For Greater Atlanta is a storytelling series celebrating the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta’s 75th anniversary. Each story revisits a defining moment or movement in Atlanta’s history, exploring how the Foundation partnered with donors, nonprofits and community leaders to help the region meet the moment and build the greater Atlanta we know today.

Atlanta’s story cannot be told without the vision, generosity and leadership of Black Atlantans. From Auburn Avenue and the city’s historically Black colleges and universities, to the civil rights movement and generations of Black-led businesses, churches and neighborhoods, Black communities have helped shape Atlanta’s identity and progress. 

Generosity has always been part of that story. Black Atlantans have invested in one another through churches, schools, businesses, civic organizations, scholarship funds and neighborhood networks, creating opportunity, preserving culture and opening doors for generations to come. 

Black philanthropy is not a footnote in Atlanta’s history. It is one of the forces that made Atlanta possible. 

For the Community Foundation, the opportunity has been to understand and honor that tradition and build meaningful relationships with the Black donors, civic leaders and organizations carrying it forward. 

“Black philanthropy has always been part of Atlanta’s story,” said Kimberly Spear, CFGA’s Director of Donor Engagement. “The Foundation didn’t create that generosity; we had the opportunity to recognize it, build relationships, and help connect people who wanted to make a difference with the communities and organizations leading that work. That’s our piece of the puzzle.” 

Creating Opportunity Across Generations 

Key Moment: George and Pearl Strickland Scholarship (1984) 

George and Pearl Strickland believed education could transform lives. 

Pearl graduated from Atlanta’s Clark College in 1909 and built a business as a seamstress and dressmaker. George left school early to support his family before building a successful railroad career and investing in real estate. Together, they helped children in their family and community pursue college degrees. 

When Pearl died in 1984, her estate established the George and Pearl Strickland Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation. Their original $500,000 gift has grown to more than $1.6 million and distributed well over $1 million in scholarships. Today, it supports Georgia students attending Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine and Spelman College. 

Their success became a source of opportunity for students they would never meet. 

Understanding a Tradition of Giving 

Key Moments: A Shared Inheritance (2004) 

Two decades later, the Community Foundation sought to deepen its understanding of Black philanthropy in metro Atlanta. 

In 2004, the Foundation commissioned Giving: A Shared Inheritance, a study of African American giving and volunteering. The research documented a rich culture of generosity expressed through churches, civic organizations, families and communities, as well as traditional philanthropic giving. 

Introducing the study, former CFGA President Alicia Philipp wrote, “To the extent that the continued growth of volunteering and giving in metro Atlanta will include an increasing percentage of its African American community, there is hope for a brighter tomorrow.” 

The study gave the Foundation an opportunity to listen, learn and strengthen relationships with Black donors and communities whose generosity had long been part of Atlanta’s civic fabric. 

Preserving Black Art and Culture 

Key Moment: Paul R. Jones Field of Interest Fund (2011)

Paul R. Jones understood that preserving culture was an investment in the future. 

Beginning in the 1960s, Jones collected art and photography by African American artists whose work was significantly underrepresented in museums and galleries. He later became a donor and volunteer with the Community Foundation’s Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund and participated in Giving: A Shared Inheritance, which featured his art. 

After his death, Jones’s estate transferred hundreds of works of art, real estate and financial assets to the Community Foundation. His gift became the Paul R. Jones Field of Interest Fund, supporting the arts and African American philanthropy.  

“Paul Jones understood that philanthropy is personal,” Spear said. “He cared deeply about preserving African American art and culture, and the Foundation helped ensure that passion would continue creating opportunities long after his lifetime. That’s what great philanthropy does—it reflects someone’s values while strengthening the community for generations.” 

Building Community Wealth

Over time, the Foundation’s partnerships with Black Atlanta expanded to include economic opportunity, ownership and community wealth. 

Key Moment: Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative (2014) and Sweetness of Giving Circle (2023) 

In 2014, the Community Foundation helped launch the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative, which continues today as the nonprofit Kindred Futures. Working alongside community leaders, the initiative sought to address racial wealth gaps and expand pathways to ownership and economic mobility. 

In 2023, the Foundation introduced Sweetness of Giving, a giving circle that brings Black donors together to learn, pool resources and invest in Atlanta communities, with an initial focus on strengthening the Black business and entrepreneurship ecosystem. 

“I was inspired to join the Sweetness of Giving circle because of the opportunity to partner with leaders I deeply respect across Atlanta to co-create something meaningful,” says Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital and a Community Foundation board member. 

For Solomon, that work starts with those closest to the community. 

“Philanthropy, to me, is about proximity and trust,” she says. “Black-led organizations are built by people closest to the communities they serve, and that proximity produces better, more culturally resonant solutions.” 

That philosophy continues to inform the Foundation’s investments in Black-led nonprofits and partnerships with Black civic leaders: listen to those closest to the work and support the priorities and leadership already present within communities. 

What will this generation make possible? 

As the Community Foundation marks its 75th anniversary, its responsibility is to listen, steward generosity with care and connect donors with the people and organizations shaping Atlanta’s future. 

From the Stricklands’ investment in education and Paul Jones’s cultural legacy to AWBI and Sweetness of Giving, these moments are different expressions of a much larger tradition of Black Atlantans investing in what comes next. 

What will this generation make possible next? 

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Keep the Giving Going.

Be a part of Atlanta’s philanthropic legacy. Whether you’re beginning your giving journey or looking to deepen your impact, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta can help you turn your generosity into lasting change.