This month, we are taking the time to acknowledge those who made Karwick Village possible, from community partners, volunteers, board members, and local businesses. Today, we want to once again acknowledge and publicly thank those funders who made affordable housing available through Karwick Village. Thanks to the generosity of these funders, we completed Phase 1 of Karwick Village almost entirely through philanthropic funding and donations.
We want to extend our most heartfelt and ongoing gratitude to the following funders, whose gifts have enabled six families to now call Karwick Village home. These families have found stable, affordable housing.
The Huizenga Family Foundation provided a generous gift of seed money for pre-development work, including land, engineering, and architecture work in 2019. This gift also gave other funders confidence to invest in our project. We would not have people housed today if it weren’t for that early unrestricted funding. A second gift came in 2022, directly allowing us to construct Karwick Village.
In 2025, we were honored to welcome Mr. Scott Huzenga to the construction site as our first six units at Karwick Village were being built.
The Health Foundation of LaPorte Grants played a significant role in the construction of Karwick Village. In 2024, the Health Foundation of La Porte awarded our project our very first grant. As our project grew and the scope of Phase 1 expanded, a second grant was given in 2025. In addition to covering the scope, these funds allowed us to complete Phase 2 foundations plus related underground utilities. Without this second grant, the project would have required costly site work to address and access the narrow lot to install foundations later, as well as a significant risk of damage to the driveway and, likely, the underground sewer infrastructure.
An additional grant in 2025 also supported capacity building, allowing us to understand and plan to be a sustainable, long-term, affordable housing developer in LaPorte County. With this grant, we can grow from a start-up/proof-of-concept to a repeatable, reliable provider.
For us, The Health Foundation of La Porte has been an incredible partner supporting a relatively unknown and unproven non-profit that had a vision and persistence at the beginning.
Family Foundation wishing to remain anonymous – Their gift came at the beginning in 2024, in the form of a large donation + ongoing commitment each year for 10 years. The multi-year funding commitment enabled us to secure extremely low-interest financing and close the final funding gap for Karwick Village. And while this funder wishes to remain anonymous, our gratitude is anything but.
American Rescue Plan Act Grant (ARPA) – Michigan City and LaPorte County – We received these grants in 2025, and they provided the necessary funds to help cover the very high cost of bringing needed infrastructure on-site to serve 12 units and the community center. These grants felt special to us because the County ARPA funds were designed to help extend ARPA-funded projects within cities. Michigan City and the County came through together to provide this.
Unity Foundation of LaPorte County via Lilly Foundation Gift VIII Grant- Every gift we receive or grant we’re awarded brings something special to the project in addition to funds. In 2025, we made history with our grant from the Unity Foundation via the Lilly Foundation Gift VII Grant. We received the largest award among the recipients Unity funded because our project was ready to go. It was the final funding needed to push the go button on scheduling construction.
1st Source Foundation Grant- became the first sponsor for our Community Center in late 2025. This grant has allowed us to launch phase 2 of Karwick Village, which will bring our community center to Karwick Village. This critical funding was instrumental in kicking off our campaign for the Community Center.
Our mission at Homeward Bound Villages is to create a community through affordable housing, and if all this funding has shown anything, it is that the community has been alongside us, moving this project forward. We are so grateful for all of the wonderful organizations, partners, grants, and gifts that have made this community possible.
As we move further into Phase 2, continued philanthropic support will be critical. In addition, we are gearing up for a large state housing grant as we build the organizational infrastructure to become a sustainable housing developer in LaPorte County.
