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The Chattanooga Tourism Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

The Chattanooga Tourism Foundation

To support and promote tourism-related activities, events and projects to enhance the image and culture and develop the economic and social prosperity of the hamilton county, tennessee area and otherwise pursue such charitable activites within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code, and thereby lessen the burden of…

$100k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$747kEnvironment$141kAnimals$88kFood & Nutrition$40kRecreation & Sports$30kCommunity Improvement$20kPublic Benefit$10kReligion$3k
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 1 grants below total $50,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $100,000 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $50,000 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.
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$771k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION$50,000
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 (FY21–25) 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%FRIENDS OF THE ZOO: $33k → 12%TENNESSEE RIVER GORGE TRUST: $20k → 14%INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION: $50k → 14%FRIENDS OF THE ZOO: $30k → 12%TENNESSEE RIVER GORGE TRUST: $20k → 14%THE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE: $25k → 14%FRIENDS OF THE ZOO: $25k → 12%ASSOCIATION FOR VISUAL ARTS: $13k → 14%THE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE: $25k → 14%ASSOCIATION FOR VISUAL ARTS: $10k → 14%CHATTANOOGA THEATRE CENTRE: $9k → 14%SONGBIRDS FOUNDATION INC: $20k → 12%CHATTANOOGA THEATRE CENTRE: $8k → 14%LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY: $14k → 12%REFLECTION RIDING ARBORETUM AND NATURE CENTER: $15k → 14%SONGBIRDS FOUNDATION INC: $16k → 12%LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY: $10k → 12%HUNTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $30k → 12%HUNTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $30k → 12%BESSIE SMITH CULTURAL CENTER: $21k → 12%ODDSTORY BREWING COMPANY: $20k → 12%HUNTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $10k → 12%ODDSTORY BREWING COMPANY: $10k → 12%SOUNDCORPS INC: $10k → 12%SOUNDCORPS INC: $9k → 12%CREATIVE DISCOVERY MUSEUM: $50k → 12%CREATIVE DISCOVERY MUSEUM: $50k → 12%CREATIVE DISCOVERY MUSEUM: $50k → 12%CREATIVE DISCOVERY MUSEUM: $50k → 12%THE TIVOLI THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $23k → 12%THE TIVOLI THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $23k → 12%SONGBIRDS FOUNDATION INC: $20k → 12%RIDGECROFT DISTILLER: $16k → 12%HIGH POINT CLIMBING: $15k → 12%HIGH POINT CLIMBING: $15k → 12%FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL: $13k → 12%RIDGECROFT DISTILLER: $12k → 12%THE HOT CHOCOLATIER: $10k → 12%THE HOT CHOCOLATIER: $10k → 12%CHARLES H COOLIDGE: $10k → 12%THE TIVOLI THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $8k → 12%THE TIVOLI THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $8k → 12%TENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM: $35k → 12%TENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM: $35k → 12%TENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM: $25k → 12%DIPPED FRESH LLC: $10k → 12%DIPPED FRESH LLC: $10k → 12%CHATTANOOGA PRESENTS: $17k → 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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$950k · 21 repeat orgs$129k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +18% since the first grant, against -20% for those funded once.

21 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 21 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
9

Total granted

$950k
$79k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+18%
-20%

Still filing today

76%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementAnimalsRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • TV
    TENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $95k · revenue +14%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE ZOO INC
    3× · 2021–2023 · $88k · revenue +24%
  • HM
    Hunter Museum of American Art
    4× · 2021–2024 · $70k · revenue +127%

Funded once

  • CP
    CHATTANOOGA PRESENTS
    one grant, 2023 · $17k
  • RR
    REFLECTION RIDING ARBORETUM AND NATURE CENTER
    one grant, 2021 · $15k · revenue -20%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL INC
    one grant, 2022 · $13k · revenue -76%
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
Preserve Chattanooga Inc Formerly Cornerstones Inc

To protect the architectural heritage of chattanooga through historic preservation, advocacy, and education

Arts & Culture
2
Tenngreen Land Conservancy

The organization's primary mission is conserving land where people and nature can thrive by creating green corridors linking existing public lands using conservation easments and outright purchase.

Recreation & Sports
3
Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Association

To provide high-quality musical presentations and educational programs in the chattanooga area

Arts & Culture
4
Chattanooga Technology Council Inc

Our mission is to connect chattanooga's technology sector to drive regional economic growth.

Community Improvement
5
Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville Inc

Arts & business council of greater nashville supports and promotes the arts by driving collaboration between arts and business that contribute to the creativity, vitality, and prosperity of greater nashville/the regions/the city.

Crime & Legal
6
Chattanooga Design Studio

Chattanooga design studio seeks to elevate the quality of life for all citizens through guidance, collaboration, innovation, and education that promotes livable, accessible, walkable, and humane urban design.

Community Improvement
7
Tennessee Performing Arts Center (Tpac) Management Corporation

To provide facilities, services, and programs of the highest quality for the greatest benefit of the people, institutions, and communities of the state, and to take a leadership role in fostering the performing arts, arts education,…

Arts & Culture
8
The Charleston Museum

To educate Charleston area residents and visitors about the natural and cultural history of the South Carolina Lowcountry through collections, exhibitions, preservation, conservation, research and related programming.

