MacKenzie Scott pledged millions to Pierce County. It won’t solve our housing crisis alone
Sherrana Kildun said it felt like winning “the golden ticket,” and used words like “validating” and “humbling.
When she heard the news, she admitted she cried, which doesn’t happen every day in her line of work.
Kildun is chief philanthropy officer at Tacoma-Pierce County Habitat for Humanity, and the announcement that brought tears of joy to her eyes came Tuesday, when it was revealed that MacKenzie Scott had donated a total $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International. The bulk of donation — some $411 million — will be spread between 84 Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the U.S., selected from a field of more than a thousand, according to Kildun.
Scott’s sizable donation made headlines across the country, as her inspiring good deeds so often do. But what choked Kildun up was more local, and felt almost personal, she said.
More than $4 million of Scott’s donation is headed to Pierce County, representing the largest single donation the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity has ever received. Affiliates working in King, Kittitas, Thurston and Clallam counties received similar windfalls.
So what’s the takeaway for Tacoma and Pierce County?
Scott — the philanthropist who’s made it a mission to donate over half of her billions in wealth — just gave a ringing endorsement of a local nonprofit’s work, and the critical role it plays both in building new affordable housing and increasing home ownership.
With a median Pierce County home price exceeding $500,000, they’re two things we desperately need more of.
“Having a significant investment like this, it helps give us peace of mind that we’re doing something right and we’re on the right path,” Kildun said. “Now it’s about: How do we become bolder than we already are, and deepen our relationship and our impact to increase housing supply in our community.”
On Thursday, Kildun described the gift as “transformational,” saying it represents nearly half of Tacoma-Pierce County Habitat for Humanity’s annual budget. To put it into perspective, she said Scott’s donation could pay for a full neighborhood.
It’s an especially uplifting gift, Kildun said, because she believes that Scott — who has given away more than $8 billion since her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and rarely discusses her donations publicly — did her homework, and selected Tacoma and Pierce County as a recipient after careful thought and consideration.
“I think it allows us to dream big, and allows us to double down on some of the great work we’re doing, and expand in areas that maybe it would have taken us longer to do so,” Kildun said.
Asked how Tacoma-Pierce County Habitat for Humanity will spend the money, Kildun said the nonprofit will soon engage in a strategic planning process focused on the next three to five years. One of the goals, she said, will be “leveraging this gift, and helping figure out how we grow.”
In a press release, Tacoma-Pierce County Habitat for Humanity CEO Maureen Fife said the nonprofit’s “top priorities will be to increase our capacity to effectively provide lasting housing solutions and increased stability for local families and individuals.”
Tacoma-Pierce County Habitat for Humanity has an established track record dating back to 1985, so it’s not hard to imagine some of the ways it will find to spend the money. The nonprofit has successfully built hundreds of homes in the area, allowing families who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity a chance at home ownership. In more recent years, Habitat for Humanity has also expanded to provide home repairs for older Pierce County residents and veterans, foreclosure prevention services and counseling for prospective home buyers.
One of the most exciting new efforts Habitat for Humanity has launched can be found in the Fern Hill Neighborhood of Tacoma, where four recently built homes will be protected as affordable housing long into the future, under a home ownership model called “restricted resale.” Under the agreement, homeowners who benefit from a below-market sale price enter an agreement to sell the home at a restricted price when they decide to move.
According to Kildun, they’re all things Habitat for Humanity will look to do more of in the future.
But despite her excitement, she also stressed the obvious:
“This gift alone won’t solve the housing problem,” Kildun said, noting that roughly three-quarters of Washington residents are currently priced out of home ownership and the median cost of buying a home has increased by more than 250% over the last decade.
“We have some really big plans, and we want to do more, but we still need so many volunteers and other philanthropists to lean into this work,” Kildun said. “Because it’s such a big issue in our community, and we have so much more to do.”.
As Tacoma and Pierce County gladly accept Scott’s millions, they’re words worth keeping in mind.
Let’s be grateful for the generous gift, and not lose sight of the crisis that made it necessary.
