Annual Report 2021

Phew!

It’s been a hard year. But it’s been a hard year at home. Maybe you worked at home. Schooled at home. Celebrated, grieved, struggled, thrived—at home.

Whether you know it or not, you did another important thing at home—you came together with this very special Habitat community. You showed up for your neighbors. You gave your time, talent, and treasure to fuel our At Home Fund to protect homeowners and expand homeownership. You remained resilient, hopeful, and together—at home.

With your generous support, from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, 818 families partnered with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, including 77 families who bought homes of their own.

Thank you for powering our mission to bring people together to create, preserve, and promote affordable homeownership and advance racial equity in housing.

Annual Report Welcome Letter Graphic

"You are part of a very special Habitat community. Through all the challenges of the last year, you’ve remained resilient and hopeful. You’ve worked together to support your neighbors. And you did it all at home."

– Chris Coleman, President & CEO, and Nikki Sorum, Chair, Board of Directors

Home is a shelter and springboard.

Angel bought her home with Habitat a few months before the pandemic began. When she caught COVID-19, her home gave her the space to protect her three children from catching it. Today, she sees her kids opening up and dreaming big. Angel’s home has already proven to be a sturdy shelter from storms and a springboard into a bright future.

When Angel is asked to name the single moment when she was most grateful for becoming a Habitat homeowner, here's how she replies:

“It’s like all the time. I'm always thinking about it. I thank God for opening this door in our lives.”

Before Habitat, she shared a two-bedroom apartment in North Minneapolis with her three children, Don, Aja, and Zyana. The apartment complex was noisy and there was very little privacy in their small space. She knew she wanted to buy a safe, stable home. But didn’t know how.

Habitat was her first call. And it turned out to be perfect.

She worked with a Habitat homeownership advisor to develop her path to homeownership, and in a year she was ready. This is the power of your support. Your gifts don’t just buy the lumber and nails to build and rehab homes. You help prepare local families for success in homeownership.

Angel found a home she loved where everyone could have a room of their own. When Angel contracted COVID a few months after moving in, she was able to quarantine in her bedroom/bath suite while her mother cared for the kids.

“I’m not sure what we would have done if we were still in our tiny apartment,” Angel said.

They weathered the worst of the pandemic. Today they’re thriving, and Angel can see the incredible impact her Habitat home has had on her children.

“Now that they’re in their own space, I see more and more who they are,” Angel said, “and we’re learning more and more about each other, because we’re in a quiet space without so many disruptions.”

When you support Habitat, you ensure more local families experience the transformational power of homeownership. Thank you.

Your support is urgent and transformational.

A stable, affordable home provides a safe harbor during a crisis like the pandemic and changes a family’s life for generations. You create, preserve, and promote affordable homeownership.

38

homeowners deferred mortgage payments due to COVID hardship, joining 100 others since the start of the pandemic

332

homeowners accessed state-provided COVID housing assistance payments through Habitat, including 90 Habitat homeowners

151

households graduated from financial coaching into mortgage readiness

35

A Brush with Kindness home repair projects completed to preserve homeownership

30

seniors received home safety modifications through our Age Well at Home^TM program

36

Habitat homeowners paid off their mortgages, bringing the total to 291

46

non-Habitat homeowners received counseling to prevent foreclosure

58

international families bought homes thanks to our Global Impact Fund

3.2

million pounds of material were kept out of landfills thanks to ReStore Home Improvement Outlets

You expand equitable access to homeownership.

Racist housing policies led to the Twin Cities’ shameful racial gap in homeownership—the worst in the nation. Thank you for working alongside Habitat to create homeownership access for those who’ve historically been denied it.

At Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, racial equity and anti-racism are embedded in our mission and values. We’re proud that about 80% of our homebuyer clients are households of color.

But the impact of racism in banking and social services is significant, and Habitat has fallen short of successfully serving Foundational Black Americans—those who are descendants of enslaved Africans and are most harmed by racist housing policies and practices. We are working to transform into an equity organization that centers the lived experiences of Foundational Black Americans and delivers a program that is relevant for more households.

Thank you for making Habitat’s racial equity work possible. Visit our Race and Housing Resource Center to learn about racist housing policies of the past, how they continue to shape our present, and what we can do to build a more equitable future.