Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc. (ANDP) is excited to announce a donation of $300,000 from RBC Bank to support the organization’s Closing the Gap capital campaign. This plan will produce 2,000 homes by 2025 and help meet the city and region’s affordable housing needs for both homeowners and renters in Atlanta.

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“We are thrilled to support ANDP in their mission to ensure every family has access to safe, quality, affordable housing,” said Melanie Kandil, RBC Bank Chief Compliance Office. The donation represents ANDP’s first corporate gift toward its unprecedented plan, which aims to complete the development and renovation of 250 single-family rental homes, 500 single-family homes targeted for homeownership, and the creation or preservation of 1,250 apartments throughout metro Atlanta, with a priority for neighborhoods most at risk for future displacement of low-income residents.

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“Black homeownership levels are no better today than when the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1967, and this is contributing to the growing wealth gap between Black and white households. The time to act is now,” says ANDP President and CEO John O’Callaghan. “RBC built a relationship with ANDP at the height of the foreclosure crisis and has consistently backed our efforts to introduce innovative models to increase housing production and homeownership opportunities.”

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Since 2010, RBC has provided ANDP considerable support for its innovative programs, including access to a $6 million line of credit for the development of for-sale and lease-purchase homes, nearly $400,000 in grants and revolving capital, and a $500,000 investment in the ANDP Loan Fund. Most recently, RBC provided the first investment in ANDP’s internal rotating capital fund which has grown to over $15 million and reduces home construction costs.

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“Access to capital from RBC and others not only allows us to be nimble in the marketplace, but it also saves us nearly $10,000 per home compared to the use of traditional construction loans,” explained O’Callaghan.

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The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and the Center for Community Progress recently released a 10-year retrospective: “Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts after the Great Recession.” The special report includes a chapter on ANDP’s efforts to access much-needed capital for single-family development.

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“Investments in our homeownership, lease purchase, and single-family rental models have enabled a nearly tripled annual production and have helped hone a model that is being studied and utilized by like nonprofits and governmental agencies across the country. It’s a testament to the potential of nonprofit developers to grow their scale and make a significant impact on affordable housing. We are thrilled that RBC continues to support this work,” said O’Callaghan.