$450,000 Three Year Commitment to the Chastain Horse Park

The Chestnut Family Foundation has donated $450,000 to the Chastain Horse Park to support the expansion of its therapeutic programs. The donation will be used primarily to fund additional access to the programs, including students in special needs classes of Title 1 schools within Atlanta Public Schools.

Chastain Horse Park is committed to empowering individuals of all abilities through life-changing relationships with horses. Through its therapeutic programs, Chastain Horse Park serves individuals with a broad range of physical, cognitive and emotional abilities and all socioeconomic backgrounds. They currently conduct over 5,200 therapeutic sessions each year with a focus on the disability community.

We have witnessed the powerful impact of the Chastain Horse Park’s work on young people with disabilities and deeply appreciate being able to play a role in the expansion of their programming.

$1,142,000 Two-Year Commitment to the Atlanta Music Project

The Chestnut Family Foundation has made a two-year $1,142,000 commitment to our longtime partner, Atlanta Music Project (AMP). The funds will be used to support the development of AMP teaching artists, the new full-time Music Career Counselor position, AMP’s partnerships within local public schools, and bolster AMP’s two new endowments. This is our largest single gift to AMP and reflects our continued belief in the positive impact AMP has on some of our most under-resourced communities. 

Atlanta Music Project is a creative and award-winning youth development program, which uses the discipline of music to help children and teens develop the social, emotional, and cognitive skills they need to succeed.

We are very grateful to be a small part of AMP’s growth and development, and to support its outstanding leaders, team members, and students.

$25,000 Gift to Clark’s Christmas Kids

The Chestnut Family Foundation donated $25,000 to Clark’s Christmas Kids 2023. This donation helped support the collection of enough gifts to ensure that seven thousand children in foster care received at least three gifts on Christmas morning.

We are delighted to continue to support the wonderful work of Clark’s Christmas Kids which has provided Christmas gifts to children in the Georgia foster care system for 33 years.

$1,000,000 Gift to MTB Atlanta to Benefit Eight Parks Across Metro Atlanta

The Chestnut Family Foundation donated over $1,000,000 to MTB Atlanta to build more than 20 new miles of multi-use trails across eight parks in Metro Atlanta. These funds will also support the development of a new hard surface pump track at Pitner Road Park in Cobb County. All of the projects supported by this grant had been “shovel ready” (in existence) and will now be brought to completion for mountain bikers, runners, and hikers alike to enjoy. The Chestnut Family Foundation is proud to partner with MTB Atlanta! We are excited to help expand the landscape of mountain biking and outdoor recreation in our city and surrounding communities.

 MTB Atlanta manages a trail network of more 160 miles of trails in 29 different parks across Metro Atlanta area. The organization partners with the National Parks Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, Georgia State Parks, and multiple municipalities and counties in the Metro Atlanta area. MTB Atlanta is a membership bases non-profit organization of 450+ members across the metro region. The organization has most recently merged West Georgia SORBA and Gwinnett SORBA under the MTB Atlanta organization. MTB Atlanta has successfully raised more than $1 Million in 2022 through grants, fundraising, memberships, and foundation awards.

Strengthening Our Partnership with the Join Together Society (JTS) America

The Chestnut Family Foundation has donated an additional $900,000 to JTS America. This gift will help fund the reconstruction of a school in Aleppo Province, Syria (a demilitarized zone between Türkiye and Syria). The school had been almost destroyed by the conflict in that area. Once reconstructed, the school will have an enrollment of 3,500 students. Currently classes are being held in tents.

JTS America practices humanitarianism by helping those in need around the globe. Its work includes the provision of practical support to underprivileged communities affected by disasters, and the development of school education in some of the poorest areas of India and the Philippines.

We are humbled to be able to play a small part in supporting JTS’s extraordinary work which provides assistance to communities in desperate need.