Voluntary Products

Voluntary Products

In addition to our annual Affordable Housing Programs, FHLBank Atlanta provides our members with other community development opportunities that support housing and benefit low- to moderate-income families and underserved communities. The programs and funding may change yearly based on the Bank’s district needs, but always serves our overall mission to support housing. Below are a few current and recent program offerings.

2024 Heirs’ Property Family Wealth Protection Fund

As a continuation of our work to address heirs’ property, FHLBank Atlanta recently announced a $5 million commitment to the 2024 Heirs' Property Family Wealth Protection Fund (FWP). Organizations working to resolve the challenge of heirs’ property will be able to apply for up to $500,000 in funding through our members. Funds will be available beginning October 1, 2024.

Heirs’ property issues arise when there is a lack of a clear title or documentation of home ownership, when a property owner passes away without a will designating a new owner, or when a property is left to multiple beneficiaries without a plan to manage the property, creating a tangled title.

FWP was created to help organizations combat this issue within their communities. According to a Fannie Mae study on residential heirs’ property, the assessed value of identified heirs’ properties is $32 billion across 44 states and the District of Columbia* and this estimate showcases the amount of wealth made inaccessible to households and communities due to title issues. FHLBank Atlanta recently conducted a survey using Harris Poll and found that more than 40% of homeowners fail to protect inheritance*.

To help members and organizations understand how they can support the work to combat this issue within the Bank’s district, our recent webinar on heirs’ property is available on-demand. To submit an application, click here.

Workforce Housing Plus+ Program

In July 2024, the Bank announced an additional $10 million in funding available through our new Workforce Housing Plus+ Program to support affordable housing. This program provides prospective homebuyers with incomes between 80.01 to 120 percent of area median income up to $15,000 each to put towards the purchase of a home.

For your convenience, please find a list of relevant documents below.

Multifamily Housing Bridge Fund

In November 2023, the Bank announced a new Multifamily Housing Bridge Fund that provided $8 million in grant funding to help close gaps for affordable multifamily rental housing projects caused by the steep rise in interest rates and construction costs. The fund offered up to $500,000 per project to member financial institutions and their community housing partners on initiatives that were at least 50 percent complete at the time of application.

Announced in February 2024, 28 projects received funding as part of the voluntary program and created 2,357 new affordable housing units within seven states and Washington D.C. Projects who received funding included a mix of multifamily and mixed-use rental housing, each targeting households earning up to 120 percent of the area median income.

Heirs’ Property

Heirs’ property is a pervasive issue that disproportionately affects those in racial and ethnic minority, low-wealth, rural, and distressed urban communities, creating barriers to homeownership and generational wealth. The scale of this issue is too large for any one entity to address on its own, but it provides an opportunity to partner with other institutions and organizations to develop a solution.

How We’ve Helped

In December 2021, FHLBank Atlanta hosted the Heirs’ Property Prevention and Resolution Funders’ Forum. This one-day event was designed to facilitate connection between nonprofits and other organizations that presented pilot initiatives and targeted solutions to potential funders for the purpose of addressing and preventing the issue of heirs’ property.

In 2022, we committed $1 million in funding to organizations who participated in the event by submitting an initiative.

If you have questions about the Bank’s voluntary programs, please contact Community Investment Services at 1.800.536.9650, option 3.