March 2, 2022
Transformational gift is largest in NOAHH’s 38-year history
(New Orleans, LA) – New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity will receive $4.5 million from American Author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. NOAHH’s gift is part of a $436 million gift made by MacKenzie Scott to Habitat for Humanity International and 83 other Habitat affiliates. This transformational donation will substantially help further Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has equitable access to a safe, decent and affordable place to call home.
“We’re extremely grateful to MacKenzie Scott for her incredible and generous gift. What makes this so extraordinary is that the gifts to Habitat International and our sister affiliates are all unrestricted, meaning each of us will be able to decide how best to utilize these funds to address critical housing needs,” said Marguerite Oestreicher, Executive Director of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.
Since Hurricane Ida’s arrival and subsequent devastation in August of 2021, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity has assisted hundreds impacted in the New Orleans region. NOAHH volunteers and staff distributed tarps and other relief supplies in the early days and weeks, helped people navigate insurance and FEMA claims, provided grants and materials for needed home repair projects, and is an active leader in current long-term rebuilding efforts.
“It is a testament to the years of hard work by our Board, staff, sponsors and volunteers that Ms. Scott has trusted us with such an important gift,” said Oesteicher. “Addressing our housing crisis is a complex undertaking that will require innovation and resources. This transformative gift will provide NOAHH with just such an opportunity,” she said.
MacKenzie Scott’s gift of $4.5 million to NOAHH is the largest gift received in the non-profit organization’s 38-year history.
New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity is an independent 501(c) 3 non-profit affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Our mission is to responsibly build communities where families can thrive, in homes they can afford. Founded in 1983, NOAHH has provided a path to homeownership for over 650 families. Habitat homebuyers pay a zero-interest mortgage and work 250 volunteer hours of sweat equity in lieu of a down payment. NOAHH has hosted more than 200,000 volunteers who have built homes, cleared blighted properties and made urgently needed repairs for 255 elderly or disabled property owners in need through the A Brush with Kindness program. The affiliate also has two ReStore locations—on Elysian Fields in New Orleans and on Williams Boulevard in Kenner. www.habitatnola.org
About Habitat for Humanity International
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in south Georgia. Since its founding in 1976, the housing organization has grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries.