Four Georgia-based groups with ties to the United Methodist Church are recipients of an endowment of Coca-Cola stock worth an estimated $192 million, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The stock gifts come from the estate of west Georgia resident Margaret Adger Pitts, who died last year at the age of 104. She was the daughter of Coca-Cola investor W.I.H. Pitts.
The Candler School of Theology at Emory University receives a $65 million endowment from the Pitts estate. The gifts will fund scholarships for full tuition plus a $3,000 annual stipend at the theology school, which was founded by the Methodist church in 1914 before joining Emory.
Young Harris College receives $63.5 million for scholarships. The Pitts bequest more than doubles the private, two-year college's existing $50 million endowment. The Methodist-affiliated liberal arts school has a maximum enrollment of 440 students.
The South Georgia Methodist Home for Children and Youth in Macon receives a $47.25 million endowment. Methodist Home officials have said they will use endowment income to fund community prevention services to help underprivileged children.
The remaining $16.25 million in stock will be used to support the United Methodist Church's minister's pension fund in south Georgia.
The four recipients will receive annual stock dividends and other income estimated at five to six percent of the total endowment value.