Since we began, we’ve granted out more than $22 million to nonprofits. We have also provided education and mentoring to many nonprofits, helping them accomplish their mission more effectively.
When you become part of the Athens Area Community Foundation, you help advance best practices and community dialogue among a wide variety of providers.
Our community is diverse with varied needs. The opportunities for you, as a donor, to take action and create lasting change are abundant.
In fact, our donors are forces of change in our community. Every day they are creating dynamic legacies through their giving – legacies that will inspire and inform future generations. Want to join them in becoming a force for good?
While our donors may make grants to qualified charities anywhere in the country, the vast majority of the Athens Area Community Foundation’s grantmaking stays within our six county community that includes Athens-Clarke, Oconee, Barrow, Jackson, Madison, and Oglethorpe.
2008-2023
Since inception, AACF and our donors have awarded more than $22 million
From providing education for our nonprofits to helping lead and guide key community discussions and much more, we’re committed to being a vital part of our community.
Healthy nonprofits working strategically to address issues are key to the wellbeing of our community.
AACF provides technical assistance in the form of convening, strategic planning, and leadership development to nonprofits and community groups as they strive for increased effectiveness. AACF advances strategic philanthropy by using data to monitor community needs, target resources, and track progress. In an unprecedented collaboration AACF is partnering with the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, Clarke County School District, Family Connection-Communities in Schools, United Way of Northeast Georgia, and the University of Georgia to administer a community-wide assessment- the Athens Wellbeing Project.
The mission of the Athens Wellbeing Project (AWP) is to integrate planning efforts and improve outcomes achieved by local institutions, organizations, and community stakeholders through the collection and sharing of an open-access, neighborhood-level, longitudinal data set that is representative of our county’s population. This process will help us benchmark the “health” of our community and measure how much the community’s interventions are moving the needle on issues related to education, civic engagement, and economic development in the coming years. AACF is currently supporting data collection through out Athens-Clarke County.
AACF is more than an investment vehicle. It is a hub that connects donors, nonprofits, and community leaders to address needs and create opportunities. We work with agencies across the community to identify what’s working well, what’s duplicative, and what is missing.
Shaping effective responses to community needs through collaboration, AACF promotes collaboration among nonprofits and community leaders to create sustainable results. We provide technical assistance in the form of convening, strategic planning, and leadership development to nonprofits and community groups as they strive for increased effectiveness. AACF engages stakeholders in a broad spectrum of interventions to address community needs.
A gift to this fund gives back to the community at large rather than to a particular organization or cause by allowing AACF to identify opportunities and target dollars where they will be most effective.
Nonprofits apply for grants through a competitive process, and AACF’s Board, with the assistance of knowledgeable staff, makes the final decisions on which nonprofits receive funds based on current critical issues.
Applications are not being accepted at this time as AACF builds an endowment to ensure sustainable funding. Contact us to learn more about the Steve Jones & Lillian Kincey Community Impact Fund.
The Athens Area Community Foundation is a public grantmaking foundation that builds community by encouraging long term giving through funds created by caring donors.
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