Have you ever seen the jellies at the Tennessee Aquarium, spun the pedals on the Riverwalk, or warbled at the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera’s Messiah Sing-a-Long? Have you visited a sick friend at the hospital, joined a fraternity or attended church? Then you’ve been touched by a Chattanooga nonprofit.
“A lot of people don’t realize how much the city’s nonprofits do,” says Sheila Moore, executive director of the United Way’s Center for Nonprofits. “Our community is wonderfully philanthropic.”
Nonprofits form to achieve a mission that benefits society – not their bottom line, explains Moore. “They’re essentially owned by the community.” Religious organizations, civic groups, community and private foundations, charities, hospitals, counseling centers, trade associations, even the PTA – are all nonprofits, operating tax-free in return for improving society.
About 1,800 Chattanooga nonprofits have registered with the federal government, “but we think there are many less than that,” says Moore. In the past, small and inactive nonprofits could stay on the books forever, she explains. Under new rules, all nonprofits must file annual IRS reports. Any nonprofit that fails to file a report for three years will be removed from the rolls. Anyone can view the reports at www.guidestar.org.
Accounting aside, the benefits of not-for-profit groups in Chattanooga may be seen everywhere – from the Tennessee Aquarium, which splashed into town in 1992, to the renaissance sparked by such groups as the RiverCity Company, the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Benwood Foundation and Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise.
Since the 1980s, these and many other groups have helped build businesses, housing, schools and entertainment venues downtown. The Trust for Public Land, among other activities, also pieced together dozens of contracts to secure the Riverwalk’s required rights of way.
The Siskin Children’s Institute, a charity for children with special needs founded in 1950 by Chattanooga businessmen Mose and Garrison Siskin, offers community education sessions, professional development seminars, family support programs and library facilities. Employing doctoral-level researchers who study developmental disabilities, The Institute with T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital offers assessment, diagnosis and treatment to children with, or at risk for, developmental delays and disorders. Downtown charities include scores of other organizations, too, including the Community Kitchen, The Partnership for Families, Children and Adults and La Paz, which feeds the hungry and advocates for education and inclusion and against prejudice.
Hefting the deepest pockets, the Community Foundation was ranked by the Council on Foundations three years ago as the third largest in Tennessee. Last year, it reported more than $74 million in assets and grants of nearly $14 million. Foundations fund other nonprofits, explains Moore. Community foundations, as opposed to private ones, pool the resources of many people and groups. Larger nonprofits host annual fund-raising events. Siskin Children’s Institute, for example, has lured marquee acts including Sugarland and LeAnn Rimes to Chattanooga for the annual StarNight, while its StyleWorks event each spring is among Chattanooga’s premier fashion shows.
While not everyone thinks about singing “hallelujah” for nonprofits during the holidays, many will invest time and money into them. “These days, we say that donors aren’t ‘giving’ money, they’re ‘investing’ it,” says Moore, “they’re looking not for dollars back, but for a better, more vibrant community.”