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Message from Andy

Habitat’s mission is to bring people together. In 2025, you joined together across Buncombe and Madison Counties to turn a difficult moment into our strongest year yet.

Together, we served 216 local families through our homeownership and repair programs. Nineteen families purchased homes, creating safe, stable places for 30 children to grow. Habitat completed 116 disaster home repairs, and 73 additional repair projects were completed region-wide by partners through the Asheville Regional Coalition for Home Repair (ARCHR), which Habitat administers. While recovery from the storm remained a central focus of our work, we also completed 26 repair projects on homes not damaged by Helene.

Our circle of support widened far beyond our local community. Volunteer groups from across the country arrived in record numbers. Sister Habitat affiliates offered generous financial and operational support. Thousands of volunteers contributed more than 84,000 hours of service. The value of that service is nearly $3 million! And donors from near and far, including hundreds of new supporters, helped build and rebuild. Support for our work doesn’t stop there. With ReStore proceeds helping to fund our building programs, ReStore customers, merchandise donors, and Deconstruction clients also made our work possible.

Each of these numbers represent a door opened to a bigger story. Building together, we see more people as neighbors. We learn where our gifts add value, and when to trust others to carry the work forward. In the end, we are building—and rebuilding—community. And all of that starts with a home.

In Partnership,

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Andy Barnett, CEO 

Housing Solutions

In 2025, 161 local families were served through new home, home repair, disaster repair, and home revitalization programs.

Wendy

Wendy and her son

Standing on the porch of her new home, first time homeowner Wendy describes her gratitude and the impact her home will have on herself and her son: “Thank you and I really do appreciate this. We will cherish this home until the very end,” she said. 

Households of color and low-income families have historically been shut out of traditional financing and access to homeownership. At Habitat, however, we invest in and partner with these communities every day, making homeownership possible for those earning 40-80% AMI (area median income). 

In 2025, 16 more families purchased their affordable, Green Built certified homes in our growing Glenn Bridge neighborhood in Arden. Additionally, a local family moved into their new home in Mars Hill. With support from volunteers, donors, sponsors, and with the “sweat equity” of homebuyers, we built a combination of single-family detached homes, one and two-story townhomes, and one-level Aging in Place townhomes specifically for aging adults. 

Sometimes people need to move for any number of reasons. When that happens, Habitat supports families through their life changes. Part of that includes exercising our right to repurchase the home at fair market value when it makes sense to do so (as provided in the mortgage notes and deeds of trust). When this occurs, the original homeowner benefits from the equity that has accrued on the property, helping them build wealth through homeownership.

When we repurchase a home from it’s original owner, we renovate the home to like-new standards and then sell the home to another homebuyer who qualifies for our program. Our Home Revitalization program retains affordable housing stock, helps combat gentrification, and provides more families the opportunity to improve their housing. In 2025, two homeowners purchased revitalized homes.

ARCHR (Asheville Regional Coalition for Home Repair) is offering no-cost repairs to qualified low-income families whose homes sustained storm damage, prioritizing uninsured, underinsured, and those not receiving FEMA assistance. 

Already in development, ARCHR was fast-tracked due to Helene. Members currently include Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity (also acting as fiduciary agent), Poder Emma, Mountain Housing Opportunities, Community Action Opportunities, the Asheville Buncombe Community Land Trust, and the Community Housing Coalition of Madison County. 

Through coalition development and utilization of specialized subcontractors, in 2025 ARCHR was able to grow its capacity and complete 189 jobs, 116 of those completed by Habitat. 

We began 2025 with our traditional Home Repair program paused to focus on families who had sustained storm damage. As ARCHR gained traction and completed more repairs, our traditional Home Repair resumed and in 2025 26 non-disaster jobs were completed. 

The team works on accessibility and safety related repairs for low-income homeowners all across Buncombe and Madison County. The majority of home repair clients are older, and most have lived in their homes for many decades. Our program helps folks remain in their homes, reduces displacement in the face of gentrification, and retains affordable housing stock. 

