The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, a charitable organization dedicated to enriching the quality of life in 40 Middle Tennessee counties and beyond, announces $2,726,800 in grants to 453 local nonprofit organizations as part of the 2018 annual grantmaking process.

The grants will benefit nonprofits in 33 area counties: Bedford, Cannon, Cheatham, Coffee, Cumberland, Davidson, DeKalb, Dickson, Fentress, Franklin, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Macon, Marshall, Maury, Montgomery, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Robertson, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Warren, White, Williamson and Wilson counties.

The top three awards categories were Human Services-Children (16 percent of the grants), Education (15 percent) and Arts and Humanities (14 percent).

“The Community Foundation is honored to connect generosity with need through these annual grants and through other avenues throughout the year, but we couldn’t have the impact we do without the many nonprofits offering solutions to our community’s needs and vital services to our neighbors,” says Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. “Thanks to the generous support of our donors and the work of dedicated and talented nonprofits, we are able to fund solutions which address Middle Tennessee’s emerging needs and opportunities.”

Grant recipients are:

100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee: A non-profit dedicated to providing resources to further the academic and social development of black male students.

A Step Ahead Foundation of Middle Tennessee: To provide free long-acting reversible contraception to 88 mothers younger than 25 years old by partnering with local health clinics

Achilles International Inc: To cover the cost for five Achilles Athletes and their volunteer guides to participate in both local and out-of-state

Actors Bridge Ensemble Theater of Nashville Inc: To provide program support for Act Like a GRRRL recruitment, expansion and facilitator training to reach more Middle Tennessee girls

Adoption Hope Foundation/Carpenter’s Square: To prepare 40 economically disadvantaged youth for higher education through basketball training, mentoring and college readiness skills  

Adventure Science Center Nashville: Support for Science in Motion outreach programming, which reaches more than 17,000 people in Middle Tennessee

Advocates for Women’s and Kids’ Equality (AWAKE): To expand educational opportunity for healthy relationships and finances to serve young women across Middle Tennessee

Agape Animal Rescue: To provide spay or neuter surgeries to 125 abandoned dogs to prepare them for permanent adoption

AGAPE/Association for Guidance Aid Placement and Empathy: To provide emergency funds for domestic violence victims needing gas cards, bus passes, prescription drugs, dental work, eyeglasses, etc.

ALIAS Chamber Ensemble: To fund the ALIAS in the Community program (AIC), which brings classical music and educational programming into schools/community organizations

Alive Hospice: Providing compassionate hospice care to underserved patients in the Middle Tennessee community, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay  

ALS Association-Tennessee Chapter: Supporting families living with ALS to hire caregivers so they can take a break

American Diabetes Association: To provide a traditional summer camp experience in a medically safe environment for 100 children and teens living with diabetes

American Muslim Advisory Council: To educate Muslim Women to be active members of the community

ASMT, Inc (Autism Tennessee): To provide Middle Tennessee agencies and parent groups with the latest in autism-specific, evidence-based consulting/training services delivered by licensed/qualified professionals

Assistance League of Nashville: To provide new standard school attire to 3,200 economically disadvantaged MNPS elementary students during the 2018-2019 school year

Autism Foundation of Tennessee: To provide support to at least 20 families affected by autism for services not covered by insurance

Backfield in Motion: To improve the academic, social and emotional learning of 175 economically disadvantaged minority males attending low-performing Metro Nashville Public Schools

Begin Anew: To provide High School Equivalency and ESL classes for 30 students at Begin Anew's newest sites: Woodbine and South Nashville  

BELL Garden Bellevue Middle School Edible Learning Lab: In-garden and in-classroom gardening and science education for students and their families and community outreach supporting BELL Garden's mission.

