The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is pleased to announce accomplishments for its 2018-2021 strategic plan, a new Vice-Chair for the 70-year-old organization’s next season, and to honor its departing devoted Board of Directors whose multi-year voluntary commitment of time, talent and treasure have worked to ensure the Atlanta metropolitan region thrives.

The cohort rolling off board service as of December 31, 2021 includes Frank Bell, Barbara Bing-Pliner, Milliard Choate, Bryan Rand and Greg Vaughn. Along with their Board colleagues, these five individuals advised, oversaw and ultimately held the Foundation’s staff accountable for the delivery of multi-faceted programs to influence equity in the region. Those included:

• Census advocacy campaign to improve response and the accuracy of results in our metropolitan region, particularly with difficult-to-mobilize populations

• The Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund in partnership with United Way, which ultimately raised and deployed $30 million to nonprofits on the front lines of the pandemic

• Creation of the GoATL Fund, the South’s first impact investment fund

• Vote Your Voice, a partnership with Southern Poverty Law Center, now expanded to a significant, $100 million initiative

• Executive CEO succession planning, search and transition

• TogetherATL, the Foundation’s 2022-2026 strategic plan focused on equity and shared prosperity for the region

“These volunteer board members provided us with critical insights over these last five years in our organization’s growth and transformation,” commented Frank Fernandez, president and chief executive officer, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. “They went way beyond the job description of a ‘volunteer board member’ – especially in the last two years as their leadership guided the Foundation through the COVID-19 Fund, the dual pandemics for health and racial justice and our new strategic plan, #TogetherATL. These Board members jumped at the time they were needed most. It’s a testament to who we can be when we care and take action. And, I just want to say thank you.”

In addition to the Board of Directors’ approval of the Foundation’s new five-year strategic plan, TogetherATL, Doug Hooker, executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, will step into the role of Vice-Chair of the Board in 2022 and become Board Chair for a three-year term, from January 2023 to December 2025.

“There is no more perfect person for this role at this time with the challenges and opportunities Atlanta faces than Doug,” continued Fernandez. “His unique perspective leading the region’s planning organization and accelerating the collaborative forces for good through public, private and nonprofit organization make him the exact leader we need now. Doug retires from the Atlanta Regional Commission in March of 2022, and then will dig in to our challenges and lead us forward in new and exciting ways to solve our region’s most challenging issue: equity. I’m grateful to Doug for his unyielding commitment to Atlantans and his indomitable spirit of hope for the region’s bright future.”

 Susan Grant, current Board of Directors Chair, who has been an integral part of the Community Foundation for the past six years, added, “Our Community Foundation’s Board of Directors is comprised of exceptional community leaders, who embrace and support the bold vision of #TogetherATL and its focus on racial equity. As we work together with our exceptional CEO, Frank Fernandez, towards shared prosperity for all Atlantans, we are beyond fortunate to have Doug Hooker’s deep expertise to lead us.”

 The Board also elected seven new members who begin a three-year term in 2022. Detailed information about these members will be available on the Foundation’s website the first week in February. The complete list of the current 2020 Community Foundation’s Board of Directors with their full biographies can be found here.