Habitat for Humanity of LI making plans to spend $3.75M donation from MacKenzie Scott

Officials with Habitat for Humanity of Long Island said they plan to use a $3.75 million donation from the ex-wife of Amazon’s founder to continue expanding programs to further the nonprofit’s mission to build homes for the underserved.

The organization will receive the money as part of a $436 million donation from philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott to Habitat for Humanity International, the Atlanta-based organization of which the Long Island chapter is an affiliate.

Lee Silberman, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Long Island, told Newsday that the nonprofit is in “the beginning stages” of figuring out and planning what to do with the money and that its board is meeting this week to begin discussions.

“This infusion of capital should help us really ramp up operations in Nassau County and become a greater force for addressing the affordable housing crisis,” Silberman said.

Scott, who has a net worth of $45.4 billion, has vowed to give away most of her fortune, and has since donated at least $3.8 billion to 465 charitable organizations in the past nine months, according to various news reports. 

Silberman added that the timing of the donation fit perfectly with the recent decision to merge Habitat for Humanity’s Suffolk and Nassau chapters into one entity that will serve all of Long Island.  

The nonprofit will soon put together a strategic planning committee to decide how to use the funding “in a sustainable fashion,” Silberman said. One of the main things on their agenda will be to direct money toward starting an Owner-Occupied Repair Program, he said.

Myrnissa A. Stone-Sumair, who has been executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Nassau, will be in charge of the program.

The program would help qualifying groups such as seniors, veterans and families with lower incomes  that need assistance repairing their homes to fix safety hazards or make it easier for them to move around in, according to Stone-Sumair.

“We want them to be able to stay in their homes and not have to give up their homes because they can’t afford their mortgage or property taxes and repair the house,” Stone-Sumair said. “Habitat comes in and makes those critical repairs, addresses those issues that are causing them to not be able to comfortably stay in their homes.”

Stone-Sumair added that the Owner-Occupied Repair Program would also allow the nonprofit to partner with local businesses, organizations, residents and community leaders seeking to address blighted homes, parks and playgrounds to “beautify the neighborhoods” and “bring back the vitality of the neighborhood.” 

Silberman said the funding would also allow the nonprofit to possibly expand the number of homes it builds annually on Long Island from eight to 10 and double it to 15 to 20.

“[This funding] will allow us to really think out of the box on how we can expand our program and serve more families on Long Island,” he said.