Haslam Family Foundation Grants

Haslam Family Foundation Grants is sponsored by Haslam Family Foundation. The Haslam Family Foundation supports children and families by removing barriers and expanding access to quality education and community resources.

Haslam Family Foundation | Inside Philanthropy OVERVIEW : The Haslam Family Foundation supports education, youth development, arts and culture, health and human services, faith-based organizations, and parks and conservation, with a strong emphasis on Knoxville and East Tennessee. IP TAKE : The Haslam Family Foundation has evolved in recent years. This is the foundation of the elder Haslam, “Jim.

” His son Jimmy and daughter-in-law Susan “Dee” Haslam, through Haslam Giving , have three foundations of their own: The Haslam 3 Foundation , Cleveland Browns Foundation, and Columbus Crew Foundation. Jim Haslam has two sons, Jimmy and Bill, who both serve on their parent’s foundation board, while managing their own, separate foundations with grantmaking distinct from their the Haslam Foundation.

The Haslam Family Foundation is a low-profile Knoxville funder with deep ties to many of East Tennessee’s major civic and nonprofit institutions. Its largest grants often go to established organizations with longstanding Haslam family relationships, including the University of Tennessee, but its recent grantmaking also includes smaller local nonprofits.

Education, youth development, arts and culture, health, human services, faith-based organizations, and parks and conservation all appear in recent giving. This makes the Haslam Family Foundation primarily a relationship-driven prospect. Organizations already active in Knoxville and East Tennessee’s education, youth, arts, health, civic and community networks will have the strongest prospects.

A warm introduction through an existing grantee, civic partner or other trusted local relationship is likely more useful than a cold approach. Grantseekers should note an important change in accessibility. The foundation’s 2023 Form 990-PF provided application instructions and May 31 and November 30 deadlines, but its latest 2024 filing identifies the foundation as preselected-only and says it does not accept unsolicited requests.

PROFILE: The Haslam Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Knoxville, Tennessee. IRS records date its tax-exempt status to 1997. Its latest Form 990-PF lists James A.

“Jim” Haslam II as president and his sons James A. “Jimmy” Haslam III and former Tennessee Gov. William E. “Bill” Haslam as directors.

Ann Haslam Bailey and Jennifer Oswalt also serve on the board. Jim Haslam founded Pilot in 1958. The family’s philanthropic interests have since expanded across several generations and distinct grantmaking vehicles.

It is important not to confuse the Haslam Family Foundation with Haslam 3 Foundation , the Bill and Crissy Haslam Foundation , or the philanthropic work of Dee and Jimmy Haslam under Haslam Giving . Haslam Giving says Jimmy served as Pilot CEO from 1996 to 2020 and board chair from 2020 to 2023; Berkshire Hathaway acquired the remaining interest in Pilot in January 2024.

The family-owned Pilot Flying J has grown from that beginning to include more than 750 travel centers across North America. His son, Jimmy, is now CEO. Natalie Haslam graduated from University of Tennessee Knoxville in 1952.

She is active in civic life, including as a founding board member of Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Haslam family has been on the Forbes list of America’s richest families. The foundation does not maintain a public website or publish a formal set of grant programs.

The funding areas below therefore describe patterns in its recent grantmaking rather than official program names or stated strategies. Education is one of the clearest areas of Haslam Family Foundation giving, with particularly deep support for the University of Tennessee . In 2006, Natalie and Jim Haslam and the Haslam Family Foundation made a combined $32.

5 million gift to UT , including $10 million for the School of Music . The Natalie L. Haslam Music Center later opened in 2013.

Education remains prominent in current grantmaking. The foundation’s largest reported 2024 grant was $2. 5 million to the University of Tennessee Foundation for the School of Music Gala .

Recent grants have also supported the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education, better known as SCORE, and the Horatio Alger Association’s Education Fund. The foundation’s education interests span higher education, education policy and improvement, scholarships, and youth development. There is no separate education application process.

Grants for Sports and Youth Development Youth development is a recurring element of Haslam philanthropy, although the available evidence does not establish a formal Haslam Family Foundation sports program. In 2016, Knox County approved a $1. 3 million gift from the Haslam Family Foundation for educational purposes at 13 county high schools .

