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The Healing Trust
The Healing Trust was established in 2002 with the proceeds from the sale of Baptist Hospital. Kristen Keely-Dinger has served as its President and CEO since...
The Healing Trust
The Healing Trust was established in 2002 with the proceeds from the sale of Baptist Hospital. Kristen Keely-Dinger has served as its President and CEO since inception, guiding the conversion of a healthcare asset into a private grant-making foundation. Its endowment is permanently dedicated to addressing health disparities and systemic inequities within Middle Tennessee, a geographic boundary it does not cross. The foundation's strategy blends traditional grant-making with impact-first investments. It makes grants to nonprofits in areas such as racial equity, LGBTQ advocacy, and community health. Beyond grants, it participates in direct place-based investments, most notably as an investor in the Nashville Catalyst Fund alongside Studio Bank. The fund is a collaborative vehicle designed to preserve affordable housing and support community-serving real estate in Nashville. Through its events, the Trust also hosts leadership retreats and programs at its own commercial property, The Healing Trust Headquarters & Retreat Center on Sidco Drive. The Healing Trust operates from a single headquarters in Nashville, maintaining a lean structure with Keely-Dinger as its most visible principal. She also serves on the Founders' Advisory Board of Studio Bank and the board of the Rotary Club of Nashville. The Trust is an active member of several philanthropic networks, including The Funders Network, where it participates in the PLACES fellowship, and Philanthropy Southeast. In May 2024, the foundation's work continued through its regular grant cycles and community partnerships, including ongoing collaboration with the Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund on equity initiatives. The Trust's structural posture is unusual in its geographic rigidity. It will not fund programs, however aligned, outside of Middle Tennessee. This anchors its entire impact thesis — donor intent, risk concentration, and social return — within a single city, treating Nashville not as a headquarters city but as the entire investable universe.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
2002
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Nashville
Corporate office
Nashville, TN, United States
Principals
Kristen Keely-Dinger
President & CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How is The Healing Trust's grant-making strategy structured?
The Trust is exclusively a place-based funder. Its mission is to advance racial equity and eliminate health disparities in Middle Tennessee, and it does not award grants outside that geographic area. It supports nonprofits through direct grants, leadership retreats, and partnership programs. Priority areas include racial equity, LGBTQ advocacy, and community health.
What is the relationship between The Healing Trust and the Nashville Catalyst Fund?
The Healing Trust is a direct investor in the Nashville Catalyst Fund, a collaborative investment vehicle that seeks to preserve affordable housing and community-serving real estate in Nashville. It partners in the fund alongside other regional institutions, including Studio Bank. This represents the Trust's catalytic capital deployment, distinct from its traditional grant-making.
Who makes the final investment and grant-making decisions?
Kristen Keely-Dinger, as the founding President and CEO, is the central decision-maker for the foundation. She has led the Trust since its founding in 2002. She also represents the Trust externally through board seats, including the Rotary Club of Nashville and the Founders' Advisory Board of Studio Bank.
Where did The Healing Trust's capital originate?
The endowment was created from the proceeds of the sale of Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. This conversion of a healthcare operating asset into a charitable foundation in 2002 permanently tied its capital to the region. The wealth origin industry is therefore healthcare.
Does The Healing Trust make fund commitments or only direct investments and grants?
The Trust makes both grants to nonprofit entities and direct investments in place-based funds. Its primary direct investment vehicle is the Nashville Catalyst Fund. There is no public record of it making traditional fund commitments as a limited partner in commingled private equity or venture capital funds; its structure favors direct, locally controlled capital deployment.
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