Chicory Giving Group, 2007-2023
Charitable giving is a natural outgrowth of a person’s healthy, mature relationship with money
Support for the Wider Community
At Chicory Wealth, we’ve always known that charitable giving is key to financial health, so from 2007 to 2023 we sponsored a program called Chicory Giving Group. Each year, our clients nominated organizations to be considered as beneficiaries of an annual fundraising event, and an informal board of clients chose two final organizations. We are proud that this program raised more than $180,000 while it was in operation. You can see the amazing organizations we supported below.
In 2024 we replaced Chicory Giving Group with CHICORY 1% FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE.
Organizations Supported by Chicory Giving Group 2007-2023:
Ahimsa House
Ahimsa, which means “nonviolence” in Sanskrit, was founded in 2004 by Emily Christie after she lost a pet to domestic violence. Ahimsa House became Georgia’s first and only organization dedicated to helping the human and animal victims of domestic violence reach safety together. Services include a 24-hour statewide crisis line, veterinary care, assistance in transporting pets, pet food and supplies, assistance in including pets in safety planning, and legal advocacy to assist victims.
Conservation Fisheries Inc.
CFI is dedicated to the preservation of aquatic biodiversity in rivers and streams by working to slow the increasing imperilment of native freshwater fishes in the Southeastern United States. In their efforts, they have propagated more than 80 non-game fish species, including some of the most imperiled species in the Southeast. Whether they are supporting fish populations that are in decline or propagating fish for other facilities, they are the leaders in propagating rare and difficult-to-collect species.
Afghan American Alliance of Georgia
AAAGA is a nonprofit founded after the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan to support the many Afghan families fleeing the Taliban to start a new life in Georgia. The goals of the AAAGA are to provide direct aid to help the new arrivals get back on their feet, orient them to life in the US, and provide them with the support they need to find financial stability and independence.
Lost-n-Found Youth
Lost-n-Found Youth is an Atlanta-based nonprofit that exists to end homelessness for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) and all sexual minority youth. The mission of Lost-n-Found Youth is to end homelessness for all LGBTQ youth by providing them with the skills and support needed to live independently.
Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM)
CHaRM is the premier program of Live Thrive, an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization working to create a community that cares about a healthy and sustainable environment. CHaRM is a permanent drop-off facility that aims to improve environmental health by encouraging reuse and diverting thousands of pounds of household hazardous waste, bulky trash, and other hard-to-recycle items from Metro-Atlanta landfills and water systems.
West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA)
WAWA is a community-based non-profit whose mission is to improve the quality of life within the West Atlanta Watershed by protecting, preserving, and restoring the community’s natural resources. WAWA represents African American neighborhoods in Northwest and Southwest Atlanta that are most inundated with environmental stressors, but are least represented at environmental decision-making tables.
Just Bakery
Just Bakery of Atlanta is a non-profit that partners with neighbors/community members who resettled as refugees on paid job training, professional certification, and living wage work. They bake with local and sustainable ingredients whenever possible and work to build a more diverse, compassionate, and connected community for all.
Out of Hand Theatre
Out of Hand works at the intersection of art, social justice, and civic engagement. They spark conversations to build a better world by using the tools of theater to support and enhance the work of community partners. Out of Hand produces Equitable Dinners, Shows in Homes, Civic Collaborations, and Creative Kids.
Atlanta Audubon Society
Atlanta Audubon Society is dedicated to building places where birds and people thrive. Serving all 20 metro Atlanta counties and areas of North Georgia, Atlanta Audubon strives to connect people with nature and to inspire everyone to be stewards of birds and the environment. Just as bird diversity strengthens ecosystems, the diversity of human experiences, traditions, and viewpoints strengthens this organization’s conservation, education, and advocacy efforts.
LifeLine Animal Project
LifeLine Animal Project is working to end the euthanasia of healthy and treatable dogs and cats in metro Atlanta shelters and is the managing organization of Fulton County Animal Services and the DeKalb County Animal Services shelter. Since 2002, LifeLine has worked to assess the needs of Atlanta’s animal welfare community and provide innovative, strategic resources in support of its mission to end shelter euthanasia of homeless animals. Rather than reinforce traditional models of animal control and sheltering, which historically have not served the animals well, LifeLine has focused on community-driven approaches to neighborhood reinvestment and public safety through programs designed to increase both human and animal welfare.
