Search Through Grants for Nonprofit Human Services in Tennessee in the U.S.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Ingram Charities comprises the Ingram family and business philanthropy and is the way in which Ingram gives back to the community.

Ingram Charities provides grants for programs and nonprofit organizations that make Nashville a better place to live and work. Our funding typically focuses on programs that are making an impact in Middle Tennessee through the arts, education, and health and human services.

Memorial Foundation

Memorial Foundation was established in April of 1994 with an endowment fund generated from the sale of the assets of Nashville Memorial Hospital in Madison, Tennessee. At that time, members of the hospital’s Board of Directors became members of the Board of Trust of the Memorial Foundation.

The Foundation’s Board of Trustees serve as volunteers, regularly meeting to review grant applications and to make decisions on the allocation of Foundation funds. The Board is led by Board Chair David McKee, M.D., Vice Chair Varina Buntin, and Secretary Alfonzo Alexander. The Foundation’s President is Scott S. Perry.

In keeping with its roots, The Memorial Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life for people through support to nonprofit organizations. The Memorial Foundation responds to diverse community needs, assisting agencies that focus on: Access to Quality Health Care Services, Human & Social Services, Education, Senior Citizen Enrichment Services, Youth and Childhood Development, Substance Abuse Programs, and Community Services.

The Foundation also strives to respond to immediate, critical needs that arise in the community. With assistance from the Foundation, organizations including The Salvation Army, The American Red Cross, Second Harvest Food Bank, and YWCA have received funds.

Whether offering ongoing support or responding in times of crisis, The Memorial Foundation will continue to partner with nonprofit organizations in addressing the needs and improving the quality of life in our community.

Focus for Funding

The Foundation places special emphasis on assisting data-driven, trauma-informed organizations that focus on:

• Access to Quality Health Care Services (e.g., physical & mental health; wellness programs)
• Human & Social Services (e.g., families & children; immigrants & refugees; domestic violence & sexual abuse survivors; veterans; people experiencing homelessness; people in crisis)
• Education
• Youth and Childhood Development
• Senior Citizen Enrichment Services
• Community Services

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

PNC Foundation

Strengthening and enriching the lives of our neighbors in communities where we live and work.

Vision & Mission

For decades, we have provided resources to seed ideas, foster development initiatives and encourage leadership in nonprofit organizations where imagination and determination are at work enhancing people's lives everyday.

The PNC Foundation's priority is to form partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations in order to enhance educational opportunities, with an emphasis on early childhood education, and to promote the growth of communities through economic development initiatives.

Foundation Grant

The PNC Foundation supports a variety of nonprofit organizations with a special emphasis on those that work to achieve sustainability and touch a diverse population, in particular, those that support early childhood education and/or economic development.

Education

The PNC Foundation supports educational programs for children and youth, particularly early childhood education initiatives that meet the criteria established through PNC Grow Up Great. Specifically, PNC Grow Up Great grants must:

• Support early education initiatives that benefit children from birth to age five; and
• Serve a majority of children (>50%) from low- to moderate-income families; and
• Adhere to all other standard PNC Foundation guidelines, as outlined on the PNC Foundation website, applicant eligibility quiz, as well as the Foundation policies and procedures; and
• Include one or a combination of the following:
  • direct services/programs for children in their classroom or community;
  • professional development/workforce development for early childhood educators;
  • family and/or community engagement in children’s early learning
• Additional considerations:
  • The grant focus should include math, science, reading, vocabulary development, the arts, financial education, or social/emotional development.
  • The grant recipient, or collaborative partner, should have early childhood education as an area of focus. If the organization’s focus is beyond birth to age five, the specific grant must be earmarked for birth to age five.
  • Incorporate opportunities for PNC volunteers in classroom or non-classroom-based activities.

Economic Development

Economic development organizations, including those which enhance the quality of life through neighborhood revitalization, cultural enrichment and human services are given support. Priority is given to community development initiatives that strategically promote the growth of low-and moderate-income communities and/or provide services to these communities.

