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· Public charity

Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville

The mission of the arts & culture alliance of greater knoxville is to serve and support a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions.

$1.2M
Granted FY2025still arriving
41
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$93k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$6.1MEnvironment$69kEducation$10kOther$0
02FY2025 · 41 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 41 grants below total $951,168, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,240,466 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $289,298 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $17k
  • $10k–50k38 grants · $842k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $93k
$20,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DOGWOOD ARTS FESTIVAL$92,500
CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE$41,000
MARBLE SPRINGS STATE HISTORIC SITE$35,000
BLOUNT MANSION$35,000
MABRY-HAZEN HOUSE$35,000
JAMES WHITE FORT$35,000
TN STAGE COMPANY$33,600
KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY$31,250
KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$31,250
KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART$31,250
KNOX HERITAGE INC$29,275
BIG EARS FESTIVAL$29,000
BIJOU THEATRE CENTER$24,560
WORD PLAYERS$23,900
EAST TN HISTORICAL SOCIETY$22,050
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MARBLE CITY OPERA: $40k → 12%WORD PLAYERS: $40k → 12%WORD PLAYERS: $24k → 12%MARBLE CITY OPERA: $20k → 12%MARBLE CITY OPERA: $20k → 12%DOGWOOD ARTS FESTIVAL: $93k → 12%DOGWOOD ARTS FESTIVAL: $68k → 12%HISTORIC TN THEATRE: $60k → 12%DOGWOOD ARTS FESTIVAL: $50k → 12%RIVER AND RAIL THEATRE COMPANY: $40k → 12%KNOXVILLE HISTORY PROJECT: $36k → 12%HOLA HORA LATINA: $30k → 12%DOGWOOD ARTS FESTIVAL: $23k → 12%MAKER CITY: $21k → 12%KNOX COUNTY MUSEUM OF EDUCATION: $35k → 12%KNOX COUNTY MUSEUM OF EDUCATION: $20k → 12%KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $71k → 12%KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $71k → 12%JUBILEE COMMUNITY ARTS: $50k → 12%KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $38k → 12%KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $31k → 12%MARBLE SPRINGS STAE HISTORIC SITE: $38k → 12%MARBLE SPRINGS STATE HISTORIC SITE: $35k → 12%MARBLE SPRINGS STATE HISTORIC SITE: $35k → 12%MABRY-HAZEN HOUSE: $51k → 12%BECK CULTURAL EXCHANGE: $40k → 12%MABRY-HAZEN HOUSE: $35k → 12%MABRY-HAZEN HOUSE: $35k → 12%JAMES WHITE FORT: $35k → 12%JAMES WHITE FORT: $35k → 12%JOY OF MUSIC YOUTH MUSIC SCHOOL: $40k → 12%KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $71k → 12%THE BOTTOM: $40k → 12%KNOXVILLE CHILDREN'S THEATRE: $40k → 12%KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $31k → 12%KNOXVILLE COMMUNITY MEDIA: $40k → 12%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.8M · 37 repeat orgs$404k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

37 repeat relationships: 34 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

37
14

Total granted

$5.8M
$299k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
0%

Still filing today

92%
86%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $105k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureFood & NutritionEnvironmentPhilanthropyEducationOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • KM
    KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART
    9× · 2017–2025 · $367k · revenue +41%
  • KS
    KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATED
    9× · 2017–2025 · $367k · revenue +34%
  • DA
    DOGWOOD ARTS INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $318k · revenue +24%

Funded once

  • JO
    JOY OF MUSIC YOUTH MUSIC SCHOOL CORPORATION
    one grant, 2023 · $40k · revenue -9%
  • RA
    RIVER AND RAIL THEATRE COMPANYgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $40k · revenue +190%
  • CT
    COMMUNITY TELEVISION OF KNOXVILLE
    one grant, 2024 · $40k · revenue 0%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville

The mission of the arts & culture alliance of greater knoxville is to serve and support a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions.

Arts & Culture
2
Community Arts Council of Blount County
Arts & Culture
3
Knox County Historical Society

Historical art and cultural programs and classes conducted for the knox county community.

—
4
Historic Tennessee Theatre Endowment Fund

The purpose of this organization is to establish and maintain an endowment fund to preserve and maintain the facilities of the tennessee theatre established in 1928 in knoxville, tennessee in order that the historic tennesssee theatre…

Arts & Culture
5
Tennessee Association of Museums Inc

The tennessee association of museums empowers tennessee museums to inspire, engage, and connect to their audiences and communities.

