Updated:
The Poplar Foundation
The Poplar Foundation was established in 1994 in Memphis, Tennessee, by Southeastern Asset Management founder O. Mason Hawkins and Joseph L. Ott.
The Poplar Foundation
The Poplar Foundation was established in 1994 in Memphis, Tennessee, by Southeastern Asset Management founder O. Mason Hawkins and Joseph L. Ott. Southeastern, the long-tenured value-equity manager known for concentrated, long-only portfolios, provided the wealth origin. Chairman G. Staley Cates, who serves as Southeastern's Vice Chairman, leads the foundation's strategy, with Executive Director Tom Marino overseeing day-to-day operations. Partner Elliot Perry, a former NBA guard and minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, extends the foundation's community ties. The foundation deploys capital primarily through grants to Memphis-area nonprofits focused on youth development, K-12 education reform, and human services. Unlike diversified institutional foundations, The Poplar Foundation runs a geographically concentrated giving strategy that mirrors Southeastern's concentrated investing philosophy. Grantees include education initiatives and community development projects connected to the Crosstown Concourse, a mixed-use vertical urban village at 1350 Concourse Avenue that the foundation supported. Cates's board seat at Affiliated Managers Group ties the foundation to a broader institutional asset-management network, though grantmaking remains locally anchored. Team specifics remain thin, but the foundation operates through a lean structure with Cates, Marino, and Perry as the publicly named decision-makers. Institutional affiliations extend beyond grantmaking: the foundation participates in the Philanthropy Roundtable and the Greater Memphis Chamber's Workforce Leadership Academy. Cates's dual role at Southeastern and the foundation creates an unusual governance overlap — a single-family-office architecture operating inside a foundation wrapper. The Grizzlies minority stake, held via Perry, adds a distinctive Tennessee sports-adjacent asset not typically found in peer foundations. Structural differentiation lies in the foundation's embeddedness within the Southeastern Asset Management ecosystem. Where most private foundations hire independent staff or engage outside consultants, The Poplar Foundation draws its investment committee talent directly from a $10B+ value-equity manager. That tight coupling raises an uncommon governance question — whether investment decisions at the foundation level mirror Southeastern's domestic-value bias — though no public disclosures confirm the overlap. Succession risk concentrates around Cates, given Hawkins's advancing age and Ott's reduced public profile.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1994
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Memphis
Corporate office
Memphis, TN, United States
Principals
G. Staley Cates
Chairman
Tom Marino
Executive Director
Joseph L. Ott
Co-Founder
O. Mason Hawkins
Co-Founder
Elliot Perry
Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at The Poplar Foundation?
Chairman G. Staley Cates leads the foundation's strategy. Cates also serves as Vice Chairman of Southeastern Asset Management, the value-equity manager that provided the foundation's wealth. Executive Director Tom Marino handles day-to-day operations. The foundation does not publicly disclose a separate investment committee, but the tight overlap with Southeastern suggests investment decisions benefit from internal asset-management expertise that most private foundations would outsource.
How is The Poplar Foundation related to Southeastern Asset Management?
Southeastern Asset Management founder O. Mason Hawkins co-founded the foundation in 1994 alongside Joseph L. Ott. G. Staley Cates, Southeastern's Vice Chairman, chairs the foundation. The foundation is a legally separate private foundation — not a corporate foundation or donor-advised fund — but the governance overlap means Southeastern's leadership effectively drives the foundation's investment and grantmaking philosophy.
What is The Poplar Foundation's grantmaking focus?
The foundation concentrates on Memphis-area youth services, K-12 education, and human services. Unlike nationally diversified foundations, The Poplar Foundation maintains a geographically focused grantmaking strategy concentrated in the Mid-South. The foundation has supported the Crosstown Concourse mixed-use project and participated in workforce-development initiatives through the Greater Memphis Chamber.
Does The Poplar Foundation accept outside grant applications?
Publicly available tax filings are the best source for application posture, but the foundation does not maintain a visible public website with open-call guidelines. Many private foundations of this size and structure — particularly those without dedicated program officers — operate by invitation rather than through unsolicited proposals. Prospective Memphis-area grantees should verify current policy through the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings.
What role does Elliot Perry play at The Poplar Foundation?
Elliot Perry, a former University of Memphis and NBA guard, serves as a Partner at the foundation. Perry is also a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. His involvement connects the foundation to Memphis sports and civic leadership circles, widening its local network beyond the Southeastern Asset Management orbit.
Does The Poplar Foundation invest in for-profit ventures or only make grants?
The foundation's IRS designation requires minimum annual distributions for charitable purposes, but private foundations may also hold non-charitable investments. The Poplar Foundation's known assets include the Crosstown Concourse real estate participation and a Memphis Grizzlies minority stake via Perry, indicating a willingness to hold local, non-traditional assets alongside traditional grantmaking. Whether it pursues program-related investments (PRIs) or mission-related investments (MRIs) is not publicly confirmed.
How is The Poplar Foundation governed, and what is the succession plan?
Chairman G. Staley Cates and Executive Director Tom Marino form the publicly visible leadership. Co-founder O. Mason Hawkins, now in his late seventies, has a reduced public profile. Joseph L. Ott, the other co-founder, remains largely private. No public filings outline a formal succession plan, making Cates's continuity the de facto governance anchor. The foundation's lean structure creates key-person risk that institutional grantees and co-funders should monitor.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on endowments & foundations?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: