APARTMENT NEWS
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2009:
Terwilliger Will Give $100 Million to Habitat For Humanity
- 052809
By: Alison Rice
Trammell Crow Residential chairman hopes his gift, which will help
families around the world, to inspire others to examine their
philanthropic giving.
He’s developed thousands of luxury apartments and mentored countless
young real estate executives, but in the years to come, J. Ronald
Terwilliger’s most lasting legacy in housing may be a simple
addition to a small home in a poor country.
$100 million worth of them.
This month, Habitat for Humanity announced that Terwilliger, the
former CEO and current chairman of Trammell Crow Residential, had
incorporated the housing nonprofit in his will, committing to a $100
million gift to support Habitat’s overseas work and affordable
housing efforts.
It represents the single-largest contribution by a person in the
Georgia-based organization’s history.
“We are humbled by and grateful for the unprecedented commitment Ron
is making to Habitat for Humanity,” said Jonathan Reckford,
Habitat’s CEO. “Thanks to his generous spirit, tens of thousands of
families will enjoy greater access to simple, decent, affordable
shelter worldwide.”
For Terwilliger, the massive bequest reflects the legendary real
estate developer’s interest in housing and growing involvement in
affordable housing issues. He recently donated $5 million to the
Urban Land Institute to fund a Center for Workforce Housing and
previously also gave $1 million to establish a resident fellowship
for housing (currently held by John McIlwain) at ULI.
The $100 million gift to Habitat will be allocated 70% to overseas
efforts and 30% to an affordable housing fund. It will help an
estimated 60,000 families around the world improve their living
conditions, perhaps by expanding cramped overcrowded quarters or
digging a well for fresh water. According to Terwilliger, the money
also represents a lead gift in a new global outreach effort that
seeks to grow Habitat’s scale and scope so that the organization can
serve significantly more people by 2013.
Housing is a basic need that is too often overlooked, according to
Terwilliger, who joined Habitat’s board in 2000 and currently serves
as its chairman. “I’ve learned that philanthropists tend to focus on
education and health,” he told BUILDER Thursday, despite estimates
that 1.6 billion people in the world are in need of decent housing.
“Housing is not at the top of anyone’s list, except mine and a few
other people’s. We think that people need to have a decent roof over
their heads before they can improve their health and concentrate on
their education.”
That lesson has been made real during Terwilliger’s trips for
Habitat, where he has seen the group’s work in places such as
Macedonia, Vietnam, Argentina, Thailand, Ireland, and more. It has
been illuminating, even for someone as traveled and well-educated as
Terwilliger, who graduated from the Naval Academy and Harvard
Business School, where he was top of his class. “You realize how
first, how fortunate you are to be an American, and two, how
fortunate I have been to be a financially successful American,” said
Terwilliger. “You also learn how widespread the need is.”
He told BUILDER that he hopes his gift will inspire others to
examine their charitable giving.
