CFMT Deploys Initial Grants to 27 Nonprofits For Tornado Relief

Donors Pledge More Than $6.5 Million for Tornado Recovery

Nashville, Tenn. — The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee announced that 18,000 plus donors have pledged more than $6.5 million to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund, with initial grants going to 27 area organizations and nonprofits throughout affected communities.

The Fund was established just hours after deadly tornadoes ripped through Nashville and Middle Tennessee, leaving at least two dozen dead and hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed or damaged.

Contributions to the Fund range from, a few dollars to $1 million each by singer Taylor Swift and The Titans Foundation and controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk.

On Monday, The Community Foundation deployed its initial grants from the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund to nonprofits, including organizations serving Davidson, Wilson and Putnam counties, among the most affected by the tornadoes. Additional grants have been deployed from existing charitable funds at the Foundation.


ORGANIZATION
Backfield in Motion
Community Resource Center
Cumberland Mental Health Services
Donelson-Hermitage Family YMCA
The Equity Alliance
Family & Children’s Service
Gideon’s Army
Hands On Nashville, Inc.
Holly Street Daycare
Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship
Jefferson Street United Merchants Partnership Inc (J.U.M.P.)
Lee Chapel AME Church
Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands
Martha O’Bryan Center
NAACP Nashville
Nashville Food Project
Neighborhood Health Services
Northwest Family YMCA
Project Connect Nashville
Rebuilding Together Nashville
Second Harvest Food Bank
St. Ann’s Episcopal Church
Team Rubicon
Tennessee State University (Agricultural Department)
Urban League of Middle Tennessee
Westminster Home Connection
World Central Kitchen Inc.

Grants from the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund total $810,000. Total giving was $6,534,028 in pledges as of Monday afternoon.

The Community Foundation emphasizes that this is the first set of grants. There are many more to come as pledged commitments come to The Foundation as cash, allowing us to review and approve grants for other organizations that assist those who have been impacted by the tornadoes.

Application for nonprofits to apply for funding via the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund is scheduled to be available online by the end of the week.

Members of the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund advisory committee, which is currently being assembled, include city and civic leaders from communities throughout Nashville and areas of Middle Tennessee affected by the tornadoes. Initial grantmaking has included input from both committee and The Community Foundation board members.

Among the committee members are: Nashville Mayor Karl Dean; The Rev. Chris Jackson of Pleasant Green Baptist Church and the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship; Alan Young, owner of Armour Industries and The Community Foundation board representative; and Brenda Haywood, Deputy Mayor of Community Engagement of the Metro Nashville Mayor’s Office.

Donations to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund are fully tax-deductible. During times of disaster response, The Community Foundation donates its time and resources and no administrative fees are deducted from donations to the Fund. Proceeds go to nonprofits providing for the short-term and long-term needs of victims of the tornadoes and their aftermath. To give to the Fund, go to www.cfmt.org.

To learn more at CFMT’s Tornado Response visit www.tornadoresponse.com.


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. For more information, call 615-321-4939 or visit www.cfmt.org.