For over 30 years and with 43 counties in focus, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT) has been a leading community funder in the Southeast region. Interestingly, and despite its name, this foundation’s reach extends beyond the state of Tennessee and into a small part of Kentucky as well.
Here are six different ways CFMT gives locally, to help local grantseekers get more familiar with how this grantmaker operates.
1. CFMT grants
Grantmaking is at the heart of what CFMT does — this funder provides annual grants for a broad range of purposes. Topics of interest include the arts, environment, health and social services. CFMT awards discretionary grants and typically opens up its application process between early July and early August. In a recent year, the funder gave $2,664,888 in grants to 439 local nonprofits, which were all part of its annual grantmaking cycle.
2. CFMT scholarships
CFMT also awards scholarships to students who live in the Middle Tennessee region. Since 1995, the foundation has awarded over $27.7 million in scholarships to more than 10,450 students. In the past, the scholarship deadline has been the first of February, and CFMT usually notifies applicants of its decisions by mid-April.
3. Employee assistance programs
CFMT’s employee assistance programs, called Corporate Care Funds, allow compassionate employers to support their employees during times of need. Employees who have experienced one of the following qualifying events can apply directly to CFMT for support through their employer: natural disasters, life-threatening illnesses or injuries, death or other catastrophic or extreme circumstances.
4. Disaster-related grantmaking
When disasters strike, CFMT steps in with emergency grantmaking. It offers immediate relief, short-term recovery grants and long-term recovery grants to meet the needs of local disaster survivors.
5. Affiliate funds
Like many community foundations across the country, CFMT hosts affiliate funds that are overseen by local leaders and maintain a hyper-local focus on certain parts of its region. CFMT provides administrative support and philanthropic expertise to 10 affiliates. Affiliate funds at CMFT focus on the following places: Cheatham County, Dickson County, Rutherford County, Robertson County, Wilson County, the Cumberland Plateau, Christian/Todd/Trigg Counties, Clarksville/Montgomery County, the Goodlettsville area and Tullahoma.
6. Community initiatives
In addition to these philanthropic endeavors, CFMT has also developed special community initiatives to promote the welfare and development of Middle Tennessee. These initiatives seek to address community needs that extend beyond the foundation’s other programs, and to find innovative solutions to specific issues that arise. Examples include the Sports Fund, the Tomorrow Fund and the Fund for Strategic Opportunities.
To learn more about this funder, check out IP’s full profile of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in our Southeast Funding Guide.