Search Through Operating Grants for Nonprofits in Tennessee in the U.S.

Memorial Foundation

The 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

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.

Valero Energy Foundation 

Valero, its employees and the Valero Energy Foundation are committed to improving the quality of life in communities where we work and live, fulfilling a mission that was set from the beginning. We set the standard for corporate citizenship and promotes prosperity in our communities. 

The Valero Energy Foundation -- a public charity and Valero's philanthropic arm -- funds nonprofit agencies that serve predominantly disadvantaged children and families. In 2019, the Foundation contributed appoximately $40 million in assistance in the communities where Valero has major operations.

Four Pillars of Support

Our funding focuses on our four pillars of giving in communities where we have major operations.

• Basic Needs:  Valero gives assistance to agencies that provide basic needs of life, including shelter, food and clothing necessary for the development of a strong and safe community. 
• Health Care: We invest in the development of strategic community health resources and facilities that will support the needs of all members of our nearby communities, with major gifts going to children’s hospitals, university medical centers and service providers that offer specialized health care services and programs.
• Education: Valero is a strong advocate of education as it creates a necessary foundation for all children to thrive and for adults to lead productive lives. 
• Civic: We support civic and environmental initiatives directly related to the success of the communities where we live and work.

Detailed Program Description

Grants of up to $2,500 for organizations to make arts programs accessible to persons with disabilities.

The Southeast is home to some of the world’s more diverse and vibrant artistic communities. At South Arts, we believe that the arts are for everyone. The arts enrich the lives of people of all abilities and backgrounds. In our commitment to amplifying the success of the Southeast’s arts ecology, South Arts offers micro-funding to supplement the efforts of arts organizations throughout our service area.

Art making is for everyone too! South Arts encourages arts organizations to hire artistic personnel of all abilities at all levels; for these grants in particular, we encourage arts organizations to work directly with artists who identify as disabled. 

Through our partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, South Arts offers small grants that compliment existing efforts by arts organizations to include audiences and artists with disabilities. Accessibility micro-grants are available to support Nonprofit, 501c3, arts organizations located within the South Arts Service region states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This funding program is open to a wide variety of organizations, including community cultural organizations, museums, performing arts presenters, theatre companies, visual arts and music organizations. Priority funding will be given to new applicants to South Arts.

South Arts has prioritized the following:

• South Arts prioritizes applications from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ identifying organizations.
• South Arts prioritizes applications from organizations led by persons with disabilities or organizations that provide significant programming to artists or audiences with disabilities.
• South Arts is committed to funding artists organizations in rural communities (with populations under 50,000).
• Primary consideration will be given to new applicants.

Usage of Funds

Grants awards may reimburse the applicant for any combination of qualifying expenses incurred during the grant period. Projects may include but are not limited to the following:

Programs

• Usage of large print or braille program materials for patrons/audiences with low vision
• Artist/consultant fees to provide accessibility training or audits
• Transportation of constituents or performers with disabilities
• Preparation for special exhibitions (i.e. space modifications or accessibility audit)
• Audio description
• Sign language interpretation
• Website accessibility
• Docent training for visual or audio enhancement
• Consultant fee to develop an overall accessibility plan for your organization
• Inclusive programming
• Staff training to learn about accessibility as it relates to programming, operations, or facilities modifications (i.e. travel to a workshop and/or training)
• Other accommodations that make programs accessible

Facilities Enhancements

• Accessibility signage for exterior and/or interior space
• Modification of restroom(s) signage
• Modification to drinking fountain(s) signage
• Installation of Braille plaques

About Cigna

Our Mission

To improve the health and vitality of those we serve.

Our Vision

A better future built on the vitality of every individual and every community.

Improving Veteran Mental Health

Across the United States, veterans face an elevated risk of homelessness relative to the general population. On any given night, an estimated 40,000 veterans go without shelter, and another 1.5 million veterans are considered at-risk of homelessness.1 Research shows that veterans experiencing housing instability are at an increased risk of mental distress disorders.

