The Jesse Parker Williams Foundation is a private charitable foundation established in 1992. The Foundation traces its origins to Cora Best Taylor Williams’ bequest in 1924 establishing the Jesse Parker Williams Hospital to honor her late husband. Her intention was to relieve human suffering and distress, and her specific direction was to assist women and children with medical care. Mrs. Williams was a leader ahead of her time. Since 1992, the Foundation has awarded over $54 million in grants to the community.
Mr. Jesse Parker Williams came to Georgia and made a fortune in lumber, naval stores and the railroad expansion. His wife, Mrs. Cora Best Taylor Williams inherited holdings in the Georgia Florida and Alabama Railroad, which she managed after Mr. Williams death to become the first female president of such, globally. The Williamses were well-know and well-respected for their keen business sense, compassion and service to their community, as reflected in their memorial at Westview Cemetery known as “The Spirit of Achievement.”
When her husband, Jesse Parker Williams, a lumber and railroad magnate, died in 1913, Mrs. Williams took over management of their business affairs. She assumed the role of president of one of their holdings — the Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railroad — thus becoming, at that time, the world’s only woman president of a railroad.
Mrs. Williams recognized the dilemma for women and children whose financial resources had become exhausted due to lengthy illnesses. Medicare and Medicaid were nonexistent, and there was little hospital insurance. Serious illness posed particular problems for those of moderate means who were ineligible for charitable care, yet not able to meet medical expenses for a lengthy period. When Mrs. Williams died in 1924, it was this middle group she sought to help in her will.
Known as “The Spirit of Achievement” or, more simply, “Achievement,” the Jesse Parker and Cora Best Taylor Williams memorial in Westview Cemetery illustrates the success of the Williamses, who relocated to Atlanta in 1900.The memorial was created by American sculptor Daniel Chester French and American Beaux-Arts architect Henry Bacon. Both are best known for their work on the 1920 monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Through her bequest, the Jesse Parker Williams Hospital opened its doors in 1941. Adjacent to Crawford Long Hospital, the small hospital was dedicated to the care of women and children under 12 years of age. In a unique arrangement, the hospital employed only an administrator and contracted with Crawford Long for all staff and services.
First patient bill from June 1942 for a credit of $24.00; signed by Dr. Hulette Askew
This postcard view of Atlanta looking towards North Ave. from Peachtree Street N.E. shows part of the Emily Winship Woodruff Maternity Center, The Jesse Parker Williams and Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospitals and the C & S Branch Bank and the LIfe of Georgia Building. Image: 1969 postcard
The Hospital continued operations as a bonafide operated hospital, but eventually became “obsolete and outdated.” As a result, in 1972 the Hospital donated the building and land in the sum of $500,000 to Crawford Long, and in return received the right in perpetuity to use the first patient floor formed in a new building constructed by Crawford Long on the property.
The hospital gave up its independent charter in 1992, with the establishment of the Jesse Parker Williams Foundation to more effectively serve a broader population.
Foundation Trustees centered health equity as a strategy in 2018, understanding our mission to support highly effective organizations that emphasize preventive, comprehensive health opportunities and enhance access to health services for women and children could not be achieved with the current disparities in health equity across Atlanta. Leveraging United Way of Greater Atlanta’s Child Well-being Index, intention and focus was placed in the areas of our community where the social determinants of health and limited access to healthcare continue to be barriers to wellness and healing.
When her husband, Jesse Parker Williams, a lumber and railroad magnate, died in 1913, Mrs. Williams took over management of their business affairs. She assumed the role of president of one of their holdings — the Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railroad — thus becoming, at that time, the world’s only woman president of a railroad.
Mrs. Williams recognized the dilemma for women and children whose financial resources had become exhausted due to lengthy illnesses. Medicare and Medicaid were nonexistent, and there was little hospital insurance. Serious illness posed particular problems for those of moderate means who were ineligible for charitable care, yet not able to meet medical expenses for a lengthy period. When Mrs. Williams died in 1924, it was this middle group she sought to help in her will.