Arts & Culture
9
Tennessee Aquarium

The mission of the Tennessee Aquarium is to connect people with nature and empower them to make informed decisions about water and wildlife.

Animals
10
Tennessee State Parks Conservancy

To support education, health and access programs that preserve, protect, and enhance Tennessee's natural areas and parks system.

Environment
11
Theatre Memphis

To produce plays and encourage the arts by performance and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
12
Nashville Public Radio

Nashville public radio's mission is to be the most trusted & independent nashville voice, connecting our communities through non-partisan journalism, compelling storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Tennessee River Gorge Trust Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Rivercity Company. 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

23 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. 23 of the 31 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/23
Grantees still filing
13/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Creative Discovery Museum: $200,000 · Arts & CultureCreative Discovery MuseumTENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM INC: $95,000 · Arts & CultureTENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM INCHunter Museum of American Art: $70,000 · Arts & CultureHunter Museum of American ArtTHE TIVOLI THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $60,000 · Arts & CultureTHE TIVOLI THEATRE FOUNDATION INCSONGBIRDS FOUNDATION INC: $56,250 · Arts & CultureSONGBIRDS FOUNDATION INCTHE BESSIE SMITH CULTURAL CENTER: $42,500 · Arts & CultureTHE BESSIE SMITH CULTURAL CENTERASSOCIATION FOR VISUAL ARTISTS: $25,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $44,750 · Arts & Culture+5 moreINTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION: $50,000 · OtherINTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS…HIGH POINT CLIMBING: $30,000 · OtherHIGH POINT CLIMBINGODDSTORY BREWING COMPANY: $29,800 · OtherODDSTORY BREWING COMPAN…RIDGECROFT DISTILLER: $27,750 · OtherRIDGECROFT DISTILLERDIPPED FRESH LLC: $20,000 · OtherDIPPED FRESH LLCTHE HOT CHOCOLATIER: $20,000 · OtherTHE HOT CHOCOLATIERCHATTANOOGA PRESENTS: $16,750 · OtherCHATTANOOGA PRESENTSCHATTANOOGA THEATRE CENTRE INC: $16,250 · OtherCHATTANOOGA THEATRE CEN…CHARLES H COOLIDGE NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR HERITAGE CENTER INC: $10,000 · Other+1 more: $3,250 · OtherTHE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentTHE LAND TRUST…THE TENNESSEE RIVER GORGE TRUST INC: $40,000 · EnvironmentTHE TENNESSEE …LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY: $23,750 · EnvironmentLOOKOUT MOUNTA…REFLECTION RIDING ARBORETUM AND NATURE CENTER: $15,000 · EnvironmentREFLECTION RID…THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $12,500 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR …FRIENDS OF THE ZOO INC: $87,500 · AnimalsFRIENDS O…THE RIVERCITY COMPANY: $13,500 · Community ImprovementLAUNCH INC: $6,750 · Community ImprovementFRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL INC: $12,500 · Recreation & Sports
Arts & Culture$593,500Other$223,800Environment$141,250Animals$87,500Community Improvement$20,250Recreation & Sports$12,500

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCreative Discovery Museum: $200,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetTENNESSEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM INC: $95,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ZOO INC: $87,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetHunter Museum of American Art: $70,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetTHE TIVOLI THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $60,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetSONGBIRDS FOUNDATION INC: $56,250 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetTHE LAND TRUST FOR TENNESSEE INC: $50,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetTHE BESSIE SMITH CULTURAL CENTER: $42,500 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetTHE TENNESSEE RIVER GORGE TRUST INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetASSOCIATION FOR VISUAL ARTISTS: $25,000 over 3y, 2.8% of budgetLOOKOUT MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY: $23,750 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetSOUNDCORPS INC: $18,250 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetCHATTANOOGA THEATRE CENTRE INC: $16,250 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetREFLECTION RIDING ARBORETUM AND NATURE CENTER: $15,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE RIVERCITY COMPANY: $13,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK: $12,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetCHARLES H COOLIDGE NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR HERITAGE CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetLAUNCH INC: $6,750 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSPLASH: $6,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetSCULPTURE FIELDS AT MONTAGUE PARK: $6,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetPARTNERS FOR CHRISTIAN MEDIA INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

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.

The Community Foundat…Benwood Foundation IncChattanooga Christian…Lyndhurst Foundation …Robert F Stone Founda…ArtsbuildRiverview Foundation …Schillhahn-Huskey Fou…Hamico IncFootprint Foundation …Tucker FoundationThe Maclellan Foundat…
The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga IncTN33.9× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc · Benwood Foundation Inc · Chattanooga Christian Community Foundation · Lyndhurst Foundation Inc · Robert F Stone Foundation AKA Bobby Stone Foundation · Artsbuild · Riverview Foundation Inc · Schillhahn-Huskey Foundation · Hamico Inc · Footprint Foundation Inc · Tucker Foundation · The Maclellan Foundation Inc

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 The Chattanooga Tourism Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Chattanooga Tourism Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 The Chattanooga Tourism Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Chattanooga Tourism Foundation 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 31 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

    Play a game based on Chattanooga Tourism’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home