$24 million in new grants from Arthur Blank

During its recent board meeting, the board of directors of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation approved six new grants totaling more than $24 million.

“This collection of grants represents a cross-section of the foundation’s giving areas and supports meaningful steps forward in addressing housing affordability and financial inclusion for Westside residents, access to renewable energy for low- and moderate-income households and work-based learning opportunities for young people,” said Fay Twersky, president, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.

“Together with our grantee partners in Georgia and Montana, we aim to both address immediate needs while taking a long-term view of what it takes to make a difference in the communities that we serve.”

Westside Future Fund (WFF): $10 million to support WFF’s Our Next Chapter campaign aimed at reaching its goal to establish 1,750 new units of affordable housing. This grant will specifically support WFF’s affordable housing projects in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods and is aligned with the foundation’s Westside economic mobility strategy through the affordable housing pathway.

CareerRise: $6.2 million for the Westside Works neighborhood-based workforce collaborative, which provides career services to residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods. This grant is aligned with the foundation’s Westside financial inclusion pathway, offering critically needed workforce development programs and services.

Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund: $6.2 million to support GRO’s In Her Hands program, a project with their partner GiveDirectly, to provide 200 female residents in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods with guaranteed income over three years to increase their income and level the playing field for women, who are most likely to experience income inequity and financial insecurity.This grant is also aligned with the foundation’s Westside financial inclusion pathway.

Capital Good Fund: $1 million for the Georgia BRIGHT (Building Renewables, Investing for Green, Healthy, Thriving communities) pilot project, which will use innovative financing to bring the benefits of renewable energy to low- and moderate-income families in Georgia. The project utilizes new, direct payment tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act to lower the cost of leasing rooftop solar systems to low- and moderate-income homeowners.

Accelerate Montana: $400,000 to support Accelerate Montana to better understand and serve young people and employers in rural and Indigenous communities. Accelerate Montana partners with nonprofit organizations, high schools, and public and private colleges, including Tribal Colleges and Universities, to provide skill-based trainings to young people across Montana.

Reach Higher Montana: $375,000 to support Reach Higher as the lead convener of the statewide Montana Work-Based Learning Collaborative (“the Collaborative”). The Collaborative is comprised of representatives from a diverse cross-section of public and private sector organizations advancing work-based learning throughout Montana.

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is a philanthropy founded to help transform lives and communities by uniting people across differences to find common cause. Started in 1995 by Arthur M. Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, the foundation has granted more than $1 billion to charitable causes. Our collective giving areas are Atlanta’s Westside, Democracy, Environment, Mental Health and Well-Being, and Youth Development. Across these areas, we take on tough challenges by uniting the courage and compassion of our communities so we can all thrive together.

In addition to the priority areas of giving, the foundation oversees a large portfolio of grants including support of essential Atlanta nonprofit institutions, such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Shepherd Center, and enduring founder-led initiatives, such as veterans and the military and stuttering, among others. The foundation will also continue to guide the six associate-led giving committees operating across the Blank Family of Businesses.

Perhaps best known as co-founder of The Home Depot, Arthur Blank is widely recognized for his diverse businesses.

Named by ESPN as the 2021 Sports Philanthropist of the Year, Blank is a tireless advocate of using purpose and profit hand-in-hand to benefit the communities around him.

Blank has been distinguished by Forbes as one of the World’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds 2017, Sports Business Journal’s Executive of the Year 2018 and Sports Business Journal’s one of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports 2016, 2017, 2018.

In addition to the Blank Family Foundation, Blank’s Family of Businesses includes the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United; the nationwide PGA TOUR Superstore; three ranches in Montana, Mountain Sky Guest Ranch, West Creek Ranch and Paradise Valley Ranch; and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which hosted the 2019 Super Bowl and is home to the Falcons and Atlanta United.