Yarbrough Family Foundation

The Yarbrough Family Foundation is a personal, relationship-first grantmaker anchored in Franklin, Tennessee. Its founder, Jon Yarbrough, built Video Gaming Technologies, Inc. (VGT) — a manufacturer of electronic gaming machines for Native American tribal casinos — and sold it to Aristocrat Leisure for $1.28 billion in 2014. That transaction transformed a modest foundation (which disbursed just $85,375 in FY2012) into a philanthropic force now distributing nearly $7 million annually. Jon Yarbrough serves as President and Kathy Lee Campbell Yarbrough as Secretary, both compensated $0, with no professional program staff listed in IRS filings. Giving decisions flow entirely from the Yarbroughs' personal interests and existing relationships.

Critical context for applicants: The foundation formally designates itself as "preselected only" and explicitly states it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. This is not boilerplate — it is operationally accurate. Every grant on record reached its recipient through a prior relationship, not a submitted application. Organizations must earn the Yarbroughs' trust before receiving support.

The giving portfolio reveals a philanthropist comfortable with ideological breadth. The foundation simultaneously funds the Beacon Center of Tennessee (a free-market think tank, $375,000 over 4 grants) and the HRC Foundation (LGBTQ+ rights, $300,000 over 3 grants), reflecting personal relationships and values rather than an imposed programmatic framework. The same breadth extends geographically: 64% of grants by count land in Tennessee, but international organizations (UNICEF USA, USA for UNHCR, Doctors Without Borders, Razom Inc.) receive substantial support.

Multi-year relationships are the clear norm. Among the top 50 grantees by total funding, the majority appear in 3–4 grant cycles. Battle Ground Academy — a Franklin, TN independent school — has received $2.1 million across 4 grants, making it the foundation's deepest sustained commitment aside from a single $3 million outlier gift to Tennessee Technological University Foundation.

New grantees typically enter through Nashville's civic philanthropic infrastructure. United Way chapters (Greater Nashville, Williamson County, Puerto Rico), Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee, and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee form the connective tissue. First-time applicants should focus on cultivating a genuine relationship with Jon or Kathy Yarbrough through these civic networks. Warm introductions from current grantees — particularly Battle Ground Academy, Nashville Entrepreneur Center, or United Way of Greater Nashville — represent the most viable path to the foundation's attention. Cold outreach to the PMB administrative address will not succeed.

Annual disbursements have grown at a striking pace: $438,476 in FY2015, $1.6 million in FY2019, $4.4 million in FY2021, $4.4 million again in FY2023, and $6.97 million in FY2024 — a roughly 16-fold increase in nine years. This growth is fueled by active family contributions rather than investment returns alone: the Yarbroughs contributed between $7.7 million and $11.5 million annually to the foundation's corpus from FY2019 through FY2023, far exceeding what a $24–28 million asset base would generate. The effective payout rate of 15–29% of assets per year vastly exceeds the 5% private foundation minimum.

Grant sizes span a wide range. The database records a median grant of $5,000 and an average of $40,649–$45,685 across all transactions — but that median is pulled down by small one-time gifts to religious congregations, local schools, and community organizations. Among institutional grantees with multi-year relationships, practical annual grant amounts run from $20,000 (Project Return, Day 7) to $150,000 (Nashville Entrepreneur Center, United Way of Greater Nashville) and up to $525,000 per cycle for anchor relationships like Battle Ground Academy. The largest single grant on record is $3 million to Tennessee Technological University Foundation (1 grant). FY2024 introduced grants in the $1–5 million range routed through donor-advised fund intermediaries.

Geographically, Tennessee accounts for 192 of 299 total grants (64%). Washington, D.C. (16 grants, mostly national advocacy groups), Virginia (14), Maryland (9), and California (10) form a secondary cluster of nationally-focused organizations. Georgia (8), New York (7), Florida (6), Kentucky (6), and Puerto Rico (4) round out the footprint.

By program area, education receives the largest individual commitments: TN Technological University ($3M), Battle Ground Academy ($2.1M across 4 grants), Thurgood Marshall College Fund ($200,000), Tennessee State University Foundation ($50,000), UNCF ($50,000), and St. Cecilia Academy ($45,000). Human services form the broadest cohort: United Way chapters collectively account for over $1.1 million. Mental health is a consistent priority: NAMI ($75,000 over 4 grants), NAMI Tennessee ($75,000 over 4 grants), Center for Living and Learning ($400,000 combined), and Vanderbilt Psychiatry and Alzheimer Center ($55,100 over 5 grants). International development has grown steadily, with UNICEF USA ($500,000), USA for UNHCR ($500,000), CARE ($100,000), GlobalGiving ($100,000), Doctors Without Borders ($38,000), and Razom Inc. ($100,000) all present across multiple grant cycles.

