Category: Philanthropy

United Way’s Regional Commission on Homelessness helps people escape homelessness through outreach, housing, aftercare By Bradley Roberts, Content Manager, United Way of Greater Atlanta Markesha moved to Atlanta, escaping a Florida neighborhood that had become violent and unsafe for her two children. But finding an apartment became a challenge—and it wasn’t because of a previous […]

Guest post by Semira Ajani, program director at HABESHA, Inc. It was about 10 years ago when HABESHA, Inc. took on the role of providing workforce development programming. At this time, the organization experienced a growing demand from the community as well as partners to develop a green jobs training model and, as a result, HABESHA’s […]

40-plus projects, more than 1,000 volunteers work to bring exponential impact to community By Bradley Roberts, Content Manager at United Way of Greater Atlanta Mona Sabeti wanted to volunteer in Atlanta during Pride Month.  Sabeti’s new to Atlanta—she’s pre-COVID-19 pandemic “new,” but still, not too long before that. So, it hasn’t been the easiest time […]

Guest post by Sonjui Kumar, Board Chair of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta and one of the Founding partners of Kumar, Prabhu, Patel and Banerjee, LLC and Aparna Bhattacharyya, Executive Director of Raksha, Inc.  At 8 a.m. on the morning after the Atlanta Spa shootings on March 16, the Asian American community of metro Atlanta […]

United Way, OUT Georgia Business Alliance work to make ‘measurable, lasting impact’ for LGBTQ+ communities across Greater Atlanta By Bradley Roberts, United Way of Greater Atlanta Youth identifying as LGBTQ+ are at a much greater risk of becoming homeless.  Aaron Rice read this in a report from Covenant House released by Chapin Hall of the […]

By Barrett Krise, senior philanthropic officer, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta You don’t have to look very far right now to see the division that exists between us. There is a literal division: meetings and gatherings via Zoom and FaceTime rather than in person or in community. There is ideological division between political parties and cultural […]

By Katrina DeBerry, program officer, thriving communities, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta As Americans, we believe in the ideals of fairness and equality for our families and ourselves. Unfortunately, the struggle has always been about whether we feel those same ideals apply to our neighbors. We wrestle between, ‘I should have the right to live […]

By Bradley Roberts, Content Manager, United Way of Greater Atlanta Jerry Jenkins shifts her weight in a folding metal chair and starts to get comfortable as she waits to hear her name called. She peers out over the top of a blue facemask and holds the content of a manila file folder securely in her […]

Guest post by Gilda (Gigi) Pedraza, executive director, Latino Community Fund (LCF Georgia)  Ana took a deep breath, summoned her courage and asked, “My daughter had kidney surgery a few years ago – where can she get the COVID-19 vaccine?” While the ask was simple, what she really was asking, was for a place that […]

By Bradley Roberts, Content Manager, United Way of Greater Atlanta Note: Photos used in this story were taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic Marie Wood grew up volunteering with her family at local community food banks, for activities with her church youth group and for other nonprofits spread across the Greater Atlanta area. Volunteering was […]

By Felix Rodriguez, program associate, strong families, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta 2020 was an incredibly hard year for a number of very obvious and very difficult reasons, and there were times when it seemed hard to find a glimmer of hope. Through these difficult times though, people have stepped up to support one another, […]

By Erin Dreiling, marketing and communications manager, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Marilynn Winn thinks big. When she created a nonprofit organization in 2012, she knew the name had to have scale and Women on the Rise was born. Winn has devoted herself to ensuring that formerly incarcerated women of color have a voice. In […]

By Bradley Roberts, Content Manager at United Way of Greater Atlanta Rev. Bronson Woods was planning to send 35 people to Ethiopia on behalf of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on March 1, 2020. That date sticks out to him for obvious reasons. During that trip, the team was honored at the Royal Palace by the first […]

By Elyse Hammett, vice president marketing and communications, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Hundreds of metro Atlanta nonprofits have been bolstered during the COVID-19 crisis through more than $18 million deployed by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and United Way of Greater Atlanta’s Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. Thousands of individuals, families, […]

By United Way of Greater Atlanta Join United Way of Greater Atlanta’s 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge for a powerful opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect our lives, our Greater Atlanta community, and the barriers it places on improving child well-being. The 7-week self-guided learning experience, beginning March 15th, explores […]

Guest post By Natalia Garzón, director of development, We Love BuHi In March of 2020, people were not interested in listening to oral histories—people were interested in surviving. This was a truth that We Love BuHi, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, faced when COVID-19 found its way to the center of the immigrant communities of Atlanta. The […]

By Bradley Roberts, United Way of Greater Atlanta Melissa says she didn’t know 2-1-1 even existed before taking a job as a Community Connection Specialist just over three years ago. “I went to Georgia State University, and I had heard of United Way [of Greater Atlanta] in the years prior, but I had no idea […]

By Debbie Schumacher-Jones, executive administrative assistant to the CEO and board liaison, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is at a pivotal time in 2021 and as we look ahead to our strategic plan for the next five years, we are excited by the opportunity that lies ahead. The Foundation […]

VITA program offers tax assistance, help filing for available refunds By Bradley Roberts It’s no secret this past year has been full of challenges. But there’s money out there to help families meet those challenges.  The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is available to help low to moderate-income workers and families get a tax break. […]

By Nikonie Brown, marketing administrative assistant, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Sometimes an introduction from a colleague can lead to a phenomenal opportunity to change lives, change futures and change families. This is the case for Dr. Kevin James, president of Morris Brown College, and Dr. Alieizoria Redd, executive director of Covenant House Georgia, who are constructing […]