[mk_image src=”https://habitattucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/21368790_10155693528189629_249978737722667725_o.jpg” image_size=”full” frame_style=”rounded” desc=”Kevin Walters, Chair of the Rainbow Build Committee”]The Rainbow Build is a homegrown build that was started in Tucson in 2005. Born out of an effort for inclusivity, raising awareness and building a strong partnership with the LGBTQA community, the Rainbow Build has mobilized a diverse array of organizations, groups and individuals to fight substandard housing and build affordable homes in Southern Arizona.
It has also started a trend adopted by Habitat affiliates in cities such as Portland, Austin and the Twin Cities. In 2017, Habitat Tucson’s Rainbow Build completed its third home, funded and constructed by members of the LGBTQA community.
This year, the Stonewall Foundation gave a gift of $24,000 to the Rainbow Build. This generous gift is not only humbling in its generosity, it is also unique. Funding support from the Stonewall Foundation is never a one-off gift. The Foundation sees the organizations they support as a “funding family.” Which means that they support these organizations annually and in perpetuity.In 1966, William A. Small Jr. created the Stonewall Foundation, an organization devoted to supporting Tucson-area cultural, environmental and health organizations. William’s son, Rick Small, became president of the foundation in 1989.This monumental and sustainable pledge by the Stonewall Foundation to the Rainbow Build will help elevate the support for the LGBTQA community and Habitat Tucson’s mission to make affordable housing for all people a matter of conscience.[mk_image src=”https://habitattucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/img_0120-e1506634989934.jpg” image_size=”full” frame_style=”rounded” desc=”from left: Kevin Walters (Chair of the Rainbow Build Committee), Erin Russ, Alma Gonzalez (Rainbow home homeowner), T. VanHook (Habitat Tucson CEO), Rick Small (President of the Stonewall Foundation)”]