Best Cobb County Grants for Nonprofits in Georgia

Our History

In late 1993, a group of Cobb business leaders recognized the community’s need for a vehicle to invest in its future. The group was led by Jim Rhoden, owner of Futren Corporation (now Futren Hospitality) and included the late Otis Brumby Jr., Bobbi Burruss, Murray Homan, Judge Conley Ingram, Senator Johnny Isakson, Bob Prillaman, Bob Russell, the late Lanie Shipp Hoover, the late Roy Simmons, Deborah Wallace, the late John Williams, Jack Wilson and Diane Woods. Their solution was the creation of the Cobb Community Fund at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.

Fourteen years later, we obtained our own 501(c)(3) designation. Now, we are Cobb Community Foundation. In 2017 alone, we made $1.4 million in grants, $900,000 of which were distributed to charitable organizations right here in Cobb County.

Our Mission

Be a catalyst for a thriving community—mobilizing people, ideas, and resources to improve quality of life in and around Cobb.

Howard Koepka Collaborative Spirit Award

When he was running security for bands like Guns ‘n’ Roses, Van Halen, Metallica and Bon Jovi, Howard Koepka probably never imagined himself loading food boxes or directing hundreds of cars through a food distribution site. Like many, he received a calling. The calling wasn’t just to join the ministry, however, it was to help connect and mobilize people, businesses and churches to serve. He took part in everything from organizing community service days to serving the homeless, single moms, and foster children in greater Atlanta to building a school, church and orphanage in Haiti to leading disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

Fortunately for Cobb, Howard joined Noonday Association of Churches in late 2017 and began focusing on implementing the organization’s C4 Strategy not just with churches, but with communities. For Howard, this strategy – Care, Connect, Coach and Collaborate – was much more than a career objective. It was was his identity.

As part of his role, he was asked to be on point for the non-profits in the community providing food and began hosting a weekly call with other nonprofits looking for ways to collaborate. When the pandemic struck, he became the onsite food coordinator for the Cobb Community Food Fleet, an initiative of Cobb Community Foundation in partnership with Noonday Association, the Atlanta Braves, and numerous other organizations that received 168,000 boxes of food over the course of the pandemic through the USDA’s Farmers to Families program.

Howard epitomized the term “servant leader,” always putting others first and encouraging everyone around him to do the same. For this reason and many others, he was the recipient of the 2020 Visionary Philanthropist Award.

Howard’s words, “At the end of your life, it won’t be about the likes you got, but the love you showed”, are ever present in our minds. Howard passed away on October 11, 2021 after contracting COVID.

THE AWARD

Announced in September of 2022, the Howard Koepka Collaborative Spirit Award was created by the Board of Cobb Community Foundation as a tribute to the spirit of collaboration that Howard modeled and inspired. The award will be presented annually to recognize and honor a Cobb nonprofit that is broadly recognized as exemplifying the spirit of collaboration that Howard personified.

Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

Since its inception in 1951, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta has focused, however imperfectly, on improving the lives of those throughout our region by giving to programs that help it thrive.

For its first 65 years, and in collaborations with a growing cohort of philanthropists, the Foundation invited donors to invest in the causes and opportunities that resonated with them most. In 2018, as a result of globally-regarded Brookings Institute naming Atlanta the #1 city for income inequality in the country, the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors made the decision to turn its focus to this critical community need, and work began that year on fostering equitable outcomes.

Today, the Community Foundation exists to inspire and lead our region toward equity and shared prosperity for all.

Nonprofit Sector Sustainability Fund

Nonprofits across metro Atlanta are facing growing challenges due to rising costs, delayed or decreasing government funding, and increasing demand for services. Many organizations are navigating difficult decisions around staffing and programs while continuing to serve vulnerable communities.

In response, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, in partnership with local philanthropic organizations and donors, has established the Nonprofit Sector Sustainability Fund. This support will be coordinated through our partner, Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF). With 45 years of experience, NFF’s Consulting team is uniquely equipped to help nonprofits navigate changing funding scenarios impacting their business models, cash flow and sustainability. The Nonprofit Sector Sustainability Fund will provide multi-year, general operating support grants to nonprofits experiencing the combined challenges of increasing need, increasing costs, and decreasing resources.

The fund aims to help nonprofits strengthen financial sustainability, explore new operating models and build capacity through multi-year, general operating support grants and targeted technical assistance based on the needs of nonprofits in this moment. By combining financial and non-financial resources, the fund aims to support a resilient nonprofit sector both now and in the long term.

Capacity Building and Technical Assistance

The selected applicants will also have the opportunity to build their capacity and receive technical assistance through:

• Monthly in-person or virtual cohort convenings
• Regular coaching, training, and support from a consultant with expertise in identified organizational challenges, such as scenario planning, diversification of funding, and strategic partnerships

We are about helping children, right here in Marietta!

Kiwanis Club of Marietta members participate in service projects, hold fundraisers, and change children’s lives in our community. In addition, club members contribute to Kiwanis International initiatives helping clubs around the world assist children with education, basic needs, and medical care.

The Kiwanis Club of Marietta was chartered March 3, 1930 - Marietta, GA.

The Kiwanis Club of Marietta has proudly established and contributed to several scholarship endowments over the years to support deserving college students in our community. These scholarships are made possible through our club's Flag Project, which places over 1,300 American flags in front of homes and businesses five times each year.

Scott Chadwick Scholarship for Emerging Leaders

This memorial scholarship was established in 2020 by the Marietta Kiwanis Foundation in honor of former Club President and outstanding community servant leader, Scott Chadwick. 

Awards

•  (2) $2500

Background

CSBG funding supports projects that:

• Lessen poverty in communities
• Address the needs of low-income individuals including the homeless, migrants and the elderly
• Provide services and activities addressing employment, education, better use of available income, housing, nutrition, emergency services and/or health

CSBG Service Categories & Eligible Activities

• Education
  • vocational skills training, cultural opportunities for disadvantaged children, GED assistance for high school dropout, adult and youth literacy training.
• Employment
  • job creating economic development programs which result in the employment and self-sufficiency of low-income persons.
• Health & Social Development
  • health related activities including transportation to medical services, medical and dental screening, immunizations, prevention and treatment assistance and medication prescriptions and other related services.
• Housing
  • includes aid to renters seeking a residence, landlord/tenant rights education and arbitration
• Income Management
  • programs to encourage better use of available income that includes family budget counseling, financial management, credit, income taxes and social security.
• Self-Sufficiency/Multiple Domain
  • comprehensive family case management programs that promote, empower and nurture family members toward self-sufficiency.