• Affordable Housing
  • The PNC Foundation understands the critical need for affordable housing for low-and moderate-income individuals.
  • We are committed to providing support to nonprofit organizations that:
    • give counseling and services to help these individuals maintain their housing stock;
    • offer transitional housing units and programs; and/or
    • offer credit counseling assistance to individuals, helping them to prepare for homeownership.
• Community Development
  • Because small businesses are often critical components of community growth and help foster business development, the PNC Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations that
    • offer technical assistance to, or loan programs for, small businesses located in low-and moderate-income areas or
    • support small businesses that employ low-and moderate-income individuals.
• Community Services
  • Support is given to social services organizations that benefit the health, education, quality of life or provide essential services for low-and moderate-income individuals and families.
  • The PNC Foundation supports job training programs and organizations that provide essential services for their families.
• Arts & Culture
  • Support is given for cultural enrichment programs benefitting the community.
• Revitalization & Stabilization of Low-and Moderate-Income Areas
  • The PNC Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that serve low-and moderate-income neighborhoods by improving living and working conditions.
  • Support is given to organizations that help stabilize communities, eliminate blight and attract and retain businesses and residents to the community.

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

Grants

For over 40 years, we have been dedicated to sustaining and improving the quality of life in Nashville and the broader Middle Tennessee area by investing in nonprofit organizations. We focus on agencies that address significant community challenges in comprehensive and collaborative ways.

Our Approach

The Frist Foundation partners with agencies serving Davidson County residents in the following focus areas: Arts & Culture, Food Insecurity, Health Disparities, Immigrants & Refugees, Nonprofit Infrastructure, and Unhoused Neighbors.

Types of Grants

General Grants

The Frist Foundation is interested in funding projects that will increase service capacity or ensure an organization’s long-term sustainability. These might include capital needs, the creation of earned revenue streams, or supporting consulting expenses for strategic planning or financial management. This does not include operational expenses, including salaries or programmatic expenses.

Technology Grants

The technology grant program is designed to help agencies work differently and more effectively using technology. In a rapidly changing environment, we see technology as integral to agency collaboration, data collection, workflow and improving the level of service to clients. This does not include hardware upgrades.

Additionally, we provide annual support for Hands On Nashville’s GeekCause, which matches Nashville tech experts with community partners in need of their services. From tech consultation to solution implementation, GeekCause provides a low-cost platform for agencies to solve tech-based challenges through the support of skilled volunteers. We often recommend agencies reach out to GeekCause before applying for a technology grant.

Operational Grants

The Frist Foundation makes dozens of operational grants each year, the most significant being to The Frist Art Museum. The Foundation also supports organizations that we describe as “Nonprofit Infrastructure,” including The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, The United Way of Greater Nashville, Hands On Nashville, Community Resource Center, and Young Leaders Council, among others.

Please note: The Foundation is not currently making new grants for operating or programmatic expenses.

Our Mission

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation exists to enhance the quality of life for citizens of Tennessee and to be stewards of our natural environment by:

• Protecting and improving the quality of Tennessee’s air, land, and water through a responsible regulatory system
• Protecting and promoting human health and safety
• Conserving and promoting natural, cultural and historic resources
• Providing a variety of quality outdoor recreational experiences

Our department is committed to providing a cleaner, safer environment that goes hand-in-hand with economic prosperity and increased quality of life in Tennessee. We deliver on our mission through managing regulatory programs that maintain standards for air, water and soil quality while providing assistance to businesses and communities in areas ranging from recreation to waste management. We also manage the state park system and programs to inventory, interpret and protect Tennessee’s rich natural, historical and archaeological heritage.

Used Oil Grants

Three priorities have been established for this offering:

First Priority- Establish new used oil collection infrastructure in an underserved location or new site.

Second Priority- Upgrade or replace existing equipment at collection centers not currently meeting the standards specified in the Used Oil Collection & Recycling Grant Program Requirements.  

Third Priority- Establish a DIY used oil collection at an existing recycling center, solid waste collection facility, or other publicly owned facility.

Our Mission

The Tony Robbins Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of people often forgotten.

We’re dedicated to creating positive changes in the lives of youth, seniors, the hungry, homeless and the imprisoned population, all who need a boost envisioning a happier and deeply satisfying way of life. Our passionate staff, generous donors and caring group of international volunteers provide the vision, inspiration, and resources needed to empower these important members of our society.

Grants

Dedicated to meeting challenges within the global community, creating solutions and taking action, The Tony Robbins Foundation provides monetary donations to various organizations around the world. Funding requests are evaluated on an ongoing basis. We look for organizations that align with our mission to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of those often forgotten.

Best Life Community Awards

Nominate a nonprofit that you support with your time, talents, or money to receive a grant.

Funding

The winner will be awarded $10,000!

The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes.

The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.  

Grant Amount and Types

Grants typically range between $5,000 - $10,000. In some limited cases we may make larger grants, but that is typically after we have gotten to know your organization over a period of time. We also generally don’t make multi-year grants, although we may fund the same organization on a year by year basis over a period of years.

