J B Fuqua Foundation Inc.

The J.B. Fuqua Foundation is a family-controlled private foundation headquartered at 3350 Riverwood Pkwy SE, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA, with $35.8M in assets and annual giving ranging from $2.1M to $3.8M over the documented period. Founded in 1970 by J.B. Fuqua (1918–2006) — a self-made industrialist who built Fuqua Industries into a Fortune 500 conglomerate spanning coal, trucking, and media — the foundation carries forward his personal motto: "I am my brother's keeper." This ethos produces a highly personalized, relationship-driven grantmaking philosophy where trustee alignment and demonstrated Metro Atlanta impact are the non-negotiable prerequisites.

All grants originate from trustee priorities and personal relationships; there is no open RFP cycle. The board is led by J. Rex Fuqua (President/Director) with family members Duvall S. Fuqua and Jennifer Fuqua Fowler (Directors) and B. Clayton Rolader (Vice President/Director). Veteran Executive Director Anne Sterchi ($140,263 in FY2021 compensation, up from $118,250 in 2015) manages day-to-day operations and is the foundation's primary staff contact.

Geographic concentration is pronounced: 91% of documented grants (213 of 235 recorded) went to Georgia-based organizations, with Metro Atlanta as the near-exclusive focus. The foundation explicitly excludes individuals, religious organizations, political projects, and media projects.

The typical relationship progression: (1) unsolicited one-page inquiry emailed to info@jbfuquafoundation.org at any time; (2) foundation outreach if alignment exists — not all inquiries receive responses; (3) invitation to submit a full hard-copy proposal by March 1 (spring board meeting) or September 1 (fall board meeting); (4) board decision communicated within one week of the meeting. Site visits and peer collaboration are conducted as part of the foundation's due diligence.

Multi-year partnerships dominate the grantee roster. Atlanta Botanical Garden has received 5 grants totaling $1,062,500; Shepherd Center 4 grants totaling $800,000; First Step Staffing 5 grants totaling $325,000. First-time applicants should realistically target a $25,000–$75,000 entry-level project grant, with the understanding that sustained results are the pathway to larger multi-year commitments.

The J.B. Fuqua Foundation has maintained a consistent annual grantmaking cadence of $2.1M–$3.8M in total giving across the documented 2012–2023 period. Giving peaked in FY2022 at $3,829,396 (with $2,461,338 in direct grants paid), moderated to $3,222,381 in FY2023 ($2,090,978 grants paid), and FY2024 data has not yet been filed. The difference between "grants paid" and "total giving" reflects program-related expenses and foundation operations as reported on Form 990.

From available grantee data covering 235 grants totaling $11,026,094, the average grant is $46,920 and the median is $25,000. The range spans from $59 (a nominal amount) to $350,000 per single grant disbursement. Challenge grants and capital campaign contributions run $100,000–$262,500; recurring annual program support grants typically fall in the $25,000–$75,000 range.

By program area (estimated from grantee purpose descriptions): Human & Social Services approximately 45% (First Step Staffing $325K, Our House $220K, Youth Villages Georgia $225K, Kate's Club $150K, City of Refuge $115K, Atlanta Community Food Bank $100K); Health and Mental Health approximately 30% (Shepherd Center $800K, Chris 180 $225K+$75K, Skyland Trail $120K, Ser Familia $165K, Emory/Hughes Spalding $225K, Clarkston Community Health Center $75K); Education approximately 20% (3de $300K+$200K, KIPP Metro Atlanta $200K, Year Up $100K, East Lake Foundation $75K, Global Village Project $150K); Arts and Other approximately 5% (Atlanta Botanical Garden $1,062,500 driven by the historic Fuqua Conservatory endowment relationship).

By geography: 91% Georgia (Metro Atlanta), 9% spread across DC, NC, NY, MA, TX, AR, TN, MD — primarily national organizations running Atlanta-specific programs such as Greenlight Fund, Youth Villages, and the International Rescue Committee.

Asset trend: Total assets have declined from $52.8M (2014) to $35.8M (2024), a $17M drawdown over a decade consistent with a self-funded spend-down model. No outside contributions have been received since at least FY2020. Top-5 recipients account for $3.1M — 28% of all documented giving — signaling a hub-and-spoke concentration around anchor institutional relationships.

