Area residents have happily come to accept the stunning evolution of Chattanooga from the hard days of environmental degradation and economic despair – the low ebb ran from the 1960s through the 1980s – to the status that we’ve achieved since the 1990s. The city’s remarkable renaissance over the last 20 years in almost every measurable realm has surprised many and infused us all with pride and ever higher expectations. It has also, understandably, become such a norm of life here that it’s easy to forget its genesis and the nexus of effort, vision and partnerships that have produced our critical turnaround – and the effort still necessary to sustain it.
This history, and what our future holds, is especially noteworthy with the announcement today of the sharp shift that is about to occur in the Lyndhurst Foundation, which arguably has been the most potent philanthropic and creative force behind the city’s renaissance and economic revival.
Its reorganization – spinning off five smaller foundations that will each have different homes and new agendas, while keeping a revamped Lyndhurst Foundation in Chattanooga – marks a significant turning point. It prompts fresh appreciation of the foundation’s crucial role and the fruits of its vast investments over the past several decades – nearly $100 million in the past seven years alone – to improve the place that we more proudly call home. And it refreshes hope for its somewhat more restricted role in the future.
Lyndhurst remains intact
The reorganization of Lyndhurst is a natural evolution of sorts. Founded as the Memorial Welfare Foundation more than 70 years ago by Coca-Cola magnate Thomas Cartter Lupton, the foundation initially focused its philanthropic energies mainly on Chattanooga, helping fund programs to improve education, health care, the arts and cultural activities.