ATLANTA, Oct. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) today joined with city leaders from Tifton, Ga. and other stakeholders including banks, credit unions, housing counselors, faith-based entities, public and private schools, builders, realtors, local media, and other organizations to host an event to build awareness and support for the Tifton Financial Literacy Initiative. The lunch event was held at the Leroy Rogers Senior Center in Tifton and featured remarks from Mayor Julie Smith, FHLBank Atlanta Director of Community Investment Services, Arthur Fleming, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Georgia Municipal Association, Larry Hanson, and Director of Enterprise Learning for Money Management International, Tara Alderete.
“The financial health of our community impacts all of us, and having the right partners at the table is critical to the success of this initiative and for our residents,” said Mayor Smith. “Taking care of our residents and the industries in Tifton is critical to the success of our city.”
The goal of the Tifton Financial Literacy Initiative is to help solve challenges related to poverty, low homeownership rates, and other issues by implementing a comprehensive financial literacy initiative through which every resident of Tifton can participate. The initiative complements Launch Tifton, the city’s plan to create and promote housing options for residents. Tifton is at the crossroads of central Georgia with a population of just over 17,000 residents. Nearly 60 percent of housing units in Tifton are rental properties and almost 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
Today’s event represented the initial step in the creation of the Tifton Financial Literacy Coalition, which aims to establish a three-year plan to provide financial literacy, property literacy, small business literacy, and homeownership counseling and training to Tifton residents. The Coalition is projected to launch in January 2023.
“We are grateful to Mayor Smith, the Georgia Municipal Association, and Money Management International for partnering with us for this important event to recruit more stakeholders,” said Mr. Fleming. “Working together with our members and other stakeholders who have a vested interest in promoting greater financial and housing literacy, we hope to improve the lives of thousands of Tifton residents who will benefit greatly from this initiative and the ongoing work of the Tifton Financial Coalition.”
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—its shareholders and customers—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 $7.3 billion in Affordable Housing Program funds, assisting more than one million households.
For more information, visit our website at www.fhlbatl.com.
CONTACT: Peter E. Garuccio
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
pgaruccio@fhlbatl.com
404.888.8143
