According to the United Nations, at least 100 million people around the world are homeless, while an additional 1.6 billion people lack adequate housing — a problem that negatively impacts the mental, emotional and physical well-being of those affected and stifles the growth of the communities they live in.
Giveback Homes and Concierge Auctions are joining forces to do something about it.
Over the past four years, Giveback Homes has been on a mission to provide families across the U.S., Central America and the Caribbean with the foundation for a better life and community, one home at a time.
Since 2015, the organization has built more than 50 homes in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Haiti, and they’re on track to double that number this year alone thanks to their new Key for Key partnership with Concierge Auctions.
Over the next year, Concierge Auctions has pledged that for every home sold, it will fund the building of a home in Nicaragua — a one-for-one system — for at least 100 homes. Each home costs about $5,000 to build.
Nicaragua is where the brokerage and Giveback Homes’ partnership solidified after an international build trip.
Nicaragua Builds / Courtesy of Giveback Homes
“Going to Nicaragua on a build project with Giveback Homes was life-changing for me,” said Chad Roffers, chairman of Concierge Auctions in a press release.
“Since that experience, I’ve been working with our team to create a program to maximize the good we can do in a region that really needs our help. We believe in a more efficient way of buying and selling the most luxurious homes across the globe,” he added.
“We also believe that every business has a responsibility to make a positive impact on the world. This year, every sale will result in a complete home for a family in need. Key for key.”
Click to watch Concierge Auctions’ documentary, “La Esperanza.”
The program will kick off with the sale of MLB star Matt Kemp’s San Diego County home on April 20, and three to four weeks after the transaction is complete, a family will be chosen to receive one of two housing structures: a wood frame home to meet immediate housing needs, or a home made of cinder blocks as a more permanent solution.
From there, it takes only two to four weeks for a family to receive the keys to their newly built home.
Nicaragua Builds / Courtesy of Giveback Homes
“There are a lot of people who say they’re going to do something and then never do. Ever since we first connected with Chad Roffers and Laura Brady, they’ve done exactly what they said they would do,” says Blake Andrews, founder of Giveback Homes.
“Whether it’s mobilizing their Austin team on a build day or sending team members to Nicaragua, they’ve continually deepened their giving. This new program will change the lives of over 100 families, for generations,” he adds.
Laura Brady, the president of Concierge Auctions, says diving deep into the world of philanthropy has given added purpose to the work she and her team does every day and motivates them to go above and beyond what they’ve done in the past.
“It’s not just about coming into work and doing your quote-unquote job,” she says. “It’s about what you are creating in this world and what you’ll leave behind.”
Nicaragua Builds / Courtesy of Giveback Homes
Co-founder Caroline Pinal and Andrews say business leaders should tap into the causes they and their employees would like to champion, come up with concise plan on how and when to help, and then make it easy for employees to volunteer and drum up support from others.
“We may not end the need for global housing in our lifetime, but this is a step in the right direction, and I know that we’ve started a ripple effect and we hope that other people join us,” Andrews says.
