It’s about taking what you can give and making it meaningful for both you and those who will ultimately benefit. It’s not about the size of the gift; every gift matters.
Give to support a cause, address an issue or help a charitable organization. You can start your own fund, give to an existing fund, or give directly to Middle Tennessee nonprofits.
As support for the African Methodist Episcopal Church's commitment to education, this Endowment Fund will provide financial assistance to young men and women who are training for the ministry in the A.M.E. Church.
Lillian Ashley was born in Manchester, Tennessee, attended Ward Belmont in Nashville and graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a degree in elementary education. Following a wonderful life filled with extensive travel, Lillian wanted to give back to her community. She specified her estate be used to benefit the children, animals and environment of Coffee County.
Caring community members in Bellevue, led by Councilman Charlie Tygard, stepped in many years ago to help a family in trouble, and the wheels were set in motion to help many more. Through creation of The Bellevue Community Fund and the guidance of the committee of Bellevue residents that will oversee its work, there is now a dedicated pool of charitable dollars available to support programs serving Bellevue's community.
For the past five years, the Bonnaroo Works Fund has supported regional and national organizations with a mission of making communities healthy in areas of the arts, education, and environmental sustainability; with the goal of local reinvestment and asset building for the communities where they live, work, and play. In 2014, Bonnaroo Works Fund partnered with The Community Foundation, an organization with a shared commitment to Middle Tennessee, including Manchester and Coffee County. The Fund is just one aspect of Bonnaroo’s commitment to the community, the environment, and the people it has been part of since 2002.
The Brooks Fund's mission is to encourage the inclusion, acceptance and recognition of Middle Tennessee's lesbian and gay citizens, to protect their dignity, their safety and their health. By supporting and encouraging the development of programs to enhance the quality of life for lesbians and gays in Middle Tennessee, The Brooks Fund hopes to raise philanthropic awareness within the LGBT community. For 25 years, Franklin Brooks was one of the most beloved figures on the Vanderbilt University campus. As an associate professor in the Departments of French and Italian, he was repeatedly recognized for his work in the classroom - as much for his creative teaching technique as for his natural bonhomie and his personal integrity. The Brooks Fund was created to perpetuate another avenue of Franklin's work, his forthright championing of human rights.
The Center for Nonprofit Management helps nonprofits improve their services to the community. It provides training, consulting, and evaluation programs for its 700 member nonprofit agencies throughout Middle Tennessee. It also recognizes excellence in the nonprofit community and serves as an advocate for the nonprofit sector in the Nashville area. This Fund will enable The Center to work toward its vision of enhancing our community through extraordinary nonprofit services.
The Community Foundation's board agreed to extend its boundaries to take these three southern Kentucky counties "under its wing." The philanthropic angels of Christian, Todd and Trigg counties will be able to 1) educate their friends and neighbors about the ways a community foundation can help provide permanent funding to support local nonprofits, and 2) oversee a grantmaking process when such funds become available. In this way, these individuals most knowledgeable about Christian, Todd and Trigg counties can focus on how to best prepare for the continued prosperity of all who live in the area.
In Clarksville and Montgomery County, the future is bright. That's why Clarksville native and The Community Foundation board member Jack Turner recognized the opportunity to encourage folks to donate money to build a lasting stream of support for its nonprofit organizations. To do so, he spearheaded the creation of The Community Foundation of Clarksville/Montgomery County as a "charitable savings account" for Clarksville, Fort Campbell and Montgomery County, Tennessee. As funds become available, an advisory board of local leaders will determine how best to invest in the quality of life of all the citizens in Montgomery County.
The Nashville Community Engagement Fund is designed to empower Mayor Barry to provide the best available programs and the broadest range of civic engagement opportunities. The Fund will generate a long-term source of funding to support The Mayor’s work and community-wide programs, events, planning or groups that enhance our community. The Nashville Community Engagement Fund is intended to support charitable projects and civic initiatives that fall outside Metropolitan Nashville’s Budget.
Through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, each of us can be empowered to help define and realize our own unique vision of the opportunities which will shape the next century of life in our community. The Community Foundation brings good people and good causes together to help ensure both the excellent stewardship of donor Funds and the wise investment of grants in the counties it serves.
For 30 years, Davis-Kidd Booksellers was a home to people in Nashville who loved not only books, but also learning and sharing ideas. At the closing of this beloved community institution, its founders, Karen Davis and Thelma Kidd, created a way to ensure its spirit lives on. Through this Fund, there will always be charitable resources available to support nonprofit programs in Middle Tennessee dedicated to instilling a love of learning and reading in our community. This Fund carries on the memory of the bookstore which instilled that same love in so many of us.
