Our speaker for April 16, 2026 was Rachel Jeffries, Fund Development and Grants Manager for Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County. Rachel joined Habitat in 2025. Previously, she worked for 8 years in the wine industry as Senior Hospitality Manager for an independent winery brand in Sonoma. Rachel attended Sonoma State University where she graduated summa cum laude!
Habitat for Humanity is an international organization with local franchises operating independently. Its goal is to bring people together to build homes and hope. Habitat of Sonoma County seeks to build Sonoma County into a place where everyone has a place to live. They opened 40 years ago and have built 28 affordable homes in Sonoma County. They also emphasize repairing homes for people who can’t afford the cost of repair. Habitat’s focus is on bridging the gap between rent and ownership. In Sonoma County, rents average $2,200 per month, which requires an income of $44 per hour, or 2.2 times minimum wage. Renting a home, however, does not build equity. Habitat offers eligible people an opportunity to help build their own homes and to pay a reasonable mortgage, which is capped at 35% of the family’s income. Some of the eligibility requirements are family income of 60%-80% of the area median income. For example, a family of 4 would need annual earnings of $82,980-$110,700 to qualify. Among other things, the prospective owner must also be a first-time homeowner, have 2 years of income in the current field of work, and have a credit score of at least 640. The owner must also agree to complete a sweat-equity requirement of 500 hours, attend homeowner preparation workshops, and agree to take part in public events on behalf of Habitat. There are restrictions on ownership and resale is restricted. Habitat requires that all of the homes it builds remain affordable.
Habitat has other programs, including ReStore, a discount home improvement store and the largest reseller in Sonoma County. ReStore accepts gently used items and building materials and resells them to the public. Profits go to Habitat’s home building and repair operations. Habitat also has an “Aging in Place” program in which it helps extremely low income people make needed home repairs.
Habitat’s current projects include a four-home project in Sebastopol and a 10-home project near Saggio Hills in Healdsburg. They are also starting a project in downtown Windsor, near the high school. Habitat is also seeking donations and volunteers for its building projects and for ReStore.
Thank you, Rachel, for your meaningful presentation and for all the work you and Habitat do for our community!
