Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Nashville, TN EIN: 25-6381907

The Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation is a private foundation based in Nashville, Tennessee. Its 2021 IRS filing is marked as its final return and reports no grants or assets; the foundation appears to have wound down or stopped grantmaking.

Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation at a glance

Qualifying distributions (2021)
$1,797
Expenses (2021)
$3,595
-89.6% vs 2020
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2021 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2021; updated October 2026.

How to apply to Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Its 2021 filing is marked as its final return, so this is not current application guidance.

Contact

Mailing address: 2719 Wortham Avenue, Nashville, TN 37215
Phone: (615) 661-4280

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Grant Size Distribution

19 grants across all recorded years

19<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 19 grants of 19 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The listed 2020 grantees were based in Nashville and Hendersonville, Tennessee; Meadville, Pennsylvania; Arlington, Virginia; and Newburgh, New York. These grants show the locations of the listed grantees, not a stated geographic focus.

Grant Distribution by State

6states

Cities

NashvilleArlingtonCornwallCarlisleClemsonHendersonvilleMeadvilleNew FlorenceNewburghSapphireWest PointWinchester

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$10K$20K$30K$40K19 grants2020 0 grants2021

In 2020 it made 19 grants totaling $33K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Church of Christ at Mountain View Winchester, VATo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$7,500
Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee Nashville, TNTo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$6,700
Crosspoint Church Nashville, TNTo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$3,500
The Dickinson School of Law Carlisle, PATo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$3,000
Allegheny College Meadville, PATo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$2,000
Second Harvest Food Bank Nashville, TNTo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$2,000
Clemson Corps Endowment Clemson, SCTo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$1,000
Food Bank of the Hudson Valley Cornwall, NYTo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$1,000
Grace Place Ministry Inc Hendersonville, TNTo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$1,000
The Merrie Woode Foundation Sapphire, NCTo Further Charitable Purposes of Organization$1,000
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying Distributions
2021——$3,595——$1,797
2020$3,595$10$34,415$32,50019—

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

No foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2020 grants included organizations with varied missions. For example, the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee described its work as providing free civil legal assistance to low-income and vulnerable people, while Book’Em described its work as promoting children’s literacy and book ownership in Nashville.

Grantmaking

In 2020, the foundation gave $32,500 through 19 grants. Grants that year included $6,700 to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee, $2,000 to Allegheny College, $1,000 to Grace Place Ministry, and $600 to Humanities Tennessee. Other listed grants were $500 to the Federation of State Humanities Councils, $300 to Safe Harbors of the Hudson, and $200 to Book’Em.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2021 filing lists these trustees: Sara A Mercer, Dr Jean Stephenson Blair, and Kathryn Stephenson Todd.

Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation's 2021 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2021 report compensation.

Officers on the 2021 filing

  • Jean Stephenson Blair

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Kathryn Stephenson Todd

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Sara A. Mercer

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2021. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Frequently asked questions about Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation

What does Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation fund?

No foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2020 grants included organizations with varied missions. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation?

The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

Where does Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation make grants?

The listed 2020 grantees were based in Nashville and Hendersonville, Tennessee; Meadville, Pennsylvania; Arlington, Virginia; and Newburgh, New York. These grants show the locations of the listed grantees, not a stated geographic focus.

What is Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation's EIN?

Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 25-6381907. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2021.

Does Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?

No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑

Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

Data update history

(1)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2021

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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open

Figures come from Joanne W Stephenson Education Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.

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