We seek to collaborate with and support nonprofit organizations that leverage evidence-informed programs and services to help local veterans feel stable where they live and ultimately create positive impact on their mental health. Nonprofit partners must align to at least one of these grant program goals:

• Increase permanent housing available for veterans.
• Improve affordability for housing for veterans through rental or mortgage assistance.
• Enhance the offering of wraparound services for veterans transitioning from shelters.

In 2001, Food Lion created a 501(c)(3) foundation operated by a volunteer board of directors in order to streamline requests for financial donations to eliminate hunger.

The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation supports a variety of hunger-related initiatives, including "Feeding the Hungry" grants each year. The foundation has given away more than $17.5 million across Food Lion’s operating area since its inception. Specifically, grants support children at risk of hunger and support feeding agencies by helping to increase their "fresh" capacity so families can put nutritious meals on their tables. The foundation also helps provide nutrition education to eliminate the health risks of the hungry.

About

"Enriching people's lives" is the global vision of Nissan and all its operating companies across the world. Nissan supports this vision by improving the quality of life in the communities where it operates.

Two impactful programs for our communities:

• Nissan Foundation
  • Since 1992, the Nissan Foundation has awarded millions of dollars to 150+ organizations promoting respect and understanding of America's rich cultural heritage.
• Nissan Neighbors
  • Nissan Neighbors provides charitable giving and employee volunteer support for initiatives in education, environmental sustainability, and humanitarian services.

Nissan Neighbors

Nissan Neighbors is a community-focused initiative dedicated to improving communities through charitable contributions and in-kind donations to nonprofit organizations working in three focus areas:

education

• Students at Antioch High School in Nashville participate in a Be Pro Be Proud event, which introduces them to opportunities in the skilled workforce. 

the environment

• Nissan volunteers take part in a tree planting event in the Detroit area in support of Nissan Neighbor Greening of Detroit.

humanitarian services

• Employees from Nissan’s Canton operations serve food at Stewpot Community Services, a Nissan Neighbor since 2007.

Program Areas

We believe an auto company can also be a vehicle for change. That’s why Toyota is proud to partner with nonprofit organizations in the dozens of communities where we operate. Investing in and creating better opportunities for our communities and its citizens improves their quality of life, builds lasting relationships and helps enrich society.

Let’s make an impact – together. We work collaboratively to address some of society’s most pressing challenges – and fund programs tied to our strategic priorities.

About Our Program

Toyota seeks to expand access to opportunities that improve people’s lives and create a culture of inclusion—strengthening the communities where we live, work and play. To have meaningful, sustainable impact, we take a holistic approach to investing in our communities. Our efforts go beyond monetary support, amplifying our impact by engaging our team members as volunteers and sharing our Toyota know-how.

What We Fund

Nationally, Toyota focuses on:

• Community Sustainability
• Inclusive Mobility
• Workforce Readiness

Regionally, Toyota makes contributions to help support the specific needs of local communities. Please note that Toyota entities based in Plano, Texas (Toyota Motor North America, Toyota Financial Services and Toyota USA Foundation) as well as Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center (PEMC) have moved to an invite-only grant application process.

About

"Enriching people's lives" is the global vision of Nissan and all its operating companies across the world. Nissan supports this vision by improving the quality of life in the communities where it operates.

Two impactful programs for our communities:

• Nissan Foundation
  • Since 1992, the Nissan Foundation has awarded millions of dollars to 150+ organizations promoting respect and understanding of America's rich cultural heritage.
• Nissan Neighbors
  • Nissan Neighbors provides charitable giving and employee volunteer support for initiatives in education, environmental sustainability, and humanitarian services.

Nissan Foundation

Nissan formed the Nissan Foundation in 1992 in response to the civil unrest that occurred near its then U.S. sales operations following the Rodney King trial verdict. Since its founding, the Nissan Foundation has annually awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars to nonprofit organizations that support the Foundation’s mission.

The primary mission of the Nissan foundation is to award grants to nonprofit organizations whose programs explore and celebrate cultural diversity and heritage.

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.

