What The Lyndhurst Foundation does

The Lyndhurst Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, founded in 1938 and operating with 11–50 employees. It invests in projects that contribute to the greater Chattanooga region, defined as a tri-state, sixteen-county area spanning southeast Tennessee, northeast Alabama, and northwest Georgia, including portions of the Lower Tennessee River and Upper Coosa River watersheds. The foundation concentrates its grantmaking across four vertical program areas: Access & Equity, Arts & Culture, Conservation/Parks/Recreation, and Urban Design & Development.

The foundation does not produce technology products; its core "products" are four grant programs that fund nonprofit grantees through an invitation-only process. Staff cultivate long-term relationships with regional organizations, and from time to time the foundation issues requests for proposals for special initiatives. Its technology footprint is limited to a bilingual (English/Spanish) Squarespace-based website used primarily for prospect communication and financial disclosure, with no APIs, integrations, or proprietary systems.

The foundation's revenue model is philanthropy-based: it derives income from its $167.5M asset base (2025) and deploys capital as charitable expenditures ($6.6M in 2025) and operating expenditures ($2.0M in 2025). Grantees are diverse — including ArtsBuild, Bike Chattanooga, Clinica Medicos, Construction Career Center, A Step Ahead Chattanooga, Chattanooga Design Studio, River City Company, and others — and receive capital and operational support across all four program verticals.

Name

The Lyndhurst Foundation

Legal name

The Lyndhurst Foundation

Website

https://lyndhurstfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Lyndhurst Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation, founded in 1938 and based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that awards grants to nonprofit organizations across four program areas — Access & Equity, Arts & Culture, Conservation/Parks/Recreation, and Urban Design & Development — within a tri-state, sixteen-county region spanning southeast Tennessee, northeast Alabama, and northwest Georgia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Community development grants
• Nonprofit foundation funding
• Arts culture grants
• Conservation grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Foundation Philanthropy: Lyndhurst Foundation operates as a charitable foundation that awards grants to nonprofit organizations. Revenue is generated from investment assets rather than product/service sales. The foundation's financial data shows charitable expenditures of $6,597,268.91 in 2025 and $7,001,712.30 in 2024, representing grant distributions to supported organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Lyndhurst Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that awards grants to nonprofit organizations working in a tri-state, sixteen-county region encompassing Chattanooga and surrounding areas of southeast Tennessee, northeast Alabama, and northwest Georgia. Grantmaking is organized across four program areas: Access & Equity, Arts and Culture, Conservation/Parks & Recreation, and Urban Design & Development. Grants are made by invitation through long-term staff relationship cultivation rather than through an open application process.

