Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County was given a surprise early Christmas present in the form of a $10,000 grant.
The donation was originally set to be $2,500 from the Washington Federal Foundation, WaFd Bank’s charity arm. That was quadrupled by Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines’ member impact fund, which was offering 3-to-1 matching for grants issued to nonprofits fighting housing insecurity in Washington state.
The grant will go toward building an energy-efficient, ADA-friendly, net-zero-ready, single-family home in Custer that will be purchased by a partner homebuyer, said Elle England, Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County’s communications coordinator.
“As the need for affordable housing in Whatcom County grows, funding like this becomes increasingly important,” England said. “We were ecstatic to receive this grant and are so grateful for community partners like WaFd and FHLB of Des Moines, who care about making a positive impact in our community.”
The member impact fund helped turn grants from WaFd into a total of $202,000 for organizations across Western Washington, including Skagit and Whatcom counties.
Eric Trent is CDN’s news producer; reach him at erictrent@cascadiadaily.com.
