Our History

In a little over ten years, South Cumberland Community Fund has established itself as an anchor philanthropic 501(c)(3) institution on the Cumberland Plateau. Founded by a visionary group of community leaders, philanthropists, and energetic people who saw the need for a community fund in the tri-county area of the South Cumberland Plateau, the Community Fund has made over $1.7 million in grants to local organizations and has invested well over $750,000 in additional community convenings, placemaking projects, and professional development for the area’s nonprofits. 

 

The result? Where a decade ago the region enjoyed the support of a patchwork of services, today there is a thriving community of nonprofits, governmental units, and schools that are working together to bring hope and prosperity to the area. South Cumberland Community Fund provides financial support through its connections to philanthropic resources on and off the Plateau and also provides leadership, using the power of its grants to encourage collaboration that can lead to transformative impact.  

 

Beginning with a spring grants round in 2012, the community fund’s grantmaking has expanded to a summer collaborative grant round, and the Philanthropy Internship Program grant round, an innovative partnership with the University of the South which combines educating college students in philanthropic principles and goals with change making on the Plateau. 

 

In 2014, again in collaboration with the University of the South, SCCF began to co-host the South Cumberland Plateau (SCP) AmeriCorps VISTA Project, bringing as many as 16 VISTA members to the Mountain to serve at nonprofit sites across the Plateau. Today, the community fund is co-hosting a new AmeriCorps volunteer program, providing funding for local organizations’ host fees and administrative support. 

 

SCCF’s commitment to partnering with local community organizations and leaders is moving the needle in terms of health, education, and community/economic development outcomes on the South Cumberland Plateau.