Thomas W. Briggs Foundation 

The Thomas W. Briggs Foundation supports organizations with mission alignment with our focus areas:

• Arts – Efforts that offer enriching cultural experiences throughout the city and position Memphis as a community of broad, uplifting artistic amenities
• Civic – Efforts that build on the uniqueness of Memphis, enhance the quality of life and provide opportunities for all people to interact
• Education – Efforts that support local primary and secondary schools that improve the quality of teaching and assist students, especially the under resourced, in classroom and job market success; and efforts of local higher education institutions that encourage and ensure excellence
• Social Services – Efforts that address local issues and concerns that improve the quality of life for individuals in need and empower them to become contributing members of our community
• Youth – Efforts that prepare our young people for academic success and responsible citizenship.

Briggs Does…

• Seek to leverage its gifts while participating in community efforts which have wide support and generate measurable differences
• Show a preference for areas in Memphis that are underserved or have higher rates of economic instability
• Fund seed money, capital support, multi-year gifts, entrepreneurial/innovative efforts, and annual operating activities helping an existing effort to scale
• Award of about $750,000 a year in two funding cycles including prior and new commitments
• Fund biennially, after an application, an organization must wait 2 years before inquiring
• Fund primarily in the city of Memphis and not beyond Shelby County, Tennessee
• Review about 12 proposals per cycle- preference given to organizations whose missions best fit with a Briggs Focus Areas and/or organizations that have successfully worked with Briggs in the past
• Welcome new organizations

Briggs Equity Fund

Established in 2021, the Equity Fund further supports BIPOC led organizations. The framework for includes:

• Specifically earmarked funds for young BIPOC led organizations who would not typically be successful in a grant round under current criteria, due to age of organization or inexperience in grantmaking and reporting.
• Organizations who demonstrate unique and creative ideas with well-formed strategies.
• Organizations must possess 501c3 status.
• We fund 1- 2 organizations per grant cycle.
• Organization must contact Briggs for possible funding
• Informal quarterly reporting
• Submit to all grantee guidelines such as Child Protection Policy and biennial funding.

Truist Foundation

The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation's grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses.

Inspire Awards

We’re collaborating with MIT Solve to kick off our third year of the Inspire Awards. Nonprofits from across the country are invited to pitch their solution to advance workers through career navigation and workforce development.

This year’s Inspire Awards challenge aims to improve resources and wraparound services for workers seeking reskilling, upskilling, and career transitions to uplift themselves—and their families. For workers looking to develop skills to help them adapt to industry changes, career navigation and workforce development solutions can make an impact. These tools can aid smoother career transitions, foster economic mobility, and empower workers to pursue personal growth.

2025 Truist Foundation Inspire Awards Challenge Question

How are nonprofits providing innovative solutions for the reskilling, upskilling, and career navigation needs of adults who are in the middle or late stages of their careers?

Challenge Dimensions

We are seeking innovative nonprofit solutions that improve resources and wraparound services for adults who are in the middle or late stages of their careers seeking reskilling, upskilling, and career navigation support, including:

• Wraparound Services – Supporting unemployed and underemployed individuals on their journey to economic mobility through innovative and comprehensive resources including transportation support, childcare, mentorship, mental health services, and more.
• Coalition Building – Generating greater buy-in and support for workforce navigation efforts through coalitions, promoting communication and collaboration across diverse sectors and stakeholders including businesses, nonprofits, and government entities.
• Career Navigation – Enabling workers to navigate their career choices more easily, helping to facilitate informed decisions about which high-quality jobs and career trajectories best suit them.
• Upskilling and Reskilling – Providing accessible, high-quality, skill-building and training opportunities for those transitioning between careers or facing unemployment.

Here are the grants for this challenge

• First place: $250,000
• Second place: $150,000
• Runners-up: $25,000
• Audience favorite: $75,000

Small Urban Partnership Support

Small Urban Partnership Support (SUPS) provides operating support for qualified arts organizations chartered in one of Tennessee’s urban counties (see list below). Funding will depend upon an organization’s rating in the review process and upon the total amount of funds available to the Tennessee Arts Commission for grant allocation. This category is competitive. Applicant organization must have a minimum budget of $30,000.

Organizations may request no more than 20% of their total cash operating expenses in their most recently completed fiscal year at the time they submit their application, up to but not exceeding the maximum grant amount. The SUPS grant requires a one-to-one (1:1) dollar match.