At the same meeting, the county considered a separate agreement with Field of Dreams, Inc. for synthetic turf and running-track improvements at local high schools. These were related local initiatives, but Field of Dreams, Inc. should not be confused with unrelated nonprofits of the same name.

Recent youth-related grantees include Emerald Youth Foundation , which received $500,000 in general operating support in 2024, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee , which received $150,000 for its BOLDPATH program.

Youth sports is also an explicit priority of Dee and Jimmy Haslam’s separate Haslam Giving operation, but grantseekers should not assume that all Haslam Giving priorities constitute formal programs of the Haslam Family Foundation. Grants for Arts and Culture Arts and culture receive meaningful support, particularly in Knoxville. Recent grants span music, festivals, local history and other cultural institutions.

In 2024, the foundation awarded $300,000 in general operating support to Big Ears Festival and $5,000 in general operating support to Knoxville History Project. The year’s $2. 5 million University of Tennessee Foundation grant also supported the School of Music Gala.

Past recipients have also included the Knoxville Symphony Society, Tennessee State Museum Foundation and Knoxville Zoological Gardens. The grant record suggests that established cultural institutions receive significant support, but the foundation also makes smaller awards to local organizations. Health is another recurring giving area, with funding for healthcare institutions as well as community-based health organizations.

The Interfaith Health Clinic in Knoxville received $500,000 in 2024. Earlier reported grants have supported East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and Cleveland Clinic. Grantseekers should distinguish the foundation’s grantmaking from broader Haslam family philanthropy.

In 2024, Cleveland Clinic announced $30 million in gifts from members of the Bailey-Haslam family collectively to establish the Haslam Family Section for Cardiovascular Genetics and an endowed chair. Cleveland Clinic attributed the gifts to Natalie and Jim Haslam, Dee and Jimmy Haslam, Crissy and Bill Haslam, and Ann Haslam Bailey and Steve Bailey; it did not identify the $30 million as a single Haslam Family Foundation grant.

Grants for Human Services and Faith-Based Organizations The foundation supports both secular human-service nonprofits and Christian institutions and ministries. Children and young people appear frequently in this giving, but the portfolio is broader than child welfare alone. Recent grantees include Emerald Youth Foundation , which received $500,000 in general operating support; St.

John’s Cathedral , which received one of the foundation’s largest 2024 awards; Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee ; Friends of Tennessee’s Babies with Special Needs; and Joni & Friends. The foundation does not publish a faith-based funding strategy or religious eligibility requirement. The safer characterization is that Christian organizations form a visible part of a broader human-services and community grantmaking portfolio.

Grants for Parks, Conservation and Outdoor Education Parks, conservation and outdoor education are worth noting as an additional area of recent giving. In 2024, the foundation awarded $324,000 to the Great Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont through a pledge payment and sponsorships, while Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park also received support.

Natalie Haslam was also a longtime supporter of the Great Smoky Mountains and a founding board member of Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She died on January 16, 2026, at age 94 . The Haslam Family Foundation’s 2024 Form 990-PF reports 34 grants, with a median grant of $75,000 and awards ranging from $3,500 to $2.

5 million . The foundation made about $8. 1 million in charitable distributions that year.

Grantmaking is strongly concentrated in Knoxville and East Tennessee , although occasional grants go to organizations elsewhere in Tennessee and outside the state. Recent grants range from small awards of several thousand dollars to seven-figure gifts for major institutions. The $75,000 median is more representative than the much higher average produced by a handful of large grants.

The foundation supports both general operating expenses and specific projects, programs, pledges and sponsorships . Large, established institutions receive many of the biggest grants, but the foundation also makes smaller awards to local organizations. There is no published organizational-size requirement.

The foundation’s latest filing says it only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds . Older application guidance should not be relied upon.

The foundation’s 2023 filing instructed nonprofits to submit written requests by May 31 or November 30 and gave preference to East Tennessee organizations , but those instructions were superseded by the preselected-only designation on the 2024 return. Enable JavaScript to continue This site uses JavaScript to verify your account, display articles, and provide other features.

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