United for Justice | Rooted in Compassion
for a Vibrant Greenville

United for Justice
Rooted in Compassion
for a Vibrant Greenville

The Jolley Foundation’s mission is to advance efforts to eliminate the root causes and effects of poverty and discrimination.

We support community initiatives and organizations that:

Empower

those with proximity to and lived experience with inequity to effect change.

Invest

in advocacy, policy change, and movement-building to advance equity.

Build

capacity, leadership, and innovation, particularly within systemically under-resourced populations.

Strengthen

collective impact through partnerships and coalitions designed to address inequity.

Elevate

equitable economic development.

Empower

those with proximity to and lived experience with inequity to effect change.

Invest

in advocacy, policy change, and movement-building to advance equity.

Build

capacity, leadership, and innovation, particularly within systemically under-resourced populations.

Strengthen

collective impact through partnerships and coalitions designed to address inequity.

Elevate

equitable economic development.

Empower

those with proximity to and lived experience with inequity to effect change.

Invest

in advocacy, policy change, and movement-building to advance equity.

Build

capacity, leadership, and innovation, particularly within systemically under-resourced populations.

Strengthen

collective impact through partnerships and coalitions designed to address inequity.

Elevate

equitable economic development.

What We Do

By providing funding and supporting the efforts of community partners, we work to eliminate the root causes and effects of poverty and discrimination in Greenville County.

We seek out investments that will nurture the growth and development of a community where everyone - regardless of identity or characteristics – has the resources and support they need to lead safe and fulfilling lives.

Meet Our Partners

We consider the nonprofit organizations that receive our funding as partners. They are dedicated to improving the lives of our community’s citizens in different ways, where everyone has what they need to thrive.

In our efforts to be as impactful as possible, we use all forms of philanthropic capital— —to combat the systems and structures perpetuating social, economic, and cultural barriers to equity in our community.

Our roots run deep.

Humble Beginnings

The Jolley Foundation was founded almost 80 years ago by husband and wife Bob and Rucker Jolley as an employee assistance fund. Albert’s success, first in the bottling industry and then the media industry, had a profound influence on the business community in the Upstate region of South Carolina.

A Family Legacy of Giving

With the family’s success in business came the desire and ability to have an equally profound impact on the community. The foundation has been largely family-run since its beginning, but the community's needs have always been the heart of our work. As the founding family dispersed from Greenville, outside leadership and expertise were brought in to help guide grantmaking decisions and eventually transform Jolley into a community-led philanthropic institution.

A New Era of Leadership

Meliah Bowers Jefferson, the first full-time executive director, was hired in 2022 and charged with expanding the web of interconnectedness deeper into the fabric of the family’s hometown of Greenville. With it, a new strategic map is created for what Jolley will become in the next 80 years.

Insights and Resources

We share regular updates on our partners and their work in the community, as well as insights on philanthropy issues on our blog.

Review our Strategic Funding Priorities

Our trustees have updated the foundation’s funding strategies to help better align our grantmaking with our vision.

Stay connected and help us make a difference.

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United for Justice
Rooted in Compassion
for a Vibrant Greenville

Mailing Address

PO Box 8182
Greenville SC 29604
©2025 Jolley Foundation All rights reserved.

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