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