Helping families to have a place to call home is what the Doing Good Foundation is all about.

Formerly known as Habitat for Humanity, Doing Good has built 88 homes in the Bay of Plenty region over the last 28 years, making a difference in the lives of 565 family members.

“The ultimate goal is to get people into their first home,” says general manager, Malcolm Hardy. “It’s where people wanted to move into the market but they can't afford it because deposits are so high and they haven't got money together to satisfy the bank. So basically we build houses for them.”

Doing Good Foundation believes that giving people the opportunity to be homeowners has a wider positive social impact. “We think it's far better for people in their own lives and their attitude to life knowing that they've actually got a home.” “They're learning to look after a house, to maintain it, to do their budgeting and get ready to take the house over.”

So how does Doing Good actually help people into homeownership? “They pay a five year rental on the property, and then after the five years we’ve kept that money and give it to them. Then it goes towards the deposit for the bank to get a loan to actually buy the house.”

“We've actually found that several people have been able to buy after three years or four years because they realize the more that they saved, the more they put into their deposit.”

Anyone is welcome to start their homeownership journey through Doing Good Foundation. “It does require people to be able to show that they’ve got work, they’ve got to be in employment because they need to be able to pay rent.”

If you are looking for a hand up into your first home, visit: https://www.dgf.org.nz/