Malachi’s Storehouse
Malachi’s Storehouse is an organization dedicated to addressing food insecurity in Metro Atlanta. The mission is to nourish both body and spirit through the guiding principles of radical hospitality, sharing, and compassion. They operate every Wednesday between 11 am and 2 pm at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Dunwoody, GA, where they provide a hot meal to more than 250 people each week. They also provide groceries to more than 800 families each week, a clothing closet, toys for clients’ children at Christmas, and backpacks and school supplies. They have an organic garden that provides fresh produce, which their clients tend. More than 80 volunteers are utilized each week, most of whom first came to Malachi’s Storehouse in search of food. The organization has been in operation for more than 25 years, working to be both a practical resource as well as a community of compassion and kindness.
Refuge Coffee Co.
Refuge Coffee Co., which began in 2015, has a served more than 80,000 customers from 60+ countries at their permanent location in Clarkston, GA, and through their catering service. The organization has three goals: to provide employment and job training opportunities to resettled refugees, to create a welcoming gathering place in Clarkston, and to raise awareness in Atlanta about the refugee population. Approximately 2,500 refugees settle in Clarkston every year, more than half of whom fled violence in their home countries. There are about 145 countries and 761 ethnic groups represented in Clarkston, which has become over the last 30 years a magnet for refugee resettlement. The unemployment rate in Clarkston is double the national average. The main job offer these immigrants receive is working in a chicken processing plant two hours away. Refuge Coffee Co. provides them with a living wage at an in-town location, as well as job training, coaching and mentoring. In addition, Refuge Coffee Co. offers an opportunity for all citizens to mingle and get to know one another. Their motto is “Building community and economic opportunities, one cup of coffee at a time.”
Toco Hills Community Alliance
Toco Hills Community Alliance provides emergency assistance to northeast Atlanta citizens in need. For 20 years the nonprofit has provided financial assistance with utility bills and free hot lunches, groceries and clothes. On an ongoing basis, the nonprofit collects food, both perishable and canned, donated by local businesses—Costco, Sprouts, Fresh Market, Kroger, Publix, among others—and distributes it to families, many of whom have little or no access to fresh, healthy food. Nearly all the work is done by volunteers, many of whom at one time were clients, which helps break down the challenging barrier between us and them.
Moving in the Spirit
This award-winning youth program helps transform the lives of Atlanta children and teens (ages 3-19) through dance in a safe place that allows self-expression and fosters discipline. This nationally recognized youth development program integrates high-quality dance instruction with performance, leadership and mentoring. Most of the students have few opportunities to rise above their circumstances, so the impact of the program is often profound. Often graduates return to Moving in the Spirit later in life (after graduating from college or some advanced training) to volunteer, serve on the board or teach.
re:loom
Part of the Initiative for Affordable Housing, a Decatur-based nonprofit that provides permanent, affordable housing to homeless and low-income families in metro Atlanta, re:loom is a weave house where adults who have struggled to secure and maintain jobs create beautiful, useful items for sale to the public. re:loom helps people address obstacles to employment through paid on-site job training and leadership opportunities. Weavers design and produce handmade products and lead a team of weave house volunteers. With a stable salary, 100 percent healthcare coverage, and opportunities to engage in the operation of the weave house, employees gain financial foundation leadership skills and a sense of purpose and accomplishment.
Our House
Our House breaks the chains of homelessness by providing quality early childhood education and comprehensive support services for families that are experiencing homelessness.
Global Growers Network
Global Growers Network grew out of the tremendous demand among international farmers, many who came to Atlanta as refugees of war, to reconnect to their agricultural heritage in their new home. Recognizing this exceptional talent, Global Growers connects local families to land, education, and markets in order to build healthier communities and strengthen our local economy.
Foreverfamily
Foreverfamily works to ensure that all children have the opportunity to be surrounded by the love of family, no matter their circumstances. They focus their efforts on some of the most marginalized children in our society—those with an incarcerated parent or parents—and support them as they, their parents, caregivers and extended families work to remain a family.
Charis Circle
The nonprofit organization Charis Circle, created by Charis Books & More, the oldest and largest feminist bookstore in the nation, creates a forum for free thought, independent voices and unique expression. All programming is created with a commitment to sustainability via diverse and innovative funding sources, by nurturing partnerships across communities and geographies, and with an eye toward technical innovation to create and support accessible feminist communities everywhere.
