Macon Area Habitat for Humanity Sustainability Fund Grant

Background

The Macon Area Habitat for Humanity affiliate was founded in 1986 with a mission of “seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.” Since inception, it has served over 100 working families in Bibb and Jones counties.

Macon Area Habitat for Humanity adopted a Neighborhood Revitalization model which entails focusing on a neighborhood to serve more families by responding to community aspirations with an expanded array of products, services and partnerships, empowering residents to revive their neighborhoods and enhance the quality of life. The Lynmore Estates neighborhood was the first “focus” neighborhood for Macon Area Habitat for Humanity. In 2017, the residents celebrated the launch of the Lynmore Estates Neighborhood Association marking a big step forward in sustainable leadership from within the neighborhood. In 2021, Lynmore Estates reached a homeownership rate above 60% surpassing the average in Macon-Bibb County. Macon Area Habitat for Humanity is continuing to address blight in the neighborhood with an ultimate goal to reduce the blight rate to 8%.

In 2018 Macon Area Habitat for Humanity began work in a second focus neighborhood, Pleasant Hill. By 2022 four new homes were constructed in the neighborhood with plans to begin a fifth within the next year. Macon Area Habitat for Humanity will continue to support homeownership in the neighborhood with their construction program and through the addition of other homeownership resources, such as an heirs property programs, to help existing residents and homeowners.

In an effort to continue to support the Lynmore Estates neighborhood initially, and eventually all other Macon Area Habitat for Humanity neighborhoods, MAHFH created the Sustainability Fund at the Community Foundation of Central Georgia through generous funding from The Peyton Anderson Foundation. Through this fund, Lynmore Estates, Pleasant Hill and all future Habitat focus neighborhoods will have access to funds to continue quality of life programs within their neighborhoods.

Funding Priority

This fund will consider applications for “qualify of life” programming which are open to all residents in Macon Area Habitat for Humanity’s focus neighborhoods. Projects must have a positive impact on the neighborhood and should have a plan for future sustainability if it is not a one-time event.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• Applications must come from a neighborhood group or organization for a project in a Macon Area Habitat for Humanity focus neighborhood, currently Lynmore Estates and Pleasant Hill.