The Charlie & Moll Anderson Foundation makes a small number of very large, benevolent gifts primarily to higher-education institutions and major medical centers. Their grants are national in scope but show a Southeastern tilt, and they favor institutional support to university foundations and leading healthcare organizations rather than many small community groups.
Concentrated giving: few, very large donations (three-figure to seven-figure) with repeat support to at least one core grantee (University of Tennessee Foundation); funds are typically labeled as benevolent/unrestricted institutional gifts.
The Charlie & Moll Anderson Foundation makes benevolent donations at a scale that includes seven-figure gifts to universities and medical institutions. Two of the clearest signals in the recent record are $1,100,000 to the University of Tennessee Foundation in 2023 and $1,070,000 to the same recipient in 2024, alongside $1,000,000 to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 2023. Those grants show a pattern of large institutional support rather than broad, small-ticket philanthropy. The foundation also funds higher-education and healthcare organizations closer to its Southeastern footprint. Recent examples include $500,000 to the University of Miami, $200,000 to the University of North Alabama Foundation, and $200,000 to the University of Alabama Birmingham. Its giving is not limited to one sector, but the overall shape is consistent: universities, university foundations, medical centers, and related institutional partners receive the largest checks. Smaller grants in the same record extend to community-serving groups such as United Way of Greater Knoxville, Boys and Girls Club, and Zoo Knoxville, reinforcing a mix of major institutional gifts and selective local support.
University and academic institutions are a major part of the foundation’s grantmaking. It gave $1,100,000 to the University of Tennessee Foundation in 2023 and $1,070,000 in 2024, then added $500,000 to the University of Miami and $200,000 to the University of North Alabama Foundation. Healthcare and biomedical support is another clear theme. The foundation awarded $1,000,000 to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and $200,000 to the University of Alabama Birmingham, both tied to major medical institutions. Its community-oriented giving appears in more targeted awards as well. Recent grants include $100,000 to Onward Campus Ministry, $60,000 to Boys and Girls Club, and $25,000 to Helen Ross McNabb Foundation, showing that the portfolio includes faith-based, youth-serving, and local human-services organizations alongside higher education and health care.
Typical grants sit at $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $12,000 at the median, and $50,000 at the 75th percentile, even though the recent record also includes seven-figure awards. The pattern is episodic rather than recurring for many recipients, but some organizations appear across multiple years, including the University of Tennessee Foundation, United Way of Greater Knoxville, Friends of the Smokies, Operation Smile, The Family Place, and National Mill Dog Rescue. The foundation is a regular funder and, in the recent grant list, the awards are described as benevolent donations. That points to direct charitable support rather than program-related investment activity.
$5.6M
$14.2M
$4M
$5.7M
Most grants fall between $10K and $50K, with a median of $12K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$12K
75th Percentile
$50K
About 7% of grants go to recipients in TN.
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Notable grantees: University of Tennessee Foundation, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, University of Miami
Grant recipients are entirely in the United States, with New York ranking as the top state by grant count. Knoxville appears repeatedly as a recipient city, along with Dallas, Beverly Hills, and Colorado Springs in the recent grants list. The foundation’s giving also reaches Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, and Colorado, while only 7% of grants go to recipients in Alabama despite the headquarters being in Florence.
The recent grants show a strong tilt toward university foundations, higher-education institutions, and major medical centers. Examples include the University of Tennessee Foundation, the University of Miami, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and the University of Alabama Birmingham.
The grant-size distribution is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $12,000 at the median, and $50,000 at the 75th percentile. The recent record also includes much larger one-time awards, including several in the hundreds of thousands and a pair above $1 million.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including the University of Tennessee Foundation, United Way of Greater Knoxville, Friends of the Smokies, Operation Smile, The Family Place, and National Mill Dog Rescue. That suggests some ongoing relationships alongside one-off gifts.
