A grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will increase the number of homes built by Habitat for Humanity both locally and nationwide in coming years.

Julie Schmillen, executive director of South Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity, said the grant will increase the number of homes built in the area next year to eight from five.

“We will be able to help three additional families with this,” Schmillen said.

Thrivent spokesman Dave Rustad said Thrivent’s goal is to partially fund the construction of 500 houses nationwide every year by 2008.

To that end, the company awarded a $105 million grant to Habitat for Humanity for the next five years. It has committed $21.7 million to building 312 houses in 2006 alone.

The grant will increase the number of Habitat for Humanity homes built in Minnesota to 140 this year from 120 in 2005.

Thrivent plans to contribute 70 percent of the construction costs for those homes. Local Habitat for Humanity affiliates will fund 20 percent of construction, and the local Thrivent chapter will kick in the final 10 percent.

Gary Irmiter, a Thrivent Builds Homes Lutheran community service specialist based in New Ulm, said the partnership between the two groups fulfills a mutual desire to create affordable housing.

“It fits both our organizations really well,” Irmiter said. “... Habitat for Humanity does a fantastic job of building homes and providing people a hand up, not a hand out.”

Schmillen said it will take extra volunteers to build the additional homes. They require an estimated 4,000 volunteer hours from each of 450 volunteers.

The benefit for Habitat for Humanity, she said, is those who volunteer once tend to come back.

“This is a wonderful, new, exciting partnership with Thrivent,” she said.