A community-wide effort is required so that thousands of Nashvillians can realize the full potential of the digital broadband age, and obtain this benefit through an efficient and well-run program respectful of user dignity and the public/private resources. Together hardware and connectivity is the “great equalizer of our time,” as our society’s increasing dependence on the rapid exchange of information makes this essential for the average American to access education, employment opportunities, improved health care, civic engagement, communication and a host of other services. Making access more affordable and available for our community’s citizens is a fundamental tool in the fight to break the cycle of poverty.
Elizabeth Jonas Jacobs Fund for Women, Elderly and Encourage Nonprofit Planning | Established 2016
The Kitty and Pat Emery Fund for Nashville, an Unrestricted Fund within The Community Foundation, was established on November 22, 2016. It happened the day after their 19th wedding anniversary and in anticipation of Kitty’s passing as a result of the cancer she has fought and survived for many months. It stemmed, however, from a happier place, the deep and abiding love Kitty and Pat have had for each other and for their community. The goal of the Fund is to ensure that The Community Foundation has resources to address the needs of the community they chose to call home as those needs emerge and evolve. The Fund will be Nashville-centric but the causes to which the money may be applied are unlimited because Kitty and Pat believe Nashville’s opportunities to be unlimited as well.
The Jane G. Eskind Endowment for The Women's Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Established 2011
GivingMatters.com, an initiative of The Community Foundation, provides detailed information about more than 1,300 Middle Tennessee nonprofits to help donors give with meaning, confidence and ease. GivingMatters.com is an important resource to promote and facilitate philanthropy, providing in-depth information about nonprofits? missions, finances, management, and programs and the ability to make credit card gifts directly to organizations. Learn about issues facing Middle Tennessee, find organizations addressing community needs, and give directly through the website.
The Gordon Jewish Community Center is the center of Jewish life in Nashville, providing recreational, educational, social and cultural programs and services to thousands of member families. The GJCC proudly reaches out to its non-Jewish neighbors, inviting everyone in the community to join, play and learn together, regardless of religious affiliation. Their purpose has changed little in the over 100 years since its founding: to enrich lives and strengthen community.
Hands On Nashville creates and provides meaningful opportunities for people to transform their community through volunteer service. The agency leads approximately 900 volunteer projects and works with 200 nonprofit organizations, schools, government agencies, and corporate partners, connecting 24,000 volunteers to community needs in agencies and schools. As a way of recognizing founder Hal Cato's invaluable leadership in creating Hands On Nashville, the board of directors established this Fund in his name.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Community Foundation, and to give back to the generous people of Middle Tennessee, the Make Your Community Flower Fund was established in 2001. This Fund truly makes Middle Tennessee flourish by providing the means to plant flowers and to beautify the place we all call home. Gifts of any size are welcome.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Support Fund has been created to champion community support for the professional men and women who fulfill the public safety mission of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Established by a group of Nashville's business, civic, religious and academic leaders, this Fund is designed to augment the Department's ability to access the best in education, training, technology, communication, outreach and community partnership - on our behalf. Its goal is to make our lives and our community safe.
The mission of the Metro Human Relations Commission (MHRC) is to protect and promote the personal dignity of all people by protecting and promoting their safety, health, security, peace and general welfare. The Metro Human Relations Commission Support Fund was established to support the MHRC in its delivery of the best and most innovative programs in the areas of education and training to promote tolerance and understanding among all groups living in Metropolitan Nashville. By supporting this Fund donors are investing in a Nashville that will continue to proudly affirm the motto of the Commission: One City, All People.
Congregation Micah was founded in 1992 as an addition to the three other synagogues serving Middle Tennessee. Since then, it has welcomed some 600 families as members, built a permanent home, created a cemetery, and begun an endowment to help ensure its ability to serve the generations to come.
In 1948, Miss Lucy Fellis Dye founded the Nashville Area Home Economics Association for women with degrees in home economics. The association grew, and by 1976 they published "The Nashville Cookbook." The proceeds from the cookbook are used to fund the NAAFCS formerly the Lucy Fellis Dye Fund. NAAFCS benefits several Tennessee counties by providing money for scholarships, grants, conferences, leadership development, etc.
The Nashville Area Junior Chamber of Commerce (NAJCC) was founded to offer civic and social opportunities for young professionals in the Nashville area. Even through changing times, today a core tenet remains: NAJCC opportunities enable members to engage in hands-on professional development and leadership training experiences that are unparalleled. NAJCC Charities helps ensure that Nashville's signature giving spirit continues with each new generation of young professionals dedicating themselves to community enhancement and civic engagement.