Bellevue Harpeth Historic Association: To educate the community of Bellevue about the history of the area and the founders of our community

Bellevue, Youth Incorporated In-Line Hockey: To provide maintenance and repair for the Bellevue in-line hockey rink

Bethlehem Centers of Nashville: To provide produce monthly to 36 seniors participating in the Seniors Club, as well as meals at session activities

Better Decisions: To provide decision-making training and mentoring to 30-50 adult women incarcerated in Nashville prison, so to be released or paroled

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee: To provide one-to-one mentoring relationships to 300 or more children of prisoners through the Amachi program

Blackbird Theater Company: Funding for a production of Cormac McCarthy's play “The Sunset Limited”

Book ’Em: Provide 5,000 books to economically disadvantaged youth in Davidson County through little neighborhood libraries to develop stronger literacy skills

Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee: SMART Girls and Passport to Manhood allow adolescent girls and boys ages 8-17 to build skills for adulthood.

Bridges for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: To encourage early language development and healthy bonding in families of young children aged birth to 5 years of age

CASA, Inc: To recruit, train and supervise volunteers to advocate in court for the safe, permanent placement of abused and neglected children

Catholic Charities of Tennessee: The Living At Home program for low-income Nashville seniors innovatively addresses client aging-in-place needs, including prescription co-pays and transportation.

Centerstone Foundation, Inc: To create a therapeutic support group focused on suicide prevention with the goal of helping 32-48 individuals this year

Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art: To provide enriching, multi-generational outings with all expenses covered for low-income Tennessee students and their family members

ChildCare Tennessee: This initiative of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee focuses on providing resources to create sustainability for childcare programs.

Choral Arts Link, Inc: To provide quality, "whole-musician" choral training for MET Singer Youth Chorus  

Christian Cooperative Ministry: To provide food, water and toiletries for an average of 325 homeless lunch sacks monthly

Communities in Schools of Tennessee: To support at-risk MNPS students in poverty, providing effective case management to help them stay in school and graduate on time

Community Care Fellowship: To provide affordable, full-time pre-K childcare to low-income families in the James Cayce homes and surrounding neighborhood

Community Resource Center: To provide personal hygiene products to disadvantaged seniors

Conexion Americas: To provide innovative college-access programming to 210 first-generation, immigrant and refugee high school students in Nashville

Council on Aging of Greater Nashville: To provide educational resources, information/referral and support for grandparents raising their grandchildren through community partners, outreach and new technologies

Country Music Foundation: Words & Music is a curriculum-based lyric-writing program that creates opportunities for teachers and students to collaborate with Nashville songwriters.

CreatiVets: To prevent suicide, CreatiVets offers combat veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress and other injuries access to art and music programs

Crossroads Campus: To provide equipment and educational materials for our humane education program, which teaches compassion and respect for all living things

Cumberland River Compact: Demonstrate the Compact's Depave program, in which unneeded asphalt is convert back to green space to capture storm water

Davidson County Mental Health and Veterans Assistance Foundation: The Foundation supports the work of the Davidson County Mental Health and Veterans Specialty Treatment Courts.

Discover Tennessee dba Tails of the Trail: Operate a program relocating healthy, at-risk dogs from Middle Tennessee open-access shelters to no-kill shelters in Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states

Dismas, Inc: To provide transitional housing and wrap around services for men recently released from incarceration

East Nashville Hope Exchange, Inc: To provide literacy programming to students grades K-4 and their families, thereby reducing the literacy gap in East Nashville

Educators’ Cooperative at University School of Nashville: To bring together teachers from public, charter and private schools to share best practices focused on collaboration, teaching and learning  

End Slavery Tennessee: To provide intensive and full spectrum aftercare services for 200 human trafficking survivors

Epic Girl, Inc: To use screening and case management to recruit, retain and link 200 girls in detention to EPIC Girl's programs  

Faith and Culture Center: To train a diverse group of millennial leaders to integrate their communities across divides of faith, race, gender and ethnicity

Faith Family Medical Center: To provide 68 comprehensive, quality, primary health care visits to women in Davidson County who are uninsured or underinsured

Family and Children’s Service: This grant will provide emergency financial assistance for 40 families in the Davidson County Relative Caregiver Program

Family Foundation Fund: To provide agricultural training, health and nutrition programs, job opportunities and underwrite educational expenses to 16 constituents of our mentoring program

Family Reconciliation Center, Inc: To provide free lodging for families visiting their loved ones in prison to connect families and prepare inmates for parole

Fannie Battle Day Home for Children, Inc: To provide safe and affordable care for children ages 6 weeks through 2 years who live in economically disadvantaged homes

First Steps, Inc: The new healthy living program will provide preschool students with education and access to healthier snack options.