General operating or program/project grant requests within our areas of interests are accepted. In general, regardless of whether a grant request is for general operating or program/project expenses, all of our grants will be issued as unrestricted grants.

The Assisi Foundation of Memphis Grant

Creating Positive Change

At The Assisi Foundation, we work with nonprofit organizations to address pressing challenges and search for root causes with the goal of healthy, positive transformation. Our focus areas are listed below. However, it should be noted that whether or not an organization falls neatly within one of these categories, we always invite the exploration of good ideas that align with our mission of philanthropy, done well.

Areas of Focus

• Health and Human Services: The Foundation supports initiatives that enhance the spiritual, mental and physical health and well-being of the Mid-South community. Grantees include organizations that address a variety of social determinants through the provision of direct care, research or preventive measures.
• Education and Lifelong Learning: The Foundation strives to strengthen our community’s educational well-being through programs that develop tools for life and focus on the awareness and importance of accepting social responsibilities. The Foundation funds nonprofits that build the organizational capacity of provider agencies, provide professional development, promote collaboration, and leverage local, state and federal resources.
• Social Justice and Ethics: The Foundation values organizations that help individuals strive to reach their greatest human potential. The Foundation funds projects and programs that strengthen ethical values among Mid-South citizens and promote social justice—initiatives that lead to a better understanding of, and a more effective response to, the economic and social challenges of the community.
• Cultural Enrichment and the Arts: Seeking to foster an even greater appreciation of Memphis arts and culture, The Foundation supports some of our area’s cultural icons and groups that work to promote the cultural and artistic heritage of the Greater Memphis area.
• Community Enhancement  & Capacity Building:  For grant applications that don’t fit neatly into other named categories, The Foundation welcomes the opportunity to explore activities that offer clear community benefit valued by named beneficiaries; address gaps and promote effectiveness within the socioecological system; and strengthen community resilience.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Centene Charitable Foundation

Successful corporate citizenship happens when companies invest in the local organizations that know their communities best. The Centene Foundation works with our local partners on initiatives that focus on inclusion, the whole person and community development.

Vision

Centene’s purpose is transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. The Centene Foundation is an essential part of how we pursue this purpose. We achieve measurable impact for the communities we serve through partnerships and philanthropy efforts that invest in initiatives with holistic approaches to dismantling barriers to health.

Areas of Focus

Reflecting Centene’s commitment to the needs of those who rely on government-sponsored health care and to addressing social determinants of health and health equity, preference will be given to initiatives in three distinct areas of focus.

• Healthcare Access
• Social Services
• Education

East Tennessee Foundation

Our Vision

Thriving communities powered by thoughtful giving.

Our Mission

We provide philanthropic leadership inspiring donors to make lives better and communities stronger in enduring ways across generations.

Opportunity Endowment Fund

Through investing in the effectiveness and future sustainability of East Tennessee’s nonprofit community, this fund supports the capacity building of charitable organizations in ETF’s 25-county service area and their ability to collectively address our community’s needs.

Areas of Focus

Grants awarded from these funds are to help organizations identify collaborative solutions and utilize partnerships to improve operational, financial, data/information, and programmatic systems so that together, they have a cohesive impact on the community.

Requests should indicate collaboration between organizations and show there are matching funds to support the proposed project. The East Tennessee Foundation values the spirit and potential for collective, community-level impact of organizations who work together and can leverage funds to secure other support, and ETF believes in organizations’ abilities to work together to address shared problems faced by our communities. The Foundation also appreciates projects with outcomes that can be shared across organizations’ networks and/or easily duplicated among similar charitable organizations. Additionally, ETF values prevention-focused programs which address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), drivers of health, and early childhood education.

Examples of this work include but are not limited to projects that:

• Bring organizations together to improve efficiencies and/or sustainability
• Enhance and/or streamline evaluation/outcome, human resources, operational, or logistics systems
• Create long-term financial systems and plans
• Develop improved donor engagement and education strategies
• Build effective leadership and boards of directors
• Assess community needs and promote data sharing
• Grow professional development and continuing education opportunities for the field
• Convene peers and subject matter experts
• Increase access to quality information technology and infrastructure
• Help organizations diversify revenue streams

Funding

Organizations can apply for an amount up to $25,000. Grant terms will be established with recipient organizations as part of the award process, not to exceed one year in length.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

What is ArtsFirst?

Art lifts our spirits and expands our horizons. First Horizon Foundation, a longtime supporter of our local arts community, partners with ARTSmemphis each year to grant funds to local arts organizations toward sponsorships, programs, and/or general operations that promote artistic excellence and enrichment. The ArtsFirst grant panel is composed of First Horizon Foundation representatives, who make all funding decisions.

Focus

The First Horizon Foundation focuses contributions to strengthen these vital signs of a strong community:

Arts & Culture: Promoting excellence and enrichment in the arts

Education & Leadership: Educating, developing the next generation of leaders

Environment: A more sustainable tomorrow, future

Financial Literacy: Investing in the financial future

Health & Human Services: Improving the well-being of our communities

Creative Placemaking

The Creative Placemaking (CP) grant is designed to help communities enhance the distinctive local character of Tennessee places for positive economic and community outcomes. Successful CP applications will demonstrate how proposed projects will materially improve the physical and social character of their neighborhoods, districts, municipalities, or regions through arts and cultural activities or assets. Funding will depend upon an application’s rating from the review process and the total amount of funds available to the Tennessee Arts Commission for grant allocation. In addition to merit ratings, the Commission seeks a diversity of project designs, locations and community settings across Tennessee for CP projects. This category is competitive.

What is Creative Placemaking?

The Commission believes that creativity is a catalyst for innovation, entrepreneurship and invention. Many organizations, businesses and local governments collaborate to reinvest in and revitalize their communities, and the arts often represent a way to cultivate and capitalize upon creativity with lasting economic benefits.

In creative placemaking, partners from public, private, nonprofit and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city or region around arts and cultural activities or assets. Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business visibility and public safety, and brings diverse people together to build shared understanding of culture and community.

Examples of projects or activities may include but are not limited to:

• Arts used as a catalyst to revitalize downtowns or neighborhoods
• Development of an arts or cultural business incubator or apprenticeship program
• Transformation of a perceived community liability into a community asset through the arts
• Development of an activity or project that encourages greater engagement with the arts in state parks, farmer’s markets, or other natural, unique ecological or recreational assets

To increase the likelihood of success and sustainability, the Commission encourages communities to involve public, private (including nonprofit organizations) and institutional partners in the development of a CP grant proposal.

Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

For over 30 years, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT) has been driving meaningful, positive change in our community. We do this by bringing together those who want to help and those who need help. Through the power of collective philanthropy, our goal is to amplify donor intent while remaining flexible enough to ensure that resources are directed to where they can do the greatest good.

We know the greater Nashville area. We understand its neighborhoods, its most pressing challenges, its unsung nonprofit heroes, and its emerging partnerships with the greatest potential. As our region continues to rapidly change, that knowledge gives us a unique vantage point to bring people and places together to do what none of us can do on our own—build a more thriving and inclusive community.

Mission: Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee strives to build a more thriving and inclusive community — today and for generations to come — by transforming thoughtful generosity into positive change.

Animal Welfare Grant Program

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee supports organizations that provide care, humane treatment, and resources toward all animals across Middle Tennessee. The Community Foundation encourages grant requests for program/project support.

Funding Goals

• Increase free or low-cost spay/neuter services and educational programming on the effects of pet overpopulation
• Sponsor retention programs that would help keep pets in low-income homes.
• Provide a safe and healthy home for a pet available for adoption
• Promote education and the humane treatment of animals through animal adoptions, injured animal rescue, and the use of animals for therapeutic services for people.

Nonprofits may request grants up to a maximum of $15,000.

First Horizon Foundation

Through the First Horizon Foundation we are constantly investing in organizations across our footprint that do important work every day to make the places we serve better and stronger.

Contributions from the Foundation include the following areas.

• Arts and Culture
• Education & Leadership
• Environment
• Financial Literacy
• Health & Human Services

Our contributions are targeted to strengthen these pillars of the communities we serve:

• Improving the well-being of our communities
• Investing in the financial future
• Educating and developing the next generation of leaders
• Promoting excellence and enrichment in the arts
• A more sustainable tomorrow and future

Our Vision

We seek a world in which people and planet flourish together in regenerative systems free from oppression and threat.

The Maddox Fund tends to its internal culture believing that how we work inside the foundation influences of all of our partnerships. We see ourselves as an organic organization that will evolve over time in response to our environment and changing needs of our community.

Maddox Interest Areas

Youth

The Maddox Fund believes that all human beings are interconnected, not just with one another, but with all of nature – a belief that makes our desire to foster connection and a sense of belonging even more urgent

For young people to flourish, they must be surrounded by a beloved community of teachers, friends, caring adults and relentless advocates. Most of our new youth focus areas seek to connect young people to liberating spaces and people. The Maddox Fund will support direct serves to young people ages 5-25. We will also support systems change work that is creating the conditions for youth to thrive through advocacy and grassroots organizing.

The Maddox Fund will prioritize partners working with BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and immigrant & undocumented youth knowing that our current systems continue to oppress these populations.

• Youth Interest Areas:
  • Out-of-School Learning: Out-of-school learning opportunities are important for student thriving. Funding will prioritize afterschool and summer learning, literacy programs, tutoring and academic supports.
  • Post-Secondary Access: In the past, Maddox has supported post-secondary programs tied to traditional 4-year institutions. Going forward, we will look at funding programs that increase access to community college programs, professional certifications, and vocational/technical training for young people as well as access to traditional university and college programs with a focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
  • Diversifying Education Leadership: Maddox supports programs that prepare leaders for the sacred work of raising our youth in safe and welcoming learning environments. This includes teacher certification programs, teacher retention programs, and ongoing learning for youth workers. We will continue to prioritize organizations that support education leaders that identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
  • Youth and Education Advocacy: The education landscape is constantly changing. We know that to make meaningful change we must do so at the systems level. To that end, Maddox will fund organizations advocating for more equitable opportunities for young people and students in Middle Tennessee. We also recognize that the voices of young people have often been historically disregarded, despite being experts regarding their lived reality. We are interested in funding programs that lift the voices of young people and advance our youth and education priorities. These include but are not limited to funding for youth organizing training and for youth-led movements focused on climate change, environmental justice, advocacy for undocumented and immigrant youth and digital literacy.

Natural Environment

The Maddox Fund envisions a world in which people and planet flourish together in regenerative systems free from oppression and threat. Central to this vision is the intertwined relationship between humanity and the world around us. “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny,” as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed. What threatens nature, threatens humanity. As such, our shared liberation is essential.

During our equity journey, The Maddox Fund reflected on what we learn from nature and how we can weave those lessons into our culture and practices.

• Trees teach us we are stronger together.
• Grasslands show us that diversity feeds us.
• Earth teaches us that seeds grow in fertile ground.
• Water teaches us to bend, adapt and keep moving forward.
• Animal communities teach us how to lead and follow.

Most of our new environmental interest areas seek to connect people and planet and advocate for regenerative policies and practices. We believe this focus honors the legacy of Dan and Margaret who were avid outdoors people and were committed to conservation, including hunting and fishing. Across our focus areas, we are seeking partners with lived commitment to environmental sustainability in policy and practice and a lived commitment to racial justice.

• Environmental Interest Areas:
  • Community-Based Nature Programs: People feeling connected to nature is a first step in understanding how the well-being of people and planet are intertwined. The Maddox Fund is interested in funding programs that get young people outdoors and that examine our symbiotic relationship with the earth. Community-based programs emerge from and are led by people with lived experience and, for Maddox, those systemically restricted from accessing nature. Examples of Community-based Nature Programs might include sustainable practices, land as liberation, camping, nature play, water protection, habitat preservation, environmental education and environmental justice.
  • Diversifying Environmental Leadership: A common refrain of our environment and conservation partners is that the field has limited diversity and that these limitations are reflected in the composition of their staff and board of directors. The Maddox Fund is interested in funding programs that address this ongoing disparity and the resulting underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color as well as those identifying as queer in the field. Examples of Environmental Leadership Pipeline Programs might include paid internships, paid fellowships and other leadership development programs that support racial diversity in environmental circles.
  • Hunting & Fishing: Dan and Margaret became conservationists because they observed nature’s beauty while sitting on deer blinds and hiking remote trails. The Maddox Fund will continue supporting hunting and fishing programs that embrace our responsibility to nature. Special attention will be given to programs that advance racial diversity in the next generation of hunters and anglers.
  • Environmental Advocacy: Studies show that two-thirds of young people experience some level of eco-anxiety. Maddox believes that youth want a larger voice in the future they will inherit. We are interested in funding: 1) youth-led power building around climate change, environmental justice and sustainable futures; and 2) advocacy efforts that advance our conservation commitment.

Participatory Grants

The Maddox Fund is committed to sharing power with the community. We will have to participatory grant processes — a second cohort of HBCU students and a LGBTQ+ student-led cohort. Each of these groups will be distributing up to $100,000 to local nonprofits.

