In 2002 there were approximately 1,200 foundations in Georgia with combined assets in excess of $8 billion and annual giving of more than $650 million. The assets and funding interests of foundations vary widely, ranging from multibillion-dollar organizations that give to a variety of causes to small family-run organizations with limited resources and very specific giving interests. Each has a place in Georgia’s philanthropic community. Foundations are found throughout the state, but the largest concentration, 43 percent, is in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

Furman Bisher, a well-regarded sportswriter and editor, served for fifty-nine years as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports editor. He was also a Sporting News columnist and the contributor of hundreds of articles for Sports Illustrated, the Saturday Evening Post, and many other national magazines. Author of several books, including a biography of baseball great Hank Aaron, Bisher was named in a 1961 Time article as one of the nation’s five best columnists.

As a lieutenant colonel during the Korean War, Raymond Davis and his battalion saved the lives of thousands of fellow marines surrounded by Chinese soldiers at the Chosin Reservoir. Davis returned to combat during the Vietnam War as a major general. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print.

Mike Egan (right) is pictured with George Busbee in 1974, the year Busbee was elected governor of Georgia. Egan served in the state legislature as both a representative (1966-76) and a senator (1989-2000). He also served as associate attorney general under U.S. president Jimmy Carter. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print.

Georgia governor George R. Gilmer's childhood home originally stood in the Goose Pond community of Oglethorpe County. The house is now located at the Calloway Plantation in Wilkes County. Photograph by Carol Ebel The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print. All requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource must be submitted to the rights holder.