Meet the National Philanthropists of the Year

Philanthropists Joan and Macon Brock of Virginia Beach, Virginia have long been some of Hampton

Joan & Macon Brock (Glen McClure photo)

Roads' most generous citizens. They enjoy funding arts, education, environmental and social action causes "where we can make something happen," Macon says.
Now the couple's  generosity is getting national attention with the recent announcement that the Brocks will be honored in New York City on National Philanthropy Day in November 2015. They will receive  the national Outstanding Philanthropist award presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Among those keeping company with them on November 12, 2015 at a celebration dinner at the 92nd Street Y will be representatives of the Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, which will be honored as the country's Outstanding Corporation.

"We are surprised and pleased," Macon Brock says of the philanthropy award. He and Joan were honored regionally in 2013 as Outstanding Philanthropists by the Hampton Roads AFP chapter, which nominated them for the national award. The couple also will be honored in November with the Darden Award for Regional Leadership presented by the CIVIC Leadership Institute.

"We've been lucky and blessed with the success of our company (Dollar Tree Inc.)," Macon says. "With that comes the obligation of doing something for others."

Macon is a member of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation board of directors. He and Joan, who both grew up in Norfolk and met in the eighth grade, have endowed a scholarship fund at the community foundation that benefits students at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, his alma mater. They also have an unrestricted fund.  In addition, Dollar Tree also has two corporate donor-advised funds administered by the community foundation.

Over the years the Brocks have donated more than $40 million to numerous organizations around the globe, including at a school in Africa and at Randolph-Macon College and Longwood University, Joan's alma mater. Among the causes in Hampton Roads they are known for supporting are:

• The new Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Brock Environmental Center, one of the greenest buildings in the world.
• The M. Foscue Brock Institute for Community and Global Health at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
• The endowed curator of American art position at the Chrysler Museum of Art.
•  ACCESS College Foundation programs.
• The new Brock Commons outdoor amphitheater at Old Dominion University.
• United Way of South Hampton Roads' United for Children program.
• Virginia Wesleyan College's Center for the Study of Religious Freedom.

Learn more about AFP's National Philanthropy Day celebration and its honorees.  Watch the video below to hear the Brocks' philosophy of generosity.

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(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $210 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you.)