History

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta was created in 1951 by Atlanta’s four largest banks – Citizens & Southern National, First National, Fulton National and Trust Company of Georgia. In that year The Community Foundation offered its first grants of $450,000 to nonprofits in the metropolitan Atlanta region.
 
Today The Community Foundation has grown to be one of the largest philanthropic service organizations in the southeast giving away an estimated $60 to $75 million annually. Read through the timeline below to learn more about some of our successes along the way.  
  
2009-2010

• 2010 Received more than $139 million to new and existing funds – our highest year in our history.
• 2010 Assets reached over $740 million in more than 1,100 funds.
• 2010 Received the 2010 Paul Ylvisaker Award for Public Policy Engagement for our work to create better outcomes for youth aging out of foster care through the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative.
• 2010 Launched the Nonprofit Loan Fund to help nonprofits meet short-term funding needs by providing bridge loans. 
• 2009 Celebrated 25 year anniversary of our annual Managing for Excellence Award competition recognizing and rewarding strong and effective nonprofit management.
• 2009 7 rank among nation’s largest community foundations in total gifts received
• 2009 More than $140 million in grants awarded to nonprofit and faith-based
  organizations regionally, nationally and internationally – a new record
  for The Community Foundation

2008 – 2004

• 2008 Refocused our grantmaking on general operating support and nonprofit effectiveness as key priorities in sustaining the region’s nonprofi ts.
• 2008 Awarded a record high $90 million in grants to nonprofits locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
• 2008 Launched Grants to Green in collaboration with Southface and Enterprise Community Partners to provide environmental knowledge and funding to strengthen nonprofits. 
• 2007 Established the Champions for Children with Exceptional Needs Initiative, a collaborative effort of The Community Foundation and the Georgia Department of Human Resources to address the needs of medically fragile children and their families. 
• 2006 Successfully collaborated with Mayor Shirley Franklin, Atlanta leaders and a diverse group of donors to secure a collection of more than 15,000 writings of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
• 2005 FY 04-05 4,600 grants made totaling nearly $50 million
• 2005 $350,000 in scholarships awarded
• 2005 Local funds restructured to increase regional outreach 
• 2005 Completed Giving a Shared Inheritance, a significant study on African American giving and volunteering in metro Atlanta 
• 2005 Partnered with the Ad Council, the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Regional Leadership Forum and United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta in Metro Voices Metro Choices: Building a Greater Atlanta, a civic engagement project to revitalize public life throughout the region 
• 2005 Partnered with the Healthcare Georgia Foundation to release Homelessness & Health: Wicked Problems, Small Wins, a study on how these two critical issues intersect 
• 2005 $650,000 in grants made supporting Katrina relief effort 
• 2005 The Neighborhood Fund forms a partnership with the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation to distribute small grants to metro area neighborhoods to promote physical activity 
• 2005 Partnered with Kaiser Permanente Georgia to develop Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) Program, in which $1 million in grants will be distributed 
• 2005 Granted more than $600,000 through the Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund 
  

2004 – 2000

• 2003 Added Morgan County as the Foundation’s seventh Local Fund. 
• 2003 Arts Fund receives $1 million Kendeda Challenge 
• 2003 Launched the Arts Loan Fund 
• 2002 Established foster care initiative Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative (MAYOI) 
• 2000-2003 Made grants totaling more than $137 million. 
• 2000 Added Newton County as the Foundation’s sixth Local Fund. 
• 2000 Added “An Extra Wish” component to the Foundation’s Unrestricted Grants application. 
• 2000 Established the Center for Family Philanthropy. 

1999 – 1988   

• 1999 Completed pro bono market research with Boston Consulting Group. 
• 1999 Implemented Foundation Information Management System (FIMS), a comprehensive data management system. 
• 1998-99 Increased emphasis on planned giving. 
  * Stronger, more planned outreach to professional advisors. 
  * Assets increased to $334 million. 
  * Increased and enhanced corporate communications. 
  * Staffed donor services. 
• 1998 Significantly increased the amount of money available for Emergency Assistance grants. 
• 1998 Implemented first statewide “Leave a Legacy” program. 
• 1997 Changed the corporate name to The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and redesigned corporate logo; offices in the Hurt Building. 
• 1997 Leveraged existing financial alliances with Merrill Lynch, American Funds, SunTrust and Ballentine. 
• 1997 Began Intergroup Relations Program to bring newcomers, refugees and long-time residents together in partnership. 
• 1995 Initiated Early Start, a five-year, strategic grantmaking initiative, which focuses on early childhood education and support services for families. 
• 1992 -1996 Organized Local Funds in Cobb, Clayton, North Fulton, Henry and Fayette counties. 
• 1991 Developed more field-of-interest funds, including the Atlanta Women’s Fund and the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund.
• 1991 Developed the Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund. 
• 1990 Created and nurtured the Neighborhood Fund and its technical assistance component. 
• 1989 Founded and developed the Nonprofit Resource Center and saw it successfully become a separate nonprofit – the Georgia Center for Nonprofits – after ten years. 

1977 – 1988  

• 1988 Established annual Managing for Excellence Award to recognize   governance and managerial achievements of nonprofit organizations. 
• 1986 Field-of-interest funds, including the Gausemel-Payne Cancer Fund, were established. 
• 1984 A bequest from Pearl Cox Strickland created the George and Pearl Strickland Scholarship Fund. 
• 1982 Coordinated funding and construction of the Academy Theater. 
• 1977- Alicia Philipp is named the Foundation’s Executive Director. 
• 1977 -The Metropolitan Atlanta Community Foundation was created as a corporate entity.  Increased the volume of new funds and additional gifts to donor-advised funds that brought the Foundation’s assets to $77 million. 
• 1977 Federal tax regulations clarified donor-advised funds making their popularity soar. 
   

• 1975 Convened Atlanta 2000, a process for Atlanta to think and plan for the future. 
• 1974 -1978 Dan E. Sweat, Jr. served as Board President from 1974 – 1988. 
• 1971 The Foundation provided early grants and staff for Leadership Atlanta and made a great number of unrestricted grants to lesser known institutions. 
• 1970-74 Frank Robinson served as the Foundation’s Executive Director; offices in the Healey Building. 
• 1970 - Made more than $1.2 million in grants to local nonprofits 

• 1963 The Foundation provided funding and staff support for Atlanta’s Community Research and Planning Council. 
• 1962 The Metropolitan Foundation of Atlanta, Inc. was created to hold title to real property for local nonprofit organizations. 
• 1959-1969 made grants totaling more than $3.4 million 
    

1959 – 1951

• 1959 A. B. Padgett was named as the Foundation’s first Executive Director; offices were established in the Candler Building. 
• 1951 The Metropolitan Foundation of Atlanta was created by Atlanta’s four largest banks:  Citizens & Southern National (C&S), First National, Fulton National and Trust Company of Georgia.  The Foundation was administered by a trustees committee and a distribution committee. 
• 1951 Made 119 grants totaling over $450,000 to nonprofit groups in Atlanta.