Grantmaking

• Advocacy: These grants will support youth-led movement/power building and policy change advocacy that advances our focus areas. Strategies may include direct actions, youth organizing training, and issue awareness.
• Direct Services: These grants will support program delivery in our two focus areas.
• Capacity & Care: These grants will support capacity building for organizations as well as staff development and leadership care for organizations working in our focus areas. These grants might include strategic planning, leadership transitions, staff respite/healing, and celebration of organizational milestones.

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

Impact 100 Nashville

Our mission is to inspire women to collectively invest in social transformation in Greater Nashville. Our vision is to grow a large, vibrant community of philanthropic women.

Focus Area

Impact100 Nashville recognizes non-profit organizations that seek to end the cycle of any debilitating condition, including but not limited to homelessness, poverty, addiction, hunger, illiteracy, human trafficking, recidivism, etc. We are seeking to award these grants to non-profit organizations that offer creative and innovative services to their populations and can show how the results of their services end the cycle for the communities they serve. For 2025, we will have two grant types available for consideration: the $100,000 Transformation and Innovation Grant, as well as two $35,000 Spark grants. For both grant types, we are seeking to award grants to nonprofits who have a sustainable plan to drive social transformation in Middle Tennessee by innovating on the current state, whether that’s new services, populations, or geographies.

Spark Grant Category

Spark Grants are designed to fund a specific, self-sustaining project that will address a problem within Middle Tennessee in a new or elevated way. Our Spark grant is designed to “spark” new innovations in organizations of any size. 

Impact 100 Nashville

Our mission is to inspire women to collectively invest in social transformation in Greater Nashville. Our vision is to grow a large, vibrant community of philanthropic women.

Focus Area

Impact100 Nashville recognizes non-profit organizations that seek to end the cycle of any debilitating condition, including but not limited to homelessness, poverty, addiction, hunger, illiteracy, human trafficking, recidivism, etc. We are seeking to award these grants to non-profit organizations that offer creative and innovative services to their populations and can show how the results of their services end the cycle for the communities they serve. For 2025, we will have two grant types available for consideration: the $100,000 Transformation and Innovation Grant, as well as two $35,000 Spark grants. For both grant types, we are seeking to award grants to nonprofits who have a sustainable plan to drive social transformation in Middle Tennessee by innovating on the current state, whether that’s new services, populations, or geographies.

Transformation and Innovation Category

Grant applications should seek to transform the Middle Tennessee community in an innovative way, generally focusing on a new program, approach, or project. Our Transformation and Innovation Grant is designed for organizations that have a more established presence in Middle Tennessee and need a larger dollar amount to generate transformative change

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

Community Foundation of Greater Memphis

A community foundation is a philanthropic organization that manages charitable funds with a broad base of donors to benefit a specific geographic area—in our case, West Tennessee, eastern Arkansas, and northern Mississippi.

Founded in 1969, the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis brings a half-century of experience and expertise, working with donors, professional advisors, and nonprofits to help strengthen our community through philanthropy. Together, we have built a trusted resource that helps transform the way you give.

Mission

The mission of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis is to strengthen our community through philanthropy. To accomplish this mission, the Community Foundation will:

• Develop and effectively manage charitable funds and endowments, offering the highest levels of service and expertise to individuals, families, and institutional donors and their successors; 
• Actively address the needs of the community by examining community issues, securing and distributing resources, advocating for positive change, and convening meetings and conversations which encourage donors and the community to respond;
• Encourage philanthropy and the growth of charitable resources among individuals, families, businesses, and community institutions.

Nonprofit Capacity Building Grants

The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis seeks to address the organizational strength and overall health of nonprofits in the Mid-South by supporting their capacity building efforts through financial grants. Reviewed by a committee of community volunteers, these grants are awarded to established nonprofits for one-time projects that address a part of the organization’s strategic plan to improve the management, governance, and administration of the organization, not direct programmatic improvements. By strengthening the internal capacity of an organization, the Community Foundation believes the programs and services will also be strengthened. Nonprofit Capacity Building grants require the recipient to raise matching funds ($1 for every $1), thereby encouraging the grantee to use our grant to leverage resources from other donors and funders.

Types of Projects Supported

The average Nonprofit Capacity Building grant is around $15,000, and there is approximately $210,000 available this year. Project examples include but are not limited to:

• Evaluation of core programs
• Staff or board training
• Assessment of technology systems or implementation of technology upgrades
• Human resources planning, succession planning, or fundraising planning
• Merger or formal collaboration between organizations

For more specific examples, please see previous Nonprofit Capacity Building grants awarded here.