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Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga
Founded in 1963, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga channels pooled, donor-advised, and planned-giving assets toward regional priorities under...
Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga
Founded in 1963, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga channels pooled, donor-advised, and planned-giving assets toward regional priorities under President and CEO Maeghan Jones. Rather than distributing grants in isolation, the foundation positions itself as a platform where individual, family, and corporate donors co-invest alongside municipal entities to address structural challenges, from workforce housing to consumer debt. Investment activity spans direct impact-first deployment and traditional charitable granting. The foundation maintains an Impact Investment Committee chaired by Barry Large, a partner at Dynamo Accelerator, and underwrites vehicles including the Accelerator Loan Program — administered by the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union — and an Affordable Housing Fund. A $5M line of credit secured in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supports affordable-housing development across Chattanooga. The foundation also stewards specialized funds including the Houston Museum Legacy Fund and The Howard Fund, a supporting organization founded by Joseph H. Davenport III. Though the foundation’s staff count is not publicly disclosed, its governance connects city agencies, national philanthropy, and local business. The board is chaired by Dr. Ruth Liu. Key partners include the City of Chattanooga on the Eviction Prevention Initiative and public art installations, and The Pew Charitable Trusts on consumer-debt research. Maeghan Jones serves on the board of CEONet, a national network of community-foundation CEOs, and the foundation is an accredited member of the Council on Foundations and a member of the Community Foundation Opportunity Network. The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga’s structural differentiator is its operation as a civic balance sheet — interleaving donor-advised funds, a loan-loss-absorbing impact-investment program with a credit union, and municipal co-delivery contracts. This hybrid architecture allows the foundation to act on root causes with more flexible capital than a grant-only shop and tighter local alignment than a national intermediary.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1963
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Chattanooga
Corporate office
1400 Williams Street, Chattanooga, TN 37408, United States
Principals
Maeghan Jones
President and CEO
Dr. Ruth Liu
Board Chair
Barry Large
Chair of the Impact Investment Committee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does the foundation bridge traditional grantmaking with impact investing?
The foundation operates a dual-track model. Its impact-investment arm — chaired by Barry Large — deploys recoverable capital through instruments like the Accelerator Loan Program, underwritten by Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union. Grantmaking runs in parallel through donor-advised, designated, and unrestricted funds. A $5M affordable-housing line of credit secured with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation illustrates the hybrid approach.
Which public-sector partnerships shape the foundation’s work?
The City of Chattanooga is a central partner, collaborating on the Eviction Prevention Initiative and public art projects including the Ed Johnson Memorial. The foundation also co-invests with The Pew Charitable Trusts on consumer-debt and economic-mobility research, embedding its capital within city-level policy implementation rather than stand-alone programs.
What is The Howard Fund and how is it governed?
The Howard Fund is a supporting organization of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, founded by Joseph H. Davenport III. It functions as a donor-advised vehicle within the foundation’s structure, allowing the Davenport family to direct grants while benefiting from the foundation’s administrative and investment infrastructure.
Does the foundation accept non-cash assets?
Yes, the foundation accommodates complex gifts including cryptocurrency donations and contributions of land. A known land contribution of charitable holdings in Chattanooga was processed through the foundation, and it supported acquisition of a Kehinde Wiley painting for the Hunter Museum of American Art, demonstrating willingness to handle illiquid and alternative assets for donor impact.
How does the Accelerator Loan Program function?
The Accelerator Loan Program provides early-stage capital to local ventures. Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union administers the loans, while the foundation — through its impact-investment committee — provides credit support, mentorship, and pipeline access. Barry Large, a Dynamo Accelerator partner, chairs the committee overseeing the program.
Who makes investment decisions for the foundation’s endowment and impact portfolio?
President and CEO Maeghan Jones leads overall strategy, while a dedicated Impact Investment Committee chaired by Barry Large governs programmatic investment decisions. The board, chaired by Dr. Ruth Liu, provides fiduciary oversight across the foundation’s pooled assets and specialized funds.
What is the foundation’s geographic focus and can it deploy outside Chattanooga?
The foundation’s mission and grantmaking center on the greater Chattanooga region and southeastern Tennessee. While charitable holdings can accept assets from donors nationwide, programmatic deployment — from the Affordable Housing Fund to the Accelerator Loan Program — is concentrated in the foundation’s home city and surrounding communities in collaboration with local entities.
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