As Tennessee Nonprofit Network turns two years old, we wanted to share the interesting story about how a small grant writing nonprofit evolved into a statewide nonprofit association. In part 1, we’ll look at our origins, which date back to 1992, and how we evolved from The Grant Center to Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence to Momentum Nonprofit Partners. We’ll continue the story about the wild ride to become Tennessee Nonprofit Network in additional sections.
The Start: How a Great Idea in Memphis Grew into a Movement
It all started in 1992, with a group of Memphians who saw a real opportunity. They noticed that many local nonprofits were missing out on big state and federal grants simply because they didn’t have the resources to apply for them. So, they created The Grant Center. Their idea was simple yet powerful: they would help these nonprofits with the tricky business of writing grants. This service saved organizations millions of dollars, allowing them to outsource this specialized work instead of hiring more staff. The Grant Center and its later version, Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence, brought in over $100 million in grants to the Memphis community. It was a huge success!
But the founders soon realized something important. Winning grants was one thing, but keeping them was another. They saw that many nonprofits lacked the basics: strong boards, solid fundraising plans, and clear strategic direction. It was like giving a car to someone who didn’t know how to drive. So, they changed gears. They decided to focus on capacity building—helping nonprofits become stronger from the inside out. This led to a new name, the Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence, and a whole new suite of services. They brought in a team of consultants and started offering training programs to help nonprofit staff grow and develop professionally. A major point of pride was launching the Program for Nonprofit Excellence (PNE), a special program where groups of leaders learned together. It was so effective that we still use it as a model today.
A New Chapter: Becoming Momentum Nonprofit Partners
Fast forward to 2017. The organization was ready for a big change. After CEO Nancy McGee retired, the board knew they needed to evolve to meet the changing needs of the nonprofit world. Carrie Burke, a longtime board member, urged the board to make bold moves to take the organization into the next phase of its history. They brought in Kevin Dean, a new leader with a fresh perspective. He was initially an interim director, but his work on rightsizing the organization and launching new programs was so compelling that the board convinced him to stay on as permanent President & CEO. Under his guidance, everything was re-imagined—from the strategic plan to the staff and board. However, several longtime staff members, including John Bazzanella and April Carter, along with newer team member Kate Moss, stayed with the organization, excited to be a part of the next chapter!
The organization took on a greater focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion and began championing the next generation of leaders. In 2018, we joined forces with the Mid-South Philanthropy Network, which expanded our understanding of how philanthropy and nonprofits can work together.
This transformation was marked by a name change: Momentum Nonprofit Partners. We celebrated with a fantastic event for 400 people, using the hashtag #everythingchanges to signal our commitment to evolving. One of the biggest changes was getting rid of our annual membership fee. We wanted to make sure that no organization, no matter how small, was left out. This decision opened our doors to over 800 new members in a single year! We knew it would mean finding new ways to generate revenue, but we believed it was the right thing to do to support our community.
This new model was put to the ultimate test during the COVID-19 pandemic. Momentum Nonprofit Partners became a lifeline for nonprofits across Memphis. We worked around the clock to provide guidance on things like the CARES Act and SBA loans. The organization was ready for this crisis, thanks in part to staff members like Kevin Dean and Dorian Spears, who had learned valuable lessons from their experience with Hurricane Katrina relief. We were already set up for remote work and quickly moved our trainings online, ensuring we could continue to support our community when they needed it most.
The Next Level: From Memphis to all of Tennessee
Our story didn’t stop in Memphis. In 2023, we made a final, significant change and became Tennessee Nonprofit Network. This name change perfectly captures our broader mission. While our roots are in Memphis, our purpose now is to serve the entire state. We’re here to build the momentum of the nonprofit sector across all of Tennessee, providing resources, training, and advocacy to help every organization thrive. In the next blog post, we’ll explore the history of how we ended up as the state nonprofit association for Tennessee!