Facebook Matches Google’s $1B Housing Donation

Facebook will donate land in Menlo Park for more than 1,500 units of mixed-income housing.

MENLO PARK, CA—Not to be outdone by Google’s large donation earlier this year, Facebook is also donating $1 billion during the coming decade in affordable housing, mostly in the Golden State. The social network platform has partnered with governor Gavin Newsom and others on projects intended to result in as many as 20,000 new housing units for teachers, nurses, first responders and other essential workers, according to Facebook’s chief financial officer David Wehner. For example, in San Francisco, a family of four with a household income of $100,000 per year is considered low income, he says.

“We’ve learned that the production of affordable housing across the income spectrum is a problem throughout California and must be addressed through partnerships that bring companies, communities, nonprofit organizations and policy makers statewide together to find creative solutions,” Wehner said.