The Marcus Foundation was created by Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot.  The foundation’s primary philanthropic effort was $250 million to the creation of the Georgia Aquarium, which opened in 2005. The foundation supports medical research; nonprofits in Atlanta, Georgia and Boca Raton, Florida; nonprofits in Israel and the U.S. supporting Jewish causes; and center-right public policy organizations. ¹

History

The Marcus Foundation is the creation of Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, who co-founded Home Depot with Arthur M. Blank and Ken Langone in 1979 and retired as Home Depot chairman in 2002. In a 2019 interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Marcus said he had given away $2 billion up to that time and planned to donate 80to 90 percent of his remaining fortune to philanthropy and that while he left detailed instructions to his executors, he hoped to give as much money away during his lifetime as possible. The newspaper noted that Forbes calculated his wealth at $5.7 billion. “I want to live to be 100 because I want to be in a position to give it away to those things that I really believe in,” he said. ¹

In a 2019 Wall Street Journal op-ed co-written with Red Apple Group CEO John Catsimatidis, Marcus said that he would not apologize for having made a fortune.  “When we look at the way government spends its money, we are frustrated by the waste and ineffectiveness of so many of its programs, however well-intentioned. The projects we fund of our own accord deliver real bang for the buck…Our enterprises better promote values associated with virtue and success, and they are helping cure terrible and painful diseases from cancer to multiple sclerosis.” ²

Funding

According to its website, the Marcus Foundation has donated over $2.7 billion in grants since its founding in 1989. The website also lists several of the main areas these grants have gone to. These include “Medical Research and Healthcare,” “Jewish Causes,” “Free Enterprise, including Veteran Initiatives and National Security;” “The Health and Welfare of Children, with an emphasis on Civics Education;” and “Targeted Community Support.” ³

Medical Research

In 2020, the Marcus Foundation donated $80 million to the Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation center in Atlanta whose patients suffer from strokes, multiple sclerosis, and other brain-related illnesses. The grant was used to support construction of a new building for the center, augment outpatient care, and start a new program to aid soldiers suffering traumatic brain injuries. ⁴

According to its 2023 990 form, the Marcus Foundation donated a grant of $8,152,463 to the Shepard Center Foundation, which helps treat patients with physical or mental disabilities. ^{5 6} In 2024, the Foundation donated another grant of $17,647,034 to the Shepard Center. ⁷

Jewish Causes

In 2021, the Marcus Foundation donated $60 million grant to the Jewish Education Fund, paid over a three-year period, to support RootOne, a local advocacy group that arranges trips to Israel for local Jewish students. RootOne claimed it would use the grant to provide 10,000 trips for students by 2025 and over 20,000 by 2039. ⁸

According to its 2023 990 form, the Foundation donated roughly $25,188,626 to the Jewish Education Project, $9,150,000 to the Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus, $2,035,000 to the Birthright Israel Foundation, $2,651,000 to the Israel on Campus Coalition, and $6,117,510 to the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. ⁵

According to its 2024 990 form, the Foundation donated $5,076,000 to the Jewish Education Project, $2,256,000 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, $10,575,000 to the Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus, and $5,921,025 to Nefesh B’Nefesh. ⁷

Free Enterprise and Veteran Initiaives

In February 2021, the Marcus Foundation donated a $20 million grant, which was matched by $20 million from the Gary Sinise Foundation, to help launch the Gary Sinise Foundation Avalon Network to help support “cognitive and mental health care for veterans and first-responders” while helping treat those “impacted by post-traumatic stress (PTS), traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and substance abuse.” ⁹ In 2023, the Marcus Foundation donated a grant of $11,329,000 to the Avalon Network. ⁵ In 2024, the Foundation donated another $13,400,000 grant to the Avalon Network. ⁷

According to the website, by 2024, the Marcus Foundation had donated up to $250 million in grants towards Veteran-related causes. ¹⁰

Children Welfare and Civics Education

According to the Marcus Foundation’s website, the organization’s first grant, roughly $110,000, was donated to Emory Egleston Children’s Research. ¹⁰

In 2024, the Marus Foundation donated $9,396,848 to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation. ⁷

Community Support

In 2005, the Georgia Aquarium was which opened through a $255 million grant from the Marcus Foundation, which the website claims was the largest grant the Foundation has given. The land for the aquarium was donated by Coca-Cola. In a 2012 interview in Philanthropy, Bernie Marcus said he pitched the idea for the aquarium to then-Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes (D) after both were returning from Israel in 1999. ¹¹ He stated “I wanted this (aquarium) as a payback to our (Home Depot) customers and to our associates.  I had to ask, ‘What would they enjoy?’ My employees, my associates—they’re not really symphony people. A very small percentage of my customers go to the symphony.  But an aquarium—everyone loves an aquarium!” ¹¹ According to the Marcus Foundation website, since its founding the Georgia Aquarium has created “$6.9 billion in new investment in the surrounding community.” ¹⁰

1. Matt Kempner, “Bernie Marcus:  Giving It Away,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 2, 2019. https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-billionaire-plans-give-almost-all-away/gHi8FZhfwh4dFmaXCQksKK/
2. Bernie Marcus and John Catsimatidis, “Making Money Is A Patriotic Act,” Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/making-money-is-a-patriotic-act-11565737046?msockid=0fec149b78ac6b610862059b79be6a35
3. Marcus Foundation, accessed January 9, 2026. https://marcusfoundation.org/
4. Matt Kempner, “Metro Atlanta Rehab Hospital Gets Big Gift from Home Depot Co-Founder,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 10, 2020. https://www.ajc.com/neighborhoods/dekalb/metro-atlanta-rehab-hospital-gets-big-give-from-home-depot-co-founder/O4MZUAXMKJE5XOSO4QSJJO6HTE/?irclickid=x-x2ZMXdPxycWv01taxiyUHvUkpXAMTseXIPVM0&sharedid=EdgeBingFlow&irpid=2003851&irgwc=1&afsrc=1
5. Return of Private Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Marcus Foundation. 2023. Part XIV a. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/581815651/202403189349102110/full
6. Shepard Center Foundation, accessed January 9, 2026. https://foundation.shepherd.org/
7. Return of Private Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Marcus Foundation. 2024. Part XIV a. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/581815651/202513219349106486/full
8. Sheila Poole, “Marcus Foundation Donates $60 Million To Help Students Visit Israel, “Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 12, 2021. https://www.ajc.com/news/marcus-foundation-donates-60-million-to-help-students-visit-israel/K6NMAH4LUBGMTJH22OBUJ7EZJI/
9. “Arthur M. Blank, Bernie Marcus commit $40 million for veterans’ health.” Candid, February 18, 2021. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/arthur-m.-blank-bernie-marcus-commit-40-million-for-veterans-health
10. “Impact.” Marcus Foundation, accessed January 9, 2026. https://marcusfoundation.org/impact/#decades-of-impact
11. Andrew Ferguson, “Building America,” Philanthropy, Spring 2012, https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/magazine/building-america/ (accessed July 5, 2022)