The Anne Cox Chambers Foundation is a private foundation based in Atlanta, Georgia. It funds animal welfare and animal liberation organizations. It is the foundation of the late Anne Cox Chambers, a diplomat in the Carter administration, billionaire heiress to the Cox Enterprises media empire, and daughter of 1920 Democratic presidential nominee James M. Cox. ¹

Anne Cox Chambers

Background

Anne Cox Chambers was born December 1, 1919 in Dayton, Ohio. Her father, Ohio Governor James Middleton Cox (D), was the founder of media company Cox Enterprises and the 1920 Democratic presidential nominee. Chambers was the heiress to the Cox Enterprises, a philanthropist, diplomat, and political mobilizer. After contributing to the Jimmy Carter campaign in 1976, she was appointed and served as the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium from 1977-1981. Chambers was also the first woman in Atlanta to serve as a bank director, where she served on the board of Fulton National Bank in 1973. She died at the age of 100 on January 31, 2020. ^{2 3} Cox Chambers had three children; James Chambers, Katharine Rayner, and Margaretta Taylor. In 2016, Forbes estimated her net worth to be approximately $17 billion. ⁴

Political Activities

Like her father, Cox Chambers was a staunch Democrat. She contributed to Jimmy Carter’s gubernatorial campaign in 1970 and presidential campaign in 1976, and has made numerous contributions to Democratic campaigns at the congressional and presidential levels. ⁵ In a 2011 interview with Atlanta magazine, Cox Chambers said that she “could never, never vote for a Republican.” She also contributed to President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns both monetarily and by joining campaigners in door-knocking initiatives. ^{6 7 8}

Advocacy Support

Contributions from the Anne Cox Chambers Foundation support various left-identified political and advocacy causes. WESPAC Foundation has provided support to a number of aggressively anti-Israel and pro-Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) groups. ⁹

The Cox Chambers Foundation has also supported a number of vegan-advocacy and animal-liberation groups such as Farm Sanctuary, Humane Society International (HSI), and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). ¹⁰

1. “Anne Cox Chambers (1919-2020).” New Georgia Encyclopedia. Accessed March 11, 2020. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/anne-cox-chambers-1919-2020.
2. Martin, Jeff. “Anne Cox Chambers, Wealthy Newspaper Heiress, Dies at 100.” AP NEWS. Associated Press, January 31, 2020. https://apnews.com/48f4470e409d29d6c6a9b94815375000.
3. Hanna, Jason, and Tina Burnside. “Anne Cox Chambers, Media Heiress and Former US Ambassador, Has Died at 100.” CNN. Cable News Network, February 3, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/31/us/anne-cox-chambers-obituary/index.html.
4. “2016 The Richest Person In America’s 50 Largest Cities Net Worth.” Forbes. Accessed February 18, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/profile/anne-cox-chambers/#719f0c1e534a.
5. “The Center for Responsive Politics.” OpenSecrets. Accessed February 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/search?q=anne+cox+chambers&type=donors.

6. Heckert, Amanda, and Amanda Heckert. “A Conversation with Anne Cox Chambers.” Atlanta Magazine, January 31, 2020. https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/anne-cox-chambers1/.
7. “Priorities USA Action.” The New York Times. The New York Times. Accessed February 18, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2012/campaign-finance/pac/priorities-usa-action.html.
8. “Obama 2009 Inauguration: Donors.” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed February 18, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/obama/inaug_2009.php.
9. “Militarism and Foreign Policy.” WESPAC Foundation, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2020.  https://wespac.org/category/s7-communities-focuses/c42-middle-east/
10. Data compiled by FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc., from forms filed with the IRS. Queries conducted March 11, 2020.