Highlander Research & Education Center Inc
Highlander Research & Education Center is a public charity based in New Market, Tennessee. It serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the U.S. South, using popular education, participatory research, and cultural work to support people working for social and economic justice.
Highlander Research & Education Center Inc at a glance
In short: Highlander Research & Education Center Inc gave $10.3M across 142 grants in 2025 (avg $72K). Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $10,288,119
- +45.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 142
- Average grant
- $72,452
- Median grant
- $40,000
- Total assets
- $37,987,961
- -7.6% vs 2024
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026.
How to apply to Highlander Research & Education Center Inc
- How to Apply
-
The website lists Requests for Proposals for Community Partners, Cultural Organizers, and a Documentation Team. For the We Shall Overcome Fund, its published materials describe submitting an application with a project description, budget, and three references. The application form and its listed deadlines are from a past cycle.
- Contact
Mailing address: 1959 Highlander Way, New Market, TN 37820
Phone: (865) 933-3443
Website: https://highlandercenter.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Highlander Research & Education Center Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was People's Advocacy Institute ($1.0M). Together the top 10 received $3.9M.
Grant Size Distribution
142 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 107 grants of 142 (75%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Highlander describes its organizing and movement-building work as focused on Appalachia and the U.S. South. Its We Shall Overcome Fund lists eligible requests from the states and District of Columbia named above. The 2025 filing’s recipient-state share is not identified in the provided data.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.9M (2020) to $10.3M (2025). In 2025 it made 142 grants totaling $10.3M.
Hatched bars: grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| People's Advocacy Institute | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $1,035,000 |
| Taproot Earth | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $540,000 |
| The Ordinary People Society | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $470,000 |
| Southern Vision Alliance | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $290,000 |
| The Smile Trust Inc | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $290,000 |
| Agitarte Inc | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $250,000 |
| Foundation for Louisiana | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $250,000 |
| Grantmakers for Southern Progress | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $250,000 |
| Project South | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $250,000 |
| Southerners on New Ground | General Support of Charitable Activities and Programs | $250,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $37,987,961 | $24,240,944 | $27,158,650 | $10,288,119 | 142 | $334,398 |
| 2024 | $41,112,180 | $25,045,875 | $24,020,877 | $7,073,046 | Total only | $495,942 |
| 2023 | $43,881,387 | $23,678,971 | $23,597,596 | $8,773,329 | Total only | $425,118 |
| 2022 | $43,802,260 | $34,510,422 | $22,562,781 | $9,380,417 | Total only | $60,853 |
| 2021 | $43,871,555 | $34,419,377 | $20,597,370 | $10,065,710 | Total only | $7,325 |
| 2020 | $30,113,507 | $31,434,664 | $9,693,228 | $1,862,909 | Total only | $182,683 |
"Total only": grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
Highlander states that it works with people fighting for justice, equality, and sustainability, supporting their efforts to take collective action and shape their own destiny. Its website describes work that brings leaders and movement networks together through workshops, relationship-building, documentation, cultural engagement, and other forms of support.
The We Shall Overcome Fund supports organizing in the South at the intersection of culture and social change, with the stated requirement that African American communities benefit from supported projects. Its described project areas include arts and activism, workshops and research using culture to build coalitions and mobilize action, and preserving and documenting Civil Rights Movement history. The website lists eligible request locations as Alabama, Arkansas, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, Highlander reported 142 grants totaling $10,288,119. Grants ranged from $7,000 to $1,035,000, with a median of $40,000. The largest listed grants included $1,035,000 to People’s Advocacy Institute, $540,000 to Taproot Earth, and $470,000 to The Ordinary People Society. Other listed grants included $290,000 each to Southern Vision Alliance and The Smile Trust Inc., and $250,000 each to AgitArte Inc., Foundation for Louisiana, Grantmakers for Southern Progress, Project South, and Southerners on New Ground. The filing lists the purposes of these grants as general support of charitable activities and programs.
