Urban Renaissance Partners focuses on neighborhood revitalization in Memphis, concentrating grantmaking on community-serving real estate, food access, and capacity support for local community development corporations. The foundation makes sizable, targeted investments—often repeat awards or property contributions—to stabilize and activate low-income neighborhoods such as Klondike/Smokey City. Its giving emphasizes practical, place-based interventions (mobile grocery, land trust property, CDC operating support) rather than broad programmatic funding.
Highly concentrated, large-dollar grants to a very small group of local organizations, with repeat funding and in-kind/property contributions; strategic, place-based investments rather than many small, dispersed grants.
Urban Renaissance Partners Inc. is defined by a large 2024 property contribution: $3,358,175 to The Works in Memphis for contribution of property. That scale points to a funder that uses real estate and operating support as core tools for neighborhood change, not just small program grants. Across its recent grants, the foundation backs Memphis-based organizations working in Klondike/Smokey City and nearby neighborhoods, with funding tied to community-serving property, a mobile grocery model, and CDC capacity. In 2023, it supported Klondike Smokey City CDC with operating support and gave Klondike Community Land Trust a purchase for 889 Watkins, showing a mix of institutional support and site-specific investment. The foundation also returned in 2024 with another property contribution to Klondike Community Land Trust, reinforcing a repeated emphasis on land, assets, and local control. Its grantmaking is local and fully concentrated in Tennessee recipients.
Neighborhood revitalization is the clearest theme in the recent grants. Urban Renaissance Partners Inc. gave $203,804 to Klondike Smokey City CDC for operating support, pairing general capacity funding with a place-based development agenda. Land acquisition and community ownership are another focus: the foundation awarded $188,309 to Klondike Community Land Trust for the purchase of 889 Watkins, followed by a $102,029 property contribution in 2024. Food access appears as a separate but related lane. The Works received $114,249 for mobile grocery, linking the foundation’s neighborhood work to food distribution infrastructure. A second 2024 award to The Works, for property contribution, shows that the organization’s role extends beyond one program line and into asset-based community use.
The typical grant sits in six figures: p25 is $105,084, median is $151,279, and p75 is $199,930. The distribution is shaped by one very large outlier in 2024, a $3,358,175 property contribution, alongside smaller but still substantial awards in the $47,603 to $203,804 range. The recent record also shows repeat recipients across years: The Works, Klondike Smokey City CDC, and Klondike Community Land Trust each appear more than once. The pattern suggests an operating-and-asset-driven funder, with grants used for property, purchases, and operating support rather than only project-specific programming. Giving is local, and every recent recipient is in Tennessee.
$3.5M
$20.3M
$4.1M
$5.4M
Most grants fall between $105K and $200K, with a median of $151K.
25th Percentile
$105K
Median
$151K
75th Percentile
$200K
About 100% of grants go to recipients in TN.
Archie Willis III
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Notable grantees: The Works, Klondike Community Land Trust, Klondike Smokey City CDC
All recent grants go to Tennessee recipients, and the recipient country distribution is entirely U.S.-based. Memphis is the clear center of activity, with grants landing at organizations in Memphis, TN across multiple years. The recent list also ties giving to specific neighborhood efforts within the city, including Klondike/Smokey City and the 889 Watkins property. No other states or countries appear in the recent grants data.
The recent grants center on Memphis-based community development groups and place-based organizations. Recipients include Klondike Smokey City CDC, Klondike Community Land Trust, and The Works, with support for operating costs, property, land acquisition, and mobile grocery infrastructure.
The typical award is in the six-figure range. In the recent data, p25 is $105,084, median grant size is $151,279, and p75 is $199,930.
No. In the recent grants data, 100% of grants went to recipients in Tennessee, and all six listed grants were to U.S. organizations.
Yes. The recent record shows repeat awards to The Works, Klondike Smokey City CDC, and Klondike Community Land Trust across 2023 and 2024, including both operating support and property-related gifts.
2024
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2024.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Works | Memphis, TN | $3,358,175 | 2024 | Contribution of Property |
| Klondike Community Land Trust | Memphis, TN | $102,029 | 2024 | Contribution of Property |
| Klondike Smokey City CDC | Memphis, TN | $47,603 | 2024 | Operating Support |
| Klondike Smokey City CDC | Memphis, TN | $203,804 | 2023 | Operating Support |
| Klondike Community Land Trust | Memphis, TN | $188,309 | 2023 | Purchase of 889 Watkins |
| The Works | Memphis, TN | $114,249 | 2023 | Mobile Grocery |
The Works
$3,358,175Contribution of Property
Klondike Community Land Trust
$102,029Contribution of Property
Klondike Smokey City CDC
$47,603Operating Support
Klondike Smokey City CDC
$203,804Operating Support
Klondike Community Land Trust
$188,309Purchase of 889 Watkins
The Works
$114,249Mobile Grocery