From left to right: Cindy Sanders, Manager of Communications & Grants; Jeri Shaffer, Accounting; Kim Jones, Former President; Julie Coppinger, Director of Operations; and Jennie English, Chief of Staff. Not pictured: Jennifer Patrick, Manager of Donor Services & Development.
After more than two decades of connecting donors, nonprofits, and people in need across West Georgia, longtime Community Foundation of West Georgia President Kim Jones is preparing for a new chapter.
Jones joined the Foundation in April 2003, shortly after the organization was established, and spent more than 23 years helping grow it from a fledgling nonprofit into a regional foundation serving Carroll, Haralson, and Heard counties.
The Foundation’s beginnings were shaped in large part by businessman and philanthropist Roy Richards Jr., who believed the community foundation model could benefit West Georgia.
“He made the initial kind of start,” Jones said. “He said he would donate $3 million if the foundation would raise four.”
Supporters were given nearly two years to meet the goal but accomplished it in approximately six months.
When Jones arrived, however, there was still plenty to build.
“I walked into the office at the chamber, and there literally was a desk, a chair and a phone, and that was it,” she said.
Jones began learning from other community foundations across Georgia and adapting those practices for West Georgia.
Over time, the Foundation grew beyond administering charitable funds and grants. It became a resource for local nonprofits through technical assistance, board training, leadership programs, and partnerships designed to address community needs.
Jones describes the Foundation’s most important role simply: being a connector.
That philosophy helped inspire the creation of the Community Foundation’s Connector platform, designed to make it easier for residents to locate assistance and for nonprofits to coordinate services.
The Foundation has also played a role in several recognizable West Georgia projects, including the Carrollton GreenBelt.
The project began when an anonymous donor approached the Foundation with a vision for a community trail system. The Foundation helped coordinate a public-private partnership involving the donor, the City of Carrollton, and other leaders.
Jones said the Carrollton GreenBelt became a powerful example of what can happen when philanthropy, government, and community partners work together.
After portions of the trail opened, residents told her they had lost weight, reconnected with old friends, and created new family traditions there.
“It was like this ongoing family reunion,” she said.
Another lasting initiative is Power of the Purse, a women’s giving circle launched in 2008.
The idea began after a board member observed that charitable organizations often approached her husband for donations but rarely approached her directly. Foundation leaders invited about 30 women to lunch to discuss forming a giving circle with a $100 membership.
“Before the meeting was over, ladies had their checkbooks out,” Jones recalled. “We said, ‘Whoa, wait, we weren’t asking for money today.’ And they were like, ‘Take it.’”
Power of the Purse has since supported programs benefiting women and children throughout the region.
The Foundation’s ability to respond quickly also proved especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when local nonprofits faced rapidly growing needs.
Jones said the Foundation created an expedited grant process that allowed funding to reach organizations quickly.
“We’re local. We know these nonprofits because we work with them all the time,” she said. “When something happens, we can literally pivot on a dime.”
Now, after more than two decades of leadership, Jones is handing the organization over to Mitchell Rogers, who began as her successor in early August and brings approximately 10 years of community foundation experience from Alabama.
Jones is hesitant to call her departure “retirement.” Instead, she sees it as a chance to discover what comes next, with plans to spend more time reading, traveling, and enjoying life with her husband and their rescue dog, Hank.
The organization she helped build, meanwhile, will continue serving West Georgia with an experienced staff, established partnerships, and a strong financial foundation.
From an office containing little more than a desk, chair, and telephone to a regional organization supporting nonprofits, community projects, and families throughout West Georgia, Jones’ tenure has been closely intertwined with the Foundation’s growth.
Perhaps her greatest legacy, however, can be found in the connections created along the way; donors connected to causes, nonprofits connected to resources, and people connected to help when they needed it most.
