Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls to receive share of $436M gift

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls will be using part of a $463 million gift to its parent organization to add affordable housing in Sioux Falls.

Author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott made the donation to Habitat for Humanity International and its 83 U.S. affiliate organizations to help further a vision of the world where everyone has access to a safe, affordable home.

“The lack of affordable land and rising costs of construction materials has made building homes difficult these past two years, but MacKenzie Scott’s investment will enable our organization to enter the next chapter in our journey to provide affordable housing for our community,” Rocky Welker, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls, said in a statement.

“It is difficult to find the words to express how grateful we are for the faith she has in our staff, our volunteers, our board leadership and our mission. My hope is that this gift will be the catalyst that helps bring other community partners to the table so we can tackle the housing crisis in the greater Sioux Falls area together.”

Over the next three years, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls will use its $2 million donation share to secure the land and infrastructure necessary to continue its home construction program as well as roll out new initiatives that will increase the quality of life for households across its service area, the organization said.

Affordable housing has been one the most pressing needs facing South Dakota over the past few years, the organization said. The most recent Sioux Falls Housing Needs Assessment conducted by the Augustana Research Institute for Sioux Falls Thrive reported that Sioux Falls alone had an existing housing gap of 4,500 units. It was reported that there were 28 units affordable and available for every 100 households below 30 percent of the area median income.

“This gap has undoubtedly increased, since most of this data was gathered pre-pandemic and before the large influx of new community members moving into the state to call South Dakota home,” Habitat said in the statement.

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 serve 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.”