Dear Friends and Partners,
We are humbled and delighted to share that Housing Trust received a generous $30 million gift from MacKenzie Scott through her Yield Giving philanthropic fund, in support of our mission to use transformative housing finance and public and private partnerships to create more equitable and affordable communities in the 14-county greater Bay Area.
This donation, the largest from an individual in our history, comes as an incredible surprise. We are deeply honored and extraordinarily grateful to be entrusted with this unrestricted gift. With this trust also comes the recognition that through transformative finance, we, together with our partners, transform lives.
Housing Trust was founded in 2000 as a partnership between affordable housing activists, local businesses, public and private sector leaders, and foundations that joined together to create a nonprofit to support housing solutions addressing needs including homeownership, rental housing, and homelessness prevention.
As we prepare to celebrate 25 years of funding affordable housing solutions, this donation comes at a pivotal moment – the challenges we face have never been more challenging and our communities have never needed us more. Together with our partners, we have made progress, to date investing $615 million in the community, creating 27,200housing opportunities, helping more than 51,000 neighbors find affordable housing in our region. Even more so, $8.1 billion has been leveraged by our partners.
Our mission only works through partnerships.
We recently celebrated a grand opening for Meridian Apartments in Sunnyvale where we supported our partners at Related California with a $2 million predevelopment loan. At Meridian, Related created 90 affordable apartments for families in one of the most expensive cities in the region. We met Lissa, who used to live in her car with her three children until they moved into their new two-bedroom apartment. For the first time, the children had their own room. “I know that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, and the lights shine so bright over here,” Lissa said.
Another joyous grand opening was at Eden Housing’s Vivalon in San Rafael, which we supported with a $4 million construction converting to permanent loan. We joined Eden, public and private partners, and the community to welcome 66 older adults to their new homes in downtown San Rafael. At Vivalon, residents benefit from high-quality, affordable homes with wrap-around services all in one location. We met Denise, who was struggling to make ends meet in Oakland before she moved into her beautiful, new apartment across the bay. “This has been such a special opportunity…when I walk in my apartment, I feel joy, peace, and a strong willingness to move forward,” shared Denise.
We must scale to do more.
We are inspired everyday by our mission-driven developers, public and private partners, investors, and our own staff, who are dedicated to housing our underserved neighbors. Solving the housing crisis is a significant challenge that we all need to tackle. Together, we can create a future where everyone can thrive.
We are truly excited about the possibilities this generous gift from MacKenzie Scott provides to Housing Trust. As we thoughtfully consider how to best use these funds, our early ideas include seeding a new capital raise for our loan fund, expanding our programs, and launching new initiatives that allow us to empower our partners to create more equity and affordability within our communities. We look forward to sharing our journey with you.
Join us in building a future where everyone has access to safe, dignified, affordable housing. With Ms. Scott’s gift sparking momentum, now is the time to act. Your support can amplify this ripple effect – partner with us to tackle the affordable housing crisis and make a lasting difference in our communities.
In gratitude,
Noni Ramos, CEO and Joe Anzalone, Board Chair
Housing Trust Silicon Valley