Communities In Schools of Atlanta Receives Largest Private Donation in 50-Year History

A $4 Million Donation from Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott Will Deepen CIS Atlanta’s Impact in 62 Elementary, Middle and High Schools

Communities In Schools (CIS) of Atlanta today announced a gift of $4 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

This gift is tremendous fuel for CIS Atlanta’s impact, infrastructure, and its school-based professionals. CIS Atlanta serves 62 schools in four districts: Atlanta Public Schools, Fulton County, DeKalb County, and Clayton County.

“On behalf of CIS of Atlanta, we are extremely grateful for this generous unrestricted gift from MacKenzie Scott,” said Frank Brown, CEO of Communities In Schools of Atlanta. “We will use these precious financial resources to pay for expanded college and career readiness programming for our students, preparing them to fully participate in the American dream as homeowners, voters, taxpayers, and contributing members of society. We will also provide much-needed salary increases and professional development opportunities for our staff members.”

Communities In Schools of Atlanta empowered 34,000 students during the 2020-2021 school year, and 2,106 of those students received intensive individualized support. An impressive 97% of our caseload students stayed in school, graduated on time, or were promoted.

CIS believes that transformative relationships are key to unlocking a student's potential. Our school-based staff work inside schools in partnership with teachers and parents to help address the non-academic needs of students. CIS coordinates with schools and local service providers to meet the needs of students and families, as well as providing critical resources such as food, housing, healthcare, counseling, access to remote technology, and more so that students (and educators) can focus on academics.