Georgia Planning Association | About GPA

Memorial Foundation

The Georgia Planning Memorial Foundation is focusing on two programs for financial assistance to be offered through the Denise Abboud Fund in 2010, with the intent of expending all of the money generously provided by the Foundation’s Auction at the last GPA Fall Conference. Click here to see if your community meets the eligibility criteria.

  • GPA Fall Conference (download application)

    One program is to cover or defray the travel costs of eligible recipients to attend the GPA Fall Conference this year. Additionally, some registration costs for GPA members may be defrayed by the Georgia Planning Association.

  • Community Planning Institute. (download application)

    New for 2010, the Foundation is offering $100 grants to reduce the registration fee for eligible recipients to attend a CPI course. The CPI is offered three times a year at locations around the state, and is coordinated by DCA. For more information on a CPI course near your community and the available dates, please visit the DCA website.

The specific purpose of the Denise Abboud Fund is to help with the education and ongoing professional development of those who work in or serve rural or poorer Georgia communities that would otherwise not be able to obtain such opportunities. Those qualified to receive assistance from the Fund are planners, planning commissioners and other persons in similar official roles, who work in or serve such cities and counties.

The Foundation adopted criteria to define eligible communities consistent with the Fund’s specific purpose. Across Georgia, some 99 counties, and all of the cities within those counties, meet the eligibility criteria to apply for assistance from the Fund.

In addition, the Foundation adopted criteria to guide the selection process among requests received from recipient localities. The criteria examine such factors as the extent to which the city or county meets the eligibility criteria, the need for assistance expressed by the locality, and the potential for lasting beneficial results.

More information on the eligibility and selection criteria and on the Georgia Planning Memorial Foundation itself is available at this webpage.