The five asset-matched peer foundations identified from IRS data all sit at approximately $24.1 million in assets — close to Yarbrough Family Foundation's IRS BMF-reported asset figure, though Yarbrough's FY2023 Form 990 shows $28.1 million in total assets, reflecting active family contributions.

Yarbrough stands out from its asset-matched peers in two critical ways: transparency of grantmaking and trajectory of growth. While all five foundations share a similar asset footprint, Yarbrough's annual disbursements — $6.97 million in FY2024 — dramatically exceed what a $24–28 million asset base would typically support, because the Yarbroughs are contributing $7.7–$11.5 million in new capital annually. Its asset-to-giving ratio of roughly 25–29% compares favorably against peer foundations that distribute 5–6% of assets.

As the only Tennessee-based foundation in this peer group with publicly documented grantmaking (aside from the opaque Cooper Family Charitable Foundation), Yarbrough occupies a distinctive niche: a rapidly scaling, founder-led philanthropist with deep Nashville civic roots, a growing international portfolio, and a clear pattern of multi-year institutional relationships across education, mental health, human services, and LGBTQ+ rights.

No press releases or external news coverage of the Yarbrough Family Foundation was identified for 2025 or 2026. The foundation maintains a deliberately low public profile consistent with its invitation-only approach, family governance structure, and absence of a functioning public website (the URL https://www.yarbrough.org/ resolves to the portfolio of a VFX artist, not the foundation).

The most recent publicly available financial data covers FY2024, in which total charitable disbursements reached $6.97 million — a 59% increase over FY2023's $4.4 million and the highest single-year giving figure in the foundation's history. The FY2024 data reveals a structural development: large contributions to donor-advised fund intermediaries (Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee at approximately $5.27 million and the Yarbrough Family Charitable Fund at Fidelity Charitable at $2.5 million) suggest the Yarbroughs are rerouting capital through more flexible grantmaking vehicles. This may indicate plans to expand their grantmaking scope or create endowment-like structures within community foundations.

Leadership has been fully stable across the foundation's documented history. Jon Yarbrough (President) and Kathy Lee Campbell Yarbrough (Secretary) have held their respective roles across all available IRS filings from FY2011 through FY2024, with $0 compensation throughout. The registered address updated from 730 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 120 to 2000 Mallory Lane in more recent filings — an administrative address change, not an organizational restructuring. The foundation's continued sponsorship of Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee confirms active civic engagement as of the most recent research window.

Because the Yarbrough Family Foundation does not accept unsolicited applications, the following guidance focuses entirely on relationship cultivation and positioning — the only viable path to a grant.

Understand the founder's background first. Jon Yarbrough's wealth comes from gaming technology serving Native American tribal economies, not from finance, real estate, or traditional industry. He built a scrappy tech company, ran it for 23 years, and reinvested the proceeds into Tennessee. Organizations that frame their work in terms of economic empowerment, entrepreneurship, and community resilience tend to resonate more than those using generic nonprofit language. The Nashville Entrepreneur Center ($525,000 over 4 grants) and Beacon Center of Tennessee ($375,000 over 4 grants) exemplify this alignment.

Use the Nashville civic network as your front door. The foundation's deepest relationships are with United Way chapters, Battle Ground Academy, Junior Achievement, and Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. If your organization has any overlap with these groups — through board members, collaborative programming, or shared donors — those connections are your most credible introduction to the Yarbroughs.

Lead with unrestricted impact. Every grant in the foundation's history is classified as unrestricted. Do not open with a project-specific or capital campaign ask. Demonstrate organizational health, leadership stability, and evidence of impact, then ask for unrestricted operating support. This framing precisely matches how the Yarbroughs have funded every grantee on record.

Mental health and education are the two most durable program themes. NAMI and NAMI Tennessee have received 8 grants between them. Battle Ground Academy has received 4 grants totaling $2.1 million. The Center for Living and Learning has received 5 total grants. Organizations in these spaces should explicitly anchor their initial outreach in these demonstrated priorities.

Timing your outreach. The foundation's fiscal year runs through December. The Yarbroughs typically make large personal contributions to the foundation in Q1–Q2. Initial cultivation contact in Q4 (October–December) or Q1 (January–March) may align best with the foundation's active grantmaking deliberation cycle.

Avoid the PMB and Ayco contact. The 2000 Mallory Lane address is a private mailbox, and the listed contact is "% Ayco Company Tax Dept" — a Goldman Sachs wealth management unit handling administrative and tax functions, not program contact. Grant inquiries sent there are unlikely to reach Jon or Kathy Yarbrough.