Folds of Honor (Nashville Chapter): To provide educational scholarships to the dependents of fallen and disabled service members in Davidson and Montgomery Counties

Foundation for Tennessee Chess d/b/a Nashville Chess Center: To fund the costs of Chess for Children classes at Cumberland Elementary School from January to May 2019

Friends of Warner Park, Inc: To engage a skilled team in repairing Warner Parks' heavily used trail system, providing improved access/safety for thousands of monthly visitors

Friendship House: To provide support to women who seek recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction, through meetings, sponsorship and materials

Frist Art Museum: To provide educational art programs and experiences to underserved Nashville communities through the Frist Art Museum's on-going Community Partner program

Galaxy Star Drug Awarenessee/Nashville Peacemakers: To provide 12 weeks of group swim and water safety lessons to 10 disadvantaged teen girls

Gilda’s Club of Middle Tennessee, Inc: To build community among those impacted by cancer in Middle Tennessee, ensuring we face cancer together

Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee: Troop 6000 provides traditional Girl Scout Troop experiences in several troop locations to homeless girls in Davidson County.

Girls on the Run of Middle Tennessee: To provide 113 girls from low-income families the opportunity to participate in a life-changing, research-based character development program

GivingMatters.com: To operate a searchable database of nonprofit organizations for the purpose of encouraging informed giving in Middle Tennessee

Global Education Center: To provide school and community education about contributions of composers and artists from the Spanish-speaking world to diverse music genres

Goodwill Industries of Middle TN, Inc: To provide vocational skills training and financial stipends for 176 trainees to prepare for and enter into competitive employment

Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation: Marshall, Jackson and Bedford County Imagination Libraries provide one free book per month to children ages birth to 5.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville: To build homes and provide homebuyer education and financial counseling to low-income families preparing to buy an interest-free Habitat home

Hands on Nashville, Inc: To provide training and consulting that enables five nonprofits to leverage skilled volunteers to address community needs

Harvest Hands Community Development Corporation: To purchase 20 laptops to create an on-site computer lab in which students can complete homework and learn basic computer skills

Healing Arts Project, Inc: To provide free, creative experiences to hundreds of Middle Tennesseans in mental health and addiction recovery

Homework Hotline: To provide 2,000 free, one-on-one literacy and math tutoring sessions to 750 students and parents from 40 partnering Tennessee counties

Hope Clinic For Women: To provide well-women, STD testing/pap exams for 40 low-income underserved women who would otherwise not have access to care  

Horizons at University School of Nashville: To provide 90 students from low-income families the tools and support to become successful and confident college-bound students

HUGGS for Inspirational Men and Women: To provide treatment and addiction recovery to ex-offenders. This will also provide social, behavior, employment, functional, life skills.

Humanities Tennessee: To provide Middle Tennessee public school students with a program that encourages and supports reading and literacy

Insight Counseling Services: To continue a successful partnership with Tusculum Elementary School, providing support and healing through therapeutic groups for refugee children

Interfaith Dental Clinic: To provide compassionate, affordable emergency dental care to 200 of the clinic's 2,500 uninsured, low-income patients, preventing an ER visit

Intersection: Performances of the music of Hannibal Lokumbe that promote diversity, community, arts access and audience engagement through contemporary classical music.

