FOWLER OPERATING ENDOWMENT

Sam Fowler, a deceased Honorary Lifetime Member of ETF's Board of Directors, helped establish the Knox County Foundation in 1956. In 1969 that foundation became the Community Improvement Foundation of East Tennessee, a predecessor of East Tennessee Foundation. To honor his grandparents, Sam and his wife, Jo Ann, joined with Sam's father in making a combined gift that gave birth to the Fowler Operating Endowment, helping ensure the success of ETF.

A healthy operating endowment allows an organization to focus its attention and resources on accomplishing its mission and not on raising money to meet its annual budget. Gifts to the Fowler Operating Endowment sustain the ongoing activities of East Tennessee Foundation, and provide a measure of stability in meeting our continuing revenue needs.