New York is the top state by grant count in the dataset. The recipient list also shows repeated giving in Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina, and Colorado, with all recorded grants going to U.S. recipients.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOUNDATION | KNOXVILLE, TN | $3,500,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE MEDICAL CENTER | KNOXVILLE, TN | $1,000,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| WEST HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC COUNCIL | KNOXVILLE, TN | $420,735 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| VISIONARY WOMEN | BEVERLY HILLS, CA | $150,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| ANDERSON ASSOCIATES ASSISTANT FUND | KNOXVILLE, TN | $100,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| UNITED WAY OF GREATER KNOXVILLE | KNOXVILLE, TN | $100,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| MY FRIEND'S PLACE | HOLLYWOOD, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| PHOENIX ART MUSEUM | PHOENIX, AZ | $35,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| AMFAR | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| FIND THE CAUSE | FRAMINGHAM, MA | $30,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT | LOS ANGELES, CA | $25,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY | WASHINGTON, DC | $25,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| SHARE INC | BEVERLY HILLS, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| O'NEAL CANCER CENTER UAB | BIRMINGHAM, AL | $20,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| EMERALD YOUTH FOUNDATION | KNOXVILLE, TN | $15,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| FRIENDS OF THE SMOKIES | ASHEVILLE, NC | $15,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| MINNIE'S FOOD PANTRY | PLANO, TX | $15,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| NATIONAL MILL DOG RESCUE | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO | $12,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| MUSCLE SHOALS MUSIC ASSOCIATION | MUSCLE SHOALS, AL | $10,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| SECOND HARVEST | MARYVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| ST MARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH | KNOXVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF DALLAS FORT WORTH | DALLAS, TX | $10,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| GRANT HALLIBURTON FOUNDATION | DALLAS, TX | $10,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| RANDOM ACTS OF FLOWERS | KNOXVILLE, TN | $5,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| GIRL TALK INC | KNOXVILLE, TN | $5,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| GIVINGA FOUNDATION | WELLESLEY, MA | $5,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| ADOPT A GOLDEN KNOXVILLE | KNOXVILLE, TN | $5,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| THE SALVATION ARMY | KNOXVILLE, TN | $5,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| KERBELA SHRINERS | KNOXVILLE, TN | $1,000 | 2026 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| WEST HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC COUNCIL | KNOXVILLE, TN | $500,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| VISIONARY WOMEN | BEVERLY HILLS, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY | RYE BROOK, NY | $90,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| DALLAS CONTEMPORARY | DALLAS, TX | $70,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB | KNOXVILLE, TN | $50,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS | DAVIS, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| SHARE INC | BEVERLY HILLS, CA | $40,250 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| MINNIE'S FOOD PANTRY | PLANO, TX | $40,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| AMFAR | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| FIND THE CAUSE | FRAMINGHAM, MA | $25,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| MY FRIEND'S PLACE | LOS ANGELES, CA | $25,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| OPERATION SMILE INC | VIRGINIA BEACH, VA | $20,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| FRIENDS OF THE SMOKIES | ASHEVILLE, NC | $15,115 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| NATIONAL MILL DOG RESCUE | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO | $12,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| WOMEN'S FUND OF EAST TENNESSEE | KNOXVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| THE FAMILY PLACE | DALLAS, TX | $10,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| EMERALD YOUTH FOUNDATION | KNOXVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| ST MARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH | KNOXVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| THRIVE | KNOXVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| GIRL TALK INC | KNOXVILLE, TN | $10,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
| BRENTWOOD SCHOOL | LOS ANGELES, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | BENEVOLENT DONATION |
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE MEDICAL CENTER
$1,000,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
WEST HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC COUNCIL
$420,735BENEVOLENT DONATION
VISIONARY WOMEN
$150,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
ANDERSON ASSOCIATES ASSISTANT FUND
$100,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
UNITED WAY OF GREATER KNOXVILLE
$100,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
FIND THE CAUSE
$30,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT
$25,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY
$25,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
SHARE INC
$20,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
O'NEAL CANCER CENTER UAB
$20,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
FRIENDS OF THE SMOKIES
$15,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
MUSCLE SHOALS MUSIC ASSOCIATION
$10,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
SECOND HARVEST
$10,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
ST MARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
$10,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
RANDOM ACTS OF FLOWERS
$5,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
ADOPT A GOLDEN KNOXVILLE
$5,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
THE SALVATION ARMY
$5,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
KERBELA SHRINERS
$1,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
WEST HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC COUNCIL
$500,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
VISIONARY WOMEN
$100,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
DALLAS CONTEMPORARY
$70,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB
$50,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS
$50,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
SHARE INC
$40,250BENEVOLENT DONATION
FIND THE CAUSE
$25,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
MY FRIEND'S PLACE
$25,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
FRIENDS OF THE SMOKIES
$15,115BENEVOLENT DONATION
WOMEN'S FUND OF EAST TENNESSEE
$10,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
ST MARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
$10,000BENEVOLENT DONATION
THRIVE
$10,000BENEVOLENT DONATION