Intrepid College Preparatory, Inc: To purchase high-quality books for Intrepid College Prep's new library that will serve more than 600 students

Jewish Family Service of Nashville and Middle TN, Inc: Operating support for conducting adoption home studies, assisting with child placement and conducting post-placement supervision visits for the LGBTQ+ community

Jonah’s Journey: To provide short-term foster care to children whose parents are incarcerated, with reunification as the goal

Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee: To improve sixth grade students' understanding of career exploration, global economics, technological/information literacy and cross-cultural learning through JA Global Marketplace

King’s Daughter Day Home: To increase social/emotional development for 79 infants to 5-years-olds and their families

Learning Matters, Inc: Provide 4,299 hours of academic remediation for low-middle income students with learning disabilities to increase self-esteem and opportunities for life

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands: To provide community education materials for client population on their legal rights and responsibilities in civil matters

LETS Play: To use sports to motivate refugee and immigrant students in learning English in a fun, safe and active environment

Love in a Big World: To empower kids, families and communities through character education, healthy habits, social responsibility and fun

Luke 14:12: To provide 11,360 free, hot, nutritional, dinner-style meals to Nashville's hungry, homeless and working poor

Lutheran Services in Tennessee, Inc: To provide community art workshops for 120 at-risk youth living in poverty during school breaks and afterschool

Make Music Nashville: Make Music Day is a live, free musical celebration every June 21 that provides performance opportunities and instruments/lessons for all.

Martha O’Bryan Center: To provide 300 K-8 students with dedicated out-of-school-time programming, including academic interventions, social-emotional workshops and STEM, arts and nutrition enrichment

Matthew 25, Inc: Matthew 25 provides help, hope and housing to homeless men in Nashville

Matthew Walker Health Center: To provide screening mammograms for uninsured women in Clarksville and Smyrna  

McNeilly Center for Children: To provide Frog Street curriculum, Teaching Strategies Gold assessment tool and teacher tablets for 5 infant and toddler classrooms

Medical Foundation of Nashville: To provide an additional 1,600 care coordination encounters to uninsured, low-income PANSC patients who are referred to volunteer physician specialists

Meharry Medical College: To provide free, high-quality health care to the underserved of Nashville and train the next generation of health care providers

Men of Valor: To provide education and training to men incarcerated in Core Civic and Tennessee Department of Corrections prisons and county jails

Mending Hearts, Inc: To provide basic needs, supplies and recovery material for an evidence-based, recovery-oriented re-entry program to 96 women ex-offenders  

Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee: To provide mental health resources and transportation support for Spanish-speaking unaccompanied refugee minors resettled in Middle Tennessee

Metro Nashville Chorus/Sweet Adelines International: Share the joy of four-part a cappella harmony in the barbershop style with young women in Middle Tennessee.

Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Center: To provide workforce development skills to 75 rural, at risk, low-income young adults in Dickson and Cheatham counties

Middle Tennessee Science and Engineering Fair Foundation: Fostering secondary school STEM education and student research, and sponsoring the Middle Tennessee Science and Engineering Fair

Miriam’s Promise: To provide assistance for basic needs to low-income moms during crisis pregnancies while providing pregnancy counseling free of charge

Monroe Harding Inc: To assist 31 foster families with support for children in their care with clothing, summer programs, extracurricular activities and transportation

Mother to Mother, Inc: Project Carseat provides car seats for children by facilitating the donation pipeline between organizations that serve such individuals.

Muscular Dystrophy Association: To provide durable medical equipment repairs through MDA's loaned-equipment program that is made available to individuals with muscle diseases

Music for Seniors: To facilitate 200 live music outreach programs with lower-income seniors

Musicians On Call: To provide live bedside music performances to 1,300 veterans receiving treatment at VA hospitals in Nashville and Murfreesboro

NAMI Tennessee: Expand NAMI Basics, a program for caregivers children living with mental illness to caregivers of children with DID or autism

Nashville Adult Literacy Council, Inc: To teach reading, writing and English-speaking skills to adults in Nashville

Nashville Area Association for Educators of Young Children: To provide ongoing, high-quality, affordable, professional development opportunities to educators of our area's youngest children, birth to age 8  

Nashville Ballet: The expansion of "Jump, Frog, Jump!" performances to include a targeted, diversified audience in celebration of 15 years of programming  

Nashville CARES: To purchase 500 kits to provide HIV testing to 500 non-gay women, men and youth

