Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and SouthState Bank award $200,000 grant to Central Pines Regional Council

ATLANTA (Aug. 5, 2025) – Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) and SouthState Bank are delivering a $200,000 grant to Central Pines Regional Council.  The grant will be used to prevent and resolve heirs’ property issues that arise when home or landowners leave their property to others without a clear will, estate plan, title or deed.

SouthState Bank and Central Pines Regional Council partnered to apply for the grant, which is awarded from FHLBank Atlanta’s 2024 Heirs Property Family Wealth Protection Fund. In total, this program awarded $5.9 million through its member financial institutions to 21 organizations addressing heirs’ property issues.

“A significant part of our mission is to advance homeownership, which includes helping families pass along the hard-earned equity they have built in their properties,” said Kirk Malmberg, president and CEO of FHLBank Atlanta. “Without proper paperwork in place, a property’s condition and value are much harder to maintain, and families may be excluded from accessing home equity loans, tax rebates, homestead exemptions, and disaster recovery assistance.”

A 2024 Harris Poll survey sponsored by FHLBank Atlanta found that 90% of homeowners expect the equity in their homes to benefit their heirs, yet 43% do not have a will, trust or estate plan. FHLBank Atlanta created the Family Wealth Protection Fund to support organizations that help property owners by writing wills and estate plans or resolving existing tangled titles. 

“We are proud to be a member of FHLBank Atlanta and to distribute this grant funding to a proven, worthwhile organization,” said LeDon Jones, SouthState director of Corporate Stewardship. “Central Pines Regional Council has experience in resolving tangled titles and ensuring the proper legal documents are in place for families to pass along their homes or land.”

“When families lack clear title to their property, it undermines their ability to build wealth and destabilizes community development,” said Hunter Fillers, Housing Program Manager at Central Pines Regional Council. “This grant strengthens our ability to deliver direct legal services and education to low- and moderate-income families across North Carolina, in collaboration with community-based legal partners who play a critical role in reaching and supporting impacted families.”

Services delivered by Central Pines Regional Council from this grant funding will be free to property owners.

About FHLBank Atlanta
FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively-priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help member financial institutions make affordable home mortgages and provide economic development credit to neighborhoods and communities. The Bank’s members are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, community development financial institutions, and insurance companies located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 11 district Banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. Since 1990, the FHLBanks have awarded approximately $9.1 billion in Affordable Housing Program funds, assisting more than 1.2 million households. For more information, visit www.fhlbatl.com

About SouthState Bank
SouthState Corporation (NYSE: SSB) is a financial services company headquartered in Winter Haven, Florida. SouthState Bank, N.A., the company’s nationally chartered bank subsidiary, provides consumer, commercial, mortgage and wealth management solutions to more than 1.5 million customers throughout Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, Georgia, Colorado, Alabama, and Virginia. The bank also serves clients nationwide through its correspondent banking division. Additional information is available at SouthStateBank.com.

About Central Pines Regional Council
For more than five decades, Central Pines Regional Council has been educating and empowering local governments through direct assistance, regional planning, and technical expertise. As a resource and support hub for local governments, community members, and partners across Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, and Wake counties, we believe that our region thrives when we come together with a common vision and plan for the future. Our work fosters constructive conversations and drives long-term change in our community to ensure our region is thriving, equitable, connected and resilient.