Blank Family Foundation giving surpasses $1 billion

By MARIA SAPORTA SaportaReport

ATLANTA – What a milestone – $1 billion!

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation just passed the $1 billion threshold in grants made and committed.

Arthur Blank, co-founder of the Home Depot and majority owner of the Atlanta Falcons, began giving away money through his foundation in 1995 – donating a little more than $5 million that first year.

Over the decades, Blank has become a prominent philanthropist primarily in Georgia and Montana, investing in a myriad of charitable causes.

“I feel so blessed that our family is fortunate enough to reach this milestone,” Blank responded in an email. “I’m incredibly proud and grateful, but I also know that there’s more to be done. We couldn’t have reached a billion in giving without the partnership of so many nonprofit organizations doing the work in our communities, and we’ll continue working together to address some of our society’s most important challenges.”

The $1 billion investment has supported early childhood education, parks and green space, the arts, health and wellness, college and career preparation, the environment as well the ongoing revitalization of Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods.

In the past two years, under

Blank Family Foundation giving

Here is a list of recent grants the Blank Foundation has made to put it over the $1 billion mark: the leadership of Fay Twersky, the foundation’s giving has accelerated to about $100 million a year. The family foundation currently has five priority areas: democracy, youth development, climate change and the environment, mental health and Atlanta’s Westside. It also has identified team members to lead each of those priority areas.

• $3 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta to support its Rising Together campaign to serve more children, more often, with greater impact.

• $1 million to CARE USA for its Humanitarian Surge Fund, which enables the rapid deployment of staff, equipment and resources when emergencies strike, delivering aid that saves lives while paving the way for long-term recovery.

“It’s been a fantastic two years and two months,” Twersky said in an exclusive interview with SaportaReport. “I love being in Atlanta, and I love the opportunity to get to know this community and develop relationships with nonprofits and work with a remarkable family in order to really fulfill the aspirations of the family. I feel great about where things are.”

In addition to the priority areas, Blank is giving money away through his “founder initiatives” – including his commitment in 2020 to donate

• $500,000 from the AMB West Community Fund, a committee funded by the foundation and led by associates at Blank’s ranches in Paradise Valley, Mont., that invests in the local community.

• $1 million from the Molly Blank Fund to support the PJ Library, which provides free books to more than 600,000 Jewish children.

• $500,000 to The Carter Center to support its Georgia mental health program, as part of the foundation’s new Mental Health & Well-Being giving area.

$200 million to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for the new $1.5 billion Arthur M. Blank Hospital.

“One of Arthur’s sayings is that there is no finish line,” Twersky said. “But there are mile markers along the way. This is a huge milestone for Arthur, for the foundation and for the communities we serve. It’s important to celebrate important milestones. Arthur has given so much, and there’s so much more to be done.”

Twersky said the $1 billion marker is an opportune time to take stock of what the foundation has accomplished and to strategize on how it can have the greatest impact going forward.

“We are committed to accelerating our philanthropy, and while we don’t know exactly when we’ll reach the next billion, I remain committed to my pledge to direct 95 percent of my wealth to our family foundation,” Blank said. “The last 25-plus years have been a blessing, and I’m looking forward to what the future brings.”

•$9.25 million to the Energy Foundation to inform policymakers about the benefits of clean energy markets and commitments across regions, as part of the foundation’s new Environment giving area.

• $1.04 million to the Westside Future Fund to support the production of permanently affordable rental housing as part of the foundation’s recent $2.4 million in grants to increase financial security and affordable housing for legacy residents in Atlanta’s historic Westside.

Twersky expects the foundation to continue giving at a pace of at least $100 million a year – which means it would reach its $2 billion mark in the next decade.

Blank also has intentionally been sharing his love of philanthropy with his six children.

“Our entire family shares the core value of giving back,” Blank said in his email response. “Many of my children already have their own philanthropic endeavors, and we’ll continue to have family members sit on the board of our family foundation. My children all have their own interests, and when we’re not working together to address our shared interests through our family foundation, they’re giving to their own