MacKenzie Scott, through her philanthropic organization, Yield Giving, has awarded grants totaling $17 million to two nonprofits, continuing the Giving Pledge signatory’s focus on affordable housing.

A $9 million grant to Washington, D.C.-based Rebuilding Together will help the 50-year-old organization and its 110 community partners in 38 states to expand their efforts to preserve affordable housing, promote homeownership, and revitalize neighborhoods through free home repairs and modifications for neighbors in need. In 2022, more than 8,300 home and community facility projects were completed.

“This gift could not come at a better time as we see an increase in need for our services,” said Rebuilding Together president and CEO Caroline Blakely. “By using this funding strategically, we will be able to grow our capacity and impact over the next few years, ultimately providing repairs to more neighbors in our communities.”

An $8 million grant to San Francisco-based BRIDGE Housing, a developer, owner, and manager of affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents on the West Coast, will support new construction projects and help accelerate property acquisitions to preserve below-market-rate housing. In addition, BRIDGE has received a $1 million grant from the Orkney Trust in support of capital improvements to the organization’s portfolio of 13,000 apartments, which are home to 30,000 residents.

“Even as new apartments are being built, we simply cannot afford to lose any existing units and still address the urgent housing crisis impacting communities throughout the West Coast,” said BRIDGE president and CEO Ken Lombard. “That’s why alternative sources of financing and capital are so important to our work.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/ Hispanolistic)