Betty And Davis Fitzgerald Foundation Inc.

The Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation operates as a relationship-driven, systems-focused funder that has undergone a pronounced strategic evolution over its 30+ year history. Founded to honor Betty and Davis Fitzgerald, the Foundation today manages approximately $34 million in assets and channels $1 million to $2.2 million annually toward organizations strengthening the education and mental health ecosystems serving Metro Atlanta's most underserved families.

The Foundation's giving philosophy has shifted decisively from broad charitable support to ecosystem investment. Early grantee records reflect gifts to food banks, homeless shelters, and direct-service organizations — Atlanta Mission received $58,200 cumulatively, multiple food banks across Georgia received $25,000–$35,000 grants, and dozens of direct service nonprofits appear in the historical portfolio. Since the January 2024 strategic refresh — developed through a six-month planning process with consultancy Boldly Go — the Foundation explicitly excludes standalone direct service programs. The current strategic pillars, Cultivating Talent, Promoting Collective Action, and Advancing Systemic Change, reflect a conviction that lasting improvement comes from strengthening the systems within which direct service organizations operate.

Organizations the Foundation favors share three characteristics. First, they demonstrate genuine accountability to communities affected by racial and socioeconomic inequities, with leadership and staff demographics that reflect the populations served. Second, they pursue systemic levers — workforce development for educators and mental health professionals, policy advocacy, cross-sector coordination, or shared navigation pathways — rather than delivering services directly to individuals. Third, they demonstrate meaningful collaboration with peer organizations and can articulate a clear role within the broader Metro Atlanta ecosystem.

The application pathway is straightforward but demanding. Organizations self-assess eligibility, submit a 500–750 word proposal through the Blackbaud Applicant Portal, and await one of three annual board reviews. No formal letter of inquiry is required. Roughly six to eight proposals per cycle advance to the site visit stage. Multi-year grants are available but reserved for deeply aligned partners — Scholarship Academy received a $100,000 two-year commitment in 2025. The standard entry-point grant is general one-year operating support in the $25,000–$55,000 range. First-time applicants should treat the initial award as the beginning of a multi-year relationship rather than a one-time transaction.

The Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation's grantmaking has grown substantially since its 2015 giving level of $1.29 million, reaching a 2021 peak of $2.77 million (driven by $3.98 million in net investment income that year). The endowment — entirely investment-funded with no external contributions since 2019 — stood at $34.0 million at fiscal year-end 2024, up from $25.8 million in 2015. Annual giving tracks investment performance closely: 2023 total giving reached $2.2 million (grants paid: $1.17 million) against $1.13 million in net investment income. The 2025 grant cycle produced approximately $1.05 million across 31 organizations — a deliberate focus-tightening, not a budget constraint.

Grant sizes have shifted upward as the portfolio has narrowed. The cumulative historical database of 216 grants shows an average of $12,244 per grant, but this figure is pulled down significantly by older, smaller awards made under the Foundation's broader prior mandate. Current grant sizing reflects the refined strategy: 2025 individual awards ranged from approximately $25,000 (New American Pathways, Center for Civic Innovation) to $100,000 (Scholarship Academy, two-year commitment), with most awards landing in the $35,000–$55,000 range. The 31 organizations funded in 2025 averaged roughly $34,000 each; the 22 organizations funded in 2024 averaged roughly $36,000.

Among top cumulative grantees, Mercy Care Foundation leads at $80,000 across two grants, followed by Georgia Budget & Policy Institute at $62,900 across three grants, and Our House and Chris 180 each at $60,000 across two grants. These recipients reflect the Foundation's dual priorities — mental health access (Mercy Care, Chris 180, Good Samaritan Health Center Atlanta at $50,000) and systemic advocacy (Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, Georgians for a Healthy Future at $55,000).

Geographic concentration is absolute: all 216 grants in the database went to Georgia organizations. The vast majority serve Metro Atlanta directly; a small number of statewide advocacy organizations with a Metro Atlanta nexus receive support. Purpose coding confirms the Foundation's operating philosophy: virtually every grant is recorded as 'general operating support' or 'to support the charitable mission of the recipient organization' — trust-based, unrestricted funding rather than program-specific contracts.

The Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation occupies a distinctive niche among Atlanta-area private foundations: mid-sized assets with a tightly focused equity lens on education and mental health systems, and an unusually open application process for a family foundation of its scale.

The Fitzgerald Foundation stands out in two ways. First, its open application process is unusual among family foundations of comparable assets — the Zeist Foundation, its closest thematic peer on mental health, requires an invitation, making Fitzgerald significantly more accessible to emerging and mid-stage organizations. Second, its unrestricted, trust-based funding approach — virtually all grants are general operating support rather than project-specific contracts — aligns with newer philanthropic norms around grantee autonomy, distinguishing it from larger foundations that require detailed program budgets and restricted deliverables. Applicants willing to articulate a clear systemic theory of change will find Fitzgerald more responsive than the Foundation's asset size might suggest.

The most consequential recent development at the Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation is its January 2024 strategic refresh — a six-month planning process led by consultancy Boldly Go that reoriented the Foundation from broad charitable grantmaking to a focused investment in education and mental health systems infrastructure. The refresh introduced three strategic pillars (Cultivating Talent, Promoting Collective Action, Advancing Systemic Change), narrowed the geographic scope to the 21-county Metro Atlanta area, and explicitly excluded standalone direct service programs from future eligibility.

At the leadership level, Brittany Collins assumed the Executive Director role effective July 11, 2022, succeeding founding Executive Director Jackie Stradley. Collins' compensation stands at approximately $215,000 annually. In early 2026, the Board completed a second transition: Lindsay Stradley succeeded longtime Chair J. Lindsay Stradley Jr., and two new Community Trustees joined — Debra Lam (Executive Director of Partnerships for Innovation, Georgia Tech) and Fabiola Charles Stokes (Head of Community Impact, Google). These appointments introduce technology-forward and civic innovation perspectives to the board.

On grantmaking, 2025's largest single award went to Scholarship Academy at $100,000 (two-year commitment). The Foundation also made rapid-response grants in 2025 to organizations facing the disrupted federal and state funding environment, including a $40,000 grant to Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta's rapid-response vehicle. The Foundation migrated its grant management platform from GrantRequest to Blackbaud in 2025–2026, signaling investment in more professional infrastructure.

The single most important framing principle for a Fitzgerald Foundation proposal is this: position your organization as an ecosystem actor, not a service provider. The Foundation has explicitly excluded standalone direct service programs. Proposals that lead with client numbers served, program outputs, or individual success stories will be screened out before reaching the board. Instead, lead with your role in strengthening the system — the workforce you are training, the policy landscape you are shifting, the coordination infrastructure you are building.

The proposal is limited to 500–750 words. This constraint is a signal: the Foundation values precision over volume. Use every word to establish three things — (1) your organization's specific role in the Metro Atlanta education or mental health ecosystem; (2) how your work strengthens access for low-income families through systems-level mechanisms (workforce, policy, coordination, navigation); and (3) who your key collaborative partners are. Proposals that name specific peer organizations, shared data systems, or joint advocacy efforts consistently outperform those describing siloed programs.

Equity language must be substantive, not decorative. The Foundation requires applicants to demonstrate that leadership and staff reflect the diversity of communities served, including racial and gender representation. Compile your demographic data before opening the portal — the application will ask for it.

On timing: the 2026 cycle deadlines are February 3, April 3, and August 3, all at 5:00 p.m. ET. The February cycle is typically most competitive; the August cycle often draws a lighter applicant pool as summer constraints reduce submissions. There is no strategic advantage to waiting — apply in the earliest cycle your proposal is ready.

If selected for a site visit (six to eight organizations per cycle receive this invitation), prepare for a peer dialogue rather than a pitch. The Foundation wants to assess whether your organization is a credible long-term partner, so be ready to speak candidly about ecosystem dynamics, organizational sustainability, and the limitations of your current approach.

Critical exclusions to internalize before applying: capital/construction projects, clinical research or disease-specific treatment, direct political lobbying, sectarian religious activities, individual scholarships, and sponsorships are all explicitly ineligible. Submitting an ineligible proposal triggers a mandatory one-year wait before any reapplication.