Opportunity Endowment Fund

General Description

Through investing in the effectiveness and future sustainability of East Tennessee’s nonprofit community, this fund supports the capacity building of charitable organizations in ETF’s 25-county service area and their ability to collectively address our community’s needs.

Application Process

The Opportunity Endowment Fund will award new grants in 2026.

The application opens August 17, 2026.
The application closes September 18, 2026 at 5:00p.m. Eastern.

Grant Amounts and Terms

Organizations can apply for an amount up to $25,000.

Grant terms will be established with recipient organizations as part of the award process, not to exceed one year in length. Grants will be awarded in December 2026.

Areas of Focus

Grants awarded from these funds are to help organizations identify collaborative solutions and utilize partnerships to improve operational, financial, data/information, and programmatic systems so that together, they have a cohesive impact on the community. The Foundation is prioritizing projects and programs which support the environment, natural resources, and conservation efforts in East Tennessee.

Requests should indicate if there are matching funds to support the proposed project. The East Tennessee Foundation values the spirit and potential for collective, community-level impact of organizations who work together and can leverage funds to secure other support, and ETF believes in organizations’ abilities to work together to address shared problems faced by our communities. The Foundation also appreciates projects with outcomes that can be shared across organizations’ networks and/or easily duplicated among similar charitable organizations.

Examples of this work include but are not limited to projects that:

Bring organizations together to improve efficiencies and/or sustainability
Enhance and/or streamline evaluation/outcome, human resources, operational, or logistics systems
Create long-term financial systems and plans
Develop improved donor engagement and education strategies
Build effective leadership and boards of directors
Assess community needs and promote data sharing
Grow professional development and continuing education opportunities for the field
Convene peers and subject matter experts
Increase access to quality information technology and infrastructure
Help organizations diversify revenue streams

Unrestricted

Who May Apply

Click here for General Eligibility and Funding Criteria.
Although proposals must directly support charitable organizations’ work in ETF’s 25-county service area, organizations do not have to be physically be located in ETF’s service area in order to be eligible to apply, provided that your proposal directly serves communities located in one or more of the 25 counties.

How to Apply

Additional Information

Please direct your questions to a member of East Tennessee Foundation’s Grantmaking Team:
Ashley Siferd Butler, Director of Competitive Grants
Brooke Anguiano, Assistant Director of Grantmaking & Operations
Email: gr*********@*tf.org
Telephone: (865) 524-1223 ext. 144 or toll-free (877) 524-1223 ext. 144