Nissan Foundation
Nissan Foundation is a private foundation based in Franklin, Tennessee. Its stated mission is to build communities by valuing cultural diversity, and its funding supports nonprofit programming that promotes understanding and respect for America’s cultural heritage in communities where Nissan has a significant operational presence.
Nissan Foundation at a glance
In short: Nissan Foundation gave $1.3M across 44 grants in 2025 (avg $29K), top state Tennessee. 43% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,255,200
- Grants made (2025)
- 44
- Average grant
- $28,527
- Median grant
- $25,000
- Total assets
- $12,275,860
- +2.4% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 43% first-time grantees (19 of 44, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Tennessee (31% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Nissan Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 685001 Mailstop B5B, Franklin, TN 37076-5001
Phone: (615) 725-5924
Website: https://www.nissanusa.com
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from Nissan Foundation
Who Nissan Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Nashville Public Television ($75K). Together the top 10 received $500K.
Grant Size Distribution
147 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 113 grants of 147 (77%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s funding criteria identify communities where Nissan has a significant operational presence: Atlanta; Central Mississippi; Dallas/Ft. Worth; Detroit; Middle Tennessee; New York City and North Central New Jersey; and Southern California.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 44 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Nissan Foundation open to new grantees?
43%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 19 of 44 grantees (43%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $27K; repeat grants $30K. How we count
Medians: $25K first-time, $25K repeat.
- Giving grew 48% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 219% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2021–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $848K (2022) to $1.4M (2021). In 2025 it made 44 grants totaling $1.3M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Nashville Public Television Nashville, TN | Next Door NEIGHBORS:2024-2025 | $75,000 |
| Discovery Center Murfreesboro, TN | Kids First | $70,000 |
| Atlanta History Center Atlanta, GA | Harmony of Liberation: Juneteenth Through Rhythm | $50,000 |
| Detroit Educational Television Foundation Wixom, MI | One Detroit and American Black Journal | $50,000 |
| Foundation for Mississippi History Jackson, MS | Two Mississippi Museums School Visits Programs | $50,000 |
| Grammy Museum Mississippi Cleveland, MS | Soul of the Movement Education Program | $50,000 |
| Nashville Public Library Foundation Nashville, TN | Conversations @NPL | $50,000 |
| Japanese American National Museum Los Angeles, CA | Family Festivals and School Visits Program | $40,000 |
| Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding New York, NY | Celebrating our traditions: foundations for building communities that value religious diversity | $35,000 |
| Arab American National Museum Dearborn, MI | 2024-25 Public and Educational Programming Series | $30,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Nissan Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $12,275,860 | $1,158,756 | $1,279,069 | $1,255,200 | 44 | $1,260,323 | $611,765 | $575,077 |
| 2024 | $11,986,574 | $349,827 | $29,355 | — | — | $5,036 | $476,636 | $560,515 |
| 2023 | $11,192,611 | $1,585,499 | $1,281,654 | $1,253,797 | 39 | $1,257,763 | $568,874 | $552,603 |
| 2022 | $11,122,362 | $1,626,468 | $879,023 | $848,000 | 33 | $852,512 | $609,077 | $616,161 |
| 2021 | $12,689,224 | $739,226 | $1,407,104 | $1,362,000 | 31 | — | $713,647 | $610,002 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Nissan Foundation reported a distributable amount of $575K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation’s funding criteria describe its mission as building community by valuing cultural diversity. The criteria emphasize programming that explores cultural heritage and differences, promotes respect and dialogue, and fosters understanding, inclusion, and belonging.
Its 2025 grantees illustrate the range of organizations funded. Nashville Public Television describes its mission as inspiring, educating, and engaging the community through public media. The Japanese American National Museum says it promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. One To World describes its work as fostering intercultural understanding through face-to-face experiences among local communities, international students, and Fulbright scholars. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not the foundation’s.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation made 44 grants totaling $1,255,200. Grants ranged from $5,000 to $75,000, with a median of $25,000. Among the largest awards were $75,000 to Nashville Public Television for “Next Door Neighbors: 2024-2025,” $70,000 to Discovery Center for “Kids First,” and $50,000 each to Atlanta History Center for “Harmony of Liberation: Juneteenth Through Rhythm,” Detroit Educational Television Foundation for “One Detroit and American Black Journal,” and Foundation for Mississippi History for “Two Mississippi Museums School Visits Programs.”
