Jorge and Ana, future homeowners
In 2022, Austin Community Foundation raised funds for a $4 million loan to help Austin Habitat for Humanity accelerate the construction of 150 single-family homes at three sites across Austin. Sources of funding for this loan include a combination of grants and impact investments from ACF, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, St. David’s Foundation, Bill Wood Foundation, Shield-Ayres Foundation, the Aragona family, and a group of donor-advised fundholders at the community foundation.
In January, ACF donors and board members took a hard hat tour of one of the new homes in Northeast Austin under construction by Austin Habitat for Humanity built specifically for Austin Independent School District (AISD) families and employees. The tour included the opportunity to meet the new homeowners, Jorge, a bilingual teacher at AISD, and his wife Ana, who are delighted to own their first home in Austin thanks to support from ACF donors and other community partners involved in the project.
We compiled three short videos to give you a glimpse into this exciting project:
- A video tour with all the highlights
- Details about the project and our partnership from Angel at Austin Habitat for Humanity
- Joy-filled remarks from Jorge and Ana as they look forward to moving in
Still from the video tour
When asked how she felt seeing her future home nearly built, Ana said, “Teachers play a very important role in this society—education is one of the most important things for a human being, and I place huge value in what my husband does because he is teaching the future generation. So, it is a huge blessing being able to tell him that yes… you can be a teacher in Austin, Texas, a city that is constantly growing…. We feel very blessed to be able to access these kinds of programs… I place value in every single person that contributed to make this happen, for us to have a home.”
The dream of owning a home is out of reach for so many Central Texans as the real estate market in Austin remains too high for middle- and low-income earners. This project turns the dream of owning a home into a reality for AISD families and employees. “A lot of people in this city, like our teachers… our healthcare workers… they don’t have the opportunity for affordable homeownership. The culture of Austin is something that’s so unique and… we want to keep Austinites here. … The way that we’re able to do that is having support from our community,” said Angel Leverett, Director of Marketing & Communications at Austin Habitat for Humanity.
Jorge and Ana’s home is part of the first project supported by our impact investment: 30 homes built in partnership with Taylor Morrison and AISD located at the Park at 51st East and 5301 Loyola Lane. The loan will also fund a second project to build 120 affordable homes in Southeast Austin. Be on the lookout for more updates as these projects develop.