Stories
Combining Forces to Help Southerners Weather the Pandemic
Foundations of all sizes are thinking creatively about ways to address the staggering implications of the COVID-19 crisis through our nonprofit partners. For the Babcock Foundation, an opportunity presented itself last month when our friends at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation invited us to...
The Fierce Urgency of Now
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Riverside Church, 1967
If there is any...
Justice in the Time of Coronavirus
This article appeared in Nonprofit Quarterly on March 27, 2020.
When the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation grasped the severity of COVID-19 and its likely impacts on the people and places we care about, we began to brainstorm things within our power to mitigate the harm. We...
COVID-19: How can we be helpful during this crisis?
As we all grapple with the uncertain and worrying implications of COVID-19, the physical and mental health and safety of our partners, their families, volunteers and communities are of paramount importance. At the Babcock Foundation, we are following health experts’ “social distancing” guidance and working from home until at least April 6, so the best way to reach us is likely email. We are...
People Want to Vote: Georgia's Power Building Network
Georgia has a robust network of more than 40 civic engagement organizations sharing resources, strategies and expertise to strengthen their collective pursuit of a more equitable future. A member of the State Voices Network, ProGeorgia is the “state table,” the hub that knits this infrastructure together....
Protect the Community Reinvestment Act
UPDATE: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have extended the deadline for public comment to April 8.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are proposing drastic changes to Community Reinvestment Act regulations that would weaken CRA’s ability to target...
A Profound Sense of Justice: Remembering Katie Mountcastle
Few people have left marks on Southern philanthropy as significant as Katie Mountcastle’s, though she never would have said so. Mountcastle shunned the spotlight, seeking to channel her considerable energy and passion into effective, behind-the-scenes social change strategies.
Her mother, Mary Reynolds Babcock, established the Foundation upon her death in 1953. Babcock’s husband,...
Charging into 2020 with Momentum
Everyone who seeks to advance social and economic justice in the South is gearing up for a monumental year. Major elections and the census will determine government policies and resource allocations for years to come. Advocates will spend much of the year educating their communities about the importance of both. Achieving representative levels of participation will strain organizations’ time...
