2016 Annual Report: John Siegel

Happy Chairs make happy hearts

John Siegel is a second-generation donor to the Community Foundation. His parents, as well as some siblings, had funds with the Foundation. After achieving success in business it was a natural next step for him and his husband, John Templeton, to open a donor-advised fund together for their philanthropic giving. Over the years John and John have provided gifts in three focus areas, supporting the gay rights movement, their church and causes that support children. Through the fund they were some of the earliest supporters during the emergence of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Atlanta.

John and John have 21 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren between them and in retirement, John S. began painting rocking chairs for each of them. Seeing the joy it brought them grew into a passion for supporting children in need through what he calls his “Happy Chairs”. He has painted 540 chairs and counting for Habit for Humanity, children in the foster care system, for Head Start programs and classrooms and for charitable auctions. Every year he reviews the Community Foundation’s Extra Wish giving catalog and donates a chair, or chairs, to featured organizations that support children.

Read the full 2016 Annual Report here.