For over 25 years, we have helped inspire community change for the better in Mississippi.
In 1994, Jackson was the last major southern city without a community foundation. Serving as a place for charitable fund investment, community foundations frequently are the “permanent endowment” for a community, connecting philanthropic resources and creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. That year, a visionary group of Leadership Jackson alumni began the work of creating such a resource for the capital city, and the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson was founded—starting with four charitable funds totaling just $250,000.
Fast-forward two decades — our charitable assets have grown to $80 million, and we have awarded more than $80 million in grants and scholarships that have directly benefited communities in the Greater Jackson area and across the state.
Since the establishment of those first four funds, the needs of the Greater Jackson region and the state of Mississippi have grown significantly. At the same time, an aging population is transferring its wealth from one generation to the next at a rapid pace.
We are an experienced leader and trusted partner in philanthropy, and can help counties without a community foundation cultivate donors with a desire to help their nonprofits, for good and forever. In 2017, we announced the decision to change our name to the Community Foundation for Mississippi, and expand our work to support more communities directly – 22 counties in all.
As we continue our work at the Community Foundation for Mississippi, we are guided by the vision of those who planted the seed for the foundation more than twenty years ago. We want all our communities to develop the philanthropic resources they need, to imagine a bold, bright future. And we will continue working alongside our partners to help them make that happen, For Mississippi. For Good. Forever.