Policy Advocacy:  ANDP has a long history of leadership in affordable housing policy.  In 2000, with a generous grant from the Ford Foundation, ANDP spearheaded the creation of the regional Mixed-Income Communities Initiative (MICI), a quarterly convening of affordable housing stakeholders, elected officials, academicians, corporate and nonprofit leaders.  MICI produced comprehensive research reports – “Making the Case for Mixed-Income and Mixed-Use Communities” – that demonstrated the region’s inability to provide affordable housing at all income levels, particularly in areas convenient and accessible to jobs. 

​

Piece by Piece Initiative:  With the metro housing crisis in 2008, ANDP shifted its focus in all three lines of its business, including policy, to address the foreclosure crisis.  ANDP stepped up as a “community quarterback” and served as a leader of the 155-member Piece by Piece Foreclosure Initiative (PBP), which convened stakeholders at all levels of government to address the foreclosure crisis.  PBP helped to save families in high-foreclosure neighborhoods a minimum of $26.2 million in taxes; successfully advocated for the entire metro region to be designated as a Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative by the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA), and worked with other stakeholders to broaden the use of Georgia’s allocation from the Hardest Hit Fund. 

​

Underwater Neighborhoods:  In the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis, the housing recovery has been wildly uneven, bypassing large portions of metro Atlanta, particularly communities south of I-20.  In 2014, our region had the highest rate of underwater homeowners in the country.  The most impacted neighborhoods for negative equity are largely communities of color.  The impact of negative equity is even more significant given the fact that home equity accounts for 92% of personal net worth for the typical African American household.  In response, ANDP hosted “Underwater Atlanta,” a symposium attended by more than 200 affordable and mixed-income stakeholders at the regional, state, and national levels.  The goal of the conference was to elevate awareness of the issue of negative equity; examine its impact on existing homeowners, communities, and local governments; and seek real solutions to both connect homeowners with loan modification strategies and help lift property values in hard-hit neighborhoods. 

​

City of Atlanta:  ANDP has also worked to address the challenge of gentrification and displacement in rapidly redeveloping intown neighborhoods.  ANDP and its partners played a key part in securing an $18 million affordable housing allocation from the Beltline budget.  ANDP also played a key role in a successful community-led campaign for the issuance of a $40 million housing opportunity bond for the City of Atlanta.   We are a member of the City for All Affordable Housing Coalition, the Transformation Alliance and participate at other housing policy tables.

​

Community Engagement:  As a NeighborWorks organization, ANDP pursues a community building and engagement line of business with a mission to strengthen the capacity of neighborhood leaders in communities of color located primarily in the south metro Atlanta region. We have designed our community building and engagement efforts to complement our real estate development activity.  In addition to offering quality, affordable homeownership opportunities in underserved neighborhoods, we want to work toward improving the overall quality of life in these communities.  

​

For the past three years, ANDP has sent a team of resident leaders to the Community Leadership Institute (CLI), an intensive, three-day community development training session sponsored by NeighborWorks America.  Upon return to Atlanta, the team works together over a nine-month period to plan a comprehensive training specifically for metro Atlanta resident leaders.  These “Neighbors Together” events are held in June during NeighborWorks week.  Since 2015, ANDP has trained more than 300 neighborhood leaders with a focus on issues related to public safety, code enforcement, police relations, neighborhood marketing and branding, and general leadership skills.  Our CLI teams and June “Neighbors Together” events have consistently included strong representation from the City of Atlanta, Clayton County, South DeKalb, South Cobb, South Fulton, Douglas Count, Rockdale County, East Point, and College Park. 

​

In addition to hosting the Neighbors Together events, ANDP works closely with our CLI team leaders to connect them to additional capacity-building opportunities and potential funding sources.  Our CLI team members have applied for and received grants and technical assistance for community improvement projects from the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta.