The Huffman-Cornwell Foundation was founded in 1960 by Mary Louise Huffman, Mary Louise Huffman Cornwell, George Thomas Cornwell, Mary Louise Cornwell McCombs, Ann Cornwell Avery and Barbara Cornwell Norvell. The foundation tends to favor projects which are of benefit to the people in North Carolina and, more specifically, Burke County, North Carolina.

The foundation awards grants to support projects in the following scope: arts, education, children, the environment, historic preservation, and cultural and physical development.