Our Focus Areas
The James M. Cox Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that are addressing the most pressing issues facing people and the environment in our communities.
We concentrate support within our four focus areas:
- Biodiversity, conservation and environment
- Early childhood education (birth to 5 years)
- Health
- Empowering individuals and families
Biodiversity, Conservation and Environment
Biodiversity, conservation and environmental sustainability are core Cox values. We invest in organizations that help protect habitats and species as well as preserve and restore natural areas including rivers, land and endangered species. We also support the creation and enhancement of trails, parks and green spaces.
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited (DU) is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitat, which benefits both people and all wildlife. The Foundation, Jim Kennedy and other Cox sources have donated nearly $100 million to date to support DU, with Cox Enterprises recently committing another $100 million. Gifts support critical conservation efforts along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, the Chesapeake Bay area and North America’s prairie region. Our investments have also allowed DU to fully fund several projects along the Mississippi Delta, as well as providing the “last dollars in” required to complete additional projects.
North Atlantic Salmon Fund
The North Atlantic Salmon Fund is a nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1989. It works with a network of international volunteers to protect wild salmon by battling the expansion of open net-pen farming and closing unsustainable fisheries. The Foundation’s gift of $1.25 million is expected to help the organization remove 80% of open net-pens.
PATH
The Foundation has donated nearly $35 million to the PATH Foundation to date. Foundation gifts support numerous trail projects and aim to make outdoor trails more accessible to all Atlantans. A recent $6 million donation will help build more than 18 miles of new trails to connect to an existing 300+ mile network in metro Atlanta and Georgia.
Early Childhood Education (birth to 5 years)
Early literacy is a building block of long-term academic success. We focus our attention on early childhood education and literacy programs that support teachers and help children develop strong reading skills.
Cox Campus
Cox Campus is a free, online language and literacy platform through the Rollins Center of Literacy, a program of the Atlanta Speech School. It provides training for teachers and health care professionals to improve reading levels in young children. The Foundation has a long-term relationship with the Cox Campus and has gifted more than $20 million since 2014. Most recently, the Foundation gave a $4.1 million grant allowing the Cox Campus to become accredited in all 50 states. The Cox Campus has trained more than 300,000 educators.
Cox Pre-K
The East Lake Foundation in Atlanta launched Cox Pre-K classes, hosted at Drew Charter School. These classes serve as demonstration sites for best in class early childhood instruction. The Foundation has donated more than $7 million since 2007 to support these spaces.
Health
Access to quality healthcare is a cornerstone of strong communities. We’re committed to expanding access to quality care and improving the overall patient experience.
Shepherd Center
The Shepherd Center is a world-renowned private, nonprofit hospital in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in spinal cord and brain injuries, and other neuromuscular conditions. The Foundation gave $10 million to the Shepherd Center to help increase patient access and improve patient and family experiences by adding beds, providing on-site housing, expanding telehealth services and equipping patient rooms with smart home technology.
Banner Health
In 2022, the Foundation donated $5 million to Banner Health, the largest provider of child healthcare in Arizona, to create a unified Children’s Cancer Center. The center will provide a comprehensive pediatric oncology clinic projected to serve over 2,200 patients and family members annually by 2034. This gift continued the work started with a $5 million gift in 2012 to create an integrated cancer center.
Empowering families and individuals for success
Everyone deserves the right to healthy food, affordable housing and support services. We fund initiatives that expand access to these services to help people improve their lives.
Boys & Girls Club of America
A longtime supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), the Foundation has donated more than $7.4 million. We committed another $150,000 to construct five new Cox Innovation Labs to provide access to computers and engage members in BGCA’s digital platform.
Westside Future Fund
The Foundation donated $5 million to Westside Future Fund to advance construction of multifamily affordable housing complexes in Atlanta’s historic Westside neighborhood.
$382 million
in charitable giving since 2010
1,000+ grants
since 2010
370,000
educators supported with training