Blank Gives Tiger Woods $20M For Education Center

The Arthur Blank Family Foundation has announced that it is making a $20 million grant to the foundation established by Tiger Woods, the legendary PGA pro golfer.

Blank’s contribution to the Woods charity will be used to transform the Capitol View Elementary School, on Metropolitan Parkway, southeast of the downtown business district in Atlanta, into a learning lab that the golfer’s TGR Foundation would operate.

“I have immense respect and admiration for Tiger, not only for his legendary career, but for the way he continues to lead with purpose off the course,” Blank said. “It’s truly an honor to partner with someone who believes so deeply in the power of education and community.”

The announcement came during a celebration of 30 years of charitable work by Woods which with Blank’s help has raised $50 million in the last year for his educational initiatives. Blank, who is a co-founder of The Home Depot, has been a major contributor to educational and social initiatives, and over the years has contributed more than $1.5 billion to philanthropic work.

He also owns the Atlanta Drive golf team that is part of a high-tech indoor league known as Team Golf League that Woods has promoted. Earlier this month, Blank also became the first team owner to sign on with the Women’s Team Golf League, a new platform for professional women golfers.

The Woods foundation’s work supports students from underserved communities to pursue their goals through education. The TGR Foundation says it has reached more than 3 million children and served over 217,000 students since 2006.

“The legacy I’m most proud of isn’t on the golf course, it’s the work we’ve done to positively impact the lives of students through TGR Foundation,” Woods said in a release announcing the donation. “I am excited for what’s next as we expand alongside our great supporters to reach more young people from communities in need.”

The learning lab will provide students the opportunity to further their education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which is often referred to as STEM educational enrichment programming. It will also offer out-of-school programming and career counseling for students from the Atlanta Public School System.

It is being established under a 25-year lease for the building that Woods’ foundation negotiated last fall with the Atlanta Board of Education. The school building was originally constructed in 1928 but has not been used since 2013.

According to Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, the partnership with the Foundation reflects a strategy to revitalize facilities in the Atlanta community in ways that both benefit students and strengthen communities.

“By activating historic buildings through mission-aligned partnerships, we are expanding learning beyond the classroom, creating new pathways for student success, and ensuring our facilities serve as engines of opportunity for Atlanta,” Johnson said. “The TGR Learning Lab Atlanta is a powerful example of how strategic collaboration can bring new life to our schools and new possibilities to our students.”

The Atlanta lab is part of an expansion of the foundation’s program of operating and furnishing learning labs. The flagship learning lab opened in Anaheim, Calif., in 2006 followed by the Smilow Woodland TGR Learning Lab in Philadelphia, Penn., last year. Future learning lab locations include Lulu’s Place in Los Angeles in 2027 and Augusta, Ga. in 2029.

The lab in Augusta will be part of the planned transformation of the municipal golf course known as The Patch. That work is being sponsored in part by the Augusta National Golf Charities, which is the philanthropic arm of The Masters golf tournament. Tiger Woods is also designing a short course at the facility though his TGR Design organization.

Woods started the Tiger Woods Foundation when he turned pro in 1996 and renamed it a decade ago. He began by doing golf clinics around the country and, five years later, came up with the idea of a learning center. The Atlanta lab is the fifth that has been started.

Woods, who has just turned 50, hasn’t indicated if and when he might return to the competitive golfing circuit. In recent years, he’s been plagued by numerous injuries. He ruptured his Achilles tendon in March and had a seventh back surgery in September. He last played the 36-hole PNC Championship in Orlando with his son, Charlie, in December 2024.

He also has devoted time to PGA Tour policy, serving on the boards of the tour and PGA Tour Enterprises, and chairing the Futures Competition Committee that is reshaping the schedule.