The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of United Parcel Service Inc., has granted $50,000 to the World Affairs Council of Atlanta to support the council’s operations.

The council is affiliated with Georgia State University, the university’s Robinson College of Business and the World Affairs Councils of America.

“We are very honored and grateful to have received this major grant form the UPS Foundation, said Dennis P. Lockhart, chairman of the council and president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, in a news release.

“Their support is essential in expanding the reach and influence of the council as we provide a forum for examining the international political and business issues that impact our city and state.”

The council organizes programs in Atlanta featuring governmental, business and non-governmental organization leaders from around the world.

Founded in 2010, the council provided in its first year a forum for leaders such as NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers, and ambassadors to the U.S. from the United Kingdom, South Korea and Ireland.

The UPS Foundation has identified the following focus areas for giving: nonprofit effectiveness, encouraging diversity, economic and global literacy, community safety and environmental sustainability.

In 2010, the UPS Foundation distributed more than $44.6 million worldwide through grants that benefit organizations and programs with these objectives.