# R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation

R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Atlanta, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Atlanta, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Atlanta, GA, United States
- **Founded:** 1959
- **Assets under management:** $63.1M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** dobbsfoundation.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://linkedin.com/company/r-howard-dobbs-jr-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. chartered the foundation bearing his name in 1959 after a career leading Life Insurance Company of Georgia as its President and CEO. The foundation remains rooted in Atlanta and governed by family — his nephew E. Cody Laird, Jr. serves as a long-time Trustee — alongside a small circle of business partners. Its endowment represents the crystallized proceeds of a regional insurance fortune, a wealth origin increasingly rare among modern institutional grantmakers. The foundation's strategy combines straightforward grantmaking with membership in mission-aligned networks. Tax filings show a grant portfolio concentrated on educational access, health-service improvement, and environmental stewardship, primarily in Georgia and the broader Southeast. In recent years, the foundation has formalized its peer engagement through active membership in the Southeastern Council of Foundations and as a founding participant in the Georgia Grantmakers Alliance, signaling a preference for collaborative, local-capacity philanthropy rather than national-scale, checkbook grantmaking. September 2024 brought a generational shift in operating leadership when the foundation appointed Jason Terrell as President. The investment committee operates under Clay Rolader, who also leads Fuqua Capital Corp., while Trustee David M. Ratcliffe brings the perspective of a former Chairman and CEO of Southern Company. With an Altss-estimated endowment of roughly $63.1 million, the foundation is structured to disburse modest but sustained annual grants, consistent with a perpetual-life foundation that relies on investment returns rather than operating revenue. This architecture distinguishes it from larger foundations that internalize CIO functions and from donor-advised funds that sacrifice perpetual governance for administrative ease. The foundation's quiet posture, minimal online footprint, and multi-generational trustee structure reflect a design optimized for continuity of values, not visibility.

## Sectors

- Education
- Healthcare Services
- Environment & Conservation

## People

- Jason Terrell — President
- Clay Rolader — Chair of the Investment Committee; President of Fuqua Capital Corp.
- E. Cody Laird, Jr. — Trustee
- David M. Ratcliffe — Trustee

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation?

The Investment Committee is chaired by Clay Rolader, who also serves as President of Fuqua Capital Corp. Trustee David M. Ratcliffe, former Chairman and CEO of Southern Company, provides additional oversight. The foundation does not employ a full-time Chief Investment Officer; its endowment portfolio is managed through external advisors, a common structure for foundations of its size.

### How is the foundation related to Life Insurance Company of Georgia today?

There is no ongoing corporate relationship. Life Insurance Company of Georgia was the source of R. Howard Dobbs, Jr.'s personal wealth, but the foundation was established as an independent philanthropic entity in 1959. The original life-insurance company has since been absorbed through industry consolidation and does not exist in the form Dobbs led.

### Is the foundation governed by family members or an independent board?

Governance blends family and independent trustees. E. Cody Laird, Jr., nephew of the founder, serves as a long-time Trustee, while David M. Ratcliffe and Clay Rolader bring external institutional leadership experience. President Jason Terrell, appointed in September 2024, handles day-to-day operations and represents a professionalization step beyond founder-family management.

### Which sectors does the foundation explicitly avoid?

The foundation's public communications are minimal, and no formal exclusionary sector list has been published. Based on its grant history and mission statements, its programmatic focus remains on education, health, and environment, implying limited or no grantmaking in areas such as arts and culture, international development, or large-scale capital projects.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

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