What Assisi Foundation of Memphis does

The Assisi Foundation of Memphis, Inc. is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation established in 1994 from the sale of St. Francis Hospital, operating as a place-based, health-legacy philanthropy headquartered at 515 Erin Drive, Memphis, TN 38117. It serves nonprofit organizations working to improve Memphis and the Mid-South through grantmaking, capacity-building education, and community convening across five focus areas: Health & Human Services, Education & Lifelong Learning, Social Justice & Ethics, Cultural Enrichment & The Arts, and Community Enhancement & Capacity Building. Its geographic service area spans Shelby, Fayette, and Tipton Counties in Tennessee; Crittenden County in Arkansas; and DeSoto County in Mississippi.

The foundation's core products are its grantmaking services and a suite of educational programs — Before You Ask (a 12-session nonprofit fundamentals series), Transition to Success (poverty-narrative workshops and Bridges Out of Poverty certification), Ethics & Moral Courage (based on Rushworth Kidder's work and the Institute for Global Ethics), and Before You Serve (quarterly board governance lunch-and-learns). It also operates a Meeting Room Reservations facility service offering three spaces to registered 501(c)(3) organizations and an annual Holiday Open House. Underlying technology is minimal: a Salesforce-based Grantee Portal (assisifoundation.my.site.com) handles application submission, reporting, renewal applications, and conditional pledge management through a self-serve flow with quarterly deadlines aligned to focus areas. There is no proprietary technology, no AI capability disclosed, no patents, and no integrations beyond the portal and a WordPress website.

The foundation's business model is endowment-funded philanthropy rather than product or service revenue. Capital is generated from returns on the endowment created at the 1994 St. Francis Hospital sale, with over $300 million in cumulative grants awarded since founding. Distribution is conducted through an online application portal with quarterly cycles (arts/culture in Q1, education in Q2, digital news in Q3, general in Q4) targeting SMB nonprofits in the Greater Memphis area. The organization is led by Executive Director Dr. Jan Young and Chairman Harry Goldsmith, supported by a 23-member Board of Directors and approximately 7 staff. Go-to-market is community-led: the foundation proactively convenes cross-sector stakeholders and pairs grantmaking with educational programming rather than relying on sales or marketing motions.

Name

Assisi Foundation of Memphis

Legal name

The Assisi Foundation of Memphis, Inc.

Website

https://assisifoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Assisi Foundation of Memphis is a 501(c)(3) place-based health legacy foundation established in 1994 from the St. Francis Hospital sale. It awards grants and delivers educational programs to nonprofit organizations serving Memphis and the Mid-South across five focus areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Grantmaking Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN), Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Nonprofit foundation
• Community grant funding
• Health legacy philanthropy
• Nonprofit capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Irving

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Endowment: The foundation was established from the 1994 sale of St. Francis Hospital and operates as a health legacy, place-based foundation. Revenue is derived from endowment/investment returns which are then distributed as grants to nonprofit organizations serving the Greater Memphis area.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Assisi Foundation of Memphis is a place-based health legacy foundation that awards grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve Memphis and the Mid-South. Grants are distributed across five focus areas — Health & Human Services, Education & Lifelong Learning, Social Justice & Ethics, Cultural Enrichment & The Arts, and Community Enhancement & Capacity Building — through a quarterly application cycle administered via an online grant portal. Beyond funding, the Foundation operates community educational programs and provides meeting room facilities to registered nonprofit organizations.

Product overview

The Assisi Foundation of Memphis operates as a place-based philanthropic foundation serving nonprofit organizations in the Greater Memphis area. The organization offers grantmaking services across five focus areas, supplemented by a Grantee Portal for award management and reporting. Beyond funding, it provides educational programs (Before You Ask, Transition to Success, Ethics & Moral Courage, Before You Serve), meeting room facilities for nonprofits, and community events such as the annual Holiday Open House. These services work together to support the Foundation's mission of effective philanthropy and community transformation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grantmaking Services Philanthropic grantmaking across five focus areas — Health & Human Services, Education & Lifelong Learning, Social Justice & Ethics, Cultural Enrichment & The Arts, and Community Enhancement & Capacity Building — for nonprofit organizations in the Greater Memphis area (Shelby, Fayette, Tipton Counties TN; Crittenden County AR; DeSoto County MS). Applications are submitted via the online grant portal on a quarterly cycle tied to focus area.
• Grantee Portal Online portal for active grantees of the Foundation to submit reporting forms, access renewal applications, manage challenge and conditional pledge requirements, and fulfill grant agreement obligations.
• Meeting Room Reservations Meeting room rental service for registered nonprofit organizations, offering three spaces: Boardroom (seats up to 24), Library (seats up to 16 with 60-inch TV), and Training Room (seats up to 16 with drop-down projection). Available Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for business-meeting purposes only.
• Before You Ask Series 12-session educational series covering nonprofit fundamentals including mission definition, community needs assessment, budgeting, board development, record keeping, technology, evaluation, communication, and business ethics. Offered at no cost to select organizations.
• Transition to Success Community initiative addressing poverty narratives through workshops, certification training for Bridges Out of Poverty and Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin'-By World, and cross-sector community forums.
• Ethics & Moral Courage Program promoting ethical awareness based on the work of Rushworth Kidder and the Institute for Global Ethics, through workshops and community conversations.
• Before You Serve Quarterly lunch-and-learn sessions for nonprofit board members focused on effective governance and board leadership.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $300 million awarded to nonprofits since founding

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Kresge Foundation: National foundation working across health, education, environment, and community development with a focus on place-based, equitable grantmaking. Comparable multi-issue, place-based philanthropy at greater scale.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: National health-focused philanthropic foundation with grants spanning health systems, social determinants, and community well-being. Relevant broad incumbent reflecting Assisi's health legacy orientation at much greater scale.

Direct peers

• Plough Foundation: Memphis-area private foundation supporting education, workforce, and community transformation initiatives. Comparable in regional scope and social-justice-adjacent programmatic focus.
• The Healing Trust: Nashville-based health legacy foundation created from the sale of a hospital system. Highly comparable health legacy origin and mission focus on community health and well-being.
• Community Foundation of Greater Memphis: Direct Memphis-based community foundation making grants across similar focus areas in the same geographic footprint. Most direct comparable in mission, scale, and service territory as Assisi.
• The Patterson Foundation: Place-based community foundation focused on regional transformation through partnerships and capacity-building rather than direct services. Comparable operating philosophy emphasizing root-cause community change.
• Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust: Health legacy foundation in North Carolina that funds health, education, and community well-being. Strong comparable as a place-based foundation with a hospital-asset origin.
• Hyde Family Foundations: Memphis-based private foundation funding education, health, and community development in the Mid-South. Overlaps directly with Assisi's geographic service area and core focus areas.

Regional players

• St. Louis Community Foundation: Mid-South-adjacent regional community foundation providing similar grantmaking, scholarship, and donor-advised fund services. Comparable community foundation model in a neighboring region.

Others

• Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation: Memphis-based health system foundation that funds regional health and community benefit initiatives. Adjacent peer reflecting the health-system-to-foundation pipeline that originally created Assisi.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/assisi-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles29 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Assisi Foundation of Memphis