In Her Hands: GRO

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation recently announced a $6.2 million grant to support the In Her Hands program of the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity Fund (GRO). In Her Hands is a guaranteed income initiative focused on putting a solution to financial insecurity directly in the hands of women in Georgia. More specifically, In Her Hands will provide 200 female residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods of Atlanta’s Westside with guaranteed income over three years to help level the playing field for women, who are most likely to experience income inequity and financial insecurity.

GRO is building bold, evidence-based and community-driven solutions to address poverty and to narrow the racial wealth gap. Formed through direct community input, In Her Hands enables participants to spend more on health costs for themselves and their families, pay down debt and reduce caretaking burdens and trade-offs, allowing them to build income stability and economic security.

The direct cash assistance offered by In Her Hands can also cover basics like food, housing and transportation, but it can also enable investments in education, training and small business.

“It’s amazing what can happen when we trust people to know what is best for them and their families and provide the resources to help them meet those needs. Results from the first phase of this project revealed significant reductions in financial anxiety among participants and increased savings and investments in their future, along with double-digit drops in food insecurity,” said Hope Wollensack, Executive Director of the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity Fund. “Results like these can provide the breathing room needed for individuals to achieve their goals, have more agency and to thrive. We’re thrilled In Her Hands can help contribute to an English Avenue and Vine City community where more residents can share in the prosperity and investment in the neighborhood.”

The grant will also support policy and advocacy to ensure this additional income does not create a benefits cliff for participants, which would counter efforts to increase their income. GRO’s policy and advocacy work aims to create needed economic safety nets across Georgia for participants in guaranteed income programs, expanding the impact of its efforts beyond the Westside and other participating communities to women statewide.

The GRO In Her Hands grant aligns with the foundation’s Westside giving area strategy that supports increased economic mobility of legacy residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods of Atlanta’s Westside.