Wells Fargo Foundation has awarded Fergus Falls Area Habitat for Humanity with a $15,000 grant to build an affordable home in Fergus Falls. The funding is part of an $8.1 million donation to Habitat for Humanity International for capacity building and direct mission support to build, renovate and repair more than 350 affordable homes across the United States.
The grant is provided through Wells Fargo Builds and is part of the Wells Fargo Foundation’s $1 billion philanthropic commitment to creating more housing affordability solutions by 2025.
“We’ve had a rich history of working with the Fergus Falls Area Habitat for Humanity to strengthen our neighborhoods through philanthropy and volunteerism,” Melissa Kubasta, regional bank president for Wells Fargo in northern Minnesota said in a news release. “Safe and stable housing enables people to build upon the rest of their life and, together, we can shift the narrative to help others understand that housing affordability is both an economic and humanitarian crisis that’s taking a toll on millions of people.”
Wells Fargo Builds provides philanthropic financial assistance from the Wells Fargo Foundation to support the construction, renovation, painting or repairing of homes with low-to-moderate income households. In 2019 alone, Wells Fargo employees volunteered more than 1.9 million hours of service to strengthen their communities, including building, repairing, and improving 674 homes across the U.S. with several organizations through Wells Fargo Builds, according to the organization.
The grant will support the construction of a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, single level home with a two-stall garage. Fergus Falls Area Habitat for Humanity will build this home alongside its partner family, Mary Mager. Mager is a certified nursing assistant at the Minnesota Veteran’s Home in Fergus Falls. She says she is excited for this opportunity to own a home.