—
6
Arts Council of Crockett

Arts council of crockett tennessee was established to foster the development and encouragement of the arts in crockett county

Arts & Culture
7
The Muse Knoxville

To inspire and empower all children through transformative learning experiences. our vision is to make our community the best place for all to learn through the power of play.

Arts & Culture
8
Knox Concert Series Inc

Dedicated to bringing nationally and internationally know performing artist and ensembles to calhoun county. the organization exist to stimulate cultural interst and to enhance the quality of life of the citizens of the area by making…

—
9
Hickman County Historical Society

To Preserve and teach Local Hictory

—
10
Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum

Knoxville botanical gardens and arboretum provides and maintains gardens for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public.

Environment
11
Knoxville Science Museum Inc
Arts & Culture
12
Nashville Blues and Roots Alliance
Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Union County Opry. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

48 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 48 of the 57 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

9
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
15
Early backer (in before they grew)
48/48
Grantees still filing
31/48
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $367,351 · Arts & CultureKNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ARTKNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATED: $367,351 · Arts & CultureKNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATEDKNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $320,950 · Arts & CultureKNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANYDOGWOOD ARTS INC: $318,016 · Arts & CultureDOGWOOD ARTS INCBIG EARS FESTIVAL: $211,500 · Arts & CultureBIG EARS FESTIVALHISTORIC TENNESSEE THEATRE FOUNDATION: $190,000 · Arts & CultureHISTORIC TENNESSEE THEATRE FOUNDATIONJAMES WHITES FORT: $175,847 · Arts & CultureTENNESSEE STAGE COMPANY: $170,000 · Arts & CultureHOLA HORA LATINA: $117,000 · Arts & CultureJUBILEE COMMUNITY ARTS INC: $112,930 · Arts & Culture+21 more: $951,684 · Arts & Culture+21 moreTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE: $550,188 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEEEAST TN HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $303,773 · OtherEAST TN HISTORICAL SOCIETYBIJOU THEATRE CENTER: $271,961 · OtherBIJOU THEATRE CENTERCUMBERLAND COMMUNITIES COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION: $215,853 · OtherCUMBERLAND COMMUNITIES COMMUNICATIONS CORPORAT…GOVERNOR WILLIAM BLOUNT MANSION: $214,661 · OtherGOVERNOR WILLIAM BLOUNT MANSIONHAZEN HISTORICAL MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $211,841 · OtherHAZEN HISTORICAL MUSEUM FOUNDATION INCGovernor John Sevier Memorial Assoc: $199,427 · OtherGovernor John Sevier Memorial AssocASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF TENNESSEE ANTIQUITIES: $121,008 · OtherKNOX HERITAGE INC: $112,258 · Other+13 more: $344,784 · Other+13 moreTENNESSEE VALLEY AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL FAIR: $105,551 · Food & NutritionIJAMS NATURE CENTER INC: $104,670 · EnvironmentKnoxville Jazz Orchestra: $87,000 · PhilanthropyKNOX MAKERS: $42,925 · Education
Arts & Culture$3,302,629Other$2,545,754Food & Nutrition$105,551Environment$104,670Philanthropy$87,000Education$42,925

