Bezos Gives Largest Gift in Massachusetts Charity's History

Housing Families Receives Record $5 Million Grant

Housing Families, a Malden-based nonprofit dedicated to assisting families facing homelessness, announced in early December it received a $5 million grant through the annual Bezos Day One Families Fund, headed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos. This represents the largest single donation in the organization's history.

Part of National Effort

Housing Families is part of the eighth annual cohort of organizations across the country receiving funding from the Day 1 Families Fund. This year, the Fund issued a total of $102.5 million in grants to 32 organizations across 20 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam to combat family homelessness.

Impact on Massachusetts Families

"This grant comes at such a meaningful time," said Laura Rosi, CEO of Housing Families. "Our family shelter system has faced enormous challenges this year, and this support will allow us to help many more families find safety and stability and ensure that no family must sleep outside this winter." 

About Housing Families

Since 1986, Housing Families has been providing housing and wellness services to the Metro North area of Boston and is expanding their geographic reach, now serving nearly 7,000 people each year. The organization provides:

• Homelessness prevention and legal services
• Emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing
• Food and grocery assistance
• A therapeutic and academic out-of-school time program (EnrichEd)
• Clinical mental health services (CareCollective)

Housing Families has since expanded their work to 27 communities in the Greater Boston area, including Everett, Malden, and Medford.

How the Grant Will Be Used

Housing Families plans to use this one-time grant over the next five years to provide emergency housing for families unable to access the state's family shelter system and to help them transition into long-term housing. The organization's goal is to ensure no child in their community sleeps outside.

About the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund

Since 2018, the Day 1 Families Fund has issued 280 leadership awards totaling more than $850 million to organizations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Jeff Bezos launched the fund with a $2 billion commitment in 2018, split between the Day One Families Fund focused on homelessness and the Day One Academics Fund aimed at creating nonprofit preschools in low-income communities.