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 piloted a new approach for our collaborative grant round in 2026. We invited nonprofit leaders with innovative ideas to attend our Building Collaborative Coalitions Workshop on July 9-10. Participants designed the 2026 collaborative grant round, called the Yellow Ribbon Initiative, which is seeking applications for projects that address addiction prevention, recovery, or re-entry.

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.

The Fall grant round has been postponed for 2026. Check back in 2027.

While the three grant rounds above have set deadlines, organizations may apply for a Capacity-building Grant at any time. Applications for our capacity building grant funds are accepted on a rolling basis, so apply early for the best chance at funding. 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:

Special Places Project & Stories of Resilience

A video by Morrison Visuals and Chris McCreary about the creation of the performance. This summer’s “Stories of Resilience: Grundy Stories from Past and Present” was supported by South Cumberland Community Fund, through its Special Places Project fund. Originating in 2022, in conjunction with the Fund’s 10th Anniversary, the program supports placemaking work on the Cumberland Plateau. This year’s placemaking project was an ambitious and moving program spearheaded by two Sewan

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.