Nashville Cat Rescue: To spay or neuter 900 cats so that they may be put up for adoption  

Nashville Children’s Alliance Inc: Training, client assistance and program supplies to help reduce child abuse victim trauma

Nashville Children’s Theatre: Educator course, curricular support for classrooms and ticket subsidies for Tomas and the Library Lady

Nashville Classical Charter School: To provide nine to 12 after-school enrichment programs

Nashville Conflict Resolution Center: To prevent eviction and homelessness for public housing residents of Metro Nashville by providing free mediation services on-site

Nashville Diaper Connection: The "No Child Wet Behind" program provides baby diapers to mothers who otherwise might not have them.

Nashville Digital Inclusion Fund: Nashville Digital Inclusion Fund provides Internet access, computers, devices, training and support to Nashville citizens who don't currently have access

Nashville Dolphins (Dolphin Aquatics): To provide a swim team to children and adults with special needs at no cost to participants

Nashville Education Community and Arts Television Corporation: To continue training and mentoring teenagers in camps and programs during/after school hours, instilling confidence and teamwork through TV production

Nashville Film Festival: To engage 15 at-risk teens from Youth Villages in professional-level songwriting, recording, music video production and festival showcase

Nashville International Center for Empowerment: 100 low-income New Americans will receive $100 subsidies to file immigration applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration

Nashville Jazz Workshop: Support for jazz education through private lessons and classes for middle and high school students with motivation and financial need

Nashville Launch Pad: To provide safe and affirming winter shelter to young people ages 18-24 experiencing homelessness

Nashville Opera Association: To offer All-Access Opera Education to children in Middle Tennessee and to successfully launch a pilot program nationally

Nashville Public Radio: Support local musicians and arts organizations through 91Classical's broadcasts of “Live in Studio C,” Nashville Symphony and Nashville Opera

Nashville Public Television Council Inc: To fund production expenses related to "NPT Reports: Aging Matters," focusing on issues affecting seniors and our community

Nashville Repertory Theatre: Provide access to five main-stage plays for community members who may experience economic and/or educational barriers to live theatre

Nashville Shakespeare Festival: Provide affordable or free public and school performances of “Julius Caesar,” and provide preparatory in-school workshops for students

Nashville State Community College Foundation: To provide child care assistance for low-income, high-need students attending Nashville State Community College (via the YMCA)

Nashville Steam Preservation Society: Restoration of Nashville's historic Centennial Park steam locomotive to provide economic, tourism and educational benefits for the people of Nashville

Nashville Symphony Association: To provide free, high-quality instrument instruction and music education experiences to 4,910 students in Nashville

Nashville Tools for Schools Inc: To provide custom-made classroom furnishing for teachers in Metro Nashville Public Schools

Nashville Tree Foundation: To purchase and provide education for planting/caring for 500 trees in Nashville communities to support city tree-canopy goals

National Museum of African American Music: To connect up to 1,000 Nashville youth and about 350 seniors with professional musician teaching artists to learn, perform and engage

Nations Ministry Center: To provide vital immigration services to 150 refugees needing to apply for green cards, citizenship or other important immigration needs

NeedLink Nashville: To help 30 low-income women who are pregnant or have newborn babies younger than six months avoid homelessness and/or utility disconnection

Neighborhoods Resource Center: To expand current Neighborhood Leadership Certification Program to include a Neighborhood Planning & Engagement Course

Notes for Notes, Inc: To provide free access to instruments, musical instruction and recording studios to youth in underserved populations

Nurses for Newborns of Tennessee: To prevent infant mortality, child abuse and neglect through home visitation by registered nurses

Oasis Center, Inc: To provide empowerment programming, counseling, advocacy and training to improve the lives and conditions for LGBTQ youth in Middle Tennessee

Operation Homefront, Inc: To provide military families and veterans with financial support to cover critical utility expenses through Critical Financial Assistance Program

Operation Stand Down Tennessee: To provide job skills training, specialized clothing, boots or tools and reliable transportation for Veterans to access or maintain employment