Known as “The Spirit of Achievement” or, more simply, “Achievement,” the Jesse Parker and Cora Best Taylor Williams memorial in Westview Cemetery illustrates the success of Williamses, who relocated to Atlanta in 1900.The memorial was created by American sculptor Daniel Chester French and American Beaux-Arts architect Henry Bacon. Both are best known for their work on the 1920 monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Through her bequest, the Jesse Parker Williams Hospital opened its doors in 1941. Adjacent to Crawford Long Hospital, the small hospital was dedicated to the care of women and children under 12 years of age. In a unique arrangement, the hospital employed only an administrator and contracted with Crawford Long for all staff and services.
First patient bill from June 1941 for a credit of $24.00; signed by Dr. Hulette Askew
This postcard view of Atlanta looking towards North Ave. from Peachtree Street N.E. shows part of the Emily Winship Woodruff Maternity Center, The Jesse Parker Williams and Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospitals and the C & S Branch Bank and the LIfe of Georgia Building. Image: 1969 postcard
The hospital gave up its independent charter in 1992, with the establishment of the Jesse Parker Williams Foundation to more effectively serve a broader population.
Foundation Trustees centered health equity as a strategy in 2018, understanding our mission to support highly effective organizations that emphasize preventive, comprehensive health opportunities and enhance access to health services for women and children could not be achieved with the current disparities in health equity across Atlanta. Leveraging United Way of Greater Atlanta’s Child Well-being Index, intention and focus was placed in the areas of our community where the social determinants of health and limited access to healthcare continue to be barriers to wellness and healing.
Mrs. Williams’s desire to help women and children centered on providing support to those who struggled to access care due to the lack of insurance or means to meet medical expenses over a prolonged period of time. The Foundation recognizes that communities of color are the most underserved by the health community. The Foundation collects demographic data on the women and children served by Foundation grants and communities of color continue to make up the largest proportion of those served. The Foundation also collects data on grantee demographics in an ongoing effort to achieve health equity and deliver care and assistance to those most in need.
In a 2017 report by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation designed to increase consensus around the meaning of health equity, a definition was provided that is the “north star” for our Foundation. It states, “Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care.”
Annually, the board of trustees reviews an internal equity audit to reveal and address the inclusion of and investment in women, youth,and families, while prioritizing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. The results for 2018-2020 are compiled below:
Board Diversity: 40% female and 20% African American
Diversity of Staff and Consultants: 55% female, 45% BIPOC
Diversity of Investment Managers: 15% female and 17% BIPOC
Diversity of Grantees: 72% female-led, 36% BIPOC-led
Of the 23,592 Individuals supported by grants: 63% African American, 16% White, 12% multi-racial, 2% Asian and 7% Other.
https://jumpstartfundraising.com/case-studies-and-guides
Network for Good has a legacy of providing trusted support to over 400,000 nonprofit leaders since 2001 and has helped pioneer the online fundraising space, disbursing over $4 billion in donations to date.
In April 2015, Network for Good’s Impact and Sustainability Team was established with the goal to support and accelerate the options for those working to improve the health and long-term viability of the nonprofits in our sector.
After a three-year pilot, including convening more than one hundred town halls throughout the country, and compiling data from more than 10,000 nonprofits, the Impact and Sustainability Team and a coalition of grantmakers created Jumpstart Capacity Building.
Network for Good's Jumpstart program provides grantmakers with effective fundraising capacity building support for their grantees to create transformational change. Our year-long program pairs nonprofits with a personal fundraising coach and the integrated technology needed to engage community, diversify revenue, and sustain their programs.
Learn how to use Photovoice to empower people as they document the community’s needs and resources from their experience.
PhotoVoice works to build a world in which everybody has the opportunity to represent themselves and tell their own story.
Photography crosses cultural and linguistic barriers, and is suitable for all abilities.
It’s both a form of creative expression and a way to record facts. It can describe realities, communicate perspectives, and raise awareness of social and global issues.
Our pioneering and award winning approach brings together arts, media, development, campaigning, and social change to deliver projects that enable voice, build skills, deliver advocacy and work towards sustainable change.
The Foundation utilizes a one-step, online grant application submission process for receiving and considering grant requests. It is strongly encouraged that potential applicants communicate with the Foundation’s executive director prior to submission of any proposal.
Learn More