Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn.
The Holston Foundation is a Tennessee-based nonprofit (founded 1981) that serves as the planned-giving arm of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church, helping individual donors and families in East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and adjacent regions structure bequests, charitable gift annuities, and trusts to benefit Conference churches and ministries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersAlcoa, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. does
The Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Foundation is a Tennessee-domiciled nonprofit foundation headquartered at 217 S. Rankin Rd., Alcoa, TN 37701 (Federal Tax ID 62-1112387), operating as the planned-giving arm of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1981 and staffed by approximately 95 employees, the foundation serves individual donors and families across East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and portions of North Georgia and North Alabama by facilitating charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts (unitrusts and annuity trusts), bequests, IRA rollovers, and beneficiary designations to churches and ministries within the Conference. Donors receive confidential, fee-free consultations and access to educational resources on tax-advantaged legacy giving.
The foundation's technology stack is built on the Crescendo Interactive, Inc. planned-giving platform, which powers the public-facing holstonlegacy.org site. Documented platform features include the Gift Calculator (covering gift annuities, annuity trusts, deferred gift annuities, part gift/part sale, and unitrust calculations), a Free Estate Planning Guide (electronic/PDF), standardized Bequest Language templates for wills and living trusts, and GiftLaw Pro — a charitable-tax reference and IRS-format deduction calculator targeted at CPAs, attorneys, CLUs, CFPs, ChFCs, and trust officers. Distribution is multi-channel: direct donor consultations, a bi-weekly e-newsletter (The Circuit Rider Dispatch), 25+ published donor stories, and organic social on Facebook and Twitter/X.
The foundation's revenue mechanics operate through the management and investment of donor gifts for the benefit of designated churches and ministries; no fees are charged to donors for planned-giving consultations or use of the calculators, and GiftLaw Pro is provided as a free professional-advisor service. The organization is governed by its own Board of Directors under the umbrella of the Holston Conference, with no venture capital, private equity, or institutional investment involved. The portfolio is concentrated in a single denominational network within a defined multi-state geography.
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn.
- Legal name
- Holston Foundation
- Website
- https://holstonlegacy.org
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- The Holston Foundation is a Tennessee-based nonprofit (founded 1981) that serves as the planned-giving arm of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church, helping individual donors and families in East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and adjacent regions structure bequests, charitable gift annuities, and trusts to benefit Conference churches and ministries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Planned Giving Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Fundraising & Annual Giving (EDALAOAB), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)
Keywords
Where Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Alcoa
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Planned Giving Services: The foundation facilitates various planned giving vehicles including bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, beneficiary designations, and IRA rollovers. Revenue is generated through managing and investing donor gifts for the benefit of designated churches and ministries.
- Charitable Gift Annuities: Donors transfer cash or appreciated property in exchange for fixed payments for life, with payment rates based on age.
- Charitable Remainder Trusts: Donors fund unitrusts or annuity trusts that sell property tax-free and provide income for life or a term of years.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Holston Foundation facilitates planned giving vehicles for individual donors and families — including bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, beneficiary designations, and IRA rollovers — to support churches and ministries within the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. The foundation confidentially assists donors in designing personalized gift plans and carefully invests and distributes contributed assets for the long-term benefit of designated ministries.
Product overview
The Holston Foundation operates as a planned giving organization for the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church, offering a comprehensive suite of services to help individuals make gifts to their church or favorite ministry. The portfolio includes educational resources (Planned Giving Home, Bequests and Wills Guide, What To Give), various gift vehicles (How To Give covering bequests, charitable gift annuities, unitrusts, IRA rollovers), planning tools (Gift Calculator, Free Estate Planning Guide, Bequest Language templates), professional advisor support (Advisor Resources with GiftLaw services), and donor engagement (Donor Stories, Donor E-newsletter). The organization serves generous individuals and families seeking to create lasting legacies while potentially receiving tax benefits and life income.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Planned Giving Services Comprehensive planned giving facilitation service that confidentially assists individual donors and families in designing personalized gift plans, including bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, beneficiary designations, and IRA rollovers, for the benefit of churches and ministries within the Holston Conference.
- Charitable Gift Annuity Program Donors transfer cash or appreciated property to Holston Foundation in exchange for fixed payments for life, with payment rates based on the donor's age. Provides donors with life income and a charitable tax deduction.
- Charitable Remainder Trust Services Donors fund unitrusts or annuity trusts that sell property tax-free and provide income for life or a term of years, with the remainder benefiting designated ministries.
