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Imlay Foundation
The Imlay Foundation was established in 1989 by John P. Imlay Jr., an Atlanta technology entrepreneur who led Management Science America (MSA) through its...
Imlay Foundation
The Imlay Foundation was established in 1989 by John P. Imlay Jr., an Atlanta technology entrepreneur who led Management Science America (MSA) through its growth into a mainframe software leader before its eventual sale. Imlay, who died in 2015, was a central figure in Atlanta's tech emergence and a minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons alongside Arthur Blank. The foundation is now chaired by his widow, Mary Ellen Imlay, with Rob Smulian serving as the first outside executive director — a governance evolution away from pure family control. Grantmaking concentrates almost exclusively on the Atlanta region, with a stated preference for smaller charities where contributions can have outsized organizational impact. The foundation does not disclose a consolidated asset pool, but tax filings historically show an endowment in the mid-eight-figure range supporting annual giving of roughly $1 million to $2 million across human services, education, arts, and environmental causes. Named grantees have included the Atlanta Botanical Garden — where the John Imlay Bridge and Mary Ellen Imlay Channel Garden stand as physical markers — the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and various youth-development nonprofits. The foundation does not operate direct-investment programs, co-investment vehicles, or fund commitments; its deployment model is pure grantmaking. The board includes Sig Mosley, a well-known Atlanta angel investor often called the 'Godfather of Angel Investing' in the Southeast and a longtime business associate of John Imlay through Imlay Investments. The foundation maintains a modest office on Peachtree Road in Buckhead and owns Westerdunes, a residential property in North Berwick, Scotland, reflecting the Imlay family's ties to Scottish golf — John Imlay held memberships at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and North Berwick Golf Club. Structurally, the Imlay Foundation operates as a lean, geographically concentrated charitable endowment without a family-office investment apparatus layered on top. That sets it apart from the many Atlanta family enterprises that blend philanthropy with direct investing and wealth management — here, the philanthropic mission is the primary organizational logic, not a tax-optimization wrapper around a multi-asset portfolio.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1990
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Atlanta
Corporate office
3630 Peachtree Rd NE, Suite 320, Atlanta, GA 30326, United States
Principals
Mary Ellen Imlay
Chair and President
Rob Smulian
Executive Director
Sig Mosley
Director
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the Imlay Foundation?
The Imlay Foundation does not operate a dedicated investment team or CIO function in the manner of a large endowment. The board, chaired by Mary Ellen Imlay, oversees the endowment pool, with external managers handling asset allocation. Sig Mosley, a director and prominent Atlanta angel investor, brings investment experience to the board but the foundation's primary activity is grantmaking, not active portfolio management.
Does the Imlay Foundation accept unsolicited grant applications?
The foundation historically reviews proposals by invitation or through established Atlanta-area relationships. There is no open application portal on its website, and the foundation's lean staffing model — an executive director and a small board — suggests limited capacity for unsolicited review. Grantseekers typically connect through existing nonprofit networks in metro Atlanta.
How is the foundation's endowment correlated to John Imlay's software exit?
John Imlay's wealth originated from his leadership of Management Science America, a mainframe software company he guided from a small firm into a publicly traded enterprise before its acquisition. While the foundation does not disclose the precise funding amount Imlay contributed at founding or upon his death, the endowment's scale reflects a portion of the proceeds from that career. The foundation has not disclosed any ongoing revenue from Imlay Investments, the separate entity managed by Sig Mosley.
Does the foundation have any investment activity beyond grantmaking?
There is no public evidence that the Imlay Foundation engages in direct investing, fund commitments, or co-investment activity through its charitable corpus. The foundation owns a few non-investment assets — including a Scottish residential property and art installations at the Atlanta Botanical Garden — but these are legacy holdings, not investment vehicles. The structure is a straightforward private foundation focused on charitable distributions.
Is the Imlay Foundation connected to the Atlanta Falcons ownership group?
John Imlay held a minority stake in the Atlanta Falcons during his lifetime and helped orchestrate Arthur Blank's acquisition of the team. There is no public indication that the foundation currently holds any ownership interest in the franchise or related entities. Blank and Imlay had a close business and philanthropic relationship, but their structures are separate.
Where does the foundation's giving concentrate geographically?
Nearly all grantmaking targets metro Atlanta, particularly smaller charities within the city. The foundation's giving footprint is among the more tightly geofenced among Atlanta-based private foundations. There is no evidence of significant international grantmaking despite the family's personal ties to Scotland.
What is Sig Mosley's role, and does it bring an angel-investing lens to the foundation?
Sig Mosley serves as a director of the foundation and is the president of Imlay Investments, the separate entity through which John Imlay's angel-investing legacy continues. Mosley is the most prominent active investor associated with the Imlay circle, but the foundation itself is a grantmaking entity, not an investment vehicle. His presence on the board connects the foundation to Atlanta's startup ecosystem but has not publicly altered its philanthropic-only mandate.
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