GDM Habitat brings its mission to the Des Moines Arts Festival.
Story By Tracy Dickinson | August 2026
Since its first year downtown as The Des Moines Arts Festival, that event has sought to “impact lives through the arts.” Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to bring people “together to build homes, communities, and hope.”
At the 2026 Des Moines Arts Festival, those two missions united. And with the help of hundreds of volunteers, an entire home was roofed, sided, and framed.
“The festival is such a great venue for us,” says Lance Henning, CEO of Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity (GDM Habitat). “It’s an opportunity for us to showcase what we do and for the community to see that in action and get involved.”
GDM Habitat has done similar builds in the past at both the Arts Festival and the Iowa State Fair, where both events are highlights
each year.
“This was our eighth Arts Festival project,” Henning says, “and interacting with the community is one of the best parts of those builds for me. We always have a crowd watching the progress and asking questions. And being able to talk about not just the need for affordable housing, but to showcase what’s possible through Habitat is exciting.”
More than 200 volunteers signed up ahead of time to work on the home. Henning says over the course of the weekend, numerous supporters, previous volunteers, and prior Habitat home buyers stopped by the site to visit or to participate in the construction.
The 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath ranch was constructed directly on the trailer that would move it to its prepared foundation on the southeast side of Des Moines. By the last day of the festival, the exterior construction was complete, and the home was open for the public to tour.
“We hosted a donor event Saturday night so that participants could view the home,” Henning says. “And on Sunday, the public was able to tour the home. At the close of the festival, the trailer and completed structure were moved to the prepared site so the home could be placed on its foundation and the rest of the work could begin. The home is scheduled to close and to be ready for moving in in November.”
In addition to its Arts Festival project and ongoing builds throughout the year, GDM Habitat has several projects on the calendar this fall, including Home Preservation for Heroes.
“Home Preservation for Heroes helps us connect with and complete modifications and repairs so veterans can stay in their homes safely. We do things like update water heaters and furnaces and build entrance ramps. We also do a lot of porch repairs on older homes,” Henning says.
The initiative cochaired by Des Moines Police Chief Michael McTaggart and Iowa National Guard Major General Stephen Osborn will complete home repair work in time for Veterans Day.
“Chief McTaggart and General Osborn work with their veterans’ organizations to identify needs. And Habitat provides our construction and repair expertise, as well as management of the volunteers who participate. We expect to have seven to ten projects to complete this year,” says Henning.
He says the mission of Habitat for Humanity remains the same, but the challenges to accomplishing that have magnified over the years. “Habitat is the same in essence, but what the average worker can afford versus the average cost of a home is a much wider gap than it was even ten years ago. One of the most important things we do is find ways to make home ownership affordable, whether it’s financing, repairs, or educating potential homeowners on financial readiness.”
As with any nonprofit, funding is always a limitation. “Besides volunteers and service donors, we rely on financial donors,” says Henning. “A key part of our program is helping cover the gap between what a buyer can afford and what the home costs.”
Despite those ongoing challenges, Henning says GDM Habitat continues to grow and serve an ever-expanding need in central Iowa. The group’s first townhome project saw its first closings earlier this year, and additional units were closing every couple of weeks over the summer.
“That’s been a great project,” Henning says, “working with the city of Waukee to provide affordable housing for that community that’s growing so fast.”
In seeking to impact the metro community through the arts, The Des Moines Arts Festival ultimately helped further the mission of Habitat for Humanity by building a home, uniting a community, and offering hope to a family who will celebrate the holidays in their own home this year.
Learn More: Visit GDMHabitat.org to learn more about how to get involved, programs and services with Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity
- GDM Habitat for Humanity
95 University Avenue, Suite 1
Des Moines, Iowa 50314 - East Euclid ReStore
2200 E. Euclid Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50317 - Urbandale ReStore
4033 NW Urbandale Drive
Urbandale, Iowa 50322