The Atlanta ToolBank began in 1991, when a group of volunteers providing home repairs to low-income seniors in south Atlanta neighborhoods incorporated at Community Redevelopment, Inc (CRI). Their mission of helping homeowners maintain a warm, safe and dry home. CRI began to share the steady accumulation of tools donated to them in support of their mission in the local community. In 1996 CRI moved that now larger inventory of tools and their home repair program into an 11,045 sqft warehouse purchased from the city of Atlanta. In 1998 CRI officially became the Atlanta Community ToolBank Inc. They continued to lend blue tools to local agencies and build their inventory of tools. In 2013, with the help of many local organizations and foundations, the Atlanta ToolBank purchased a new warehouse at 410 Englewood and moved its vast inventory to facilitate its growth.
Friends incorporate as CRI, with the mission of helping homeowners maintain a warm, safe and dry home; CRI amasses a small warehouse full of donated tools in support of its mission and begins lending to other local charitable groups.
CRI officially becomes the Atlanta Community ToolBank, home to Georgia’s only tool lender solely dedicated to equipping the charitable sector.
ToolBank USA is established to replicate the Atlanta model in other cities.
The ToolBank’s home repair program becomes HouseProud Atlanta, a separate 501(c)(3) organization.
ToolBank moves into its new home at 410 Englewood Avenue, a 27,000 sq. ft. warehouse that can accommodate growth and better serve the nonprofit community with expanded inventory and appropriate space to stage tools and materials for volunteer events.
The ToolBank launches the Tool Training Center and holds the first Summer Series for 94 youths ages 11-18.
The ToolBank partners with Food Well Alliance to launch Atlanta’s first Urban Agriculture Tool Lending Program, providing community gardeners and urban farmers access to heavy-duty professional-grade tools and equipment.
The Atlanta ToolBank is a proud affiliate of the ToolBank USA Network. As the original, the Atlanta ToolBank plays a pivotal role in the network, exemplifying the profound impact of a mature ToolBank and setting the bar for the 7 other ToolBanks across the United States. Though an affiliate of the ToolBank USA network, the Atlanta ToolBank is independently operated, governed by a local board of directors, and relies solely on local funding to fulfill its mission.
410 Englewood Avenue SE
Atlanta, GA, 30315
(404) 254-0938
EIN #58-2363433
Warehouse Hours:
By Appointment Only
Mon-Fri: 9:00am – 4:30pm
Closed: noon – 1pm (lunch)
Sat-Sun: Closed
The Atlanta ToolBank serves community-based organizations by providing tools, equipment and expertise to empower their most ambitious goals.
