Habitat For Humanity St. Johns County Partners with Raintree Restaurant to Build Homes
ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida (April 22, 2026) – The Raintree Restaurant has been a fixture in the St. Augustine community for over 40 years, a place where generations of visitors and locals have celebrated, dined, and gathered. What many may not know is that co-owner Lorna MacDonald and her family have reinforced their commitment to the community through a unique Florida state tax credit program that supports local housing efforts. For seven years, Raintree Restaurant has directed its sales tax payments to Habitat for Humanity of St. Johns County, helping to build seven homes that now house happy Habitat homeowners.
“It’s an absolute no-brainer,” says Lorna MacDonald, co-owner of Raintree Restaurant. “I think if more businesses understood how easy the process is and what they’re giving back to the community, more of them would participate. It just makes sense, and as business owners, we need to be supporting the community that has so fiercely supported us. Housing is critical to that community, and if we can help Habitat St. Johns create more affordable housing for our neighbors, we’re going to keep doing just that.”
The Community Contribution Tax Credit Program (CCTCP) is a state-funded incentive established in 1980 to encourage businesses that collect and remit state sales and use tax or are registered as C-corporations to partner with those who provide affordable housing. It is essentially a way for businesses to redirect their Florida taxes directly to Habitat for Humanity affiliates to create housing that benefits the local community. Through the program, businesses receive a refund of the cash portion of their donation from the State of Florida. The second part of the participating businesses’ donation is 200 hours of team-building and hands-on worksite volunteering. The reimbursement process is simple, and Habitat St. Johns assists with completing and filing the refund forms. To learn more about participating in the CCTCP program, please contact Tom Torretta at TTorretta@HabitatStJohns.org or 904-826-3252.
“Habitat has always been extremely helpful with filing the forms and working through the process with us,” says MacDonald. “They make it easy. And it’s nice to give back – we could all use more of that in our lives. I appreciate that they are flexible with the volunteer hours and work with our schedule. Our volunteer hours are a time to bond with our staff and family. Both of my children and many of our staff have volunteered during our house builds – we’ve done seven of them – and I’m proud that they are continuing to build a legacy of giving.”
