Contact:
Brian Farley
(404) 367 2070

ATLANTA, July 9, 2004 ­ To preserve green space and improve parks for urban residents, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has announced over $7.6 million in new grants to governmental, civic and nonprofit partners for projects that enhance the quality of life inside the Interstate 285 loop of metro Atlanta.

By supporting the acquisition of property threatened by development and restoring existing parks, the Foundation’s Environmental Initiative has helped to preserve more than 1100 acres of land within I-285.

The Environmental Initiative ­ which has sought to increase public-private partnerships for stewardship of local green space and parks ­ is in its third and final year, with grants totaling $19.2 million. The Foundation will continue environmental grantmaking going forward through its "Inspiring Spaces" initiative. The Foundation’s strategy for the next three to five years of its environmental work will be announced in late 2004.

Of the 29 new grants, eight are for land acquisitions and 21 are for park improvements and planning for future green space protection and enhancements. Grant partners in 2004 include the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs; DeKalb County; the PATH Foundation; and the Trust for Public Land.

Organizations that will receive 2004 Blank Family Foundation green space grants are:

• Atlanta Development Authority - $380,000 for land acquisition to create new access points and connect a potential greenway trail to the Wildwood Urban Forest in northeast Atlanta.
• Atlanta Youth Soccer Association - $400,000 for acquisition of an industrial site in the Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta, which will be converted for use as a youth soccer complex and permanently protected as green space.
• Cabbagetown Initiative Community Development Corporation - $261,500 to support capital improvements, operating costs, and technical assistance for construction of a new community park in the Cabbagetown neighborhood of Atlanta.
• Chastain Park Conservancy - $30,000 to support operating and staff costs for the newly established Chastain Park Conservancy.
• City of Atlanta, Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs ­ $460,000 for expansion, planning and improvement of public parks in the city of Atlanta.
• Community Alliance of Metropolitan Parkway, Inc. - $20,000 to create a community-based plan for green space acquisition and parks improvements in a collaboration of southwest Atlanta neighborhoods.
• DeKalb County Government ­ $1,355,000 for acquisition of lands to expand DeKalb’s Kittredge Park, capital improvements for a new park off Briarcliff Road in northeast DeKalb, and a park at the Constitution Lakes site in south DeKalb County.
• East Point Velodrome Association - $87,000 for capital costs to restore a bicycle racing velodrome located in East Point’s Sumner Park.
• Forest Hills Neighborhood Association - $4,618 for master planning and trail development at a neighborhood pocket park in the Avondale area of DeKalb County.
• Fulton County Master Gardeners - $6,281 for additional plantings to complete work on a new Gold Medal Garden at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta.
• Kirkwood Neighbors Organization - $25,000 for new playground surfacing and equipment in Kirkwood’s Bessie Branham Park.
• Olmsted Linear Park Alliance - $150,000 for rehabilitation and restoration of Deepdene Park, the eastern anchor of the six Olmsted Linear Parks along Ponce de Leon Avenue.
• PATH Foundation - $875,000 for construction of three new PATH trail segments inside I-285 (including a five-mile trail connecting Centennial Park to the Chattahoochee River; another trail that will form a loop around the Whittier Mill and Riverside neighborhoods; and expansion of the new PATH trail in northwest Atlanta near Bolton Road).
• Park Pride - $25,000 to support operating costs for Park Pride’s continuing advocacy campaign to improve and expand parks in the city of Atlanta.
• Shut-In Outreach Ministry (R.E.D.E.E.M.), Inc. - $12,075 for technical assistance to operate community gardens in Atlanta’s West End neighborhood.
• Trees Atlanta - $92,000 in continued operating support for Trees Atlanta’s Urban Green Space Management Program (working to monitor and maintain healthy environments, remove invasive plant species, and restore tree cover on public lands inside I-285).
• The Trust for Public Land ­ $3,275,262 for land acquisitions in four southeast Atlanta neighborhoods and for general operating support.
• West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA) - $100,000 to increase accessibility and to provide site development at the Utoy Creek/Lionel Hampton property in west Atlanta.
• Whittier Mills Village Association - $40,000 to support capital costs for park improvements and restoration of historic buildings at Whittier Mills Park in northwest Atlanta.
• Wonderland Gardens- $42,857 to support construction costs for a new learning center and workspace at Wonderland Gardens in DeKalb County.

Proposals submitted to the Foundation are evaluated by an Advisory Council of local and national environmental experts, including Rex Boner, vice president/southeast representative, The Conservation Fund; Bruz Clark, vice president, The Lyndhurst Foundation; Kelly Jordan, chair, Arabia Mountain Alliance; Stacy Patton, president, Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance; Randy Roark, retired architect/planner, Georgia Institute of Technology; Rutherford Seydel, partner, Lawson, Davis, Pickren & Seydel; and Harvey Young, retired coordinator of the Georgia Community Greenspace Program, Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Grants made by the Foundation reflect the recommendations of the Advisory Council.

The Foundation announced its Environmental Initiative in late 2001 with the target goal of awarding at least $20 million in related grants. It began accepting letters of intent for projects in early 2002 and issued requests for proposals in 2003 and 2004. Proposals were required to meet a set of criteria, such as relevant project scope, a funding match, completion of appropriate due diligence and readiness for funding.

"We're grateful to those who answered the call to action to save what’s left of Atlanta’s precious green space," said Elise Eplan, vice president for special initiatives for The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. “The results prove what can be achieved – but also point to the need for more players in this arena. Our goal is to achieve more leverage, more impact and more participation with the funding we offer as a foundation. The challenge is to join together those who share common concern about the future of Atlanta and the kind of city we will be 50 years from now."

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation strives to foster opportunity for children and youth and to enhance the quality of life in the communities it serves: Atlanta; Beaufort County, South Carolina; and Maricopa County, Arizona. Since 1995, the Blank Family Foundation has awarded more than $130 million to enhance education, preserve green space, sustain the arts and spark collaboration among its nonprofit partners. Arthur M. Blank created the Foundation to share his civic values and the joy of giving with his family.

Mr. Blank is owner & CEO of the Atlanta Falcons. He co-founded The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, in 1978 and retired from the company as co-chairman in 2001.