Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation

Overview

The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation was established in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, by the grandchildren of Thomas K. Glenn, a key figure in Southern banking history. Glenn led the Trust Company of Georgia, a predecessor to SunTrust Banks, during its mid-20th-century expansion. The foundation's wealth originates from that industrial and financial services legacy, now stewarded by the fourth generation. Thomas K. Glenn II serves as Trustee and Chair, joined by Louise R. Glenn as Vice Chair, and Louisa Glenn D'Antignac and Rand Glenn Hagen as Trustees. Suzanna Stribling has led day-to-day operations as Executive Director since 2010. The foundation combines traditional philanthropic grantmaking with a growing venture investment program. Louisa Glenn D'Antignac holds the Louisa and Rand Glenn Family Chair at Emory University, while Rand Glenn Hagen is active on the board of Skyland Trail, a mental health nonprofit. The foundation's venture exposure is diversified across generalist funds and direct investments, spanning sectors from healthcare to enterprise software. Executive Director Suzanna Stribling strengthens the office's local and regional connectivity through memberships in Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Georgia, and her prior role at Philanthropy Southeast. As of May 2024, the foundation continued to make active grants to Atlanta-area nonprofits and academic institutions aligned with the family's board interests. The foundation's structural differentiator is its conversion from a pure philanthropic vehicle into a hybrid that actively deploys venture capital, a posture more typical of an endowment than a private family foundation. This dual mandate — maintain a conservative fixed-income base while pursuing venture returns for the endowment — is uncommon among Georgia-based private foundations of similar vintage and asset base. Governance remains concentrated within a tight family trustee group, with no external advisory board or stated plans for generational transition beyond the current four-member board.