Blog

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network You’ve probably heard about the GoFundMe fiasco happening right now that has set the nonprofit sector ablaze, but there’s a very good reason for how outraged the nonprofit sector has been: GoFundMe violated a basic nonprofit tenet: anything you build for a community should be […]

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network We need to talk. The nonprofit sector isn’t just navigating choppy waters; we are in a full-blown, Category 5 hurricane. This isn’t your grandma’s gentle squall; this is the perfect, terrifying trifecta of organizational doom. We’re being slammed by anti-nonprofit rhetoric and political polarization that

by Andrea Hill, Chief Development and Partnerships Officer, Tennessee Nonprofit Network In our last chapter, the impossible had happened: we had successfully convinced our board of directors to vote in favor of a monumental statewide expansion. Our ambitious plan, which was nearly a year in the making, was officially approved. But that vote wasn’t the

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network In our last chapter, a crucial meeting with a mentor reignited my faith in our mission. After the previous collapse of a statewide coalition, the plan to pivot Momentum Nonprofit Partners into the state’s first nonprofit association felt like a fragile, high-stakes gamble. We had

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network In our last chapter, we were at a pivotal moment. The grand plan for a statewide association had seemingly fallen apart with the collapse of our original coalition. But a new, radical idea emerged: to transition Momentum Nonprofit Partners into the state’s first nonprofit association.

We are excited to announce that Tennessee Nonprofit Network will hosts its 3rd Annual Advocacy Summit on Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 in Nashville, TN. This event will be held at the historic Scarritt Bennett Center. This full-day event is designed to empower nonprofit professionals to engage in public policy and advocacy, build relationships with lawmakers,

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network In our last chapter, our grand plan for a statewide association seemed to have gone to hell. Our carefully built coalition of four regional organizations had crumbled. Just as we were about to present our options, Venture Forward was sunsetting, the leader of Center for

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network In our last chapter, everything almost fell apart. The four-headed monster of a coalition that got us through the pandemic—Venture Forward, Center for Nonprofit Management, Momentum Nonprofit Partners, and Alliance for Better Nonprofits—had a plan for a statewide association, but the day before our big

In partnership with the Frist Foundation, Tennessee Nonprofit Network (TNN) is proud to announce the 2nd annual CEO’s Guide to Board Governance for Davidson County nonprofits. This five (5) month cohort program is designed to support nonprofit equip executive directors and CEOs with the knowledge and tools to build strong, engaged boards that empower your

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network Alright, let me refill my coffee mug and dive back in. You want the director’s cut of “Failure to Launch”? I can definitely give you the unvarnished, slightly ridiculous version of events. In our last chapter, you know we had gone through the gauntlet of