Investing Upstream With The Flagstone Initiative: How a Small Loan Can Prevent a Family’s Housing Crisis 

Through the GoATL Community Capacity Fund, the Community Foundation is helping expand an innovative eviction prevention model in metro Atlanta. 

For many families, eviction doesn’t begin with years of financial instability. It begins with an unexpected expense. 

A car repair. A medical bill. A missed paycheck. 

For households already stretched thin, a single financial shock can quickly spiral into an eviction filing, threatening housing stability, disrupting employment, interrupting children’s education, and increasing the risk of homelessness. 

In metro Atlanta, that challenge has reached alarming levels. In 2025, more than 144,000 eviction filings were recorded across the five-county Atlanta region—more than in New York City or the entire state of Virginia and the highest total among the locations tracked by Eviction Lab. 

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta believes communities are strongest when we invest not only in responding to crises, but in preventing them. 

That’s why, through the GoATL Community Capacity Fund, the Foundation recently made a $150,000 investment in The Flagstone Initiative, an innovative nonprofit helping families stay housed by intervening before eviction proceedings ever begin. The initiative has also been funded through the Community Foundation’s TogetherATL Housing & Neighborhoods Fund.

A Different Approach to Eviction Prevention 

Traditional eviction assistance often arrives after families have already fallen behind on rent or entered the legal system. By then, the costs—to families and communities—have multiplied. 

Flagstone works much earlier. 

The organization provides $500, no-interest, no-fee microloans paid directly to landlords on behalf of renters facing a temporary financial setback. The loans help bridge a short-term gap before a missed payment becomes an eviction filing. 

Borrowers repay the loans over time through affordable weekly payments, with no credit check, no credit reporting, and no penalties. 

It’s a simple idea with the potential for significant impact. 

Nationally, 97 percent of borrowers remain stably housed 90 days after receiving a loan, and borrowers remain in their homes 87 percent longer than comparable households who do not receive assistance. 

Investing in Innovation 

The GoATL Community Capacity Fund was created to provide flexible capital to innovative intermediaries and mission-driven organizations that have demonstrated promising solutions but need patient, flexible capital to grow. 

For Flagstone, the investment will help expand its upstream eviction prevention model throughout metro Atlanta while strengthening the region’s broader housing stability ecosystem. 

Already, the organization has reached more than 5,700 rent-burdened households across Greater Atlanta and originated 330 microloans through partnerships with organizations including PadSplit, Open Doors Atlanta, and Nuveen Real Estate. 

The City of Atlanta has also selected Flagstone through a competitive process to administer its Eviction Prevention Microloan Program. 

More Than Capital 

The Community Foundation’s role extends beyond financing. As a partner through the GoATL Community Capacity Fund, the Foundation will help convene partners, strengthen relationships across Atlanta’s housing ecosystem, and support Flagstone as it scales its model throughout the region. 

“For thousands of families, just $500 in non-predatory credit can make all the difference. Upstream prevention improves housing stability, a win for the entire community.” —Keith Pelczarski, Co-founder, The Flagstone Initiative 

It’s an example of how philanthropic capital can do more than fund programs; it can help accelerate innovative solutions that strengthen communities before crises occur. Sometimes, preventing a housing crisis begins with something as simple as a $500 loan—and a community willing to invest in prevention. 

For 75 years, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta has connected generosity with the needs and possibilities of our region. GoATL represents part of what comes next: using more forms of capital to help promising solutions grow and communities thrive. 

Read the GoATL 2025 Impact Report. 

Interested in helping expand this work? Start a conversation with our team. 

*All data in this article is verified according to Flagstone’s program data.