How Itzhak Ezratti Turned a Home-Building Company into a Force for Community Good

In January 2025, the approximately 32,000-square-foot Canyon Branch Library in Boynton Beach, Florida, opened its doors on land donated by GL Homes.

A ribbon was cut. Shelves were stocked. Families from the surrounding neighborhoods walked in for the first time. And somewhere in that moment was the clearest expression of what GL Homes founder Itzhak Ezratti has always believed, that building a community means far more than building the homes inside of it.

For Itzhak Ezratti, the word “community” isn’t a marketing term. It’s a responsibility, one that GL Homes has taken seriously since the day it was founded in 1976 and that has only grown more structured, more intentional and more far-reaching in the decades since.

Itzhak Ezratti’s philosophy

When Itzhak Ezratti founded GL Homes nearly 50 years ago, he wasn’t thinking about philanthropy programs or charitable frameworks. He was thinking about what it means to do things right.

That instinct, to consider the people around him, not just the transactions in front of him, was part of the company’s DNA from the very beginning.

Today, GL Homes integrates community engagement into its growth model, viewing philanthropy as an essential component of responsible development. But that’s not a recent rebranding; it’s a reflection of how Itzhak Ezratti has always understood the job.

Community impact: Donations for schools, parks, libraries

For a home builder, land is the most valuable thing, and what the builder chooses to do with it says everything about its priorities. GL Homes has donated land for public facilities such as schools, parks, libraries, fire and police stations, and civic centers.

These are decisions that shape the physical and civic fabric of the communities where GL Homes develops and that benefit residents far beyond the boundaries of a single subdivision.

From civic centers, schools and parks to the new Canyon Branch Library in Palm Beach County, GL Homes has donated land for public benefit. Through investments in the workforce and affordable housing, the company has not only contributed but brought over 145 homes to life. Each donation represents a choice to give something of real value to the community, not just write checks.

The philosophy behind these choices, that a developer’s responsibility extends to the public infrastructure that makes a community functional, stems from GL Homes culture. It’s the fingerprint of Itzhak Ezratti, and the values he has instilled in the company he has built over the years.

GL Homes Philanthropy

Over time, what had always been a values-driven practice became a formal structure. GL Homes Philanthropy now serves as the organizational base for the company’s giving: a company-wide mission with defined priorities and ongoing partnerships across Florida. GL Homes Philanthropy’s efforts focus on areas that directly impact quality of life: breaking the cycle of homelessness, hunger relief, education and community wellness.

The formalization of GL Homes Philanthropy didn’t change its underlying values. It simply provided a name and a framework that has allowed the company to be more deliberate, more consistent and more impactful in how it gives back. By concentrating on sustained partnerships rather than one-time contributions, GL Homes aims to support programs capable of delivering measurable and lasting impact.

That distinction matters. Writing a check once is easy, but showing up year after year, building real relationships with nonprofit partners, and staying committed through the work of community improvement is the Itzhak Ezratti model.

Fighting hunger: Feeding South Florida and The Lord’s Place Meal Mobile

GL Homes consistently supports hunger relief across South Florida. GL Homes Philanthropy has supported The Lord’s Place Meal Mobile, which delivers meals and outreach services to individuals facing homelessness in Palm Beach County, as well as local food banks and hunger relief programs.

The Lord’s Place Meal Mobile is a mobile operation that goes where people in need actually are, on the streets, in shelters, in the gaps that more formal systems don’t reach. GL Homes’ partnership with the program reflects Itzhak Ezratti’s long-time approach to giving back, not across a distance but through direct, tangible action.

Feeding South Florida is also among the organizations that GL Homes supports, extending hunger relief efforts across the broader region.

Housing stability: Habitat for Humanity and beyond

The connection between GL Homes and the support of housing stability is a natural one, but it’s also a principled one. Itzhak Ezratti built a career on the belief that a good home changes a family’s trajectory. That same belief drives the company’s ongoing support for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County, Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties, and St. Lucie Habitat for Humanity.

For Itzhak Ezratti, supporting housing stability programs isn’t charity in the abstract. It’s an extension of the same conviction that drove him to build well-designed, quality homes for the families who buy them, the conviction that where you live shapes who you become.

Children and education: Investing in the next generation

Ask anyone who has worked alongside Itzhak Ezratti about what matters most to him, and children and education will come up quickly. GL Homes’ philanthropic partnerships consistently reflect that priority.

The company supports Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, Lee County, St. Lucie County and Collier County, organizations that give young people access to safe spaces, mentorship and opportunity during the hours when they need it most.

GL Homes also supports the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, Jewish Adoption and Family Care Options (JAFCO), Place of Hope, and Youth Haven, a range of organizations focused on giving children and young people a stable foundation. The GL Connects initiative extends that work by connecting nonprofit partners to each other and to resources they might not otherwise access, building networks of support that are stronger than a single organization could be alone.

For Itzhak Ezratti, investing in young people isn’t a philanthropy strategy; it’s common sense. Communities don’t thrive because their homes are beautiful; they thrive because the people growing up inside them have what they need to succeed.

A culture of giving: How employees became philanthropists too

What separates GL Homes Philanthropy from checkbook charity is the people behind it. GL Homes employees don’t just make donations from a distance; they show up. They volunteer at food banks, build playgrounds, participate in literacy programs and engage directly with the nonprofit partners the company supports.

The Good Night’s Sleep initiative provides furnishings to make a house a home, which is essential for people transitioning from homelessness to stable housing. GL Homes team members personally shop for and deliver those furnishings.

The Passion for Playgrounds initiative puts employees on job sites of a different kind, building outdoor spaces for children in underserved communities. The Summer of Service program mobilizes teams across the company each year in sustained, hands-on volunteer work.

This model of engagement reflects what Itzhak Ezratti understood early, that values don’t transfer through memos; they transfer by example. When employees see that leadership shows up, it becomes part of everyone’s role.

The legacy Itzhak Ezratti is most proud of

In five decades of building GL Homes, Itzhak Ezratti has overseen the development of homes for more than 100,000 Florida families. That number is significant, but if you ask what he’s most proud of, the answer won’t be found in the square footage of homes he has sold or the number of communities he has developed.

His goal for GL Homes has remained consistent: Invest in people, uplift communities and do the right thing. That’s the throughline from the first project in Hollywood, Florida, to the Canyon Branch Library in Boynton Beach, to the meals delivered by The Lord’s Place Meal Mobile on any given weekday in Palm Beach County.

GL Homes tackles important problems and finds effective solutions to help charities throughout Florida and beyond. The company’s work helps break the cycle of homelessness, combat hunger, and support children and education.

Itzhak Ezratti built a home-building company. But what he was really building all along was harder to measure and more durable than any structure, a belief that the business of building places to live carries an obligation to make those places, and the communities around them, genuinely worth living in.

That is the legacy. And it’s still being written.