Product overview

The Lyndhurst Foundation is a charitable grantmaking organization that operates as a single unified philanthropic entity, not a technology platform. The foundation manages four distinct grant programs: Access and Equity Grants, Arts and Culture Grants, Conservation Parks and Recreation Grants, and Urban Design and Development Grants. These programs are funded through a grant application process where staff cultivate long-term relationships with nonprofit organizations within the foundation's geographic focus area (tri-state, sixteen-county region around Chattanooga, Tennessee). The foundation does not offer software products, APIs, or technology-based services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Access & Equity Grants A grant program focused on providing access to resources, services, experiences, and amenities for communities affected by systemic inequities, with priorities in housing, economic mobility, health, education, and transit. Open to invited nonprofit organizations in the tri-state, sixteen-county Chattanooga region.
• Arts and Culture Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• $6,597,268.91 in charitable expenditures supporting regional nonprofits in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Thrive Regional PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMutual partnership with shared interest in responsible regional growth, natural resource conservation, community resiliency, and collaborative approaches to problem solving. The geography mirrors that of Thrive, reflecting alignment in mission and approach.
• ArtsBuildcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtsBuild supports creative future of Chattanooga by investing in arts organizations, programs, projects, education, and advocacy. Lyndhurst supports this partnership to build community through the arts and the Artists Work Grants program.
• Arts-Based Collaborative at UTC (ABC at UTC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliate of Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts. Teaching artists provide professional learning in arts integration to early childhood educators through classroom residencies. Program expanded beyond Hamilton County to rural schools.
• Chattanooga Neighborhood Arts Partnership (CNAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUses arts to improve quality of life for ALL residents of Chattanooga and Hamilton County one neighborhood at a time. Provides opportunities for artists, neighborhood associations, and other stakeholders to connect through programs like CFBA&I Juneteenth celebration.
• A Step Ahead ChattanoogacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMission to eliminate barriers to contraception through education, outreach, and access for 18-county tri-state service area. Lyndhurst has provided continuous support since ASAC's founding in 2013.
• Clinica MedicosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAddresses complex healthcare challenges especially for marginalized Latino community in Chattanooga. Lyndhurst helped with obstetrics fellowship program and general operational support to reduce cost of medical services.
• Construction Career CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovative vocational education model for construction trades with training, career guidance, and industry resources under one roof. Lyndhurst provided capital funding for new building construction and three years of operational support.
• Bike ChattanoogacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBike transit system with 42 stations and 400 bicycles offering fun, affordable, healthy, and ecological alternative for navigating the city. Lyndhurst has supported the system since its inception.
• Southeastern Cave ConservancyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld's largest land conservancy dedicated solely to cave conservation. Protects caves providing habitat for threatened and endangered species and repositories for ancient fossils, art, and artifacts in the tri-state karst region.
• Mountain Goat Trail AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking to re-purpose 40-mile inactive rail line into multi-purpose trail system connecting small towns at base and crest of Monteagle Mountain with University of the South at Sewanee and South Cumberland State Park.
• Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports design and development of mixed-income, affordable Missing Middle Housing in historical ring neighborhoods surrounding downtown Chattanooga. CNE drives homeownership, financial well-being, and neighborhood livability through variety of programs.
• River City CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDedicated to creating world-class downtown for all with experiences and places that foster vibrant and thriving center. Developed plan for public spaces including Walnut Plaza design on downtown side of Walnut Street Bridge.
• Chattanooga Design StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPromotes exceptional urban design to improve quality of life for all Chattanoogans. Partners with City of Chattanooga, nonprofits, public stakeholders, and private developers. Developed award-winning Westside Evolves Plan.
• Chattanooga Housing AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Chattanooga Design Studio and select consultants to develop award-winning Westside Evolves Plan providing community-driven vision for future of Westside neighborhood.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation: Tennessee-based corporate foundation supporting health, education, and community programs in the state. Comparable as a regionally headquartered grantmaker operating across overlapping geographies and access/equity issues.
• Thrive Regional Partnership: Regional collaborative whose 16-county geography mirrors Lyndhurst's footprint. Comparable as a coordinating entity in the same Chattanooga region focused on responsible growth, conservation, and community resiliency.

Broad incumbents

• Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation: Winston-Salem-based foundation focused on the rural Southeast and Appalachia. Comparable as a regional place-based grantmaker supporting equity, economic opportunity, and community vitality across the broader Southeast.
• The Duke Endowment: Charlotte-based major Southeast foundation supporting higher education, health care, rural churches, and child/yamily services. Comparable as a large Southeastern place-based private foundation with regional program strategy.
• Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation: North Carolina-based private foundation funding community, equity, and environment. Comparable as a Southeastern U.S. private grantmaker with similar mission emphasis on inclusive, sustainable communities.
• Foundation for the Mid South: Regional foundation focused on Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and parts of Tennessee. Comparable as a multi-state foundation addressing equity, economic opportunity, and community development in the same broader regional landscape.

Direct peers

• The Maclellan Foundation: Chattanooga-based family foundation focused on faith, leadership, and regional community transformation. Directly comparable as a Chattanooga private foundation supporting community well-being and place-based initiatives.
• Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga: Community foundation serving the same tri-state Chattanooga region. Comparable as a locally focused grantmaking entity with overlapping beneficiary geography and mission.
• Benwood Foundation: Chattanooga-based private foundation funding community development, arts, education, and environment. Directly comparable as a fellow regional private foundation operating in the same geography with similar program areas.

Others

• Appalachian Regional Commission: Federal-state partnership investing in economic development across Appalachia, including portions of the Chattanooga region. Comparable as a regional development funder whose geography overlaps Lyndhurst's tri-state footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lyndhurst-foundation-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about The Lyndhurst Foundation