Inside Habitat for Humanity's "Home is the Key Campaign"

Each April, Habitat for Humanity shines a spotlight on one of the nation’s most pressing issues: the lack of affordable housing. The organization’s Home is the Key campaign, now in its ninth year, raises awareness for the need for affordable housing while also mobilizing resources and sparking conversations to facilitate change.

Along with corporate partners Astound, Lowe’s, At Home, and Richard, the campaign aims to improve equitable access to affordable homes and further the organization’s mission of providing everyone a decent place to live.

Adrienne Goolsby, senior vice president of the U.S. and Canada for Habitat for Humanity, spoke with BUILDER to highlight the Home is the Key campaign, the evolution of the campaign, and the importance of creative solutions to the affordability crisis.

What is the significance of Habitat for Humanity’s Home is the Key campaign and what are the key elements of the campaign?

Home is the Key is our annual awareness and fundraising campaign to call attention to the need for affordable housing. It also helps to educate people and talk about how we need to open the door to more equitable homeownership across the U.S. We do this every year in the month of April because it coincides with the National Fair Housing Month, as well as the anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Home is the Key helps us to improve equitable access to decent and affordable housing for people across the U.S. The campaign helps to create an awareness around why affordable housing is necessary and indeed critical when we know there is a major crisis right now across the U.S.

This campaign also creates the foundation for us to think about how we advocate and work with others to talk about the importance of home and the importance of using home as the foundation for thriving and building inclusive communities. The elements include the connection to the wellbeing and the stability of bringing families together across communities and making sure that they have the foundation that they need to flourish. We know that there are too many families across the country that are locked out of the opportunity for homeownership. Habitat’s sweet spot is around homeownership for low- to moderate-income families. Through the Home is the Key campaign, we are really opening those doors to provide equitable homeownership and build stronger communities. When you look at our mission, it is just so appropriate at this time of year. Our mission is that everyone has a decent place to live. Getting that information out and building that awareness is really key. Building that awareness with the Home is the Key campaign reminds us that we all benefit when homes are accessible to everyone.

How has the campaign evolved in its nine years and why does it remain important to highlight the need for affordable housing?

When we look at the 2024 State of the Nation’s Housing Report published by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, it reported that home prices reach an all-time high and that both housing shortages and housing cost burdens are at their highest rates in years. The other piece is that we know there has been an increase in the price of the starter home from July 2019 to July 2024 of 55%. So it makes it even harder for people who are in low or moderate income brackets to purchase homes and achieve that dream of homeownership. This has priced out millions of potential first-time buyers, slowing homeownership growth and exacerbating disparities in homeownership. When we think about homeownership being a key driver of household wealth, it’s really important that we get the word out around the importance of this campaign so that people understand that when you look at the structural inequities that exist across the housing market, we’ve got to figure out how to address that. Not only alone as Habitat, but as partners in the communities that we reside. When we think about the evolution of the campaign over the past nine years, one of the things that we realized is that housing affordability and housing itself is dynamic. It is locally driven with a people-centric approach. The effects of the housing crisis are felt across the nation but differently when you look at regions. So the evolution here is that we have continued to highlight the imperative for safe, affordable housing through our regional play instead of thinking about one particular area that we are focused on. [In 2025, we are] looking across five regions to talk about homeownership and thinking about not only how we build our way out of this affordability crisis but also how we can join in partnership with others and educate them to make them aware about this housing affordability crisis.

What are some examples of programs, initiatives, and neighborhoods that will be highlighted this month?

We have five regional activations that are taking place. In Jacksonville, Florida, they hosted business, faith, and civic leaders for a weeklong build for the construction of four homes in the Long Branch neighborhood. We have an activation in Lenoir City, Tennessee with our Loudon County Habitat for Humanity. They are hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for the future of Hilltop Hideaway, which is a 34-unit neighborhood featuring new eco-friendly features. They are focused on building sustainably and emphasizing sustainable design and innovative housing solutions. To me, that is unique because it is in a rural area and we are talking about a multi-unit development that allows us to think about our costs differently and to spread them across those 34 units and to work in partnership with others to help fund that community. We had an activation in Seattle-King and Kittitas counties in partnership with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. They hosted a panel discussion on the eve of the 1968 Fair Housing Act anniversary with Dr. Bernice A. King, the daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the CEO of the King Center, and they talked about affordable housing, community partnerships, and also unveiled the name of Habitat’s Seattle-King and Kittatas’s largest multifamily development to date at 58 units, Liberty Commons. With an activation at the Habitat for Humanity of Dane County in Madison, Wisconsin, they focused on Turning the Key to Homeownership, which is a joint discussion between business and community leaders tackling the affordable housing crisis in Dane County and across the U.S. The fifth regional activation was at the Habitat for Humanity of Central Arizona; they are completing the final home of the Atla Vista Ranch neighborhood and they have dedicated it as the Carter Celebration Home. That is near and dear to many of our Habitat affiliates and volunteers and donors, honoring the late President Jimmy Carter and Mrs. Rosalynn Carter.

Each activation is somewhat different. Some include bills, some include dedications, some include conversations, some include building awareness around how we advocate for affordable housing, some focus on how we find solutions to make it more attainable on a local level. That’s the beauty of the evolution of the Home is the Key campaign. You can stress the importance of home through different ways and Habitat can be that central convenor to influence how we look at housing affordability and how we can attain it.

With housing costs remaining elevated across the country, how important is it to showcase unique building practices and sustainable design in affordable housing?

One thing that we know is that home affordability and sustainability really go hand in hand. There has been a rise in the levels of extreme weather and climate-related risks that have driven up not just property insurance costs but also affordability challenges for homeowners and apartment building owners. It’s important that we build our homes in a sustainable fashion. Sustainable building for us is a priority. When you think about Habitat for Humanity affiliates, 25% have been hit by some type of disaster over the past seven to eight years. We expect that to increase over time. We want to ensure that we are using sustainable building technologies to build our homes in these communities. We want to reduce the cost of utility bills through energy efficient homes and renewable energy sources. We also want to cut waste and construction costs as well as use the latest and greatest technologies in building these homes. We are finding ways to optimize our homes for families and their environment.

Looking ahead, how do you see the campaign evolving in the future to further support affordable homeownership initiatives?

Housing is dynamic, not static. We, too, have to be dynamic as housers. We will continue to grow the platform for national impact and local activation. We really do anticipate increased partnership opportunities in the future and I also anticipate we will have bold new and existing sponsors but more deep engagement from our local affiliates across the country. This year we did regional activations, next year we might double the number of activations that are taking place. We may have some thematic activations that connect with people around housing affordability and the crisis that we are in. There are different ways that we can grow this campaign, but the bottom line is increasing awareness and calling attention to the need for affordable housing.