About East Tennessee Foundation
East Tennessee Foundation (ETF) is a public charity and community foundation created by and for the people of East Tennessee, where many donors join together to make the region they love a better place, today and for future generations. ETF, like other community foundations, operates as a collection of hundreds of distinct charitable funds and supporting foundations established by individuals, families, businesses, and other nonprofits. Through our work a wide variety of philanthropic objectives are achieved.
Our Vision
Thriving communities powered by thoughtful giving.
Our Mission
We provide philanthropic leadership inspiring donors to make lives better and communities stronger in enduring ways across generations.
We Value
TRUST - RELATIONSHIPS - DONOR INTENT - RESPECT - GENEROSITY - DIVERSITY
What We Do
ETF does three things:
- Receives contributions from donors
- Manages and invests assets
- Gives well-placed grants and scholarships
ETF’s goals are to:
- Build endowment, a permanent source of philanthropic funding for the East Tennessee region
- Help donors plan and carry out their charitable giving in their communities, the region, and across the country
- Work in partnership with fundholders, nonprofits, other foundations, and local governments, bringing a consistent voice of leadership to critical issues affecting the region
We Measure Success Through Our
REPUTATION with donors, advisors, and the public
IMPACT in communities
SERVICE to donors, grantees, and communities
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: growth and efficiency
ETF Quick Facts
- Established in 1986 through a merger of two predecessor organizations with $625,000 in assets
- Serves 25 East Tennessee counties
- Comprised of 474 philanthropic funds and 9 supporting organizations with over $491 million in assets - year-end 2019
- ETF holds 162 donor advised funds
- ETF holds 175 designated endowments benefiting 172 nonprofit organizations, primarily in our region
- Awarded 208 scholarships to 203 students attending 44 different colleges/universities totaling a commitment of $1.3 million in 2019
- Awarded over $20 million in 2019 to nearly 1,200 nonprofit organizations in East Tennessee and across the country
- Has granted over $330 million since its inception
- Governed by a 43-member Board of Directors including lifetime members
- Is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt publicly supported organization; contributions are fully deductible to the extent permitted by law
- Office hours: weekdays 9:00am to 5:00pm EST