The total cash operating expenses, verified by a 990 submitted to the IRS within 12 months from the application date and provided by the applicant (for organizations with operating expenses $50,000+) or a Profit & Loss Statement signed by the application (for organizations with operating expenses between $30,000-$50,000), will be determined by the sum total of:

• Salaries, Benefits & Taxes,
• Professional Fee, Grant & Award,
• Supplies, Telephone Postage & Shipping, Occupancy, Equipment Rental & Maintenance, Printing & Publications,
• Travel, Conferences & Meetings, and
• Other Non-Personnel
• The following are not allowed as operating expenses: capital expenses, endowment funds, penalties payments, in-kind expenses, bank penalties, or furniture and fixture expenditures. Additional financial details and/or documents may be requested.

Applicant organizations are reviewed every other year by a peer advisory panel, although organizations must submit a complete application every year. Those organizations new to the SUPS category must be reviewed for two consecutive years prior to beginning the biennial review rotation process. Commission staff will contact all current SUPS recipients and inform them of their review status and, if appropriate, schedule.

Every organization that receives public operating support will be required to implement a structured promotional campaign for the Arts Specialty License Plates within its ongoing communications program.

Operating support applicants (SUPS, SRPS, PS, MCI) may not submit an application for APS/RAPS in the same fiscal year. However, all operating support applicants may submit applications in the Arts Access and Arts Education categories, and SUPS and SRPS applicants may also submit an application in the Arts Build Communities category. These additional requests are based on eligibility, and applicants must provide proof that funds requested for AA, AE or ABC grants will not be used for Salaries, Benefits & Taxes and that the applicant can independently meet the cash matching requirements for each additional request without using the cash match or Commission funds requested from its operating support application.

Tennessee Urban Counties 

• Anderson
• Blount
• Bradley
• Davidson
• Hamilton
• Knox
• Madison
• Maury
• Montgomery
• Putnam
• Rutherford
• Sevier
• Shelby
• Sullivan
• Sumner
• Washington
• Williamson
• Wilson

Arts Access

Support for arts projects that focus on increasing access to underserved and underrepresented people.

The Arts Access Grant (AA) category offers direct support for arts projects which focus on increasing participation in the arts for Tennesseans with limited access.

Grant Categories

Proposed projects or programming must involve one or more Tennessee Arts Commission recognized art forms, including:

• visual arts,
• craft,
• media,
• design,
• music,
• theater,
• dance,
• folk and
• ethnic, or literary arts.

If eligible, Arts Access applicants may also submit applications in the Arts Education, Project or Operating Support and the Arts Build Communities categories. Note that Arts Education-based projects, especially those primarily serving youth, must be submitted in one of the Arts Education grant categories.

The following are examples of activities and expenditures that are consistent with the funding philosophy for AA:

• Contracted artists fees for professional artists
• Master classes, workshops, programs, projects or activities involving artists
• Specific aspects of workshops, festivals and conferences
• Public performances, productions and exhibitions produced by the applicant
• Exhibitions of art by professional artists
• Promotion, publicity and newsletters
• Materials and supplies needed for participants in the proposed art project
• Administrative and artistic staff support (except for applicants who apply for or receive operating support from the TN Art Commission in other grant categories).
• Technical/production support

About the Holloway Family Foundation

Located in North Central Texas, the Holloway Family Foundation was founded onthe core values of its founders, Graham and Carolyn Holloway, and continues to be driven by these principles today. The personal experience of drastically altering their financial circumstances through a good job, elevating their sense of self-worth via the arts and benefitting from a transformative relationship with a mentor were all components that molded Graham and Carolyn’s lives. Today, the foundation carries on their unique story in an effort to provide similar opportunities to others.

Our Mission

To enhance the quality of life for people in our communities regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or religion through:

• a comprehensive and holistic approach to financial security
• creative expression for children and youth from under resourced communities
• mentorship focused on individual development

General Funding Areas

• Pathways to financial stability through workforce development
• Creative expression for children from under resourced communities
• Mentorship for youth development

At the Holloway Family Foundation, we focus our philanthropic efforts in three intentional ways that speak to our family’s heritage.

Creative expression for children from under resourced communities

With Carolyn’s influence, the Holloway Family Foundation trusts in the transformative power of individual expression and acknowledges the multi-faceted developmental benefits for children who participate in artistic endeavors. Therefore, the foundation proudly supports non-profits that bring creative opportunities to families who are not in a position to provide them to their children on their own.

Pathways to financial stability through workforce development

Because of the founder’s strong work ethic and his intrinsic belief in the inherent value of work, the Holloway Family Foundation focuses on funding programs that provide career development training for individuals who otherwise would not have access to those prospects. The foundation recognizes that having a living-wage job not only provides economic stability to individuals and their families, but also gives people a sense of personal worth that comes from contributing to the greater good of society as a whole.

Youth mentorship

Readily admitting the powerful impact of a personal mentor during his youth, Graham actively sought opportunities to serve in this capacity for others throughout his life. For this reason, the foundation embraces one-on-one mentorship programs whose goals are to influence young people who are in need of guidance, often due to circumstances beyond their control.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.

Our Mission

To conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund

To make the highest possible impact on the climate and biodiversity crises, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is committed to advancing solutions and supporting partners throughout the Appalachians to connect and conserve vital wildlife habitat, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, and generate new job and recreation opportunities for communities.

Approximately one-third of the U.S. population lives in or within 100 miles of the Appalachians, including an estimated 36 million people that rely on the region for sources of drinking water. The landscape contains the world's largest remaining expanses of temperate broadleaf mixed forest and provides habitat to a wide diversity of plants of animals, many of which are listed as rare, threatened, or endangered. Conserving this landscape is critical for nature and for the people that live and work there.

However as climate change drives ecosystem instability, plants and animals are shifting their ranges northward, and people are having to find ways to adapt to complex and intertwined challenges. TNC and many others have been working to conserve vital Appalachian habitats for decades. Now we must ramp up our efforts and coordinate with partners across the Appalachians for maximum impact.

To succeed in these efforts, TNC’s Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund offers two grant programs for conservation and community organizations, municipalities, Federally Recognized Tribal Nations, and local and state agencies in the Appalachians who are working to protect and conserve this region:

• The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program
• The New York Climate Resilience Grant Program

Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program

The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program provides grants of up to $100,000 for fee and easement acquisition projects throughout the Appalachians.

Equitable Conservation and Community Benefits

Conservation organizations are increasingly acknowledging the importance of incorporating social equity in their missions, partnerships, and projects and evolving how they work to have better outcomes for people and nature.

TNC defines community benefits as the positive outcomes that directly result from or are included within conservation projects as experienced by local communities and people. This is particularly important for historically marginalized communities, communities with limited access to nature, communities experiencing heightened impacts of climate change due to systemic underinvestment and poor infrastructure, and Indigenous communities. 

RCA program funding will support projects that demonstrate meaningful community engagement, work with those historically excluded from conservation, and lead to a fairer distribution of benefits for people and communities.

Some examples of community benefits include improved and greater access to nature, protection of drinking water sources, recreational and resource-based economic opportunities, flood mitigation, engagement in cross-cultural initiatives, or protection of lands that will meet community-defined conservation needs. We encourage projects with meaningful community benefits that are integrated with the land protection goals.

Project Evaluation

Projects will be evaluated  according to their capacity to deliver land protection outcomes aligned with the program goals, including:

• Location:
  • the project is located within TNC’s Appalachians Program boundary and is in or near a mapped focal area.  Projects outside of focal areas will also be considered.
• Resilience:
  • the percentage of the total project area that is part of the Resilient and Connected Network.
• Connectivity:
  • adjacency to protected lands or other attributes that will lead to landscape connectivity over time (e.g., the project is a necessary acquisition for advancing a local or regional plan that aims to protect a critical conservation corridor).
• Collaboration:
  • evidence of engagement with other organizations, community groups, or local governments (including, but not limited to, shared funding).
• Community:
  • project elements that directly engage and or benefit people, especially vulnerable or marginalized communities.
• Timeline:
  • the project will close within 12 months from the start of the grant agreement term.
• Feasibility:
  • likelihood that the project will close and the costs seem reasonable.

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.

Supporting Historic Sacred Places

A program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Fund for Sacred Places provides financial and technical support for community-serving historic houses of worship across America.

