The Palm Springs-based homeless service provider Well in the Desert has received a record-setting $1 million donation as the organization searches for a new home.
The nonprofit announced a philanthropist had donated the funds to aid the group in purchasing a permanent home. Well in the Desert is being displaced from its downtown building so the city can build a new fire station in part of the Town and Country Center.
“We are incredibly grateful for this extraordinary act of generosity,” Well In The Desert President Matthew Naylor said in a press release. “This gift is about more than a building. It is about ensuring that food, compassion, dignity, and hope remain available to our community for decades to come.”
In an interview, Naylor told The Desert Sun Well in the Desert would need about $2 million to buy an existing property and revamp it to fit the organization’s needs. He has launched a fundraising campaign to help raise the additional funds needed for the relocation. Naylor would not reveal the $1 million donor’s identity.
“This community has stood beside us for nearly three decades,” Naylor continued. “We have relocated multiple times over the years, but this campaign gives us an opportunity to build something permanent — a home where our mission can continue to grow and serve future generations.”
Well in the Desert served nearly 98,000 meals to those in need in 2025 and served more than 250 families each week out of its downtown Palm Springs food bank. But the group was forced to leave its longtime home in the north end of the Town and Country Center when the city decided to demolish the buildings and construct a new fire station at the site.
During a meeting on Wednesday, June 10, the city council authorized the $4 million purchase of part of the Town and Country Center from the building’s owner, Grit Development. The city hopes to retire its aged fire station at 277 N. Indian Canyon Dr. and create a more modern facility in the historic shopping plaza, which has sat mostly vacant for years.
About two weeks prior to the city’s vote, the Grit had abruptly terminated its lease with Well in the Desert, giving the group only a few weeks to move. The moving deadline has since been extended until mid-August. Well in the Desert will seek a temporary location for its food bank as it prepares to find a permanent home.
Plans for the new site include food storage, distribution space, a commercial kitchen, dining facilities, volunteer and administrative offices and community gathering areas.
Well in the Desert has operated in the Coachella Valley for nearly 30 years, providing food and additional support to local families.
Sam Morgen covers local government for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Donor gives historic $1 million to Palm Springs homeless service group
Reporting by Sam Morgen, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sam Morgen, Palm Springs Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
