The latest updates from our members and partners, highlighting accomplishments and impact, new partnerships, staff moves, and more.
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GCN update
This year’s GAgives on GivingTuesday prizes have been announced! Details on 2021 Power Hour and Leaderboard contests, early giving incentives, and more are now up on GAgives.org.
Seeking American Rescue Plan Act funds? Check our new ARPA resource page for grant opportunities, guidance, and live, online technical assistance from GCN consultants – thanks to support from Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta!
Worth sharing
Rewards for Metro Atlanta Youth: Nominate a young person by October 15 for the Carol D. Reiser Youth Service Awards from Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta.
Opportunity for Atlanta Art: Activating creative projects in Downtown Atlanta? Apply for up to $10,000 from Arts & Entertainment Atlanta by October 15.
Pandemic Relief: Humanities-focused nonprofits impacted by COVID-19 can apply for up to $20,000 from Georgia Humanities. Apply by November 1.
Artist-scientist duos: Two-person teams consisting of an artist and a life scientist are being sought for a new $4,000 fellowship from Atlanta’s Blue Heron Nature Preserve. Apply by November 12.
A Better Commute: To better support commuters, Central Atlanta Progress invites all Metro residents to complete and share their short Downtown Atlanta Commuter Survey.Grantmakers
Cobb Community Foundation announced a new round of grants totalling $97,000 through its Cobb COVID-19 Community Response Fund and Cororpoate Community Champion Program, including $5,000 to Metro Atlanta YMCA, $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta, and $5,000 to MUST Ministries. In addition, their Cobb Community Food Fleet program, in partnership with Atlanta Community Food Bank, MUST Ministries, and other Cobb County area nonprofits, distributed 3.7 million meals over 16 months.
National Black Arts Foundation is funding the inaugral ArtsATL Fellow, a new program designed to mentor aspiring arts writers of color through one-year fellowships.
Arts and culture
▲ Aurora Theatre is set to move into a new $35 million, 59,500-square-foot facility that includes a 500-seat theater, a 200-person-capacity courtyard for outdoor performances, and a cabaret theater that doubles as an event space.
Voices for Georgia’s Children has turned the results of a 2020 survey into a new video series, Listen. Respect. Act., featuring the voices of Georgia’s youth discussing their lives, feelings, and hopes.
Advocacy, equity, and justice
CAIR-Georgia secured a $45,000 settlement for a client’s right to offer prayers at work, their legal team’s third recent victory in securing religious accommodations for Georgians.
Animals, environment, and greenspace
▲(Top) Atlanta BeltLine Partnership officially opened the Westside Park to the public, a greenspace spanning 280 acres and located on the site of the former Bellwood Quarry.
▲ Dunwoody Nature Center‘s Monarchs & Margaritas fundraiser attracted 600 attendees, both in-person and online, setting a new participation record for the annual gala event.
Trees Atlanta welcomed the City of Doraville as the seventh Metro Atlanta partner in their Yard Tree Program, giving residents the chance to request one free tree for their yards. Additionally, Trees Atlanta completed another phase of the grant-funded, multi-year restoration of South Bend Park in Southeast Atlanta, an effort replacing invasive plants with native species, providing onsite education and engagement, and more.
Georgia Audubon, with a grant from the Disney Conservation Fund and help from Dr. Kyle Horton of Colorado State University, launched a new tool for predicting nightly bird migration over the state of Georgia, allowing the organization to issue Lights Out Alerts on nights of elevated activity.
Health
▲ Wholesome Wave Georgia received a grant of $646,781 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in support of Georgia Fresh for Less, which matches SNAP benefits for produce at participating farmers markets and farm.
Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) has partnered with Baby Dove to provide Black expecting mothers with immediate financial access to doula services, a program featured in Essence Magazine.
Open Hand Atlanta and Atlanta Community Food Bank partnered with Grady Health System to open the in-hospital Jesse Hill Market, providing fresh, nutritious food for patients, staff, and the surrounding community.
Georgia CORE has received a $10,000 grant from Aflac to promote the sale of new cancer-prevention license tags.
Human Services
GEEARS launched its first-ever citywide awareness campaign, PAACT: Promise All Atlanta Children Thrive, designed to improve learning, health, and well-being outcomes for Atlanta’s youngest residents and their families.
For the second consecutive year, Tommy Nobis Center was named one of the “Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation” by the National Association for Business Resources.
Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS) launched the new Horwitz Zusman Child & Family Center, named in honor of the families who provided them a $1 million gift to support efforts improving mental health and family resilience.
Partnering with local legal experts, Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN) and Refugee Women’s Network launched Project Ally, an assistance hotline and relief effort for Afghan families in Geogia and beyond, which is currently fielding 15-20 requests daily.
▲ HomeAid celebrated its 100th Care Day this September, a volunteer service event that began in 2008 and has provided over $830,000 in facility improvements for organizations that serve people experiencing homelessness in Metro Atlanta.
Community Assistance Center and Jewish Family & Career Services are among the nonprofits awarded an extra $10,000 in CARES Act funds from the City of Dunwoody.
Melanated Pearl Corporation partnered with BK International Education Consultancy to launch the Educator Empowerment Scholarship, open to female educators in the South who serve children in vulnerable communities.
Through their third annual Walk for Education, Kaleidoscope Child Foundation raised nearly $45,000 in donations to support education, hygiene, and water needs for children and families around the world.
Corporate Volunteer Council celebrated its 24th Annual IMPACT Awards this September, during which Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta was recognized for helping small Georgia nonprofits procure Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster loans.
People
Georgia Council on Aging (GCOA) Executive Director Kathy Floyd received the esteemed Kay Hind Change Agent Award honoring an individual who is “a driving force in creating change that improves the lives of older adults in Georgia.”
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta welcomed board members Malcolm Berkley, Debra Faulk, and Michael Lipton.
The Center for the Visually Impaired added three new members to its governing board: Brian R. Huband, Katherine Bailey Lynch, and Bob Pennington.
Star Foundation welcomed Dr. Markisha Butler as their new Executive Director.
Dunwoody Nature Center has selected Nancy Longacre to be their next Executive Director.
Focused Community Strategies has named Pamela Stringfield as Director of Neighborhood Engagement.
The Georgia Trend 2021 40 Under 40 list includes the following nonprofit leaders: Miranda Kyle of Atlanta Beltline, Phillip Olaleye of Next Generation Men & Women, Mary-Kate Starkel of redefinED Atlanta, Randell Trammell of Georgia Center for Civic Engagement, and Tommy Valentine of Historic Athens.
This roundup was sourced from member and partner submissions, as well as their websites, newsletters, and social media channels; the Coxe Curry & Associates Week in Review newsletter; and GCN staff.
Kelli Lynn Karanovich is a professional copywriter and educator who publishes poems and essays as Kelli Lynn Grey.