Park Center: To provide art therapy for people with chronic mental illness, homelessness or addiction

Pathway Lending (Southeast Community Capital Corporation): Provide small-business skills through classes, counseling and mentorships that builds financial empowerment for 250+ disadvantaged women and their families

PENCIL Foundation: To provide experiential learning opportunities to MNPS high school students that provide encouragement, resources and support for graduation and future professional success

Pet Community Center: To trap-neuter-return 167 unowned, free-roaming and feral cats (community cats) through the Community Cat Program

Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi: Expand and launch college program: "Sexperts" sexual health peer education for Austin Peay students to fill an educational gap

Plant the Seed: To inspire and empower young people through garden-based learning

Play Like a Girl!: To provide access to STEM education in a sports context for 150 rising ninth-grade girls from low-income households

Poverty and the Arts: Provide creative resources and a marketplace to individuals impacted by homelessness so they can gain skills, income and stability

Preserve Lindsley Avenue Now, Inc: Enhance the church building's kitchen, classrooms and dining/fellowship area, to better serve our community

Preston Taylor Ministries: To provide after-school reading instruction to 20 students (K-4th grade) living in a low-income community in North Nashville

Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee: To educate and empower 200 Davidson families to prevent ACEs and provide safe, stable and nurturing homes for their children

Project Return, Inc: To provide pre-release support to inmates of the CoreCivic-managed incarceration facilities in Tennessee

Project Transformation Tennessee Inc: To provide an eight-week summer literacy program for more than 450 children in low-income neighborhoods across Middle Tennessee

Proverbs 1210 Animal Rescue: To provide one year of heartworm protection for the approximately 150 pets in the program during any given month

Rebuilding Together Nashville: To preserve affordable housing for low-income seniors, veterans and disabled homeowners through repairing and renovating their homes

Rejoice School of Ballet: Rejoice Ballet empowers youth by training, nurturing and celebrating dancers from diverse racial, socioeconomic, cultural and developmental backgrounds

Renewal House, Inc: To provide trauma-informed, gender-specific intensive outpatient addiction treatment for 70 low-income women, including specialized programming for pregnant and postpartum mothers

Rest Stop Ministries, Inc: Providing long-term residential restorative care to adult female survivors of sex trafficking in a trauma-informed community of holistic healing support

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Nashville Tennessee: To provide essential resources and a “home-away-from-home” for families of critically ill children receiving medical treatment at a Nashville hospital

Safe Haven Family Shelter: To provide critical academic, behavioral and social-emotional supports to SHFS children experiencing homelessness; reducing the negative impact of housing instability

Saint Thomas Health Foundation: To bring life-saving screening mammography to 72 uninsured/underserved women in Bedford, Coffee and Warren counties through a mobile mammography outreach  

Salvation Army of Nashville: The Salvation Army Pathway of Hope program strives to break the cycle of inter-generational poverty

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee: To provide healthy food and nutrition education to 500 children at eleven Kids Cafe sites

Senior Ride Nashville, Inc: To provide 500 hours of backup driver services, ensuring senior adults have transportation to remain connected and access essential services

Sexual Assault Center: To provide therapy and support for 24 low-income girls younger than 18 affected by sexual assault/abuse

Shower the people: To provide mobile showers and hygiene kits to 500 people experiencing homelessness in Nashville

Siloam Family Health Center: To enhance the health literacy of newly arrived refugees while providing meaningful engagement opportunities for volunteer community members

Society of Saint Andrew: To provide fresh, healthy food to hungry people, while reducing food waste

Southern Alliance for People and Animal Welfare: Meeting the increase in need for spay/neuter transport that serves pet owners living at or below the poverty level

Southern Word: Southern Word develops powerful communicators, thinkers and leaders through the vehicles of spoken word, creative writing and music production

St. Luke’s Community House: To provide hunger relief for 165 children, seniors and disabled residents through Mobile Meals and Child Development Program  

Starlings Nashville: To provide a program that will encourage leadership skills for underserved youth ages 5-18

