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Anna Sue And Bob Shaw Foundation

Annual Giving
$4.9M

Anna Sue And Bob Shaw Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $4,900,000 (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
  • Grant Range: Not publicly disclosed
  • Geographic Focus: Northwest Georgia (primarily Dalton, Chatsworth, Atlanta, and Norcross)
  • Total Assets: $309.5 million (2024)

Contact Details

Address: 114 North Pentz Street, Dalton, GA 30720
Mailing Address: PO Box 648, Dalton, GA 30722-0648
Phone: (706) 217-5680 or (706) 529-9658
Website: None identified
Email: Not publicly available

Overview

The Anna Sue And Bob Shaw Foundation is a private family foundation established to honor the memory of Anna Sue Shaw, late wife of Robert "Bob" Shaw, co-founder of Shaw Industries and founder of Engineered Floors. The foundation has experienced dramatic growth, with total assets increasing from approximately $12.7 million in 2019 to $309.5 million in 2024, primarily through substantial contributions totaling $172.9 million in 2024 alone. The foundation distributed approximately $4.9 million in charitable grants in 2024, focusing on health, education, and community development in Northwest Georgia. Most notably, the foundation funded the Anna Shaw Children's Institute, a 54,000-square-foot regional center dedicated to caring for children with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and developmental delays, which opened in 2019 in Dalton.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation operates as a private family foundation without publicly designated grant programs. Grant activity varies year to year:

  • 2023: 2 awards totaling $4,100,000
  • 2022: 20 awards
  • 2021: 12 awards
  • 2020: 4 awards

Priority Areas

Based on documented grantmaking, the foundation prioritizes:

Healthcare for Children: The foundation's signature initiative is the Anna Shaw Children's Institute in Dalton, which provides comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis, and care for children from birth to age 11 with developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD. The institute offers occupational, physical, and speech/language therapy, as well as psychological services and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy.

Community Development: The foundation focuses on addressing health, education, and community development challenges in Northwest Georgia, particularly in the Dalton area where the Shaw family built their carpet industry legacy.

Geographic Focus: Primary funding goes to Georgia communities including Atlanta, Chatsworth, Dalton, and Norcross.

What They Don't Fund

No specific exclusions are publicly documented.

Governance and Leadership

Board of Trustees

Susan Shaw Young - Trustee
Daughter of Anna Sue and Bob Shaw. As trustee, she has stated that the Anna Shaw Children's Institute represents "a place of happiness, knowledge and hope" in memory of her mother, who "was the mother of four children and loved children."

Robert Shaw Jr. - Trustee
Son of Bob Shaw and member of the Shaw family who continues the family's philanthropic legacy in Dalton.

Robert E. Shaw - Trustee
Member of the Shaw family board of trustees.

Executive Leadership

John Neal - Executive Director
Neal serves as Vice President of Community Affairs at Engineered Floors and holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Doctor of Law degree from The University of Georgia. In his role, he focuses on addressing health, education, and community development challenges in Northwest Georgia.

Compensation: None of the trustees or the Executive Director receive compensation for their roles with the foundation.

Family Legacy

The foundation honors Bob Shaw's remarkable career in the carpet industry. After his father Clarence Shaw bought a commission dye company in 1946, Bob and his brother J.C. took over when their father died in 1958, retooling it into a dyeing and finishing operation. The company went public as Shaw Industries in 1971 and became the world's largest carpet manufacturer by 1986. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway purchased Shaw Industries in 2001 for $2.4 billion. Bob Shaw then founded Engineered Floors in 2010, which became the third-largest carpet company in North America.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Anna Sue And Bob Shaw Foundation does not have a public application process. As a private family foundation, grants appear to be awarded through trustee discretion based on the foundation's strategic priorities in Northwest Georgia.

The foundation's grantmaking is directed by the board of trustees (Susan Shaw Young, Robert Shaw Jr., and Robert E. Shaw) and Executive Director John Neal, who identify projects and organizations that align with the foundation's mission of addressing health, education, and community development needs in the region.

Decision Timeline

Not publicly disclosed. Given the foundation's private nature and trustee-directed grantmaking, decision timelines likely vary based on the specific project and relationship with the foundation.

Success Rates

Not publicly available. The foundation made only 2 awards in 2023, down from 20 awards in 2022, suggesting highly selective grantmaking.

Reapplication Policy

Not publicly disclosed.

Application Success Factors

Since this foundation operates without a public application process, traditional application success factors do not apply. However, based on the foundation's documented activities:

Geographic Connection is Essential: All documented grants focus on Northwest Georgia, particularly the Dalton area where the Shaw family built their business empire and maintains deep community ties.

Children's Health and Development: The foundation's signature project—the Anna Shaw Children's Institute—demonstrates a clear priority for initiatives serving children with developmental challenges. Organizations working in pediatric healthcare, special education, or developmental services may align with foundation interests.

Strategic Community Impact: The foundation appears to make large, strategic investments rather than numerous small grants. The Anna Shaw Children's Institute represents a major community asset rather than a modest program grant.

Connection to the Shaw Family Legacy: Given the foundation's private nature and family governance, projects that resonate with the Shaw family's values and Northwest Georgia's needs are most likely to receive consideration.

Long-term Community Infrastructure: The foundation appears to favor projects that create lasting community assets and address systemic needs rather than providing ongoing operational support to multiple organizations.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public application process exists - This is a private family foundation operating primarily on trustee discretion
  • Exceptional asset growth - The foundation's assets have grown from $12.7 million (2019) to $309.5 million (2024), suggesting increased capacity for major grantmaking in the future
  • Geographic focus is narrow - Funding is concentrated in Northwest Georgia communities, particularly Dalton and surrounding areas
  • Large, strategic grants preferred - Recent grant activity shows only 2 awards in 2023 totaling $4.1 million, indicating preference for significant, high-impact investments
  • Children's health is a demonstrated priority - The Anna Shaw Children's Institute represents the foundation's most visible and substantial investment
  • Family governance drives decisions - With three Shaw family members as trustees and close ties to Engineered Floors through Executive Director John Neal, the foundation maintains strong connections to the family's business and philanthropic legacy
  • Relationship-building is essential - Without a formal application process, organizations must develop relationships with foundation leadership or be identified by trustees as addressing critical community needs

References

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