The board of directors of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has approved three grants to benefit Atlanta’s Westside, the grants will total $22.4 million. The foundation has put their focus on increasing the economic mobility of legacy residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods and address both affordable housing and financial inclusion.
“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,” said Danny Shoy, Jr., managing director, Youth Development and Atlanta’s Westside, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, in a press release. “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.”
The Westside Future Fund (WFF) will receive $10 million to support WFF’s Our Next Chapter campaign. The campaign aims to raise $55 million to accelerate WFF’s goal of establishing 1,750 new units of affordable housing. This grant will specifically support affordable housing projects in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods.
CareerRise is recieving $6.2 million for the Westside Works neighborhood-based workforce collaborative. The collaborative provides career services to residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods. Westside Works helps Westside residents gain entry-level skills and support their growth and development into flourishing, specialized careers.
The Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund (GRO) will recieve $6.2 million to support GRO’s In Her Hands program. The program aims to provide 200 female residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods with guaranteed income over three years. The grant will also support policy and advocacy to ensure this additional income does not create a benefits cliff for participants, which would be counter to efforts to increase their income. GRO’s policy and advocacy work aims to create needed economic safety nets across Georgia.
This slate of grants represents the largest amount of funds committed by the foundation to Atlanta’s Westside at one time and brings the Blank Family Foundation’s enduring commitment to Atlanta’s Westside to more than $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,” said Shoy. “We have many partners in this work, and we welcome others to join us in supporting this vibrant community.”
To learn more about the Blank Family Foundation’s work in Atlanta’s Westside, visit blankfoundation.org/westside.