

Our Donor Intent
The mission statement of the Foundation fully captures the intent of its founder, Walter J. Brown. In 1970, Brown established the Watson-Brown Foundation primarily to provide “college opportunities for underprivileged boys and girls.” Named for Thomas E. Watson and J.J. Brown, the Foundation awards annually more than $2.4 million in merit and need-based college scholarships to students from a eighteen county region of Georgia and South Carolina. Walter Brown also set a precedent for preservation, especially as it related to the history of the South. Today, the Foundation owns and operates three historic sites in Georgia and explores history through the eyes of the men who created them. Finally, the Foundation operates a grant program that encourages responsible scholarship on the South and supports historic preservation. The Foundation is based in Thomson, Georgia, hometown of Thomas E. Watson.