What We Offer

The National Fund for Sacred Places provides matching grants of $50,000 to $250,000 to congregations undertaking significant capital projects at historic houses of worship, along with wraparound services including training, technical assistance, and planning support.

What We’re Looking For

The National Fund for Sacred Places assesses applicant eligibility according to the core criteria shown below, while also striving to build a diverse participant pool that reflects a broad range of geographic, cultural, and religious identities.

Historic, Cultural, or Architectural Significance

We are looking for buildings that have historic, cultural, or architectural significance—and sites that have important and relevant stories to tell. Many of our participants are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the state register, or the local register. Your building does not have to be on one of these lists, but eligibility for one or more of these lists is a good benchmark for National Fund eligibility.

As part of the National Trust’s commitment to telling the full American story, we particularly encourage congregations to apply that illuminate a unique or overlooked aspect of American history and that expand our understanding of our shared national heritage. We encourage submissions related to historic sacred places of importance to historically and contemporaneously underrepresented communities including, but not limited to, women, immigrants, Asian Americans, Black Americans, Latinx Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and LGBTQIA communities.

Successful applicants are able to demonstrate their place in history by answering questions such as:

• Does the building tell a story relevant to our history—either cultural or religious?
• Does the history highlight previously underrecognized communities, stories, or locations?
• How has the building served the community over time? Does the building have a great physical presence in its community due to its location or programming?
• Is the building the work of a notable architect? If so, is it a high-quality example of their body of work?
• Is the building an exceptional example of its architectural style or building technology?
• Does the building embody the congregation’s resilience over time?

Community-Serving Congregations

We are looking for congregations that are engaged in their communities and that are serving others. Engaged congregations operate and host programming that serves vulnerable, at-risk, and diverse populations; share space with non-affiliated groups and organizations (often at subsidized rates); work with other congregations, faith-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and/or municipalities; and have a widespread reputation for being a welcoming center of community life.

Project Scope and Need

We fund historic preservation projects addressing urgent repair needs and/or life safety. We also fund projects that increase congregations’ ability to open their buildings to new populations or to serve greater numbers of people. All projects must adhere to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which is a universally accepted framework for doing work to older and historic properties.

We prioritize congregations/projects where there is a demonstrated need (meaning that the congregation cannot raise the funds alone) or where it is clear that our grant will have a catalytic effect (meaning that our grant is likely to lead to additional monies being contributed to the project).

Readiness

Once-in-a-generation capital projects require a great deal of planning. We are looking for applicants that understand their buildings’ needs and that are ready to undertake a capital campaign. National Fund congregations typically have a history of successful capital campaigns, which demonstrate an ability to raise significant funds and complete a project.

Successful congregations come to us with a realistic fundraising goal, which has been generated with the help of qualified preservation professionals and is not too far beyond the congregation’s fundraising capacity.

Healthy Congregations

The National Fund prioritizes healthy, stable congregations so that our investment is truly impactful and lasting. We look for the following, although this is not an exhaustive list of characteristics that indicate healthy congregations: tenured, well-respected clergy; capable lay leadership; stable or growing membership; financial strength and stability; support of the judicatory or governing body, if applicable; and a history of weathering any congregational conflict or trauma with resilience.

Our Mission

Our mission is to support and partner with communities to advance racial equity and eliminate health disparities through advocacy and strategic investments.

Operating Grants

Operating Grants provide unrestricted funds for health-focused nonprofits based on the budget of the organization. These grants are between $20,000-$50,000.

Operating Grants are given to support our Strategic Priorities. Operating Grant recipients in the Resilient Families and Thriving Communities categories will receive the additional funds for capacity-building.

Thriving Communities

Communities thrive in places where health outcomes are not predicted by race or where they live. To build stronger, healthier communities, residents must have access to housing, quality education and healthcare, economic opportunities, as well as social connections, which all play a critical role not only in better health outcomes but also in improving overall well-being. In support of that, we will invest in place-based initiatives.

Place-based philanthropy describes an approach that targets a specific location—be it a neighborhood, municipality, or even multiple counties—upon which to focus charitable resources and make a transformative impact. –Milken Institute

Goal

To address the root causes of poor health outcomes and disparities that impact where residents grow, live, learn, and work.

