Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity announced it raised over a half-million dollars at its annual gala last week.
The Framing the Future Gala, Milwaukee Habitat’s largest annual fundraiser, drew more than 400 in-person and virtual attendees.
The record total came after Brian Wickert, chief executive officer of Pewaukee-based Accuant Mortgage, announced he would increase the company’s $75,000 challenge match to $125,000. Attendees met the additional challenge, Habitat said.
Funding from the event supports the organization’s work to help families earning below Milwaukee’s median income become first-time homebuyers.
“There are thousands of families in Milwaukee that have barriers that they can’t overcome unless we have an organization like Habitat breaking down those barriers to make it possible for people to own their first home,” said gala co-chair Dave Werner, executive vice president and market president with First Midwest Bank.
Since its founding in 1984, Milwaukee Habitat has helped nearly 1,500 local families in need of safe, affordable housing.
Its current focus is on building 80 new affordable homes in the Harambee neighborhood on Milwaukee’s north side. The new home construction project amounts to a roughly $12 million investment.