Full Radius Dance
Atlanta-based Full Radius Dance is a modern dance company of physically integrated (dancers with and without disabilities) professional performers. One of only a handful of physically integrated dance companies in the nation, Full Radius Dance is part of a small but growing artistic movement that began in the mid-1980s in Britain and America. The company’s core belief is that providing inclusion in the performing arts creates power, beauty and inspiration.
The Global Village Project
Founded in 2009, the Global Village Project (GVP) is a special purpose middle school in Decatur, GA for teenage refugee girls with interrupted education. The program was imagined in response to the fact that many teenage refugee girls need more intensive and individualized support than their siblings. These young women are placed in middle and high schools when they are resettled, even though many of them arrive in the U.S. with Pre-K to 2nd grade skills in math and reading. In order to succeed academically and socially in their new home, refugee young women need a space designed specifically for their needs as older newcomers. With an educational approach that focuses on students’ strengths and resources, and includes a STEAM and arts-integrated curriculum, GVP supports them in becoming highly successful students and empowered citizens.
Georgia Justice Project
Georgia Justice Project defends people accused of crimes and, win or lose, stands with them while they rebuild their lives. GJP does this by offering free legal services coupled with a full range of social and employment services. In their words: “Most of society sees an arrest as the end to a promising life. For clients of GJP, we see it as the beginning. GJP is an unlikely mix of lawyers, social workers and a landscape company. GJP provides justice, opportunity and hope to poor people accused of crimes and, win or lose, we stand with our clients while they rebuild their lives. We believe this is the only way to break the cycle of poverty and crime.
SisterLove, Inc.
SisterLove’s mission is to eradicate the adverse impact of HIV/AIDS and other reproductive health challenges upon women and their families through education, prevention, support and human rights advocacy in the United States and around the world. SisterLove, Inc., founded in July of 1989, grew out of the efforts of a group of volunteer women seeking to educate the women of Atlanta about AIDS prevention, self-help and safer sex techniques.
Refugee Resettlement & Immigration Services of Atlanta (Now New American Pathways)
New American Pathways serves refugees, victims of human trafficking, Violence Against Women Act cases, and low-income immigrants. Annually, up to about 70,000 refugees (less than 1% of the world’s refugee population) are resettled in the United States through a U.S. humanitarian program. Refugees enter the U.S. legally and are on track to become U.S. citizens within 5 years. New American Pathway’s vision is that refugee families will become stable, financially independent and productive members of the community, while preserving the ethnic and cultural identity that supports their dignity and self-esteem. Their immediate goal is to enable families to become economically self-sufficient.
FINCA
FINCA, the Foundation for International Community Assistance, was founded on the radical notion that giving small loans to the poor has the power to transform entire communities in a sustainable way. FINCA promotes financial inclusion and enables access to life-enhancing products.
STE(A)M Truck
STE(A)M Truck is an innovative, award-winning program that gives children access to hands-on building, tinkering and creative learning. The nonprofit’s curriculum increases access to STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) careers by helping children build the skills critical for success. The tools, expertise and time needed to foster STEM learning are usually unavailable in public schools, especially in schools serving low income communities. STE(A)M Truck provides K-12 students the tools, materials and expert knowledge during the school day directly on school campuses. Part of the maker movement, STE(A)M Truck’s mission is to give all students equal opportunities to learn through an experiential maker approach.
Gideon’s Promise
Like other public defenders nationwide, Atlanta lawyer Jonathan Rapping had few resources and worked in a criminal justice system that often doesn’t treat the poor and minorities fairly. In response Rapping created Gideon’s Promise, a nonprofit that gives public defenders the resources, winning strategies and national network that supports them and fosters collaboration. Gideon’s Promise is dedicated to making America “a nation where every person has access to zealous, outstanding representation necessary to ensure ‘equal justice for all’ in the criminal justice arena.”
Mommy and Me Family Literacy
The nonprofit school Mommy and Me Family Literacy, located in Clarkston, offers English as a Second or Other Language classes to mothers while their children attend early childhood development classes. Mommy and Me Family Literacy’s curriculum includes parent-child sessions, during which mothers and children learn literacy skills through arts, crafts, songs and stories. This readies the children for school and empowers mothers to interact in English with their children’s teachers.