Potential Funding Approaches

• Fund solutions and equitable access to primary care, mental/behavioral health, and oral health services
• Fund equitable solutions around poverty, employment, housing, and food insecurity.
• Fund and advocate for equitable solutions to address gaps in early childhood education and prevention of ACES.
• Advance equitable solutions around violence prevention and criminal justice reform

Economic Development Fund of East Tennessee

The Economic Development Fund of East Tennessee was established at East Tennessee Foundation in 1991 to support charitable and economic programs aimed at fostering regional economic development.  

Grant amounts and term

Grants will be awarded for one-year terms in August 2024. The grant term is August 1, 2024 – July 31, 2025.

Amounts will range from $5,000 – $6,500.

Background

AutoZone’s charitable giving program has been established to support 501(c)3 tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations and improve the communities in which AutoZoners live and work, primarily the Greater Memphis area, through:

Policies

• AutoZone supports eligible charitable organizations through financial grants.
• Contributions are one-time only unless otherwise stated.
• Funded programs must be available to the entire community regardless of age, creed, disability, gender, marital status, race, religion, sexual orientation or country of origin.

AutoZone’s Strategic Pillars

Health & Wellness- Improving health & well-being through affordable healthcare options and preventive healthcare methods

Education & Youth Development- Fostering youth through Cradle to Career Education

Community Development- Advancing the Memphis community through placed based development and social services

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion- Highlighting community initiatives that provide diverse and inclusive objectives and spaces

Arts & Culture- Ensuring access to the Arts and a wide-variety of cultural experiences (Capital campaign gifts only; Refer to ArtsZone Grants for annual arts related grants funding)

AutoZone Grant Types

• Project/Program Grants: These grants are intended to support designated projects and programs that align with our strategic giving pillars. We prefer not to support events or provide general operating support.
• Capital Campaign Grants: These grants are intended to provide limited support for endowment funds and capital campaigns to acquire and construct facilities, renovate existing property or purchase equipment.

CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS), the contractor at Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, TN, and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, TX, established funds at East Tennessee Foundation and Amarillo Area Foundation as part of their commitment to the host communities of Amarillo and Oak Ridge, as well as their local counties and regions.

With the leadership of an employee-based CNS Y-12 Investment Advisory Committee, CNS employees have the opportunity to recommend grant support where the need is the greatest and the resources are best allocated. Since 2015, this fund has awarded 205 grants benefiting more than 120 nonprofits in their 20-county service area in East Tennessee.

Grant Amounts and Terms

Organizations can apply for an amount between $2,000 and $15,000. Grants will be awarded for one-year terms in September 2025. The grant term is September 15, 2025 – September 14, 2026.

In 2025, applicant organizations must address one of the following funding priorities:

• Acute Mental Health Support: Grant proposals should demonstrate how programs provide immediate, short-term response to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

• Pre and Postnatal Family Services: Grant proposals should demonstrate how programs provide access to healthcare, educational services, or other resources pre and/or post delivery for individuals and families.
• Early Learning and Academic Support: Grant proposals should explain how programs support the development of cognitive, reading, writing, and numeric skills to children and youth.

Our Mission

Our mission is to support and partner with communities to advance racial equity and eliminate health disparities through advocacy and strategic investments.

Operating Grants

Operating Grants provide unrestricted funds for health-focused nonprofits based on the budget of the organization. These grants are between $20,000-$50,000.

Operating Grants are given to support our Strategic Priorities. Operating Grant recipients in the Resilient Families and Thriving Communities categories will receive the additional funds for capacity-building.

