Homebuilding
Marin Community Foundation
Welcome to Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco’s Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023). Read more below about the incredible impact and growth we have achieved over the past year and our bold plans to double our impact in the years ahead.
“We are so very grateful to every individual, organization, and community that stands with us in our affordable homeownership mission. Together, we are building families a future in the Bay Area.”
Dear Habitat GSF supporter,
At Habitat Greater San Francisco, the heart of our organization is in building and sustaining affordable homeownership for our community here in the Bay Area. This Annual Report is a testament to the impact we have achieved, together with our supporters and partners, like you, during the past fiscal year.
We hope you’ll read our stories of equity building, generational impact and the complete joy felt through pride of homeownership as we share the real-life outcomes of our work. You can hear from Debra who is moving into her San Francisco home soon along with her two grandchildren. And Edwin who grew up in a Habitat Greater San Francisco home in Redwood City where he had more space for his studies, excelled at school and most recently was able to save to start his Master’s at Harvard Business School this September. These stories along with the impact data we’re sharing are made possible by our dedicated team, the generosity of our donors, and our committed volunteers.
We are so very grateful to every individual, organization, company, and community across the Bay, that stands with us in our affordable homeownership mission. Together, we are changing the narrative and building families a future in the Bay Area.
Being transparent and accountable to our partners is of key importance to us. We are proud to open our books and share how our donations have been used to drive our affordable homeownership mission forward. Below you will find more details of how funds are allocated and our robust financial position.
Looking ahead, we are committed to doubling the number of families we serve in our region over the next four years. To achieve, this we have launched a bold $100M comprehensive campaign and we have just $30M left to raise. We are confident, that together, we will make significant strides towards this goal in the year ahead.
Thank you for being a key part of our mission, and we invite you to explore this report to learn more about the transformative work of Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco.
We appreciate you.
In community,
Maureen Sedonaen
Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco
Dameon Philpotts
Board Chair, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco
It has been a big year for the construction of new homes creating affordable homeownership. In the last quarter of the 2023, alongside hundreds of volunteers and our future homeowners, construction was completed on eight townhomes in San Francisco and we welcomed two families home in Bolinas. Each project is unique to the community it is built within, but with the similarity that each successfully brought affordable homeownership to a neighborhood where it has been historically lacking.
Our home dedications are joyful events that bring together our community to celebrate and welcome Habitat Greater San Francisco homeowners to their new homes and into their new neighborhoods. We had two such occasions for celebrations in the Fall of 2023, one in San Francisco in December and the other in Bolinas in October.
Homeownership is at the heart of what we do and alongside building new homes, we are ramping up our efforts to preserve existing homes for long-time residents (like Opal, pictured left) through our Home Preservation program. Over the past year we have expanded this program, enabling us to provide the most critical home repairs to the clients we partner with.
Our homes are built with careful consideration for the needs of the homeowner, community and environment. At Habitat Greater San Francisco we strive to receive at least a Platinum GreenPoint rating on all of our new construction projects, and our goal is to achieve net-zero whenever feasible.
We are grateful to have so many philanthropic partners across the spectrum of giving. From a Habitat Greater San Francisco Homeowner who gives $100 per month toward our mission, to a family foundation that is consistently and deeply engaged in learning about the housing crisis and our needs across their generations and provides significant support that keeps us moving forward. There are also several local organizations who continue to show their strong support of affordable homeownership.
Habitat Greater San Francisco is honored to be a strong and highly influential advocate for affordable housing measures, and in San Francisco specifically for leaning in to support sensible measures such as Proposition D. While it didn’t pass, it bought significant awareness to what we do at Habitat Greater San Francisco to sustain and build homeownership opportunities.
In good advocacy news, in conjunction with our colleagues across California we successfully got 11 bills in front of the Governor for his signature. Additionally, we were successful in getting Governor Newsom to return $50M in allocation for Cal Home, one of the only public funds in CA for 100% Affordable Homeownership.
Debra is one of eight homeowners who qualified for her new home at Amber Drive in Diamond Heights this past fiscal year. She worked on her sweat equity hours over the last year along with her future neighbors and will be moving into her home along with her two grandchildren soon.
Debra is a retired schoolteacher and currently a facilitator supporting families caring for other people’s children. Debra, along with her two grandchildren aged seven and eight for whom she is a guardian, will soon move into their Habitat Greater San Francisco home on Amber Drive.
Having lived here since 1969, San Francisco is home to Debra. She was raised here and raised her children here. Sadly, two of her adult children have passed away, so remaining in San Francisco is particularly important to Debra, as she told us, “My memories are here for my kids. And it’s not a day that passes that I pass by a location or somewhere that reminds me of them. So, that’s why I’m really grateful for this opportunity to be able to have my own house and to have a legacy for my grandchildren.”
It’s been a challenge to be able to afford to remain in the city of San Francisco. Previously, Debra moved out to Emeryville and South San Francisco, but always ended up back in the city she loves, San Francisco, where her network is and where she had more support in caring for her grandchildren. As Debra told us, “Being a homeowner is going to be so much more secure, is going to be the beginning of a legacy for not only my grandchildren, but I’m hoping for future generations.”
Debra has tried other affordable housing routes but found that as a senior who is also the caregiver to young children, her options were limited. As Debra said about her home search, “with this opportunity with Habitat Greater San Francisco, I am included, my family is included. And not only that, but I will also be surrounded by other families. So, it is definitely the missing piece.”
Along with those future neighbor families, Debra has undertaken her sweat equity. A core element of the Habitat Greater San Francisco homeownership model, where future homeowners work alongside volunteers to help build their homes and those of their neighbors. Debra was grateful for this opportunity, saying, “I’m grateful I went through the process and even having the opportunity to do the sweat equity has been a real exciting experience just to be able to go look at the property and see how it’s changed and progressed.”
Beyond being able to remain in San Francisco, homeownership is very meaningful for Debra, she stated, “It’s a sense of pride. I feel more stable. I feel more secure. You know, I am a retired person, but most of my friends that are homeowners, they’ve left the city. So, I’m just so excited to be a homeowner and to be in San Francisco.”
Debra along with her grandchildren, and the other seven families will be moving into their Diamond Heights homes in the coming months.
Net Assets $30,352,840
Total $27,252,660
* Includes: gain on disposal of property and equipment, and other income
With the launch of our ambitious Comprehensive Campaign, Building Families a Future, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco has bold plans for the future to double our impact in our region. How will we accomplish this? With our partners and supporters, we are doubling the number of homes we build and doubling the number of critical home repairs and rehabs we conduct over the next 4 years. We have a strong pipeline of projects to support this growth.
Marin Community Foundation
The PG&E Corporation Foundation
Sand Hill Foundation
Wells Fargo
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
*In-kind donations.