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Size: 32 cu. ft.
Contents: The Charles E. Culpeper Foundation archives present a complete account of the foundation's activities in the years following the death of Charles E. Culpeper, during which the foundation devised and established its philanthropic mandate. The collection includes the Fiftieth Anniversary Report 1940-1990, a general overview of the foundation's involvement in the areas of health, education, arts and culture, and administration of justice, with a breakdown of funds provided for each field.
Arrangement: Records are arranged in four series:
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Administration, 1979-1988
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Grants, 1940-1983
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Historical Files, 1886-1991
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Miscellaneous
Series 1, Administration, covers the meetings of the Investment Committee, the Grant Committee, and the Board of Directors from 1981-1988. It contains correspondence, waivers, motions, financial statements, and disbursements. Organizational files from 1940-1988, detailing the birth of the foundation and efforts to establish its programs, as well as personal material from James T. Murray, chairman of the foundation from 1958 to 1968, are also included in this series.
Series 2, Grants, contains lists of grants, financial statements, grant applications, and general correspondence documenting the administration of grants. Files are arranged alphabetically.
Series 3, Historical Files, contains Culpeper family material, including correspondence, photographs, audio tapes, trust and estate records, documents relating to family property in Georgia, and items relating to the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York established by Charles E. Culpeper.
Photograph Collection: No
Organizational History: Charles Emory Culpeper (1874-1940) was born in Rome, Georgia to a farm family of nine children. Although he never finished high school, he was an industrious young man who worked as a store clerk in the Rome area and later as a traveling salesman. In 1899, Culpeper accepted a job selling Coca-Cola syrup to soda fountains in Philadelphia. In 1904, he was transferred to New York, where he worked as a salesman for the Coca-Cola Bottling Works of Newark and of New York. In 1917, Culpeper bought the two companies for $160,000 and combined them into the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York. The company prospered under his direction, and at the time of his death in 1940, his stock in it comprised the bulk of his substantial fortune.
Culpeper was highly involved in the welfare of children. Throughout his lifetime, he was instrumental in assisting boys' clubs in the New York area. In his will, Culpeper directed that a foundation be established to acquire the bulk of his fortune and conserve it for the benefit of future generations. On December 18, 1940, the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation was established. In 1990, Culpeper Foundation assets totaled approximately $118 million and reported disbursements of $6 million in grants that year. In 1999, the Culpeper Foundation merged with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
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