Mission Statement

Vision

A strong community must have civic engagement, a vibrant regional economy, a nimble workforce, effective schools, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, efficient public transportation, supportive services for the most vulnerable, strong cultural amenities, and environmental sustainability.

With the creation of the Athens Area Community Foundation, the Athens area now has a public philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting our thriving, just, and caring community. As the local center for philanthropy, the Athens Area Community Foundation connects individuals, families, corporations, and private foundations in the Athens area to the critical issues facing our community. We advance sustainable solutions through collaboration with civic and charitable organizations.

Knowledge

Understanding the needs of our community is the core value on which the Athens Area Community Foundation is founded. In 2006, the U.S. Census ranked Athens-Clarke County as having the third highest poverty rate in the U.S. for counties with a population between 65,000 and 249,999. Through Partners for a Prosperous Athens, the Athens community came together to identify the underlying causes of Athens-Clarke County’s 31% poverty rate. Identified as a critical need through PPA's two year community assessment, the Athens Area Community Foundation is uniquely positioned to provide leadership and resources that will build economic vibrancy and improve the quality of life for all Athenians.

Mission

The Athens Area Community Foundation, Inc. is a public charity that brings people together who care deeply about Athens, Georgia and surrounding areas and who seek to improve the quality of life and economic well-being of all people in our community through gifts and involvement.

We are committed to connecting donors with what they care about through charitable giving and by serving as a well-informed and effective grant-maker working in partnership with the community and encouraging the entire community to support charitable giving for the benefit of all.

The Foundation fulfills its mission by:

  • Supporting implementation of the recommendations of the Partners for a Prosperous Athens;
  • Encouraging private giving for the public good;
  • Providing a flexible and cost effective vehicle for donors with varied charitable interests and abilities to give;
  • Helping to enhance the capacity of service delivery providers in the greater Athens area;
  • Serving as a catalyst, convener and partner in reaching and shaping effective responses to problems and opportunities of all our communities.