The website also describes the We Shall Overcome Fund as supporting cultural and social programs in rural and urban communities throughout the South. Its published application form sets a maximum request of $2,000 and asks for a project description, project budget, and three reference letters. The form lists January 20 and June 1 deadlines; those are past application dates, and the form does not establish a current application cycle.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Adrian Reyna Chavoya as Executive Committee Chair; Alethia Jones, Alfredo Lopez, Andrew Munn, Inca Mohamed, and Jennifer Hill as board members; Allyn Maxfield-Steele as director/ex-officio; Charles Price as secretary; Claudia Eloisa Munz Castellano as Committee Chair for Development & Nominations; and Felix Skip Bivens as Committee Chair for Buildings & Grounds.
Highlander Research & Education Center Inc is led by Tara Shuai Ellison, Committee Chair - Personnel since 2025 (on filings since 2020); none of the 17 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Tara Shuai Ellison
Committee Chair - Personnel
Director → Committee Chair - Personnel, 2025
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Claudia Eloisa Munz Castellano
Committee Chair - Development & Nominations
Director → Committee Chair - Development & Nominations, 2025
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Felix Skip Bivens
Committee Chair - Buildings & Grounds
Director → Committee Chair - Buildings & Grounds, 2025
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Adrian Reyna Chavoya
Committee Chair Executive
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Allyn Maxfield-Steele
Director & Ex-Officio
Director → Ex-Officio, 2024
Ex-Officio → Director & Ex-Officio, 2025
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$95K (2023) → $0 (2025)
Salimah Salaam Muhammad
Director & Ex-Officio
Ex-Officio → Director & Ex-Officio, 2025
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$107K (2024) → $0 (2025)
Alfredo Lopez
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Inca Mohamed
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Reece Chenault
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Scott Douglas
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Andrew Munn
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Alethia Jones
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Charles Price
Secretary
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jennifer Hill
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Loan Tran
Co-Chair
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Ruth Jeannoel
Treasurer
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Veronica Limeberry
Board Member
Director → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (20)
- Former: Adrian Reyna (2020–2024) — Co-Chair
- Former: Makani Themba (2020–2024) — Board Treasurer
- Former: Pancho Arguelles (2020–2024) — Board Chair
- Former: Reilly Morse (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson (2023–2024) — Co-Executive Director
- Former: Tamieka Mosley (2023–2024)
- Former: Amelie Ratliff (2020–2023) — Chairman
- Former: Diana Marie Lee (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Eric Dixon (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Joann Chase (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Leila Hessini (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Claudi Munoz (2023) — Director
- Former: Shane Morrow (2023) — Director
- Former: Carly Hare (2020–2022) — Treasurer
- Former: Collettee Pichon-Battle (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Hollis Watkins Sr. (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Lis-Marie Alvarado (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Susan Wefald (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Monica Simpson (2020–2021) — Vice Chair
- Former: Ngoc Loan Tran (2020–2021) — Chairman
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2024 filing was $179K, to Tamieka Mosley. 4 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Highlander Research & Education Center Inc
How much does Highlander Research & Education Center Inc give each year?
Highlander Research & Education Center Inc gave $10.3M across 142 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it reported $7.1M in grants paid.
What is Highlander Research & Education Center Inc's typical grant size?
Highlander Research & Education Center Inc's median grant in 2025 was $40,000, and its average grant was $72,452, across 142 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Does Highlander Research & Education Center Inc give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Highlander Research & Education Center Inc's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (142 of 142) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Who are Highlander Research & Education Center Inc's largest grantees?
Highlander Research & Education Center Inc's largest 2025 grantees include People's Advocacy Institute ($1,035,000), Taproot Earth ($540,000) and The Ordinary People Society ($470,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 20% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Highlander Research & Education Center Inc?
Highlander Research & Education Center Inc reported $38.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $24.2M.
What does Highlander Research & Education Center Inc fund?
Highlander states that it works with people fighting for justice, equality, and sustainability, supporting their efforts to take collective action and shape their own destiny. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Highlander Research & Education Center Inc?
The website lists Requests for Proposals for Community Partners, Cultural Organizers, and a Documentation Team. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
Where does Highlander Research & Education Center Inc make grants?
Highlander describes its organizing and movement-building work as focused on Appalachia and the U.S. South. Its We Shall Overcome Fund lists eligible requests from the states and District of Columbia named above. The 2025 filing’s recipient-state share is not identified in the provided data.
What is Highlander Research & Education Center Inc's EIN?
Highlander Research & Education Center Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 62-0646373. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS October 15, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 23, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS July 17, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS July 11, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS July 18, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 17, 2026)
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