The Jim and Leah Sohr Family Foundation makes substantial, locally focused grants in the Nashville area, favoring large unrestricted gifts to civic, religious, and educational institutions. Their giving repeatedly supports park conservation and recreation, Jewish congregational life, independent K–12 education, and select university-affiliated programs. Grants are often sizeable and flexible, allowing recipients to apply funds where most needed.
Concentrated, local giving with a small number of relatively large, unrestricted grants; multiple repeat grants to the same beneficiaries rather than many one-off gifts.
The Jim and Leah Sohr Family Foundation’s largest recent gift was a $137,200 unrestricted grant to Congregation Micah, and that scale helps define how this funder operates: sizable, flexible support for organizations rooted in Nashville and nearby communities. The foundation repeatedly backs institutions that serve civic, religious, educational, and recreation needs, with a noticeable preference for unrestricted awards that give recipients room to use funds where they are most needed. Recent grants also show sustained support for Friends of Warner Parks, which received $100,000 in 2024 and another $100,000 in 2023, as well as Ensworth School, which received a $100,000 unrestricted grant in 2024. The foundation also supports university-linked and community-based organizations, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Joe Franklin Rugby Fund, a named fund that points to a more specific athletic interest within its broader local philanthropy. Across the recent grant list, the pattern is less about one narrow program and more about consistent backing for institutions tied to Nashville’s civic life, Jewish congregational life, education, parks, and selected sports programming.
A clear theme is support for parks and public recreation in Nashville. Friends of Warner Parks received $100,000 in 2024 after a matching $100,000 unrestricted grant in 2023, and Centennial Park Conservancy received $10,000 in 2023. Jewish congregational life is another visible area: Congregation Micah received $137,200 in 2023 and $37,300 in 2024, both unrestricted gifts. Education also appears in the portfolio, including a $100,000 unrestricted grant to Ensworth School in 2024 and a $33,000 unrestricted grant to Vanderbilt University in 2023. The foundation’s interest in rugby is reflected in a $46,000 2024 grant to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the Joe Franklin Rugby Fund, plus a $5,000 unrestricted gift to the same institution in 2024.
Grant sizes cluster around a middle point of $10,000: the p25, median, and several awards in the list sit at that level, while the p75 rises to $36,225. The foundation also makes larger institutional gifts, including several six-figure awards. The recent record shows repeated support to some recipients across multiple years, such as Friends of Warner Parks, Congregation Micah, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Bubba Foundation. The foundation is a family foundation and its recent awards are almost entirely unrestricted, with one named fund allocation for rugby. The grants appear to be made without an individual-application pattern in the available data.
$767K
$4M
$211K
$822K
Most grants fall between $10K and $36K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$36K
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Notable grantees: Friends of Warner Parks, Congregation Micah, Ensworth School, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Giving is highly concentrated in Tennessee: 82% of grants go to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state, and the top state by grant count is also TN. Nashville is the main recipient city, with multiple grants to organizations there, including Friends of Warner Parks, Ensworth School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville Ballet, Crossroads Campus, Project Return, and Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Brentwood and Mount Juliet also appear in the Tennessee grant list. Outside Tennessee, recipients include New York, NY and Charleston, SC, but the grant record is overwhelmingly local.
The recent grants show support for civic, religious, educational, and recreation institutions. Examples include Congregation Micah for unrestricted support, Friends of Warner Parks for unrestricted support, Ensworth School for unrestricted support, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the Joe Franklin Rugby Fund.
Typical grants center on $10,000. The provided distribution shows p25 at $10,000, median at $10,000, and p75 at $36,225, with several larger awards above that level.
Yes. Friends of Warner Parks received $100,000 in 2023 and $100,000 in 2024. Congregation Micah received $137,200 in 2023 and $37,300 in 2024. Vanderbilt University Medical Center also appears in both 2024 grants.
Its grantmaking is heavily centered in Tennessee. The top state by grant count is TN, and 82% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state. Nashville appears most often among recipient cities.
The clearest sports-related grant is $46,000 in 2024 to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the Joe Franklin Rugby Fund. The recent data also includes a $5,000 unrestricted gift to the same institution in 2024.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONGREGATION MICAH | BRENTWOOD, TN | $444,300 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| FRIENDS OF WARNER PARKS | NASHVILLE, TN | $200,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| BUBBA FOUNDATION | NASHVILLE, TN | $60,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| THE LECUM FUND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SC | NORTH CHARLESTON, SC | $10,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| GENTLE BARN | CHRISTIANA, TN | $10,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| WINGS FOR KIDS | CHARLESTON, SC | $10,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| NASHVILLE ENTREPREUNEUR CENTER | NASHVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTE | NASHVILLE, TN | $7,500 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| PROJECT RETURN | NASHVILLE, TN | $5,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| VOICES FOR A SAFER TN | NASHVILLE, TN | $5,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| FRIENDS OF ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| FRIENDS OF WARNER PARKS | NASHVILLE, TN | $100,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| ENSWORTH SCHOOL | NASHVILLE, TN | $100,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTE | NASHVILLE, TN | $46,000 | 2024 | JOE FRANKLIN RUGBY FUND |
| CONGREGATION MICAH | BRENTWOOD, TN | $37,300 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| CROSSROADS CAMPUS | NASHVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| FRIENDS OF ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| PROJECT RETURN | NASHVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED |
| VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTE | NASHVILLE, TN | $5,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| BUBBA FOUNDATION | NASHVILLE, TN | $5,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| JEWISH NATIONAL FUND | NEW YORK, NY | $5,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| CONGREGATION MICAH | BRENTWOOD, TN | $137,200 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| FRIENDS OF WARNER PARKS | NASHVILLE, TN | $100,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY | NASHVILLE, TN | $33,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| BUBBA FOUNDATION | NASHVILLE, TN | $30,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| NASHVILLE BALLET | NASHVILLE, TN | $20,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| CHI BOULE FOUNDATION | NASHVILLE, TN | $16,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| SHIFA FREE CLINIC | CHARLESTON, SC | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| CENTENNIAL PARK CONSERVANCY | NASHVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| NASHVILLE ENTREPRENEUR CENTER | NASHVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| THE STORE | NASHVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| OLD FRIENDS SENIOR DOG SANCTUARY | MOUNT JULIET, TN | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
| AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIB COMMI | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GIFT |
CONGREGATION MICAH
$444,300UNRESTRICTED GIFT
BUBBA FOUNDATION
$60,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
THE LECUM FUND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SC
$10,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
GENTLE BARN
$10,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
UNRESTRICTED GIFT
NASHVILLE ENTREPREUNEUR CENTER
$10,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
VOICES FOR A SAFER TN
$5,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
ENSWORTH SCHOOL
$100,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
CONGREGATION MICAH
$37,300UNRESTRICTED GIFT
CROSSROADS CAMPUS
$10,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
BUBBA FOUNDATION
$5,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND
$5,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
CONGREGATION MICAH
$137,200UNRESTRICTED GIFT
BUBBA FOUNDATION
$30,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
CHI BOULE FOUNDATION
$16,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT
AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIB COMMI
$10,000UNRESTRICTED GIFT