STARS Nashville: To provide 2,400 middle- and high-school students struggling to overcome social and emotional barriers individual and group counseling sessions

Street Theatre Company: A social awareness after-school, no-cost program allows teens to create and perform an original play in a safe, encouraging environment

Tennessee Association of Craft Artists (Tennessee Craft): To support and expand FREE community festival with artists and hands-on craft making, creating next generation of craft artists and collectors

Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence: To provide emergency financial assistance of up to $300 to 33 victims of domestic and sexual violence in Middle Tennessee

Tennessee Environmental Council: To engage 25,000 volunteers in planting 250,000 native tree seedlings across Tennessee, with half in Middle Tennessee

Tennessee for Alliance Kids, Inc: To meet the emergent needs for 35 kids who are at risk of coming into foster care or aging out

Tennessee Foreign Language Institute Fund: To provide English as a second language instruction to adult refugees and immigrants who are unable to access class

Tennessee Higher Education Initiative Inc: Provide Computer Applications courses as a step in the completion of an A.S. degree to incarcerated students in Middle Tennessee

Tennessee Historical Society: To engage grade 6-12 students in project-based learning, critical thinking and historical research through History Day, a year-long curriculum program

Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition: To provide for intermediate English classes that catapult adult immigrants toward conversational fluency needed for daily life, including digital literacy and community engagement

Tennessee Justice Center: To provide leadership development and community engagement opportunity for mothers of vulnerable children

Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors: To provide humanitarian immigration legal services to low-income immigrants and refugees affected by global violence and terror

Tennessee Kidney Foundation Inc: To provide access to life-sustaining medical care for 10 low-income individuals with no alternative transportation for 12-14 treatments per month

Tennessee Lions Charities, Inc: To provide free vision screenings for children between the ages of 12 to 72 months in Middle Tennessee

Tennessee Performing Arts Center: To bring professional artist residencies to Pre-K classrooms: 30-minute sessions offered 2x/week for 6-7 weeks, during fall and spring semesters

Tennessee Respite Coalition: To give 10 family caregivers in Dickson County respite time and educate 20 caregivers and community members about respite

Tennessee State Parks Conservancy: To provide funding for 500+ low-income students in Middle Tennessee to take a field trip to a Tennessee State Park

Tennessee Voices for Victims: To provide one victim-impact curriculum and a one-day training to Humphreys County Jail staff

Tennessee Wildlife Federation: Provide more than 80,000 pounds of healthy, protein-rich venison to hunger-relief organizations for distribution to needy families in Middle Tennessee

Tennessee Women’s Theater Project: Support for free after-school classes in story craft and theater for children in grades 3-5 at Looby Community Center

The Branch of Nashville: To provide more efficient and enhanced English learning options to the New Americans coming to classes

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Early Childhood Education: To provide four one-year scholarships to four children ages 6-weeks to 4 years for safe, quality, early-childhood education

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee NowPlayingNashville: To support arts organizations and encourage audience engagement by providing the community with a comprehensive arts and entertainment events guide

The Conservancy for the Parthenon and Centennial Park: To support 40 Tennessee-based emerging artists performing at The Conservancy's free 2019 Musicians Corner concerts in Centennial Park

The Contributor Inc: To invest in 200 people experiencing homelessness and poverty, providing economic mobility through The Contributor's Transitional Employment Program

The F.I.N.D. Design: To provide programming for 75 Antioch girls that focus on healing and restoring relationships with oneself, community and police

The Family Center Inc: Positive Parenting program for 69 soon-to-be-released incarcerated parents proven to increase skills/knowledge, lower risk of abuse; pilot two-generational parent/child sessions

The HELP Center: Employment, counseling, education and supportive services to male and female offenders, ex-offenders and low-income individuals

The Hermitage/Andrew Jackson Foundation: The work will consist of exterior painting of Andrew Jackson's home built between 1819-1837, including repairing woodwork and gutter replacement

The Hope Station, Inc: To provide rental and utility assistance to single working mothers with minor children in Davidson and Rutherford counties

