Georgians For Resource Equity
Properly Resourcing Communities throughout Georgia
Our Mission
GfRE exists to Properly Resource Communities throughout Georgia.
Targeting Deserts
We do this by targeting deserts, notably healthcare deserts, food deserts, credit deserts, consumer deserts, and other areas of lack.
Resources
GfRE targets essential resources to communities where they are not currently being provided by national firms.
Supporting Entrepreneurs
GfRE works with and helps local entrepreneurs within those communities provide the resources themselves by combining important financial investments/assistance with coaching and mentoring.


Our Background
An individual’s condition is inseparable from the condition of their community. They have an opportunity to thrive when the community that they inhabit can provide them with the resources they need. Such essential resources are not distributed equitably throughout Georgia. The lack of any of these critical resources is defined by the United Nations as poverty. Another term used widely today is desert.
Credit Desert: The Facts
- Banks, Despite the Federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), have been closing branches in lower income and minority areas for years. In 2020 they closed a record 3,324 branches.
- Payday Lenders, Title Loan, and Pawn Shops Have Come Into These Communities to Fill the Financial Services Void. It is critical that people in every community have access to high quality sources of credit.
- High quality credit is credit that is structured to support repayment, with affordable monthly installments of principal and interest fitting within the borrower’s budget, and where the lender reports all credit to the credit bureaus, helping people build or rebuild credit.
- Residents with lower credit scores generally pay more for auto, renter’s, and homeowner’s insurance
- Even if residents are offered a loan, chances are it will be at a higher interest rate
- Employers may run a credit check before offering residents a job, especially if they apply for a management position or one that involves handling money.


Atlanta-Area Average Credit Scores
- Poor credit can make it harder to get car and home loans, and to qualify for credit card accounts
- Even if residents are offered a loan, chances are it will be at a higher interest rate
- Residents with lower credit scores generally pay more for auto, renter’s, and homeowner’s insurance
- Employers may run a credit check before offering residents a job, especially if they apply for a management position or one that involves handling money.

Health Service Deserts: The Facts
- Banks, Despite the Federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), have been closing branches in lower income and minority areas for years. In 2020 they closed a record 3,324 branches.
- Payday Lenders, Title Loan, and Pawn Shops Have Come Into These Communities to Fill the Financial Services Void. It is critical that people in every community have access to high quality sources of credit.
- High quality credit is credit that is structured to support repayment, with affordable monthly installments of principal and interest fitting within the borrower’s budget, and where the lender reports all credit to the credit bureaus, helping people build or rebuild credit.
- Residents with lower credit scores generally pay more for auto, renter’s, and homeowner’s insurance
- Even if residents are offered a loan, chances are it will be at a higher interest rate
- Employers may run a credit check before offering residents a job, especially if they apply for a management position or one that involves handling money.
Grocery Store: The Facts
- In 2015, an estimated 39 million people, or 12.8% of the United States Population, lived in “Low Income and Low Access Areas.”
- Food deserts tend to be inhabited by low-income residents with reduced mobility, making these areas less attractive markets for large supermarket chains to locate.
- Food deserts lack suppliers of fresh foods, such as meats, fruits, and vegetables and, available foods are often processed and high in sugar and saturated fats.
Support Resolutions
The following resolutions are in support of our mission.



