Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi

Family Biz Builder

Conviction

Early conviction, steady compounding community impact

Community Foundation of Northwest made two grants to Family Biz Builder between 2020 and 2024, totaling $40,211 and at peak representing 40% of the organization's budget — a meaningful early commitment to a Tunica County nonprofit serving low-income youth through tennis, character development, and college-and-career readiness. Alongside that support, revenue has grown at a 10% CAGR and is up 57% in total, while the program has scaled from 65 participants in 2020 to 93 in 2025. In their most recent year, two youth qualified for USTA Junior Tournament competition, two others secured paid Youth Tennis Coach positions, and 40% of college-and-career readiness participants demonstrated improved reading grade levels — a single-source income concentration remains a flag worth watching as the organization continues to grow.

• 2014Family Biz Builder was founded in 2014 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Tunica County, MS, to serve low-income, at-risk youth and families.
• 2020Family Biz Builder was featured in Tennis magazine and recognized by the USTA Foundation as part of its 'Rally to Rebuild' campaign supporting NJTLs during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
• 2020In 2020, Family Biz Builder served more than 65 participants, including 50 who received tutoring in reading comprehension, language arts, and math, and 15 who learned tennis, character, and life skills.
• 2025-01Family Biz Builder secured a $4,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi to expand its College & Career Readiness Program.
• 2025In 2025, Family Biz Builder launched its first 11th-grade cohort at Clarksdale High School and onboarded all students to Winward Academy with ACT diagnostics to guide individualized support.
• 2025Over half of 55 tennis program participants improved their foundational tennis skills and gained knowledge of basic game rules in 2025.

One-time bet, remarkable post-grant graduation

Community Foundation of Northwest made a single $20,000 grant to Grace Place Inc. in 2020 — representing 9% of their budget at the time — in the earliest years of this Batesville, MS nonprofit founded in 2017. In the years since, Grace Place's revenue has grown 120% at a 22% CAGR, as the organization expanded to deliver more than 8,000 acts of assistance in a single fiscal year — food boxes, clothing, furniture, and addiction recovery groups — while also serving more than 50 students through its Genesis Kids afterschool program and reaching approximately 140 senior citizens across four Panola County apartment complexes with twice-monthly food deliveries. Recurring deficits and single-source income concentration are active financial watch items, but the trajectory of reach and impact since that first grant is striking.

• 2017-12The Grace Place, Inc. was founded in December 2017 by its Board of Directors as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation in Batesville, MS.
• 2022Served approximately 400 clients with food, clothing and furniture needs with increased activity and partnership with churches and other food pantries during COVID.
• 2022Served 4 Panola County apartment complexes for approximately 140 senior citizens with food box deliveries twice monthly.
• 2022Operated on-site children's program providing homework assistance, snacks, daily meals, and structured activities for approximately 60 children during afternoon and evening hours.
• 2022-11The Greater Impact Karate Program under Rev. Don Chapman, part of the Genesis Ministry at The Grace Place, competed in tournaments across Mississippi, Milwaukee, Alabama, and Memphis in 2022.