Nonprofit grants $22.4M for affordable housing in Atlanta’s Westside

WSBTV.com News Staff
·3 min read
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In a push to make Atlanta more accessible, both financially and when it comes to affordable housing, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation awarded three grants for Atlanta’s Westside giving area, continuing what they describe as years of investment in the area.

Taken together, the three grants will put $22.4 million into the community, aimed at increasing the economic mobility of legacy residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods, according to the foundation.

Additionally, the grants will be used to address affordable housing and financial inclusion in the area.

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According to the announcement from the foundation board, $10 million will go to the Westside Future Fund, while $6.2 million each will go to CareerRise and the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund.

“We are making a significant investment in two existing long-term partners, Westside Future Fund and CareerRise, who have been critical to our ongoing work in the Westside, as well as an exciting new innovative opportunity to test a guaranteed income program with the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund,” Danny Shoy, Jr., managing director, Youth Development and Atlanta’s Westside, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation said. “We’re pulling all the levers of our strategy with these three grants; in order to truly address the complicated, intersectional challenges of increasing economic mobility, residents need access to affordable housing, high-quality jobs and more opportunities to support their financial security.”

More specifically, the WFF grant will be used to speed up the process of establishing 1,750 new affordable housing units and will support projects of that type in English Avenue and Vine City, the Blank Foundation said in a statement.

For legacy residents, WFF focuses on single-family homeownership, rental housing, and property tax assistance.

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The CareerRise grant award will help provide collaborative career services to residents in the English Avenue and Vine City communities, and will assist with training residents to gain entry-level skills and grow into specialized careers, the Foundation said.

The other $6.2 million grant, given to GRO, will be more targeted, supporting the Fund’s In Her Hands program, giving 200 female residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods a guaranteed income over three years to increase their incomes and level the playing field for women, according to the nonprofit.

The grant will also be used to support policies and advocacy to ensure the income does not create a benefits cliff for its participants.

In total, the slate of grants announced by the Blank Family Foundation was described by the nonprofit as the largest amount of funds granted to Atlanta’s Westside at one time, ever, bringing the foundation’s total awards to $88.5 million since 2007.

“The work we’re doing in Atlanta’s Westside is about advancing the hopes and dreams of the people who live there, to help them along the path to stable high quality affordable housing for their families, a career that maximizes their potential and financial security to realize their dreams,” Shoy said in a statement.

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