PHOTOS: Philanthropists leave mark on Atlanta

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PHOTOS: Philanthropists leave mark on Atlanta

In Atlanta, the 20th and 21st centuries have seen the rise of influential philanthropists and doers, including entrepreneurs and executives like Alonzo Herndon, Robert Woodruff, H.J. Russell, Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, Alana Shepherd, Anne Cox Chambers and Jim Kennedy.

Alonzo Herndon, born a slave, became Atlanta's first Black millionaire. He established the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, which became one of the most successful Black-owned companies in the country. (Courtesy of Atlanta Life Insurance Company)

Alonzo Herdon gave funds to help bolster the Gate City Day Nursery Association, which established the South’s first free kindergarten operation for African Americans. (AJC file photo)

Alonzo Herndon gave donations to the YMCA and Atlanta University. (AJC file)

Norris Herndon outside the home that his dad, Alonzo Herndon, built. The House sits on land acquired from Atlanta University, to which the Herndon family was a donor. (AJC file)

Rev. Fred C. Bennette Jr., right, instructs African Americans in Atlanta how to fill out voter registration forms in 1963. Norris Herndon followed his father’s philanthropic example. Atlanta Life paid the full salaries of its employees who were posted at schools around the city registering Black voters for 12 hours a day for months instead of in the office. (Horace Cort/AP)

Robert W. Woodruff, in his office at The Coca-Cola Company in the late 1970s, was most well-known to Atlantans as “Mr. Anonymous.” He quietly donated millions to reshape Atlanta. (Courtesy)

Robert Woodruff and a group of sister foundations birthed the Woodruff Arts Center. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Woodruff supported the library at the Atlanta University Center, which now bears his name. (AJC file)

There are no less than seven buildings named after Woodruff, his wife or his parents, like the Winship Cancer Institute. (AJC file)

Woodruff and his younger brother, George, announced what’s now called “The Gift" in 1979. They donated 3 million shares of Coca-Cola stock, then valued at $105 million, to Emory. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and a group of sister foundations spearheaded an effort to save Grady Hospital.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Herman J. Russell, who grew one of the most successful Black-owned real estate development and construction firms in the country, also prioritized philanthropy. (AJC file)

Herman Russell (from left) with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy and Andrew Young in Russell's home.
At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Russell made money available for bail bonds and was a heavy donor to King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. (AJC file)

Herman Russell donated $1 million each to Georgia State University, Tuskegee University (Russell’s alma mater), Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Andrea Jackson, head of the Archives Research Center, looks through King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. In 2006, Russell was one of the first Atlantans to contribute $1 million for the successful acquisition of King’s papers. (Bob Andres/AJC)

Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus left a visible mark around metro Atlanta with his philanthropic efforts. "He loved Atlanta," said Jay Kaiman, president of the Marcus Foundation, which has continued Marcus' generosity since his death in 2024. (AJC file)

The Georgia Aquarium, built with a $200 million gift from the Bernie Marcus Foundation, was Marcus’ first major philanthropic project after retiring. The Home Depot co-founder wanted to help rebuild downtown and make the city more of a destination. It opened in 2005. (Seeger Gray/AJC)

In the years since the aquarium's opening, the Marcus Foundation has contributed millions of dollars to many other causes, including centers at Grady Hospital -- Marcus Trauma & Emergency Center and Marcus Stroke Neuroscience Center. (AJC file)

The Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation at Shepherd Center opened in 2025. The facility serves as a dynamic hub for testing and applying research and technology in real-world settings. It's supported by an $80 million grant from the Marcus Foundation and other donors. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot, formed the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation with about $4 million worth of Home Depot shares in 1994. Since then, he has pledged more than $1.5 billion to causes around the world, including a $17 million grant to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Some of the Blank Foundation’s marquee gifts in metro Atlanta over the last several years include $200 million to CHOA for the new hospital that was later named after Blank. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

In early 2005, the Blank Foundation was the first publicly announced gift to buy parkland for the Beltline, which was then just a proposal hoping to gain steam in the community.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

With the support of a $50 million capital grant from the Blank Family Foundation, the Shepherd Center was able to double available donor-funded housing for families and day program patients who live more than 60 miles from the facility during rehabilitation. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Iyamah Williams celebrates as she walks across the stage during Clark Atlanta University’s 2025 commencement ceremony. The Blank Foundation recently announced a $50 million scholarship initiative for students at Atlanta's historically Black colleges and universities. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Chairman emeritus of Cox Enterprises and chairman of the James M. Cox Foundation, James Kennedy, and wife and civic leader, Sarah Kennedy, reflect after receiving the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Emory University in 2023. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

The Cox Foundation was an original supporter of the PATH Foundation, starting in the 1990s, which has developed hundreds of miles of greenway trails across metro Atlanta. (AJC file)

Under Jim Kennedy, former chair of Cox and current chairman of the Cox Foundation, the organization ramped up its giving. The Cox Foundation provided pivotal initial support to the Beltline. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

The Cox Foundation and Woodruff, among others, helped the Conservation Fund purchase roughly 8,000 acres from an Alabama mining company that planned to mine near the eastern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp, a project many scientists said threatened the vulnerable wetlands. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

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Alonzo Herndon, born a slave, became Atlanta's first Black millionaire. He established the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, which became one of the most successful Black-owned companies in the country. (Courtesy of Atlanta Life Insurance Company)

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