NASHVILLE – The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee announced $2,726,800 in grants to 453 local nonprofit organizations as part of the 2018 annual grantmaking process. Organizations in 11 Upper Cumberland counties received grant funding.
The grants will benefit nonprofits in 33 Tennessee 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,” said 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.”
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.
Upper Cumberland organizations receiving funding were:
| CANNON | CASA of Cannon County Tennessee | CASA trains and supports volunteers to advocate for children in the court system who are dependents of abuse and neglect. |
| CUMBERLAND | Art Guild at Fairfield Glade | To provide art classes at Fair Park Senior Center in Crossville, TN and Good Samaritan Society, in FG, TN. |
| CUMBERLAND | Kids On The Rise | To provide shoes, coats, and haircuts for 44 students to boost self-esteem and ensure they are adequately clothed for weather. |
| CUMBERLAND | Roane State Community College | To provide a food pantry on Roane State’s Cumberland County campus for our most food insecure students and their dependents. |
| CUMBERLAND | Stone Memorial High School | To provide our school food pantry with fresh vegetables through hydroponic vegetable production for students that are food insecure. |
| CUMBERLAND | Wags and Whiskers Pet Rescue, Inc | To provide 200 spay/neuter surgeries to low-income families in our area. |
| DEKALB | Cannon County Community For Animals | To provide spay and neuter services for animals that are in low income or homeless situations. |
| DEKALB | DeKalb Animal Coalition Shelter | Animal Shelter Training for Women in Sober Living (substance abuse recovery) |
| DEKALB | DeKalb County Board of Education-Coordinated School Health | To provide food every weekend during the school year for students in need. |
| DEKALB | Tennessee Tech University / Craft Center | To enable art educators to design and lead hands-on workshops for their students and other educators in five craft media. |
| FENTRESS | Best Friends Sanctuary, Inc. | To assist the low income citizens of Fentress County to be able to spay/neuter their pets. |
| FENTRESS | The Conservation Fund | To permanently protect 14,769 acres of working forestland and wildlife habitat in Fentress and Overton counties |
| JACKSON | Friends of Animals (of Jackson County, TN) | To financially assist Jackson County residents to get their pets spayed or neutered. |
| JACKSON | Granville Museum, Inc. | To provide an entertaining and historical view of a rural river community in the 1960’s |
| MACON | Macon Spay Neuter Assistance | Enhance the lives of animals & community by providing affordable spay/neuter services and vaccines to prevent over population & hardships. |
| OVERTON | Council of Americana Roots Music | A festival dedicated to the preservation, presentation, and archiving of Americana Roots music; and a base for our humanitarian aid. |
| PICKETT | Good Neighbors Theatre, Inc. | Provide theatrical/musical productions, workshops and exhibits that involve, educate, entertain and enrich residents from this and the surrounding rural area. |
| PICKETT | Paws of Dale Hollow | To control the feral cat population of Pickett County through a program of trap, neuter, and release. |
| PUTNAM | Bryan Symphony Orchestra | The Bryan Symphony Orchestra provides free education concerts for all fourth-graders of Putnam, Warren, and Cumberland counties each year. |
| PUTNAM | Cookeville Regional Medical Center Foundation | To influence cancer treatment strategies for patients by offering genetic testing and genetic counseling for Cancer Center Patients. |
| PUTNAM | Helping Hands of Putnam County | To provide utility assistance to low income families and families experiencing a crisis in Putnam County. |
| PUTNAM | Humane Society of Putnam County | Spay or neuter 1800 pets belonging to low income families in the targeted seven counties of the Upper Cumberland. |
| PUTNAM | Putnam County Senior Citizens | To provide a healthy breakfast option every morning for 40-70 participants to help fight against senior hunger. |
| PUTNAM | Tennessee Future Farmers of America Foundation, Inc. | To make a positive difference in the lives of students through the TNFFA Agriscience Fair. |
| PUTNAM | Upper Cumberland Broadcast Council/WCTE-TV | To digitize and archive 40 years of historically and culturally important video content and to provide public access to same. |
| WARREN | Children’s Advocacy Center for the 31st Judicial District | We will meet the needs of identified child abuse victims through comprehensive, coordinated and compassionate intervention and recovery services. |
| WARREN | Families in Crisis, Inc. | To provide services to survivors of domestic/sexual violence by providing them with resources to become safe, independent, healthy and self-sufficient. |
| WARREN | Habitat for Humanity of Warrren County | To build homes for needy families in the warren county middle Tennessee area |
| WARREN | Pauls Clinic, Inc. | To sterilize 250 pets that reside in low-income households. |
| WHITE | White County Humane Society | To provide financial assistance to 212 pet owners who could otherwise not afford to have their pets spayed or neutered. |
| WHITE | White County Public Library Foundation | To expand and strengthen the programs offered to promote reading and literacy for all ages during the summer. |
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.