NowPlayingNashville.com, an initiative of The Community Foundation, is Middle Tennessee's comprehensive arts and entertainment calendar, with information about music, theatre, sports, dance, museums, kids and family activities, and more, and discount ticket offers. Since its launch, the Website has collaborated with hundreds of community partners, providing one-stop shop information to support arts and entertainment organizations and enrich the Middle Tennessee community.
Opportunity NOW is a youth employment initiative spearheaded by Mayor Megan Barry's office to create a more comprehensive out-of-school network, while improving the overall climate for hiring young people in Nashville. This initiative will create paid job opportunities for thousands of Nashville's youth and young adults. It will support the next generation as they develop valuable life skills and confidence, while ultimately aspiring for a path to a brighter future. Opportunity NOW provides recruitment, training and placement, and is broad enough to be responsive to a variety of ages and skills levels, creating pathways to both subsidized and unsubsidized employment. Opportunity NOW's goal is to empower the youth of Nashville, while providing real chances to learn real skills that will stimulate the next generation of growth in our economy - benefiting our youth, our businesses, and our city. They say, "It takes a village..." and we agree.
There are lessons only sports can teach. Sports often provide positive and constructive after-school activities, and they can promote and inspire active, healthy lifestyles and life-long habits among people of all ages, all races, and all backgrounds. Sports and team membership provide: A sense of belonging, self-esteem, hope, and the inspiration of coaches; A source of activity particularly in those critical after-school hours; And a “hook” to attract kids to nonprofit programs also offering tutoring. Through The Sports Fund of The Community Foundation, Middle Tennessee nonprofit organizations providing these opportunities will have a permanent endowed source of funding to ensure support.
It is the mission of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to connect generosity with need through a variety of charitable funds supporting issues and nonprofit organizations across Middle Tennessee. For example, The Fund for Strategic Opportunities, established by The United Way of Metropolitan Nashville 10 years ago, serves to help nonprofits work together to increase efficiency and maximize outcome. In these tough times, it is the goal of The Community Foundation to help preserve the vital services nonprofits provide to our community. Through the Fund, nonprofits are encouraged to transform their organizations to maximize services to clients while minimizing overhead. It offers one-time funding to support not only collaborations and mergers, but also "right-sizing" efforts to generate new revenue sources, outsourcing, and even shutting down.
The Technology Community Fund is intended to support charitable projects and initiatives to improve and enhance technology in Middle Tennessee. The Fund supports the work of local nonprofit organizations as they broadly educate, inform and equip the community of Nashville and its citizens for the technological needs and opportunities of the decades ahead.
The Tomorrow Fund was formed by several professionals in the Middle Tennessee community to foster civic leadership and community awareness among young adults in their twenties and thirties. Through both hands-on charitable service and committee-based grantmaking to support local programs for children, the Fund provides a training ground for the future leaders of Middle Tennessee's community outreach efforts.
The congregation of Tulip Street United Methodist Church has a long history of community engagement. Since its founding in 1859, Tulip Street has been a constant community presence in East Nashville. The congregation has reached out into the neighborhood, the city, and our country time and again, to offer aid to those in need. Frances Southerland (1926-2013) was a prominent fixture in the congregation at Tulip Street Church, and those who knew her were always impressed with her generosity of spirit. Her primary concern was always to ensure that Tulip Street remained able to help those within its immediate community, having a particular concern for the children of lower income families. Her bequest is the seed of this fund.
DeLois Wilkinson knew the "ins and outs" and the "ups and downs" of community and community building. She loved this community and was a vocal advocate for the changes she thought would make it better. She invested deeply in solutions to its ills. How fitting that, at her passing, her five children established this Fund to support the nonprofits and charitable causes she held dear.
Established in 1994 with the vision of improving the lives of women and girls in need throughout Middle Tennessee, The Women's Fund continues to grow its endowment to support nonprofits working to: encourage the achievement of self-sufficiency for women; promote the health and physical well-being of women and girls; and prevent violence against women and girls. The Women's Fund has awarded more than $1.3 million in grants to nonprofits serving women and girls in Middle Tennessee.
The Youth Innovation Project is designed to encourage young people to create new solutions to important community problems. The program, administered by the Oasis Center, with support from The Community Foundation and the Mayor's Office of Children and Youth, is one of only eight selected in the country to receive a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Youth board members investigate and learn about local concerns, resources, power structures, service-learning, and youth philanthropy, awarding grants to young people for innovative civic action projects of their own design.