The Mary Parrish Center: To help defray the costs of health care, legal, food and other essential emergency needs for our residents

The Minerva Foundation: Raise awareness and decrease the stigma about mental health issues in the Middle Tennessee black community

The Nashville Food Project, Inc: Bringing people together to grow, cook and share nourishing food, with goals of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in Nashville

The New Beginnings Center: To provide 130 low-income women with 9,360 hours of wellness coaching that improves physical fitness, health and quality of life

The Next Door: To provide addiction treatment services for all adult women

The Porch Writers’ Collective: To encourage empathy, introspection and creativity through monthly creative-writing workshops for high school students in Middle Tennessee

The Sports Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee: Grants to engage youth in team activities

Thistle Farms, Inc: To provide housing, health care and job training to 29 women survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction

Time to Rise, Inc: Increase life chances of at-risk youth through academic acceleration and support, cultural enrichment and access to positive role models

TOM: Vanderbilt: To develop innovative and affordable technology solutions that serve the neglected needs of people with disabilities

Travellers Rest Historic House Museum: Developing a multi-pronged program to interpret Native American history from the pre-contact to early historic period

United Cerebral Palsy of Middle TN: To provide durable medical equipment and essential health care supplies to 2,300 individuals with all types of severe disabilities

United Neighborhood Health Services: To increase access to hepatitis A, B and C treatment for those at the highest risk of contracting hepatitis C

United Way of Middle Tennessee, Inc: Provide children, birth to 5, with age-appropriate books to build a strong foundation for literacy proficiency and academic success

Urban League of Middle Tennessee: Project Ready 2.0 will provide leadership, empowerment and educational access to African-American and other minorities and disenfranchised youth

Volunteers of America Mid-States: To enhance the quality of life for the 31 adults with developmental disabilities whom we support in our community-based homes

Vox Grata, Inc: Develop a large-scale choral work giving voice to those affected by addiction and providing hope, healing and understanding

W.O. Smith Community Music School: To provide an all-inclusive overnight music camp experience to seventy W.O. Smith students in June 2019

Walden’s Puddle: To provide quality care/treatment to Tennessee wildlife in need, with the goal of returning the rehabilitated wildlife to the wild

Water City USA: To introduce Nashville's Storm Drain Program, the Southeast's first technology solution

Water Walkers: To provide year-round employment to four at-risk youth, ages 14-18, who live in the Edgehill Homes

Welcome Home Ministries: To provide supported employment services for 80 clients seeking recovery in Welcome Home Ministries' alcohol and drug recovery support program

Westminster Home Connection: Building a Maury County home repair and mobility modification program for seniors and people with disabilities to age in place

Wings of Courage: To provide escape bags for all victims of domestic violence in Nashville/Middle Tennessee

YMCA of Middle Tennessee: To enhance meaningful participation in its food program through family engagement and by incentivizing healthy living

You Have the Power … Know How to Use It, Inc: To support existing prevention programs on child sexual abuse, bullying, acquaintance rape, domestic violence, human sex trafficking and elder abuse

Youth Encouragement Services: To partially fund reading enhancement program for 40 second- to fifth-grade students enrolled at two centers

Youth Villages: To provide critical needs and services for 20-25 youth aging out of state custody participating in the YV LifeSet program

YWCA Nashville and Middle Tennessee: To provide safety, housing and case management to promote healing and self-sufficiency in 500 victims of domestic violence

The Community Foundation awards discretionary grants annually from its unrestricted and field-of-interest funds to Middle Tennessee nonprofits. Grants are awarded through an open application process for organizations addressing community needs and benefiting the well-being of citizens through valuable programs and innovative services. Information on the grant process

Complete list of 2018 grant recipients

About The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

The Community Foundation exists to promote and facilitate giving in the 40 counties of Middle Tennessee and beyond. It does this by accepting gifts of any size from anyone at any time and by empowering individuals, families, companies, nonprofits and communities to respond to needs and opportunities that matter. The Community Foundation works with people who have great hearts, whether or not they have great wealth, to craft solutions that reflect their intentions and goals. Information