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Operations committee approves $929,460 award to Operation Hope for homeownership, financial literacy and small-business support
Summary
The DeKalb County Operations Committee approved a recommendation to award a three-year contract (with one renewal option) to Operation Hope Inc. for up to $929,460 to provide homeownership counseling, financial-literacy classes and small-business technical assistance to county residents.
The DeKalb County Operations Committee voted to recommend a three-year contract to Operation Hope Inc. worth up to $929,460 to deliver homeownership counseling, financial-literacy training and credit counseling services to county residents and technical assistance to small businesses.
A committee member presenting the item described the program as a two-track service model: "1 is classroom training… and also case management," and said each adult in a household eligible for case management could receive three individual counseling sessions plus long-term tracking to measure homeownership outcomes. The presenter said the services are intended to support both families seeking stable housing and entrepreneurs seeking to start or grow small businesses.
Commissioner Adena Bowden, who asked several questions during the presentation, described the proposal as "a really good start to helping improve homeownership in our communities" and asked how the Operation Hope work would relate to an existing county relationship with Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA). Staff and the presenter said the Operation Hope services would be "additive" to NACA and emphasized that Operation Hope’s scope expands credit counseling and small-business technical assistance beyond NACA’s primarily homeownership counseling focus.
Bowden also asked whether Operation Hope would bring private capital or large-scale investments similar to past efforts; staff said that the contract does not commit private investments but noted past collaborations with Operation Hope-related firms have produced additional opportunities and that staff anticipate continued partnership where feasible.
The committee approved the recommendation by voice vote. Staff said they will provide commissioners with an estimate of how many families and businesses the program is expected to reach before the next scheduled meeting; that figure was not provided at the time of the vote.
What’s next: The committee’s approval moves the recommended award forward under the county’s procurement process. Implementation details and program metrics will be provided to commissioners as staff finalizes enrollment and tracking estimates.
