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The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis seeks to 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.
Some of the initiatives supported by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis include those below.
Strengthening Communities
This program establishes a national model for strengthening communities by pairing university faculty with community organizations to target the needs of specific neighborhoods.
The Strengthening Communities grant awards are offered in collaboration between the University of Memphis, the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, the United Way of the Mid-South and the University of Memphis Research Foundation. The Program is managed and administered by the School for Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Memphis.
Please visit the Strengthening Communities website for more infomation.
Greening Greater Memphis
In February 2007, a group of concerned citizens calling themselves Greening Greater Memphis convened more than 1,000 individuals at the Memphis Botanic Garden to demonstrate support for a “green” agenda for Memphis. The attendance and support exceeded the expectations of the organizers.
Following a second meeting some months later, the organizers of Greening Greater Memphis decided to spend time developing a more permanent structure for bringing like-minded “green” organizations together for a common cause.
The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis and the Hyde Family Foundations agreed to serve as conveners for a small steering group to explore organizational options for Greening Greater Memphis.
Through Greening Greater Memphis, the grassroots efforts of individuals, families and partnering organizations, with support from business and government, will result in a more coordinated approach to advancing green and sustainable efforts throughout the community. Greening Greater Memphis will become the clearinghouse for green and sustainable efforts communitywide – serving as convener, coordinator and advocate.
The Greening Greater Memphis board of directors is in place and the group's vision is for residents of Greater Memphis to benefit from improved quality of life with equal access to an integrated network of diverse recreational and open space opportunities, including parks, trails, greenways and blueways.
Greater Memphis Neighborhoods
In 2007, the Assisi Foundation of Memphis, the City of Memphis and the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis began a series of conversations with the local community development corporation (CDC) industry to determine their perceptions of industry opportunities and needs. A diverse group of community development corporations from throughout the city participated in interviews and group discussions, as did banks and public agencies that fund and support these types of organizations.
At the end of this process, there was consensus among all stakeholders that a significant reshaping of the local neighborhood redevelopment industry must be accomplished in order to effectively accomplish community-wide revitalization. The group decided that the best course of action was to develop a comprehensive public/private community plan to support neighborhood redevelopment.
The design firm EDAW has been engaged and is currently working with the steering committee to draft a comprehensive plan for community development. The plan will be completed by the end of the year.
Please visit the Greater Memphis Neighborhoods web site to learn more.
River Partnership of Community Foundations
In 2005, the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities launched the River Partnership of Community Foundations, a consortium of community foundations—including the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis—on the Mississippi and its tributaries who share an interest in how the river contributes to the economic, cultural, and environmental vitality of their communities.
The River Partnership’s mission is to bolster the capacity and impact of community foundations to improve the environmental, economic, and cultural vitality of the communities along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
Currently, partner foundations are working to identify how their local assets—riverfronts, transportation systems, neighborhood organizations, and philanthropic and private investors —interact with one another and with the river. In the coming years, each foundation will develop long-term strategies that leverage those assets to help improve the economic, environmental, and cultural vitality of local communities while building foundations’ internal capacity to be civic leaders in their communities.
To date, the Partnership has been funded by the McKnight Foundation, the New York Community Trust, and participating community foundations. But founding funders see the Partnership as an opportunity to draw other resources to the region. “After years of pollution, construction, and a lot of neglect, national foundations are now realizing that the Mississippi River is a vital resource,” says Jasmine Thomas, a program officer with the New York Community Trust.
Gretchen Bonfert, program director for the environment at the McKnight Foundation, adds, “We’ve been pleased to be involved with the River Partnership of Community Foundations since its inception, given our focus along the entire length of the river.” She continues, “River communities are pivotal in our efforts to strengthen advocacy, improve water quality, and conserve lands that benefit the river. Individuals and communities taking action that benefit those living downstream is the key.”
Rather than offer easy answers, the River Partnership hopes to give partner foundations the resources they need to lead the way forward in their communities. “After years of turning their backs to the river, communities are starting to embrace the river as an asset, a feature that makes their communities unique,” says Ben Starrett, the Funders’ Network’s executive director. “Five years from now, partner communities will be able to point to improvements in their communities along the river as the fruits of this effort.”
In October, 2008, $10,000 was received from the River Partnership of Community Foundations and in conjunction with the Hyde Family Foundations granted to the Wolf River Conservancy for assistance in contracting an experienced professional to plan, design and implement a greenway and trail along the Wolf River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, in the City of Memphis.
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