NASHVILLE, Tenn (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee recently announced a major milestone: $1 billion in giving to nonprofits across the 40 counties of Middle Tennessee and beyond since its inception 29 years ago.
“It’s funny, but in 1990 when we began and in 1991 when we got our 501c3 status, we never talked about any goals. We never even discussed how much The Community Foundation might one day accomplish for our community,” says Ellen Lehman, president and one of the founders of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
“We never set any bars — we just said thank you,” Lehman continues. “And over the years, we have gotten to say thank-you thousands of times.”
It was Ellen’s friend, Ida Cooney, the founding executive director of the then HCA Foundation (known today as the Frist Foundation,) who noticed Nashville’s lack of a major community foundation in place for those with charitable hearts. Along with Ted Lazenby, Alyne Massey, Betty Brown, George Bullard, Elizabeth Queener, Richard Eskind, Judy Liff Barker, and Ben Rechter, they started the foundation.
After further research and discussion, these founders recognized an opportunity for people to join forces to work collectively for the community’s benefit.
As The Community Foundation reflects on decades of grantmaking and reaching this $1 billion milestone, the team stressed the importance of donors and their generosity. Tens of thousands of grants have filtered through its doors, impacting organizations working on a broad range of needs ranging from arts to zoology.
“We set out to make giving comfortable, convenient, and cost-effective. And we worked to promote and facilitate giving with confidence. And after those early years, we also sought to connect generosity with need,” Lehman says. “But all in all, we just worked to help people help others by customizing philanthropy to fit the donors’ intentions. That’s our mission … all of it.”
The Community Foundation continues to look ahead at improving its charitable giving by building permanent endowments to support critical causes. The team, which still includes Melisa Currey and Laundrea Lewis, expressed a focus on protecting donor intent in the face of changing needs and opportunities.
“It’s a good thing we never set any goals for ourselves, because we would have broken all of them,” Lehman says. “Today, thanks to thousands of individuals, families, companies and corporations, we certainly are proud to announce that we have been able to distribute grants to nonprofits totaling a whopping $1 billion.”
“We are grateful for the opportunity to help you help others as we continue this work into decades ahead,” Lehman continues. “For Now. For Generations.”