes as part of its Affordable Rental Pilot Program and will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony March 24 at 2014 Newbourne Street in Richmond.
For details about the organization, visit www.richmondhabitat.org or facebook.com/HabitatRVA.
