Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has donated $30 million to Housing Trust Silicon Valley, a nonprofit working to address the Bay Area’s growing affordable housing crisis. The funds will support the construction of affordable housing across the region, the San Jose-based organization announced Wednesday.
“This incredibly generous and completely unexpected award from MacKenzie Scott and her Yield Giving foundation will allow us to build on the work we’re already doing,” said Noni Ramos, the nonprofit’s CEO.
Scott set up her Yield Giving initiative shortly after announcing her divorce from Bezos in 2019. So far, she has donated $17.3 billion to more than 2,300 nonprofits addressing a wide array of causes from education and the arts to equity and health, according to her website.
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“The $30 million gift will allow Housing Trust to accelerate its work and scale efforts to address the region’s growing affordable housing crisis,” the housing trust said in a statement. “Early ideas for using the funds include seeding a new capital raise for the organization’s loan fund, expanding existing programs and launching new initiatives to deepen partnerships and foster greater equity and affordability in housing.”
The organization said it has not yet decided which Bay Area cities will benefit from this donation, but that it will support housing projects across the region.
The nonprofit focuses on funding new affordable housing projects through a public-private partnership model and first-time homebuyer assistance. According to their website, since 2000, the nonprofit has invested more than $615 million in programs supporting homeless individuals, renters and first-time homebuyers, resulting in more than 27,000 affordable housing opportunities and benefiting over 51,000 residents across the Bay Area and surrounding counties.
In addition to funding programs for homeless individuals and renters, the housing trust has helped finance housing projects across the Bay Area, including the Meridian Apartments in Sunnyvale, Sango Court in Milpitas, Casa Sueños in Oakland, and Kifer Senior Apartments in Santa Clara.
While no specific plans have been detailed, Ramos hopes the new round of funding will allow the organization to offer new programs for homebuyers or renters.
“We’re looking to expand the areas where we offer our first-time homebuyer downpayment assistance programs. We’re also considering introducing new programs or expanding the ones we already have,” Ramos said.
Given the housing crisis and state pressure on local governments to speed up housing production, the funds couldn’t have come at a more critical time.
“Part of our role is to support city and county agencies as they work to meet requirements for their housing elements,” Ramos said, referring to the state-mandated housing plans jurisdictions must develop. This includes providing pre-development or development funds for proposed projects across various cities and towns.
According to the Association of Bay Area Governments, the region needs to build 441,176 housing units across all income levels by 2031 to meet rising demand. The housing trust hopes to contribute to this goal with the grant.
“We’re just really humbled to have received this grant. It’s wonderful that funds are coming to our local community, and we will do everything we can to be good stewards of those funds,” Ramos said.
