Author Archives: Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

By Ashley Smith, Attorney, Eady Smith Wealth Management and CEO, The Minority Outdoor Alliance Our true nature is rooted in PHILOS. However, historically, we have drifted towards societal infrastructures and societal thinking that do not align with PHILOS. – “PHILOS: Love or Friend” The events of 2020 were a series of catalytic historical events that […]

By Kayla Jones, manager, GoATL Economic Inclusion Fund and Sydney Hulebak, impact investment manager, GoATL Community Capacity Fund, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Imagine you’re a small business owner here in Georgia. Business is going well, and your customers are happy. Because of the increased demand, you realize you need some help. You’ve added new employees […]

By Arelious Cooper, executive director, Art in the Paint At Art in the Paint, our mission is to use art and athletics to promote a higher quality of life, mobilize communities and inspire equitable play. Since 2020, we have renovated more than 40 courts in nine cities and four countries. Our programs have impacted over […]

By Taylor Ramsey, executive director, OneGoal Metro Atlanta Last week OneGoal Metro Atlanta hosted our second Student Summit at Clayton State University where 500 OneGoal juniors and seniors from across the metro area came together for a day of inspiration, connection and empowerment as they pursue their postsecondary goals. During this day, students have the […]

By Katrina Julien, program officer, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and 2022 The Funders Network PLACES Fellow For The Funder’s Network, PLACES stands for Professionals Learning about Community, Equity and Sustainability. I’m sure that like me, most decide to apply for PLACES to strengthen their leadership role and progress in their philanthropic careers. But what […]

By Gavin Godfrey, Atlanta Editor, Capital B Last September I was invited to the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas. That timing is important. I was joined by other local (and some international) news editors, producers and reporters for an election misinformation symposium. With the midterm election right around the corner, we […]

By Yovanna L. Madhere Wealth, health and growth are three ideals of the American Dream. A dream my parents sought after as 20-something high school sweethearts when they immigrated to the Unites States of America in the early 1970s from Panama. I was born in 1976 and for as long as I could remember, we […]

By Alexandra Holien, interim CEO Ada Developers Academy is out to change the face of tech.  The tech industry is the wealth engine of our time, but that wealth is not spread evenly. Women, especially Black and brown women, are severely underrepresented in tech jobs and leadership. As tech continues to grow in places like […]

By Lauren Priest, program officer, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Despite the prevailing narrative around his life and work, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was no moderate, nor was he particularly popular during his lifetime. Dr. King was a bold, outspoken, radical thinker.  In honor of Dr. King, this article ventures to share some uncomfortable […]

By Community Foundation Staff Happy New Year! Last June, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta launched TogetherATL, our five-year, strategic initiative to advance equity and shared prosperity for all residents of our region. In August, John White joined the Foundation as vice president, advancement and philanthropic services. To kick off this new year, we invite […]

By Nikonie Brown, Content and Social Media Associate, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Created in 2019, THRIVE Thomasville is a community-led grantmaking initiative sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta to support the Thomasville neighborhood. Its goal is to put philanthropic investments into the hands of residents of Historic Thomasville to address community concerns. […]

By Francesca “Checka Cee” Rodriguez- Williams, marketing and communication specialist, Inspiredu Inspiredu’s mission is to help underserved youth develop the skills needed for education and career success through technology‐based learning tools and engagement activities with their families, communities and schools in Georgia.    We focus on the barriers in schools that inhibit student learning due to […]

By Natallie Keiser, executive director, HouseATL By now, everyone has heard about, or personally experienced, Atlanta’s housing affordability crisis. While it’s always important to define a problem, continuously repeating dire statistics and stories can be an energy drain. We also have to look at our assets – what do we have to work with to […]

By Josh Dukelow, gift planning officer When we picture “wealth,” we often imagine stacks of cash, stock portfolios and real estate. In fact, more than half of the liquid assets of high net-worth individuals are held in IRAs (individual retirement accounts). But not everyone has equal access to these types of investments.  People of color […]

By Aaliyah Strong, founder, Tyme to Thrive Tyme to Thrive Beyond Grief was founded in April of this year, after I witnessed the murder of my fiancé, Tyshon Ross on February 2. Tyshon and I worked together, and I never imagined our typical commute to work would’ve been our last. Tyshon was a security guard […]

By Kamore Campbell, College AIM Collegian and American University, Class of 2024 and Sam Aleinikoff, founder and executive director, College AIM I grew up on the eastside of Atlanta, where I attended local public schools. College was always my goal, so in 11th grade I began a dual enrollment program to work towards my first […]

By Jennifer Henn, executive director; Jennifer Bartl, LMFT, CEO; and Jennifer Greenlee, LCSW, chief program officer, COR COR — not an acronym but a way of life. The root word of courage is cor, the Latin word for heart. And our work is guided by our courageous hearts. COR was started in 2019 by three […]

By Katrina DeBerry, senior program officer and Lauren Thomas Priest, program officer, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Through TogetherATL, its strategic framework to make our region more equitable, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta has made a $300,000 grant to the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity (GRO) Fund to support its In Her Hands program in […]

By Tinesha Dunlap, wraparound services coordinator, Osborne High School Osborne High School in the Cobb County School District was once identified as a needs improvement school based on criteria that was set by the state. As a Title I school, Osborne serves roughly 2,700 students who are primarily Latinx (67%), Black (25%), white (6%) and […]

By Maria Armstrong and Tangee Allen, co-founders and co-executive directors, Raising Expectations As students returned to in-person learning this past year, and mask mandates began to ease, it was tempting to see it as a return to normal. Things were finally starting to look the way that they used to. But for those of us working […]