The table below compares the J.B. Fuqua Foundation against four peer Atlanta-area and Southeast family foundations. Peer asset and giving figures are approximate, drawn from publicly available Form 990 filings and foundation profiles; verify independently before citing.

The J.B. Fuqua Foundation occupies a mid-tier position in Atlanta's philanthropic landscape — substantially larger than micro-family funds but dwarfed by the community foundation infrastructure and large single-donor foundations. Its strictly invitation-only posture, hard-copy-only submissions, and tight Metro Atlanta geographic constraint make it more operationally selective than most peers. Organizations bridging education and mental health — the foundation's most active intersection — should evaluate Fuqua alongside the Blank Family Foundation for Atlanta youth programming and the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation for health-access work serving underserved populations in the Southeast.

No major press releases, leadership changes, or new program announcements specific to 2025–2026 were identified in public sources. The foundation maintains a deliberately low public profile consistent with its family-foundation posture: no annual reports, no press releases, and no social media presence are published.

The most recent publicly available IRS filing (Form 990 for fiscal year 2023, filed November 12, 2025) reports grants paid of $2,090,978 and total giving of $3,222,381, with total assets of $38,077,054. This represents a giving decline from the FY2022 peak of $3,829,396 and a continued asset drawdown from $40.4M (FY2022).

Active program threads documented in 2022–2023 grantmaking include: Shepherd Center's capital "Pursuing Possible" campaign ($800,000 cumulative across 4 grants); the 3de K–12 entrepreneurship education program as "State Signature Partner Phase 2" ($300,000 across 3 grants); behavioral health coordination at Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital through Emory University School of Medicine's Partners program ($225,000 across 6 grants); and youth grief support through Kate's Club's "It's Okay to Grieve" campaign ($150,000 across 3 grants).

Leadership has been entirely stable: Anne Sterchi has served as Executive Director continuously since at least 2015, with compensation rising from $118,250 to $140,263 over that period. Board composition remains entirely family-controlled. The foundation's Candid profile was updated January 16, 2026, with no substantive changes to priorities or guidelines.

1. The one-page inquiry is your only unsolicited entry point — write it as if it were a full proposal. Email info@jbfuquafoundation.org with a subject line of "[Organization Name] — Grant Inquiry, [Focus Area]." Lead with your Metro Atlanta impact: specific populations served, scale of operations, and your single strongest outcome metric. The foundation notes it cannot respond to all inquiries, so clarity and concision are essential. Do not exceed one page.

2. Mental health alignment is the fastest path to trustee interest. The foundation has deepened investments across six mental health organizations — Chris 180 ($300K cumulative), Ser Familia ($165K), Skyland Trail ($120K), Clarkston Community Health Center ($75K), New American Pathways ($75K for the Bright Futures Mental Health Program), and a Mental Health Funders Collaborative grant via Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta ($100K). Organizations providing school-based counseling, trauma-informed care, grief support, or mental health access for immigrant and refugee families should lead with this alignment explicitly.

3. Time your full proposal for the March 1 spring deadline. If invited, spring submission allows the foundation to conduct site visits and build familiarity before year-end decisions. Fall submissions (September 1) are valid but allow less relationship-building runway for a first-time applicant.

4. Hard-copy proposals are non-negotiable. The foundation explicitly requires physical document packages, not PDFs or portal submissions. Assemble your packet well in advance of the deadline: two years of audited financials, current strategic plan, board roster, 501(c)(3) determination letter, current annual budget with year-to-date actuals. Missing any required document is disqualifying.

5. Mirror the foundation's specific language. Their stated selection criteria include "systemic change," "high-impact programs," "entrepreneurial spirit," "underserved populations," "access, affordability, and treatment," and "organizational effectiveness." Use these phrases anchored to specific data points in your proposal.

6. Respect the exclusion categories absolutely. Religious organizations (without clearly separate secular programming arms), political projects, media projects, and individuals are explicitly excluded. No exceptions appear anywhere in the 235-grant historical record.

7. Frame your ask as a multi-year relationship from the first interaction. Top grantees average 3–5 grants over multiple years. Propose a realistic entry-level ask of $25,000–$75,000 and articulate a multi-year vision — this signals strategic alignment, not transactional fundraising.