Resilient Families

Through our Resilient Families strategic priority, we invest in organizations that support the well being of children and young people ages 0-25, and their caregivers, through three approaches:

• Abuse Prevention
  • Goal: 
    • To promote safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for children and disenfranchised communities.
  • Potential Funding Approaches:
    • Fund organizations working with families to secure permanent housing
    • Fund systems-level solutions to childcare challenges beyond providing more seats
    • Fund clinics that provide affordable primary and preventive medical care
    • Award direct economic support to caregivers of children and young adults
    • Fund organizations that advocate and advance women’s reproductive rights and the decriminalization of reproductive services.
• Violence Prevention and Justice Systems
  • Goals:
    • To create and advocate for equitable youth justice systems
    • To foster resilience in families impacted by incarceration
  • Potential Funding Approaches:
    • Fund restorative justice programs
    • Invest in violence prevention/criminal justice reform
    • Invest in reentry and reunification with family members
    • Fund systems-level solutions for equitable fees and fines
• Mental Health
  • Goals:
    • To increase the availability of clinical mental health and substance use disorder support for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
    • To increase the availability of mental and emotional healing to support BIPOC children, young adults, and caregivers
    • To foster resilience through the prevention and mitigation of trauma
  • Potential Funding Approaches:
    • Partner to increase the number of BIPOC providers in the pipeline
    • Fund organizations that provide integrative health
    • Support nonprofit organizations with a high percentage of BIPOC mental health providers

Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Supports the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing for low-income households, and programs to enhance rental opportunities for very low-income households within the City of Knoxville.

Eligible Activities

The Fund is designed to accept applications for a wide variety of projects that will result in increased housing opportunities for low-income households within the City of Knoxville. Fundable activities are grouped into two categories and include but are not limited to: 

New Construction and Major Rehabs

• New construction or major rehabilitation of single family homes
• Condominium or cooperative housing development
• Pre-development expenses including architectural, engineering, and consulting services
• Interest rate write-down assistance

Stabilization, Education, and Assistance Programs

• Minor home repair (including roof repair/replacement)
• Homeownership counseling
• Homebuyer education
• Foreclosure prevention

Eligible Forms of Assistance from the Fund

Funds may be awarded in the form of secured loans or lines of credit, forgivable loans, grants or any combination thereof, though renter-occupied housing programs are limited to grant funding only at this time. 

Awards are generally for one-year terms, but other terms will be considered if needed for the success of the project.

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.

The Arts Fund for East Tennessee was established in 1986 to serve as a source of funds to support excellence in the arts, expand access to the arts, and connect artists with each other and with East Tennessee communities. 

In 2024, the Arts Fund for East Tennessee will focus its grantmaking on celebrating our region’s richness in artistic expressions and cultural diversity. Grants will be awarded to sustain cultural traditions and to encourage all forms of artistic expression. 

Grants will be awarded for two-year terms in July 2024. The grant term is July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2026.

Amounts will range from $5,000 – $15,000.

Mission

The mission of Southern Partners Fund (SPF) is to serve rural Southeastern communities and organizations seeking social, economic and environmental justice by providing them with financial resources, technical assistance, training and access to systems of information and power. There are two central ideas embraced in the democratic philanthropy of Southern Partners Fund: compassion and community. Compassion implies an understanding or concern for community members lacking local political power to impact the decisions that affect their lives. Community relates to the things that bring us and hold us together.

Purpose

The Purpose of SPF Grantmaking is to:

• Develop and nurture grassroots community-based leaders and organizers.
• Build the capacity of rural, grassroots community organizing groups and leaders.
• Strengthen rural communities and people.
• Develop equitable peer relationships, which support real transformation toward a just society.

Hubert E. Sapp Regular Grants Cycle

Hubert Ellis Sapp, a transformative visionary and grassroots organizer, was instrumental in turning the concept of Southern Partners Fund, a democratically led foundation directed by grassroots leaders, into a reality. To honor his legacy in the wake of his passing in February of 2021, we are honored to add his name to our Regular Grant Cycle, which from here on, will be referred to as the Hubert E. Sapp Regular Grant Cycle. 

• Applicants may request general support or project support.
• Applicants must have operating budgets of $350,000 or less to receive general support.
• Organizations with operating budgets over $350,000 can apply for project support only.

Members of SPF’s grants committee will contact organizations being considered to schedule a site visit, required for new applicants, or phone interview. SPF’s grants committee, made up of SPF members, makes grants decisions during a September grants panel meeting, which are then ratified by the Board. Groups will be notified of grants decisions after October 1st, 2024.

If an organization has received five consecutive years of regular grant cycle funding, it must take a year off before making a new RGC grant request.