Meet Wendy, a Habitat homeowner
Meet Patricia, an ARCHR repair client
Meet Erika, a Habitat homeowner and core volunteer

Bringing People Together

 
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Volunteer Spotlight: More Groups Than Ever Before Lend a Hand

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We typically host 4-6 groups in the spring. This year, there are already 19 out of town groups scheduled and nearly three hundred more individuals have expressed interest in coming here to help,” said Construction Services Volunteer Manager, Stephanie Wallace. Read more about the large influx of volunteer groups that came to Asheville from all over the country.

Global Engagement Spotlight: Habitat Guatemala Visits Asheville

We were thrilled to connect our friends visiting from Habitat for Humanity Guatemala with our local partner PODER Emma for a special day of sharing and learning in June 2025.

Habitat Guatemala is our longtime global partner. We tithe funds, organize Global Village trips, and sell Guatemalan goods in our ReStores to support their work. We’re grateful they made the journey, and we loved hearing how they improve the quality of life of Guatemalan families through new and improved housing and Healthy Home Kits (smokeless stoves, water filters, and sanitary latrines). Additionally, they lay concrete floors through their 100,000 Floors to Play On campaign to improve the health of families, especially young children.

During a special Lunch & Learn, PODER Emma, one of our ARCHR (Asheville Regional Coalition for Home Repair) partners shared information about the home repair work they are completing. In addition to disaster home repair, their local work centers on community-led development, cooperative development and lending, and neighborhood support and connection.

During their single-day visit, our guests- Delorean, Laura, and Odi- also visited Habitat’s new home construction site and a home repair site that Chispas (repair arm of PODER Emma) was working on. It was a wonderful day of connection, community building, sharing, and learning, and a reminder of the impact Habitat has by bringing people together.

Construction Spotlight: Piloted New Construction Program

Our construction staff and volunteers borrowed warehouse space from our friends at Henderson County and Thermal Belt Habitat for Humanity to try a “new-to-us” construction method: pre-fab.

Pre-fabricating walls allows our construction crews to tackle multiple projects concurrently and can reduce build time by many weeks. Additionally, it’s volunteer-friendly, and it’s done indoors, making inclement weather a non-issue.

The walls for one home were finished in four days, stacked on a trailer, driven to the site, and raised by staff and volunteers. Walls for 2 other homes have been constructed the same way. We’re excited about the early success of this construction method and are exploring how it fits into our short and long-term plans.

Donor Spotlight: Sister Affiliates Show Support

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Staff from Wake County Habitat

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Habitat affiliates around the country who have supported us as we work to recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene.

We’re particularly grateful for the support and wisdom from others who have rebuilt their own communities following disasters. Support has taken many shapes and come in various forms: merchandise donations for our ReStores, staff to help us reopen, a loaned box truck, cash donations solicited from their own constituents, and proceed checks from Register Round Ups.

See the full list of supporting affiliates here.

Advocacy Spotlight: Disaster Repair funding and more

Before Helene devastated WNC, the Buncombe Affordable Housing Network (BAHN), co-lead by Asheville Habitat, collectively advocated for broader anti-displacement strategies including property tax relief, rental assistance, eviction prevention, and more. As a result:

  • The City adopted higher project caps and lien thresholds for repair projects up to $50,000.
  • Local governments expanded eligible home repair expenses to include construction staff labor and administrative costs.
  • Annual Buncombe County Home Repair investment increased by 600% over 7 years.
  • Elected officials now prioritize home repair as an effective anti-displacement strategy.

Sign up for Advocacy Alerts and use your voice to advocate for smart housing policies. Thank you!

2,694

volunteers

84,338

hours of volunteer service

$2,934,119

value of volunteer service

3,842

Sweat Equity hours by homebuyers & repair clients

Thank you volunteers!

Volunteers bring our mission to life in powerful and deeply personal ways. Volunteers show up in our ReStores, on our build sites, in our office, and alongside partner families with generosity, compassion, and a shared belief that everyone deserves a decent, affordable place to call home. Through their time, talents, and willingness to serve, they help build more than houses; they help build connection, dignity, and hope throughout our community. We are profoundly grateful for each volunteer who chooses to be part of this work and helps make Asheville Habitat stronger.