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetKNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART: $367,351 over 9y, 2.6% of budgetKNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATED: $367,351 over 9y, 1.6% of budgetKNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY: $320,950 over 9y, 4.4% of budgetDOGWOOD ARTS INC: $318,016 over 9y, 5.0% of budgetBIJOU THEATRE CENTER: $271,961 over 9y, 5.0% of budgetCUMBERLAND COMMUNITIES COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION: $215,853 over 9y, 9.5% of budgetGOVERNOR WILLIAM BLOUNT MANSION: $214,661 over 9y, 20% of budgetHAZEN HISTORICAL MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $211,841 over 9y, 37% of budgetBIG EARS FESTIVAL: $211,500 over 7y, 5.9% of budgetGovernor John Sevier Memorial Assoc: $199,427 over 9y, 25% of budgetHISTORIC TENNESSEE THEATRE FOUNDATION: $190,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetJAMES WHITES FORT: $175,847 over 9y, 20% of budgetTENNESSEE STAGE COMPANY: $170,000 over 9y, 44% of budgetASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF TENNESSEE ANTIQUITIES: $121,008 over 8y, 3.3% of budgetHOLA HORA LATINA: $117,000 over 9y, 47% of budgetJUBILEE COMMUNITY ARTS INC: $112,930 over 7y, 42% of budgetKNOX HERITAGE INC: $112,258 over 6y, 4.3% of budgetTENNESSEE VALLEY AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL FAIR: $105,551 over 9y, 4.2% of budgetIJAMS NATURE CENTER INC: $104,670 over 9y, 1.1% of budgetKnoxville Jazz Orchestra: $87,000 over 9y, 7.5% of budgetAppalachian Equality Chorus: $85,493 over 4y, 23% of budgetTHE WORDPLAYERS: $83,900 over 3y, 16% of budgetDr Martin Luther King Commemorative: $83,000 over 8y, 14% of budgetASIAN CULTURE CENTER OF TENNESSEE: $80,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetThe Bottom: $80,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetKnoxville Childrens Theatre Inc: $80,000 over 3y, 7.6% of budgetMARBLE CITY OPERA: $80,000 over 3y, 33% of budgetBECK CULTURAL EXCHANGE CENTER INC: $80,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetTHEATRE KNOXVILLE INC: $59,000 over 3y, 21% of budgetKnox County Museum of Education: $54,874 over 2y, 96% of budgetKNOX MAKERS: $42,925 over 3y, 14% of budgetJOY OF MUSIC YOUTH MUSIC SCHOOL CORPORATION: $40,000 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetRIVER AND RAIL THEATRE COMPANY: $40,000 over 1y, 7.7% of budgetCOMMUNITY SCHOOL OF THE ARTS: $40,000 over 3y, 8.6% of budgetEAST TENNESSEE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION: $40,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY TELEVISION OF KNOXVILLE: $39,750 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetFOOTHILLS CRAFT GUILD INC: $37,832 over 1y, 35% of budgetKNOXVILLE HISTORY PROJECT: $36,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetCATTYWAMPUS PUPPET COUNCIL: $20,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetBLACK IN APPALACHIA: $15,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetOAK RIDGE COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE: $15,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetUNION COUNTY OPRY: $15,000 over 1y, 41% of budgetCAMPBELL CULTURE COALITION: $15,000 over 1y, 9.6% of budgetMONROE AREA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS: $14,968 over 1y, 11% of budgetFOURTH & GILL NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION: $14,523 over 1y, 11% of budgetNIEF-NORF: $11,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetSMOKY MOUNTAIN QUILTERS OF TENNESSEE: $9,500 over 1y, 18% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY SOCIETY INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE OPERA COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds DOGWOOD ARTS INC ↗
  • Who funds BIJOU THEATRE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds CUMBERLAND COMMUNITIES COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds GOVERNOR WILLIAM BLOUNT MANSION ↗
  • Who funds HAZEN HISTORICAL MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds BIG EARS FESTIVAL ↗
  • Who funds Governor John Sevier Memorial Assoc ↗
  • Who funds HISTORIC TENNESSEE THEATRE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds JAMES WHITES FORT ↗
  • Who funds TENNESSEE STAGE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds ASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF TENNESSEE ANTIQUITIES ↗
  • Who funds HOLA HORA LATINA ↗
  • Who funds JUBILEE COMMUNITY ARTS INC ↗
  • Who funds KNOX HERITAGE INC ↗
  • Who funds TENNESSEE VALLEY AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL FAIR ↗
  • Who funds IJAMS NATURE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Knoxville Jazz Orchestra ↗
  • Who funds Appalachian Equality Chorus ↗
  • Who funds THE WORDPLAYERS ↗
  • Who funds Dr Martin Luther King Commemorative ↗
  • Who funds ASIAN CULTURE CENTER OF TENNESSEE ↗
  • Who funds The Bottom ↗
  • Who funds Knoxville Childrens Theatre Inc ↗
  • Who funds MARBLE CITY OPERA ↗
  • Who funds BECK CULTURAL EXCHANGE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THEATRE KNOXVILLE INC ↗
  • Who funds Knox County Museum of Education ↗
  • Who funds KNOX MAKERS ↗
  • Who funds JOY OF MUSIC YOUTH MUSIC SCHOOL CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds RIVER AND RAIL THEATRE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF THE ARTS ↗
  • Who funds EAST TENNESSEE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY TELEVISION OF KNOXVILLE ↗
  • Who funds FOOTHILLS CRAFT GUILD INC ↗
  • Who funds KNOXVILLE HISTORY PROJECT ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

East Tennessee FoundationTN49.2× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: East Tennessee Foundation · The Aslan Foundation · Haslam Family Foundation Inc · Lamp Foundation · Humanities Tennessee · Regal Foundation · Texas Instruments Foundation · The Boyd Foundation · Lawson Family Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    22report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville?

    Find your warmest path to Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 57 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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