We have a few updates to share with you as we prepare for the opening of our grant cycles. As a reminder, we are committed to supporting nonprofits that are led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) first, followed by rural applicants, and then all other applicants that don’t fall into those two groups. Applicants that don’t fall into those two groups are prioritized based on their organizational approach to equity.
Our team has reflected on the implementation of our strategic priorities over the past year and the lessons that we’ve learned as we have shifted what and where we fund. Among many achievements that you will see in our upcoming annual report, we are proud to share that 52% of our funding went to BIPOC-led partners and 31% percent went to rural grantee partners in 2023.
Davidson County
One of the things that we realized is that while we surpassed our internal goal of supporting BIPOC-led organizations, we still have work to do to support our rural grantee partners. We received most of the applications from Davidson County and need to increase our focus on rural areas. In light of this, we will pause NEW grants in Davidson County and only open the Resilient Families and Thriving Communities grant cycles in 2024 to organizations in Montgomery, Rutherford, Bedford, and Maury Counties.
This does not mean that we won’t support Davidson County, but that most Davidson County funding will come from renewals rather than new applications. Pausing new grants in Davidson County will allow us to zoom in on our commitment to rural counties.
While our process has changed, our priorities remain the same.
Montgomery County
We are making a small change to our place-based priority, Thriving Communities. We have decided to expand the zip codes that we fund in Montgomery County to include both 37042 and 37040. This change will increase the number of organizations that are eligible to apply in that county.
Resilient Families
We have also updated our description of the types of organizations that we fund in Resilient Families to include the support of caregivers of young people ages 0-25. We understand that the health of children and young people is highly dependent on the well-being of adult caregivers. To that end, we may support organizations that provide caregiver-focused services.
Staff Support and Sabbatical Grants
In the summer, we will be temporarily pausing the receipt of Staff Support and Sabbatical applications due to planned staff absences. Approved applicants will still be able to use funds from Staff Support Grants and take Sabbatical during the pause but will need to apply earlier in the year.
Sabbatical applicants will need to apply by April 1, 2024 (regardless of intended sabbatical timeline) or wait to apply until on or after July 1, 2024.
Staff Support Grant applicants will need to apply by May 1, 2024 or wait to apply until on or after July 1, 2024.
Office Update
We’ve recently transitioned to a trial 4-day work week! This means that our office hours are now Monday-Thursday from 8:00 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. We’ll be resting and recharging on Fridays, so the office will be closed.
Emails and messages will be checked on Monday, but for urgent matters, you can reach a team member at (615) 406-9760. We’re excited about this new schedule and hope it allows us all to be even more productive and energized during our working days.
Thank you for your continued partnership. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or require further clarification.
The Healing Trust Team
