Mayor Andre Dickens Launches Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative No-Fee Microloan Anti-Displacement Program

Mayor Andre Dickens Launches Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative No-Fee Microloan Anti-Displacement Program

ATLANTA-As a part of his Administration's historic Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced an innovative new zero cost, zero fee anti-displacement loan pilot program to address eviction even further upstream for vulnerable households across Atlanta.

The two-year pilot is being led and administered by the Flagstone Initiative, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2022. To date, Flagstone reaches over 19,000 low-income households across 7 states and has made more than 1,790,000 micro-loans by partnering with governments, philanthropy and housing providers.

"The Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative is about investing in communities while making sure the people who have called them home can stay and benefit from that progress," said Mayor Dickens. "Sometimes the difference between stability and crisis is a few hundred dollars at the wrong time. This pilot gives us another tool to step in early, help families stay in their homes and prevent a temporary setback from becoming an eviction."

The pilot provides a $500 no-fee, no-interest and no-penalty Rent Loan to stabilize eligible households as soon as they anticipate a financial hardship that could lead to a missed rent payment. Households then contribute $20/week for 25 weeks to repay the loan. No collateral, no interest, no fees, no credit checks, no credit reporting, and no collections are tied to the loan.

To make Rent Loans available to low-income renters, Flagstone works in partnership with affordable housing providers like PadSplit, Open Doors Atlanta, Golden Door, LDG, Gateway, BDP, TI Management and OaksATL.

In addition to $50,000 in pilot funding from the City, other local and national donors are contributing additional resources to expand the pilot's reach, including $50,000 for loan costs from AirBnb, and $150,000 from the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta and $150,000 from the William Josef Foundation in loan capital.

Households interested in learning more can visit https://www.flagstoneinitiative.org/rent-loan or contact the City's Housing Help Center. Housing providers interested in enrolling in the program to support their residents can also reach out to Flagstone at https://www.flagstoneinitiative.org/contact

Learn more about the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative at this link or by visiting atl.direct/nri/