Co-founder of Airbnb donates $1 million to address homelessness in Austin

KVUE
Author: Melia Masumoto
Published: 3:34 PM CDT September 28, 2023

AUSTIN, Texas — Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia has announced that he will be donating $1 million to address homelessness in Austin, as the billionaire said that he will be donating $500,000 each to a pair of nonprofits, Mobile Loaves & Fishes and LifeWorks, dedicated to combating homelessness.

“As a member of the Austin community, it’s important to me to give back to this amazing city that has become my home,” Gebbia said in a statement. “Every person deserves a safe place to fall asleep at night, and I have great respect for LifeWorks and MLF’s commitment to make a positive, sustained impact on those in need. I’m grateful to support their work and actualize a brighter collective future for Austin.”

LifeWorks deals with youth who have experienced homelessness and trauma. The main ways they help are by providing shelter, transitional living and permanent housing, education and workforce development and mental health resources. 

“Those three things, a place to call home, the opportunity to learn and work, and the chance to heal, that builds the road to a life you love and a life that will be stable for yourself and your family,” said Susan McDowell, the CEO of LifeWorks.

The nonprofit said one of the main challenges they’ve dealt with over the years is the rising rent costs in Austin.

“This helps us close the affordability gap so we can work on the mental health and the healing, and we can work on the education and workforce skills,” McDowell said.

McDowell also said a donation like this for their organization will serve as a long-term investment in addressing Austin’s ever-growing challenges with homelessness.

“Investing this early on to help youth and young adults achieve permanence not only helps our youth, but as Austin continues to struggle with chronic adult homelessness, this is an investment that is preventative,” McDowell said. “It’s upstream, and so that’s another that’s welcome and really significant investment in just overall in Austin.”

They estimate that taking care of one youth through several of their programs can cost them anywhere from $12,000 to $30,000, and that this donation will have a significant impact on the number of people they can help.

The donation will also help expand the Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ Community First! Village, which the largest master-planned development designed specifically for people emerging from chronic homelessness. The organization also serves the homeless through its food truck ministry that has become the largest prepared feeding program to the homeless in Central Texas.

“We are deeply grateful and honored by Joe Gebbia’s generous gift as we continue our efforts to mitigate the pandemic of homelessness while bringing hope and dignity into the lives of our friends who need us most,” said Alan Graham, the founder and CEO of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, in a statement.