As new communities take shape across Spokane, regional homebuilder Hayden Homes is asking a broader question: How do we make sure growth still feels local — and neighbors still help neighbors?

That question is shaping an evolving approach from Hayden Homes to building communities — one that more intentionally links development to local investment.

With the purchase of a new home, Hayden Homes makes a $300 donation on the homeowner’s behalf; half toward building an affordable home for another Northwest family, and half to a Spokane-area nonprofit. It’s all part of the regional homebuilder’s new Give As You Go™ Fund.

Through the Give As You Go™ Fund, Hayden Homes has committed to investing $25 million in charitable causes by 2030. 

The fund couldn’t come at a better time for the community. Spokane and 11 other cities in Washington fall within the top 25 most expensive nationally, according to a March 2026  Washington Roundtable report. This can mean difficult choices: hardworking families stretching paychecks between groceries and mortgage payments, and teachers and nurses pushed further from the schools and hospitals where they work.

A longstanding commitment to giving

Hayden Homes, an industry leader for attainable housing in the Northwest, believes that giving should be part of business growth. Founded in 1989, the company has long emphasized its “Give As You Go™” philosophy — a driving purpose rooted in the idea that homebuilders have the power to support the communities in which they build. That philosophy is backed in real dollars. Since its founding, Hayden Homes has donated over $88 million to charitable causes across the Northwest.

In Spokane County, that approach has already resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in giving to dozens of local nonprofits and civic organizations, including Second Harvest, ARC of Spokane, Spokane Fantasy Flight, and Spokane HOPE to name a few. Through their nonprofit partner First Story, Hayden Homes has also helped 13 local families achieve homeownership using zero-down, zero-interest, 30-year mortgages designed for first-time buyers earning below 80% of area median income.

First Story’s unique program gave Spokane’s Amanda Cole, a single mom of two, an opportunity for her family to own a brand-new Hayden home in Spokane’s Five Mile Prairie community — she got her keys in October 2025. 

“The City of Spokane is addressing our housing crisis by reforming zoning codes and policies, while also collaborating with local partners,” said City of Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown. “One of these partners, Hayden Homes, is dedicated to providing affordable homeownership opportunities through First Story.” 

What makes the Give as You Go™ fund different

The Give As You Go™ Fund  reflects a broader approach to the philanthropy that has defined Hayden Homes for decades and unites their long-standing commitment to community through every home built, through:

• Housing solutions
• Youth and education
• Food security 

Support can range from affordable housing initiatives and skilled trades workforce development to school meal programs and early childhood education.

Hayden Homes’ approach also differs from traditional corporate philanthropy in one powerful way: homebuyers are invited to nominate nonprofit organizations to be considered for receiving funding. Buyers nominate the local nonprofits that matter most to them, whether that's the food bank where they volunteer, their child’s school program, or a youth mentorship organization they believe in.

In addition to giving to the community through the Give As You Go™ Fund, Hayden Homes’ goal and business model is to bring homes to market for working households earning 100-120% area median income; offering families the chance to live and work in the same community. To accomplish this, the company has partnered with city and county governments across the Northwest.

Elsewhere in Washington state, the homebuilder announced Merlot Meadows in Prosser, a community of single-family homes with prices starting over $130,000 below Benton County’s current median home price, made possible through the city’s housing density incentive program.

Every new roof Hayden Homes raises in Spokane helps put food on someone’s table and open the door to homeownership for another family. And every homeowner gets to be part of making it happen.

For more information on Hayden Homes, visit https://www.hayden-homes.com/give-as-you-go/give-as-you-go-fund