Community Foundation of Greater Memphis

The Community
Foundation’s primary goal is support the charitable work of our donors. The
primary measure of the foundation’s impact, then, is the collective grant
making made by our donors in the community. The foundation seeks to support
this work and to educate our donors and the community at large about the needs
faced by our community and the agencies that are seeking to address these
issues.The mission of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis is to strengthen our community through philanthropy. To accomplish this mission, the Community Foundation will: • Develop and effectively manage charitable funds and endowments, offering the highest levels of service and expertise to individuals, families and institutional donors and their successors; • Actively address the needs of the community by examining community issues, securing and distributing resources, advocating when appropriate, and convening meetings and conversations which encourage people to respond; • Encourage philanthropy and the growth of charitable resources among individuals, families, businesses and community institutions.

Expanding our Donor BaseSpread the word about the financial advantages that are available and the enhanced impact that prospective donors can have on our community by opening and using a fund at the Community Foundation. Actively invite everyone who is charitably inclined to take advantage of the services that we provide. In support of that effort, we will also need to do a better job of telling our story through all of the channels that are available to us.Create a new, active donor development function: Directly solicit prospective donors for donor-advised and other types of funds; Consider donor solicitation events in group settings, such as workplaces or social organizations; Market to both new and existing donorsContinue concentrated, indirect marketing to professional advisors (lunch & learn sessions, one-on-one lunches, and sponsorship of professional advisor continuing educational events)Enhance the Foundation’s visibility in the community through: Advertising (WKNO, Memphis Business Journal, advertising in arts programs, Daily News, etc.); CFGM media (electronic media, website, social media, publications)Seek enhanced press coverageEducation and EnrichmentBuild a robust platform for donor education, with timely and informative sessions on community needs and area nonprofits, keynoted by experts in their respective fields. Build a comprehensive community information system that will provide donors and the broader community with current information on key community indicators, research on community issues, a comprehensive database of nonprofits serving the community, and a giving portal that allows donors to make gifts to their favorite causes and agencies.Establish a robust calendar of donor education sessions – six in FY 2015, building to one a monthDevelop and implement a comprehensive community information system, based on the Memphis and Shelby County’s Livability Dashboard and GuideStar’s Donor EdgeExecutionContinue to provide the highest levels of customer service, efficient transaction processing, timely reporting, and superior financial products. Enhance then Foundation’s operating systems to provide for even better donor reporting and higher asset and transaction levels.Expertly manage donor transactions (gifts, grants, scholarship funds, investments, etc.)Develop and implement conversion of internal operating systems to iPhiEnhance donor reportingEncourage donors to take advantage of the Foundation’s educational offeringsEngaged grant makingContinue to offer and enhance collective grant making options, to provide donors opportunities to come together to increase their impact and to get more involved collective experiencesContinue to grow membership in GiVE 365 and enhance grant and participatory experiencesRefine Community Partnership Fund grant programs, building a track record in collective community impactExamine the creation of new field of interest funds to address specific needs or donor interests in the community

The work of the Community Foundation is supported and sustained by • Significant asset size which allows the foundation to generate sufficient revenues internally without the need to seek additional funding from the community • Experienced staff experienced with meeting the needs of donors, applying appropriate estate planning tools, providing competitive investment options, and understanding and communicating the needs of the community • Strong relationships and active partnerships with government, the nonprofit community, and other funders

The primary measures of the Foundation’s impact are: total grants ($178 million in FY 18), number of funds (900+ in FY 18), and assets under management ($469 million in FY 18). The Community Foundation has identified two major sources of new funds – word-of-mouth from donor peers and referral from trusted professional advisors. We have placed a renewed emphasis on active development efforts with a dedicated staff member recruiting new donors to the Foundation. FY 18 saw 72 new funds opened with aggregate balances of $29.3 million. We continue to communicate to professional advisors –estate planning attorneys, financial advisors and accountants – how we can benefit their clients. For FY 18, our donors recommended 7,026 grants to 1,882 different agencies. Our staff works diligently to ensure that these grants are processed quickly and correctly. By investing with us, nonprofit agencies are able to enjoy competitive returns, highly diversified investments – far more diversified than they could achieve by investing on their own, and below-market fees. In FY 18, we opened six new nonprofit funds totaling $5 million. We continue to explore the possibilities for impact of the Community Partnership Fund, our discretionary grant fund. In FY 18, the Community Partnership Fund distributed $974,484 to area nonprofits through 37 grants. GiVE 365 continues to grow in momentum, cohesion, and impact. The 2018 theme the membership selected was “Reconnecting Memphis: programs that bridge and celebrate our communities.” The members funded eight agencies, with grants totaling $57,000.