- Gift Calculator Interactive online calculator providing estimates of income and tax benefits for gift annuities, annuity trusts, deferred gift annuities, part gift/part sale, unitrusts, and unitrust sale scenarios. Available free to donors and advisors via the Holston Foundation website.
- Advisor Resources (GiftLaw Pro) Complete charitable giving and tax information service for professional advisors (CPAs, attorneys, CLUs, CFPs, ChFCs, trust officers) including a charitable tax reference and IRS-format deduction calculator. Provided free to advisors.
- Free Estate Planning Guide Electronic/PDF estate planning guide enabling donors to record family information and estate distribution plans, helping them plan their wills and trusts and avoid accidental disinheritance. Available free as a download from the foundation website.
- Circuit Rider Dispatch (Donor E-newsletter) Bi-weekly electronic newsletter featuring the latest foundation news, church leader information, gift stories, Washington updates, Savvy Living content, and finance articles, distributed to donors and supporters.
Companies that use Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn.
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- FreeWill: Tech-forward online planned giving platform partnering with thousands of nonprofits to facilitate bequest commitments and charitable planning. Competes for the same end-donor attention via a more modern, digital-first experience.
- Charityvest: Modern online donor-advised fund provider targeting tech-forward donors with low fees and digital UX. Competes indirectly with denominational foundations by offering a frictionless alternative for charitable legacy planning.
Direct peers
- National Christian Foundation: Faith-based (Christian) donor-advised fund and planned giving provider operating nationally. Comparable in targeting Christian donors with planned giving and gift planning services, but operates at much larger scale and across denominations.
- United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina: Another regional United Methodist Conference foundation offering planned giving, endowments, and grantmaking to UMC churches within its territory. Closely comparable in mission, donor base, and service offering.
Broad incumbents
- United Methodist Church Foundation (General): The United Methodist Church's national planned giving and endowment ministry that serves as an umbrella resource for conference foundations including Holston. Comparable in planned-giving mission but operates at the national rather than regional level.
- The Duke Endowment: Large Methodist-affiliated foundation based in Charlotte, NC that manages endowments and makes grants across the Carolinas. Comparable in Methodist heritage and grantmaking model, but operates at vastly larger scale and broader programmatic scope.
- Foundation For The Carolinas: One of the largest community foundations in the Southeast, providing planned giving, donor-advised funds, and endowment management across the Carolinas. Comparable in core service offering to Holston Foundation but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic scope.
Regional players
- East Tennessee Foundation: Regional community foundation serving the same East Tennessee geography as Holston Foundation, administering donor-advised funds, endowments, and planned gifts. Comparable in geographic footprint and asset-management function, though secular rather than denominationally affiliated.
- Appalachian Community Fund: Regional foundation operating across Appalachian communities overlapping Holston Foundation's territory, focused on social justice and community grantmaking. Comparable in geographic focus on East Tennessee/SW Virginia, but different mission and grantmaking priorities.
Others
- Crescendo Interactive, Inc. Technology vendor that provides the planned giving platform, calculators, and GiftLaw service that Holston Foundation uses. Not a competitor but an ecosystem partner; relevant as a proxy for the technology stack underpinning Holston's offering.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. social profiles
Digital presenceHolston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn.
What does Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. do?
Holston Foundation facilitates planned giving vehicles for individual donors and families — including bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, beneficiary designations, and IRA rollovers — to support churches and ministries within the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. The foundation confidentially assists donors in designing personalized gift plans and carefully invests and distributes contributed assets for the long-term benefit of designated ministries.
Is Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. a public or private company?
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. founded?
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. was founded in -1. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. based?
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. is headquartered in Alcoa, United States, in the North America region.
How does Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Planned Giving Services are the primary driver. The others are charitable Gift Annuities and charitable Remainder Trusts.
Who are Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn.'s main competitors?
Emerging players on record are FreeWill and Charityvest. Direct peers are National Christian Foundation and United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina. Broad incumbents are United Methodist Church Foundation (General), The Duke Endowment and Foundation For The Carolinas. Regional players are East Tennessee Foundation and Appalachian Community Fund. Crescendo Interactive, Inc. is listed as an others.
Does Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. have an API?
No public API is recorded for Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn..
What industry is Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn. in?
Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church Fdn.'s product category is Planned Giving Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations, with a secondary code of EDALAOAB, Fundraising & Annual Giving. Its NAICS code is 81321 and its SIC code is 8600.