The Howard Fund focuses heavily on Greater Chattanooga civic life, funding local government, community intermediaries, and place-based cultural institutions to strengthen education, basic needs, health, and arts. Its grants prioritize large institutional partners (school district and United Way) alongside recurring support for neighborhood-facing nonprofits that provide health services, housing/food security, and cultural programming. The foundation’s giving pattern and grantee names indicate a strong interest in systems-level support (education and community infrastructure) as well as neighborhood service providers and arts venues that anchor downtown and regional quality of life.
A $420,000 grant to Hamilton County Department of Education is the clearest signal in The Howard Fund’s recent giving: the foundation backs public education at a scale that sits far above its typical award size. Across recent grants, it also supports a mix of community institutions that shape life in Chattanooga, from United Way of Greater Chattanooga to the Tivoli Theatre Foundation. That combination points to a funder interested in both public systems and civic anchors. The Howard Fund’s support reaches education, community capacity, health services, housing stability, food access, and arts and cultural venues. Some grants are directed to public or quasi-public entities, while others go to nonprofits that deliver services on the ground. Chattanooga Prep Inc appears in both 2024 and 2025, showing support that continues over time rather than as a single isolated award. The foundation’s portfolio also includes organizations tied to neighborhood safety nets and place-based institutions, suggesting a local grantmaker that uses a small set of recurring partners to address multiple parts of Greater Chattanooga life.
Education is a core theme in The Howard Fund’s recent grants. In 2025, it gave $15,000 to Chattanooga Prep Inc for program support, and in 2024 it awarded $420,000 to Hamilton County Department of Education. That pairing shows interest in both a local school operator and the wider public education system. Community safety-net work is another clear strand. The foundation gave $200,000 to United Way of Greater Chattanooga in 2024 and another $15,000 in 2025 for program support, alongside $30,000 to Chattanooga Area Food Bank in 2024 and $15,000 to Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition in 2024. Health and behavioral health appear as well. Grants include $50,000 and $35,000 to Lifespring Community Health in 2023 and 2024, plus $25,000 to Helen Ross Mcnabb Center in 2023. Arts and placemaking also show up through $100,000 to The Tivoli Theatre Foundation Inc and $37,500 to Artsbuild, both in Chattanooga.
The Howard Fund’s typical grant sits at $25,000, with a lower quartile of $17,500 and an upper quartile of $50,000. The recent record shows a few much larger awards, including a $420,000 grant and a $200,000 grant, but most gifts cluster well below those levels. Giving appears recurring rather than one-off for several recipients. United Way of Greater Chattanooga received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Chattanooga Prep Inc appears in 2024 and 2025; Lifespring Community Health also appears in two different years. The foundation does not fund individuals and is not using program-related investments. The pattern is consistent with structured grantmaking to organizations rather than open applications or individual assistance.
$160K
$12.5M
$8K
$244K
Most grants fall between $18K and $50K, with a median of $25K.
25th Percentile
$18K
Median
$25K
75th Percentile
$50K
JOSEPH H DAVENPORT III
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Concentrated local giving with several larger multi-thousand-dollar awards to institutional partners and recurring grants to core community organizations. Mix of a few large, strategic gifts (notably to the county school system and United Way) and numerous mid-sized grants to place-based service providers, arts groups, and conservation/quality-of-life projects within the Chattanooga region.
Notable grantees: Hamilton County Department of Education, United Way of Greater Chattanooga, The Tivoli Theatre Foundation, Lifespring Community Health, Chattanooga Area Chamber Foundation
The Howard Fund’s giving is entirely local in the available record, with 100% of grants going to recipients in Tennessee. Chattanooga is the dominant recipient city, including Hamilton County Department of Education, The Tivoli Theatre Foundation Inc, Artsbuild, and Chattanooga Area Food Bank. A smaller share goes just outside the city core, such as Help Right Here in Signal Mountain and Helen Ross McNabb Center in Knoxville. The grant list points to a Chattanooga-centered portfolio with only a limited regional reach within Tennessee.
The median recent grant is $25,000. The lower quartile is $17,500 and the upper quartile is $50,000, which places most awards in a relatively tight middle range even though a few grants are much larger.
In the recent grant record, no. All 27 listed grants went to recipients in Tennessee, and 100% of grants were awarded to organizations in the foundation’s HQ state.
Education, community safety-net work, health services, housing stability, food access, and arts/cultural institutions all appear repeatedly. Examples include Hamilton County Department of Education, United Way of Greater Chattanooga, Lifespring Community Health, Chattanooga Area Food Bank, and The Tivoli Theatre Foundation Inc.
Yes. United Way of Greater Chattanooga received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Chattanooga Prep Inc appears in 2024 and 2025; and Lifespring Community Health received awards in both 2023 and 2024.
Yes. The recent record includes a $420,000 grant to Hamilton County Department of Education in 2024 and a $15,000 program-support grant to Chattanooga Prep Inc in 2025, showing direct support for school-related work and public education delivery.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHATTANOOGA AREA CHAMBER FOUNDATION | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $115,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $15,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER OF HAMILTON COUNTY | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $15,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| CHATTANOOGA PREP INC | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $15,000 | 2025 | PROGRAM SUPPORT |
| HAMILTON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $420,000 | 2024 | GOVERNMENT ENTITY |
| UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $200,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| THE TIVOLI THEATRE FOUNDATION INC | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $100,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| PURPOSE POINT COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $50,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $50,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| ARTSBUILD | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $37,500 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| LIFESPRING COMMUNITY HEALTH | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $35,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| CHATTANOOGA AREA FOOD BANK | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $30,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| LAUNCH INC | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $30,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| THE POP-UP PROJECT | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $25,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| CHATTANOOGA AREA CHAMBER FOUNDATION | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $15,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| CHATTANOOGA REGIONAL HOMELESS COALITION | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $15,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| CHATTANOOGA PREP INC | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $10,000 | 2024 | CHARITY |
| HAMILTON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $50,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| LIFESPRING COMMUNITY HEALTH | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $50,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| A STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION CHATTANOOGA INC | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $25,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| HELEN ROSS MCNABB CENTER | KNOXVILLE, TN | $25,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| TENNESSEE AQUARIUM | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $25,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| THE NET RESOURCE FOUNDATION | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $25,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $20,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA AREA INC | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $15,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| HELP RIGHT HERE | SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, TN | $15,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
| MEDICOS MISSION FUND | CHATTANOOGA, TN | $15,000 | 2023 | CHARITY |
HAMILTON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
$420,000GOVERNMENT ENTITY
CHARITY
LIFESPRING COMMUNITY HEALTH
$35,000CHARITY
THE POP-UP PROJECT
$25,000CHARITY
HAMILTON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
$50,000CHARITY
LIFESPRING COMMUNITY HEALTH
$50,000CHARITY
A STEP AHEAD FOUNDATION CHATTANOOGA INC
$25,000CHARITY
TENNESSEE AQUARIUM
$25,000CHARITY
THE NET RESOURCE FOUNDATION
$25,000CHARITY
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA AREA INC
$15,000CHARITY
HELP RIGHT HERE
$15,000CHARITY