Metro Atlanta ChamberABOUT
Our Foundation
The Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation invests in metro Atlanta to ensure everyone, especially children, have the opportunity to thrive. We have awarded more than 2,900 grants totaling $1.6 billion since inception.
Legacy of Mr. Whitehead
Our grantmaking is inspired by the legacy of Joseph Brown Whitehead, one of the original bottlers of Coca-Cola. Together with Benjamin F. Thomas, Mr. Whitehead secured the rights to bottle and sell Coca-Cola in the United States with a $1 contract in 1899. He established the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Atlanta with business partner John T. Lupton in 1900.
Mr. Whitehead worked tirelessly to develop the bottling business, pioneering a franchise model that became one of the most successful in American history. He was also active in civic affairs and gave generously to local churches, orphanages and human services organizations before his death at the age of 42. The Christian Index honored him thus: “Right nobly did he accomplish life’s mission, doing more in 42 years than even good men accomplish in a long life of 70 or 80 years.”
Atlanta Habitat for HumanityAbout the Foundation
Joseph Brown Whitehead Jr. established the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation in 1937 as a memorial to his father. He specified the Foundation’s giving should serve people in need, and children in particular, in his hometown of Atlanta.
The Foundation shares an office and staff with other Whitehead family philanthropies – the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation and the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation – as well as with the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. This arrangement came about through the friendship between the Whitehead family and Mr. Woodruff, longtime leader of The Coca-Cola Company, and allows us to jointly consider and administer grants for all four foundations.
The Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation focuses giving on the 13-county metro Atlanta region. We make grants in five areas to expand opportunity for everyone who calls our region home. Grants typically support one-time needs for organizations with strong leadership, a broad base of financial support, successful program outcomes, and the capacity to sustain work long-term.
Partners for HOMELeadership and Policies
Governance
The Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation is governed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees, which sets policies and makes decisions regarding the Foundation’s operations, grantmaking, management, investments and governance.
Articles of Incorporation
Provides specific purposes for the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation as a Georgia corporation and private foundation.
Bylaws
Lists the rules that guide the Board of Trustees in managing the Foundation’s operations.
Statement of Principles
Serves as a guide for everyday professional conduct for the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and staff.