Our Grants Program

We award more than $200,000 annually thanks to the continued generosity of our donors. Based on the Community Fund's 2022 strategic planning process, our grants program has three main areas of focus: Education, Health, and Community and Economic Development. We strive to empower this community to define and create projects that use the area’s local knowledge, foster community collaboration, and build on the strength of the area’s people, communities, and natural setting. Eligible grantees are nonprofits, municipal and county government entities, and churches that are conducting work that benefits people broadly on the Plateau. To read our complete grant policies and procedures, follow this link.

Our Grants Program is divided into three grant competitions and a non-competitive capacity building grant:

Spring Grants: Original Competitive Grant

This is where our grant program began. In the spring 2012 the Community Fund awarded its first grants to area nonprofits totaling $100,000, and has continued to do so annually. Area partners can apply for up to $10,000.

Applications open on March 1 and are due on April 1 each year.

Connecting for Lasting Impact Grant (Summer)

We are piloting a new approach for our collaborative grant round in 2026. We invite nonprofit leaders or engaged citizens with innovative ideas to attend our Building Collaborative Coalitions Workshop on July 9-10. Participants will then design the 2026 Make Lasting Connections grant round, funding $50,000 in a worthy cause or causes.

Read the full announcement from Director of Community Development Mandy Bouldin HERE and apply to participate in the Collaborative Cohort HERE.

Fall Grants: University-Funded Grants

South Cumberland Community Fund is grateful for its partnership with the University of the South for supporting this grant round. This program allows students to learn about grantmaking and serve as the grants committee. The program is supported by two endowments at the University. Area partners can apply for up to $5,000.

Applications open on September 10 and are due on October 10 each year.

While the three grant rounds above have set deadlines, organizations may apply for a Capacity-building Grant at any time. These grants focus on AmeriCorps host fees, pilot projects, planning grants, or organizational development. LEARN MORE>

Apply for a Grant

1. Attend a Grant Info Session

2. Apply

3. Get funds

4. Submit Grant Reports

5. Apply Again!

Grant Process:

Building a Network of Hope and Prosperity

Just down the street from where Pete Seeger first heard the song, We Shall Overcome, before he went on to record it as an anthem for civil rights, sits a century old high school. It is called the Littell-Partin Center. Abandoned for over 20 years, it is coming back to life through a revival of sorts. It is here where many of us on the Plateau and friends from other parts of the world have all been inspired to collaborate. Nicholas Ma from American Revival, with Abigail Washbu

Spring 2026 Newsletter

In your mailboxes and online now! Find here.

Partner Spotlight: Mosaic Recovery Center

“Don’t look at anyone that’s in addiction without hope. In Mosaic Recovery Center’s case, the people we encounter in addiction are always someone’s husband, brother, uncle, or son and they all have the ability to turn their life around.” Mosaic Recovery Center is a faith based organization that brings hope to men struggling with addiction in the South Cumberland area. When talking with Maggie Orames, the director of donor development and banquets at Mosaic, it became undeniab