2,694 volunteers collectively contributed 84,338 hours of service to Asheville Habitat in 2025. We are grateful to each person who showed up to help, whether it was once or once a week. Thank you! 

Click the photos below to see a list of 2025 Core Volunteers by area.

Top 5 Volunteers 

Hover over the icons below to see names & hours.

826.5 hours

John Harvin
AVL & WVL ReStores

808 hours

Tim Kruse
Weaverville ReStore

685 hours

Ian Mackey
New Home Construction

610 hours

Coal Semkowich
Home Repair

Basket Basket
605 hours

Jesse Gingrich
AvL ReStore

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Thank you donors & sponsors!

Every dollar counts. We are profoundly grateful to every donor and sponsor who gave, joining thousands who share the belief that every one deserves a decent place to live. Your generosity is more than a financial contribution; it is a tangible expression of care for our community and a commitment to helping local families access stable, affordable housing.

Some of you gave for the first time, others have supported this work for years, and many stepped forward in even bigger ways as the need grew after Helene. This work is only possible because people continue to help one another.

Click the buttons below to view our generous 2025 donors and sponsors.

Our Donors Our Sponsors
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1,808

donors gave generously

817

gave for the first time

“The volunteers have a heart of gold and I thank them everyday. It changed my life and I know it for the better.”

“I would absolutely recommend volunteering to anyone who has heard of Habitat or has any interest. It is a life changing experience and you’re changing other peoples’ lives.”

“There are not enough words for me to express my gratitude and how much your generous contribution has done for my family. It has changed our lives.” 

 

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ReStore Highlights

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On January 24th, we officially reopened the Asheville ReStore near Biltmore Village, after having been closed for almost 4 months since Hurricane Helene severely damaged our buildings and destroyed our truck fleet. The perseverance of our staff and support from donors made this huge rebuilding effort possible, and we were so grateful to receive such a warm welcome back from the community.

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The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce honored local businesses that have demonstrated incredible growth, grit, and community commitment – especially in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The Asheville ReStore was chosen as one of these local businesses showing spirit and strength through such difficult times. Read more here.

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We’re proud to have raised $26,111 for nonprofit organizations through the Register Round Up Program! Every penny, nickel, and dime donated from rounded up purchases at the Weaverville and Asheville ReStores went to 11 different nonprofit organizations including Mountain Housing Opportunities, The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County, Habitat for Humanity Greater Los Angeles, MANNA FoodBank, Community Housing Coalition of Madison County, PODER Emma, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Elderflower Care Community, Sunrise Community For Recovery and Wellness, ABCCM Veterans Restoration Quarters, and The Blessing Project.

165,586

customers

2,922

tons diverted from landfills

4,531

donation pick-ups

$141,217

in valued merchandise brought in through Deconstruction

736,857

items sold

15,988

lbs. of fabric recycled through GreenZone

Thank you ReStore Business Partners

 
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Beyond our borders

Having acutely experienced the devastation of Hurricane Helene, Asheville Habitat understands the significant and long-term impact of natural disasters. In 2025, we allocated a portion of the large gift our affiliate received from Mackenzie Scott a few years ago, to Habitat for Humanity’s International Disasters Fund (IDF) to help other affiliates in their time of greatest need. 

Though Helene forced Habitat Guatemala to cancel their October 2024 visit, they were able to reschedule their trip to June 2025. Hosted with Poder Emma, one of our partners in disaster home repair work, it was a great day of connection and community building, providing each agency the chance to learn from one other and be inspired.  

Last year we also continued our monthly tithe program which supports Habitat for Humanity in Guatemala, Ethiopia, and Kenya, as well as Habitat for Humanity’s Orphans & Vulnerable Groups (OVG) Fund. 

 

  • Construction Supervisor Kenny showing Habitat Guatemala staff a blueprint at New Heights.

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Financials

Revenue
FY2025 Audited Financials
Expenses
Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Branch at 919-814-5400. The license is not an endorsement by the State.

Meet our Staff