Cobb Community Foundation distributed $6.5 million in grants and scholarships in 2025, with 73% staying in Cobb County, according to its annual impact report. That community investment was a central theme at the foundation’s Above & Beyond event Oct. 5, where more than 40 Corporate Champions were recognized for supporting nonprofits and initiatives aimed at strengthening the county.
Held at the Elevation Room in the TKE building, the gathering celebrated businesses whose investments in the foundation range from $2,500 to more than $100,000. Those contributions provide flexible funding that allows the foundation to respond to emerging needs, strengthen nonprofit leadership and help community initiatives grow.
“Corporate Champions invest in our community’s ability to respond when challenges arise and act when opportunities emerge,” said Susan Tillery, Cobb Community Foundation board chair. “This partnership brings the right people and resources together, and gives good ideas a chance to become something that makes a lasting difference.”
Al Martin, who has served on the foundation’s board for eight years and chaired its Grants Committee for seven, highlighted initiatives demonstrating the impact of those partnerships.
Among them were the Cobb Community Food Fleet’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in South Cobb, nonprofit leadership development and early learning.
One example is Circles Cobb, an organization the foundation helped establish in 2022 alongside community leaders Jeff Jernigan and Pastor Roger Vest. Its first participant cohort launched in August 2023.
The program brings together participants, known as Circle Leaders, and volunteer Allies to help participants pursue their goals and build long-term financial stability.
Circles Cobb recently received CareerRise’s Doug Hooker Award for Excellence, in Workforce Impact. The recognition highlights the organization as an example of how community partnerships can support efforts to expand opportunity and promote financial stability.
The foundation also used the gathering to look ahead to Cobb Vital Signs, an initiative that combines neighborhood-level data with residents’ experiences, which in turn develop a shared understanding of community needs.
Lisa-Ruth Karnes, the foundation’s director of programs, discussed how that information could help businesses, nonprofits and government partners work together to address barriers involving access to services, affordability, caregiving and transportation.
Child care affordability emerged as another area where business partnerships could make a difference.
The foundation and Quality Care for Children are helping employers understand state and federal tax credits that can offset the cost of providing child care benefits. Rick Bennett of Bennett Thrasher and Ray Rodriguez of C.W. Matthews shared their experiences and encouraged other employers to consider how such benefits could help attract and retain workers.
For Kim Gresh, president and CEO of S.A. White Oil Company, supporting the foundation means helping the community respond to needs as they evolve.
“It’s reassuring to know there’s an organization bringing people together to tackle whatever our community needs next,” Gresh said. “As a Corporate Champion, we help make that possible. We’re investing in a community we care about and helping it move forward.”
The event underscored the foundation’s approach to community investment: connecting businesses, donors and nonprofit organizations to address local challenges.
As Cobb County’s needs evolve, the foundation’s Corporate Champions help provide funding and relationships that support the organizations working to meet them.
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