Georgia real-estate developer Tom Cousins is often remembered for his long and successful business career. Yet as important as his business successes were, Cousins’ philanthropic initiatives — such as Purpose Built Communities — might have had an even larger impact. The impact of Mr. Cousins, who died July 29 at age 93, is immeasurable.

Born Dec. 7, 1931, in Atlanta, Cousins graduated from the University of Georgia in 1952. Six years later, he started his own residential real estate business, Cousins Properties. Today, the publicly traded company (CUZ) manages approximately 20 million square feet of office space in various Sun Belt cities as far west as Phoenix.

By 1963, Cousins and his wife, Ann, established Cousins Foundations to inspire change and, as the foundation's mission states, to provide “support of programs and organizations that will have the greatest impact and ... align with our focus areas.”

In 1995, Cousins founded the East Lake Foundation. While he was reimagining the landscape of Atlanta, Cousins bought the nearby home course of Bobby Jones, the greatest amateur golfer of all time. East Lake Golf Club had fallen on hard times, and Cousins found a deteriorating course located in a dangerous neighborhood. Today, East Lake is the middle of a rejuvenated area that in 1998 first hosted the prestigious TOUR Championship, the season-ending event on the PGA TOUR schedule. East Lake became the tournament’s permanent home in 2004. The 2025 TOUR Championship will be the 25th held at East Lake.

“It’s difficult for me to find words that adequately pay tribute to a man who, throughout his 93 years, sought to make a difference and improve the lives of those around him,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Mr. Cousins was a visionary and a man who had the unique ability to imagine what something could become and then make it happen. Our partnership with Tom and the East Lake Foundation will have a lasting impact and we look forward to honoring and celebrating him at this year’s tournament. We will miss Tom greatly and will cherish the memories we have of him. We grieve with his family and share our condolences.”

The rejuvenation of the East Lake neighborhood continued beyond the golf course’s renovation, and in cooperation with the Atlanta Housing Authority, the Foundation built mixed-income apartment complexes in the low-income, high-crime area around the golf course.

In 2001, the Drew Charter School opened and featured both rigorous academic standards and high expectations. The construction of the East Lake Family YMCA as a community gathering place followed, a facility that continues to thrive. Other resources poured in, providing funds used to create after-school programs that provided the life-skills curriculum found at the First Tee — Metro Atlanta. Almost immediately, the area saw dramatic decreases in its crime rate, with significant improvements in students’ test scores.

The TOUR Championship has contributed more than $63 million to Atlanta-based nonprofits, including the East Lake Foundation, Purpose Built Schools Atlanta, Focused Community Strategies, the Grove Park Foundation and the First Tee — Metro Atlanta, among others.

Growth and development continued in 2011, with the founding of Purpose Built Communities. Thanks to additional financial support from other business moguls, including Warren Buffett and Julian Robertson, the goal is to adopt the winning formula used by the East Lake Foundation to revitalize neighborhoods across the country.

In addition to the TOUR Championship, East Lake Golf Club annually hosts the East Lake Cup, a prestigious men’s and women’s college golf tournament. At the event’s conclusion, organizers present the Tom Cousins Award to one male and one female student-athlete from a participating team, student-athletes who best exemplify civic, community and philanthropic qualities.

In 2002, the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame inducted Cousins, with the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame bestowing the same honor on Cousins in 2018.