Community Investment Grants are two-year operational grants that are designed to seed, scale, and support effective organizations. Grants are awarded through an open application process and guided by community voice.
United Way of Greater Knoxville is proud to partner with local nonprofits working to strengthen our community.
Battlefield Farm and Gardens
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Brave Boxing and Fitness
County: Claiborne
Amount Awarded: $5,000
N Her Footsteps
County: Jefferson
Amount Awarded: $5,000
ReLaunch
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
The Fresh Wagon, St Teresa of Kolkata
County: Union
Amount Awarded: $5,000
A 1 Learning Connections
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
BLOC Knoxville
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Camp Koinonia Foundation Inc.
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
CareCuts
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Center for English and Integration Services
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Closer Walk Reentry & Advocacy Program Inc. LLC
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Compassion Closet of East Tennessee
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
East Tennessee Equality Council, Inc (Knox Pride)
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $15,000
East TN Freedom Schools
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Family Investment Foundation
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Fostering Hope
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, and Union
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Friends of Literacy
Counties: Grainger, Knox
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Friends of Tennessee’s Babies with Special Needs
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Gennisi Charitable Birth Services. Inc.
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Girls on the Run of Greater Knoxville, Inc.
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Haven House, Inc.
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Hellbender Harm Reduction
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Helping Mamas Knoxville
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox Union
Amount Awarded: $35,000
HOLA Lakeway
Counties: Grainger, Jefferson
Amount Awarded: $7,000
Hoof & Harness Experiential Learning, Inc.
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson
$5,000
Knoxville Internationals Network-KIN
Counties: Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Little Chefs, Big Change
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Live Free – Claiborne
Counties: Claiborne, Union
Amount Awarded: $5,000
Never Alone Recovery
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $15,000
New Direction Health Care Solutions, Inc.
Counties: Jefferson, Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Nourish Knoxville, Inc
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Penultimate Development
Counties: Jefferson, Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Servolution Health Services
County: Claiborne
Amount Awarded: $6,000
Shora Foundation
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Sunshine Services
County: Jefferson
Amount Awarded: $10,000
The Children’s Center of Knoxville
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
The Montgomery Village Baptist Center
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
The Real Good Kitchen Foundation
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Two Bikes
County: Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Urban Family Outreach, Inc.
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
UUNIK Academy
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
YOKE Youth Ministries
Counties: Grainger, Jefferson, Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
A Step Ahead Foundation of East Tennessee
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $25,000
American Cancer Society
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Appalachian Ministries of the Smokies / Carson-Newman University
Counties: Grainger, Jefferson
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee
Counties: Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Dumplin Valley
County: Jefferson
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley
Counties: Claiborne, Knox
Amount Awarded: $200,000
Bridge Refugee Services, Inc.
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Cancer Support Community East Tennessee
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $15,000
CASA of East Tennessee
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Catholic Charities of East Tennessee
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $75,000
Centro Hispano de East Tennessee
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $110,000
Childhelp
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $80,000
Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $40,000
CONTACT Care Line, Inc.
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Covenant Health Foundation
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Douglas-Cherokee Economic Authority, Inc.
Counties: Grainger, Jefferson
Amount Awarded: $7,000
East Tennessee Kidney Foundation
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Emerald Youth Foundation
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $100,000
Emory Valley Center
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Epilepsy Foundation of East Tennessee
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Family Promise of Knoxville
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $40,000
Free Medical Clinic of America Dba Kim Health Center
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Girl Talk, Inc.
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $75,000
Girls Inc. of TN Valley
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Helen Ross McNabb Center
Counties: Claiborne, Jefferson, Knox
Amount Awarded: $200,000
Hillcrest Healthcare Communities, Inc.
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Hope Resource Center
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
InterFaith Health Center
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $130,000
Jefferson County Habitat for Humanity
County: Jefferson
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Joy of Music School
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Junior Achievement of East Tennessee
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM)
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $40,000
Knox County Community Gardens and Growers Alliance
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Knoxville – Knox County Community Action Committee for Affordable Neighborhoods – CAAN
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $175,000
Knoxville Academy of Medicine Foundation
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Knoxville Habitat for Humanity
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Knoxville Leadership Foundation
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $100,000
Lakeway CASA
Counties: Grainger, Jefferson
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Legal Aid of East Tennessee
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $100,000
Mental Health Association of East Tennessee
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $55,000
Ministerial Assoc. Temporary Shelter (MATS)
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Union
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Muse Knoxville
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Olive Tree Early Learning Academy
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Remote Area Medical
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $30,000
Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center, Inc.
Counties: Grainger, Jefferson
Amount Awarded: $15,000
Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $50,000
Senior Citizens Home Assistance Service, Inc. (SCHAS)
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $60,000
SHADES of Development
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $35,000
Susannah’s House
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $80,000
Tennessee Valley Coalition for the Homeless
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Union
Amount Awarded: $9,000
The Association of Infant Mental Health in Tennessee
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Union
Amount Awarded: $12,000
The Florence Crittenton Agency
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $55,000
The Restoration House
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $60,000
The Salvation Army, A Georgia Corporation
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $60,000
TN Voices
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
tnAchieves
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $25,000
University of Tennessee Foundation, Inc.
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $15,000
University of Tennessee Medical
Counties: Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $25,000
Volunteer Ministry Center
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $125,000
Wesley House Community Center
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $50,000
YMCA of East Tennessee
Counties: Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Union
Amount Awarded: $200,000
YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley
County: Knox
Amount Awarded: $200,000
Community Investment Grants are designed to seed, scale, or support effective organizations delivering programs and initiatives that work toward our Impact Pillars. These are two-year operational grants, and funding can be used for operational or programmatic expenses as determined by the organization’s own needs. Guided by trust-based philanthropy, we invest with flexibility so organizations of every size, including those with fewer resources, can direct funding toward what their communities need most.
United Way of Greater Knoxville (UWGK)’s impact pillars are the three priorities that guide where we invest. Healthy Communities focuses on places where all residents have access to the resources and opportunities needed to thrive physically, mentally, and socially, and treats food systems as a determinant of health. Early Care and Education focuses on the building blocks of a child’s future success, from access to high-quality childcare through high school graduates who are ready for enrollment, enlistment, or employment. Economic Mobility focuses on the capacity of individuals, families, and communities to improve their financial well-being, move up the socioeconomic ladder, and achieve lasting self-sufficiency. Applicants identify where their work aligns, which means they can report directly on one or more of the outputs and outcomes under a pillar, not indirect impacts.
For the 2026-2028 cycle, United Way of Greater Knoxville awarded $3.9 million to 105 organizations across Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, and Union counties. Since 2020, United Way has granted more than $61 million to local nonprofit organizations.
Applications are evaluated based on eligibility and alignment with our mission and impact priorities through a multi-step evaluation process. Staff review eligibility and complete due diligence on every application, which includes verifying 501(c)3 status through Charity Check by Candid, confirming a board of directors that meets at least four times annually, reviewing financial documents, and, for organizations we have funded before, reviewing past performance and reporting history. All applications are then reviewed by volunteer review panels, and their recommendations are presented to our Outcomes Based Investment Committee, a part of UWGK’s Governance structure. The Outcomes Based Investment Committee makes final recommendations to our Board of Directors, and all funding decisions are made at the discretion of the United Way of Greater Knoxville’s Board of Directors. This cycle, 110 volunteers served on 14 review panels with representation from all five counties, contributing roughly 1,500 hours.
A lifecycle stage reflects where an organization sits in its own development, based on its capacity and operations. The three stages we use are emerging, growth, and mature. Emerging is where programs are in a pilot stage, and most work relies on volunteers. Growth is where programs are establishing themselves and staffing, planning, and board structure are formalizing. Mature is where core programs are established and recognized, and systems and policies are in place. Evaluation criteria are scored by lifecycle stage, so organizations in earlier developmental stages are not compared to those in more mature stages.
No. Community Investment Grants are our largest grant process, but not our only one. Additional opportunities open between grant cycles include Grants for Advancement and Preservation, Emergency Response Funding, Monday Trustees, and Community Solutions Funding. Several organizations not funded through this cycle have already moved into our Community Solutions grants process. United Way of Greater Knoxville also provides support beyond grants through convening, capacity building, connecting, and promoting partner organizations.
Since 2020, United Way of Greater Knoxville has distributed more than $61 million dollars in funding to local nonprofit organizations across our five-county service area.
“As a small but rapidly growing organization, becoming a United Way of Greater Knoxville partner has allowed us to communicate to the broader Knoxville community that the work we do is both trusted and impactful.”
Because of United Way's support, we’ve been able to offer more consistent programming, improve the quality of our classes, and invest in staff capacity to meet rising demand."
Use the links below to explore additional grant opportunities.
These resources provide helpful context and support as you prepare your application and plan for the 2026-2028 cycle.
