OVERVIEW: The Chestnut Family Foundation mainly supports arts education in the Atlanta area. Other interests include early childhood education and pediatric health.
IP TAKE: The Chestnut Family Foundation is a relative newcomer to the philanthropic scene in Atlanta and appears to be a good source of funding for arts organizations that offer educational and outreach programs for children. While the foundation does not run an open application program per se, it welcomes inquiries via the form on its contact page, claiming that all inquiries are reviewed by the foundation’s team. Chestnut funding is probably less accessible in the areas of early childhood education and pediatric health, where only a handful of select grantees receive support.
PROFILE: Established in Atlanta, Georgia in 2017, the Chestnut Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of Ben and Theresa Chestnut. Ben Chestnut was raised in the state of Georgia and studied physics and industrial design at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a cofounder of the widely used customer relationship management platform Mailchimp. Theresa Chestnut is originally from South Korea, and she worked as a pediatric nurse at Hughes Spalding Hospital in Atlanta. The Chestnut Foundation, which mainly funds organizations in the Atlanta area, “invests in the lives of children through access to the arts.”
Grants for Early Childhood, K-12 Education and Arts Education
The Chestnut Family Foundation names the development of self confidence in children as the driving force behind its education and arts education grantmaking. Beyond this, however, the foundation does not name specific strategies for its grantmaking in these areas.
- A recent grantee working in the area of early childhood education is Atlanta’s City of Refuge, which received $600,000 for its high quality, full-day preschool for children between the ages of six weeks to five years old. Other early childhood recipients include
- The foundation has also supported several arts organizations that provide in- and out-of-school learning opportunities at the K-12 level. Grantees include Moving in the Spirit, Artsnow, the Ballethnic Dance Company, the Jessye Normal School of the Arts and the Georgia Ballet.
- The foundation has also funded a scholarship at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association in the family’s name.
Grants for Public Health and Mental Health
The well-being of children is of paramount importance to this funder. Chestnut names access to care and resources as the focus of its health and mental health giving.
- To date, the Chestnut Family Foundation’s grantmaking for public health has been limited to support for the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, an organization which coordinates specialized medical care for all children of the Atlanta community.
- In the area of mental health, the foundation has supported Kate’s Club, which provides bereavement counseling services, and an equine therapy program at the Chastian Horse Park in Atlanta.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range from $10,000 to $5 million, but most grants stay under the $3 million.
- Giving is mainly limited to the greater Atlanta area, but funding has gone to organizations of all sizes, including several small arts education outfits.
- This funder does not accept unsolicited proposals but will review general inquiries made via its contact page.
- For a snapshot of its past giving, see the organizations section of its website or take a look at the foundation’s past tax filings.
Reach out with questions via Chestnut’s contact page. The foundation’s phone number is listed as (404) 256-1606.
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