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Its funding criteria describe a letter-of-intent and proposal process and require proposed programming to specify community needs and intended outcomes. A separate program listing says applicants must use the foundation’s specific letter-of-intent form; letters drafted by organizations are not accepted. The criteria provided for the 2024 cycle required activities to occur from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, or later, and stated that the foundation does not make multi-year grants. That activity period is past; no current deadline is specified here.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Andrew J. Tavi as president as of April 2025 and director; Chandra Vasser as president and director through April 2025; Glenn Plosa as secretary and director; Jason Bartlett as treasurer and director; and Ali Tonn as executive director and director. It also lists David Englen as a director as of January 2025, along with directors Bryan Horn, Seth Jackson, Mark Kaczynski, and Keri Kelly, who served through April 2025.
Nissan Foundation is led by Andrew J. Tavi, President & Director since 2025 (on filings since 2021); none of the 18 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Andrew J. Tavi
President & Director
Chair & Director → Director, 2024
Director → President & Director, 2025
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Chandra Vasser
President & Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ali Tonn
Executive Director & Director
Director → Executive Director & Director, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Allesandra Tharp
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bryan Horn
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Calandra Turner
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jeffrey Mills
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Keri Kelly
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mark Kaczynski
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Seth Jackson
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Andre Medeiros
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brooke Noone
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Glenn Plosa
Secretary & Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jason Bartlett
Treasurer & Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Terence Porter
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Terri Welch
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Anna Serra
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Englen
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (11)
- Former: Holly Bracco (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Jason Laetz (2021–2024) — Treasurer & Director
- Former: Lori A. McPherson (2021–2024) — Secretary & Director
- Former: Shishir Bhushan (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Shawn Mirabal (2022–2024) — Director
- Former: Parul Bajaj (2021–2023) — Executive Director & Director
- Former: Jermie H. Papin (2021–2022) — Director
- Former: Erika Santos (2021) — Director
- Former: Fred Deperez (2021) — Director
- Former: Rodney Francis (2021) — Director
- Former: Travis Parman (2021) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2021–2025. "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 Nissan Foundation
How much does Nissan Foundation give each year?
Nissan Foundation gave $1.3M across 44 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
What is Nissan Foundation's typical grant size?
Nissan Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $28,527, across 44 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Nissan Foundation that year got $27K on average.
Where does Nissan Foundation give grants?
Nissan Foundation's top state is Tennessee, with 31% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were New York (24%) and California (13%). The most frequent recipient cities were Nashville, TN (10 grants), New York, NY (7 grants), Los Angeles, CA (4 grants) and Atlanta, GA (3 grants).
Does Nissan Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 44 grants with a stated purpose on Nissan Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support.
Who are Nissan Foundation's largest grantees?
Nissan Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Nashville Public Television ($75,000), Discovery Center ($70,000) and Atlanta History Center ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 16% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Nissan Foundation?
Nissan Foundation reported $12.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.3M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $575K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Nissan Foundation fund?
The foundation’s funding criteria describe its mission as building community by valuing cultural diversity. The criteria emphasize programming that explores cultural heritage and differences, promotes respect and dialogue, and fosters understanding, inclusion, and belonging. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Nissan Foundation?
Nissan Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, according to Grantable's research on its published guidelines. Check nissanusa.com for any change to that policy.
What is Nissan Foundation's EIN?
Nissan Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 95-4413799. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.
Does Nissan 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
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2021–2025
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Nissan Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Nissan Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/nissan-foundation-morg_ef016bcd7bce4b27970328ba4770b4eb
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_954413799_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Nissan Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/nissan-foundation-morg_ef016bcd7bce4b27970328ba4770b4eb},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-12. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Nissan 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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