Trio of Midtown Organizations Receive Coca-Cola Grants

The Coca-Cola Foundation, the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company, announced Monday that it awarded $26 million in grants to 85 community organizations across the globe during the first quarter of 2012.

And Midtown-based Coke kept some of the monies in the neighborhood by donating $175,000 in grants to a trio of Midtown based groups.

A $100,000 grant to the National Black Arts Festival, located at 730 Peachtree Street, will support the 2012 Children's Education Village at the Festival in Centennial Park, which benefits more than 5,000 youth from summer camps across the southeast.

Two grants to the Piedmont Park Conservancy ($20,000 and $30,000) will support the park's recycling program, general operations and upkeep of the playground, Active Oval and Aquatic Center.

The sum of $30,000 will go to Kids Get Active, which benefits more than one million children through operations and upkeep of the playground and other facilities in the park. A total of $20,000 will go to the Piedmont Park Recycling Program for ongoing operations of recycling programs and public education at the park, diverting 48 tons of recyclables from landfills.

A $25,000 grant to the Atlanta Leadership Development Foundation, located at 10 Peachtree Place, will support the Leadership Atlanta 2012-2013 program, which focuses on developing the leaders of tomorrow for the Atlanta region.

The grants support the Foundation’s global priority areas, including: $9.7 million for water stewardship; $3.6 million for fitness and nutrition; $7.4 million for education (including $5 million for first generation college scholarships); and $4.9 million for community recycling, and other local priorities, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, youth development, and civic initiatives.

“We measure the success of our commitments by the impact these grants will have in people’s lives, in their neighborhoods and in their communities all over the world,” Chairperson of The Coca-Cola Foundation Ingrid Saunders Jones said in a news release. “Seeing the tangible results of partnership and innovation inspires our continued investment to help build sustainable communities around the world.”

These grants will make a powerful difference and will benefit:

• 2 million people worldwide with improved access to clean water or sanitation;
• 3.1 billion liters of water will be conserved; 48 tons of debris will be collected;
• 8.9 million people will benefit from increased water conservation and education;
• 2.3 million youth and adults will participate in fitness or nutrition programs; and
• 255,000 students will benefit from education programs; 32,639 will be awarded scholarships; and 169 colleges and other schools will receive grant support.

The list of organizations receiving grant funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation can be found here.