Purpose & Vision | Episcopal Community Foundation

Funding: We provide charitable grants from The Rt. Rev. Bennett J. Sims Endowment to create significant, sustainable ministries and community partnerships that serve people in need and encourage spiritual growth for Episcopalians through service.
Leadership: We help to resolve important issues in our local communities, including efforts around hunger, homelessness, generational poverty, refugees and immigrants, human trafficking, and people impacted by the criminal justice system.
Resources: We raise funds and provide opportunities for individuals to establish a lasting legacy to serve people experiencing poverty and oppression, as well as honor their individual parishes in their estate.

Supporting thriving, spiritually strong communities in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Following Christ’s example and the tradition of The Episcopal Church, we partner with Episcopal communities in the Diocese of Atlanta by providing funding, leadership, and resources to enable Episcopalians to lift up people facing poverty and oppression and to achieve significant, long-lasting change in our communities.

Our Purpose

We partner with Episcopal communities in Middle and North Georgia to lift up people facing poverty and oppression, creating sustainable impact for individuals, families, and communities.

Our Vision

Through Episcopal service, we envision thriving communities in Middle and North Georgia that are spiritually strong and free from poverty and oppression.

Our History

Courtesy of The Archives of the Episcopal Church

In 1982, under the leadership of the late Rt. Rev. Bennett Sims, the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta, the Episcopal Charities Foundation was established at the 75th Annual Council of the Diocese of Atlanta. In its first thirty years, the Episcopal Charities Foundation granted more than $4 million to more than 175 ministries and organizations such as food pantries, health clinics, prison ministries, homeless shelters, AIDS victim support, court advocates for children, and enrichment and empowering programs for the unemployed.

In recent years, the organization clarified its mission and vision to focus its efforts on creating a bigger impact for the community through funding, leadership, and resources which enable Episcopal parishes and nonprofit partners to lift up people facing poverty and oppression and to achieve significant, long-lasting impact in the Diocese of Atlanta. In 2016, the organization hired its first dedicated Executive Director, and at the 110th Annual Council of the Diocese of Atlanta, a resolution was passed to change the name of ECF to the Episcopal Community Foundation for Middle and North Georgia.