Founders Circle: Building the Legacy Behind Every Legacy
The Founders Circle is the quiet strength behind the Foundation’s public impact. Parks, scholarships, grants, crisis response, and community funds all require an institution that is strong enough to serve today and steady enough to serve tomorrow. Through the Founders Circle, donors are not only making a gift; they are helping ensure the Barrow Community Foundation has the long-term capacity, leadership, and sustainability to enhance quality of life in Barrow County for generations.
As of the end of 2025, the Founders Circle endowment holds $1.125 million toward a goal of $3 million. Members of the Circle include the Philip and Shellie Gossling Foundation, the R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. Raymond H. Reynolds, Sr. The fund is a vital operating endowment that permanently honors donors of $25,000 or more. By investing in the sustainability of the Barrow Community Foundation, members of the Founders Circle make all other legacies established through the Foundation possible, ensuring that the organization will stand in perpetuity and remain a good steward of every investment made.
Founders Circle donors are choosing to invest not in a single program, but in the Foundation’s ability to keep saying yes wisely – yes to a community park, yes to a student, yes to a nonprofit partner, yes to a community in crisis, and yes to future needs no one can predict yet. “The Founders Circle is about making sure the Foundation is here not only for today’s opportunity, but for the next generation’s need,” said Philip Gossling, Founders Circle donor and campaign leader. “Shellie and I are proud to be recognized in this group, and we thank the thoughtful and generous donors who are joining us.”
