Thackston Family Foundation
The Thackston Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Nashville, Tennessee. Its 2025 filing reports 18 grants totaling $103,500, with awards supporting organizations and activities including education, religious institutions, community services, historic preservation, and trail maintenance.
Thackston Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Thackston Family Foundation gave $104K across 18 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), mostly in Tennessee. 18% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $103,500
- +253.8% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 18
- +12.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $5,750
- +214.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $3,500
- New grantees (estimate)
- 18% first-time grantees (2 of 11, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Tennessee (93% 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 Thackston Family Foundation
- How to Apply
-
The 2024 filing describes an open-submission process, with no restriction to preselected organizations. It lists open submission as the form and materials and says awards must relate to Middle Tennessee, preferably Wilson County, with an emphasis on religious and educational themes.
- Review Cycle
- None, according to the 2024 filing.
- Deadline
- None, according to the 2024 filing.
- Contact
Application contact: Edward L Thackston
Mailing address: 2010 Priest Rd, Nashville, TN 37215
Phone: (615) 665-1325
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Thackston Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Lebanon First United Methodist Church ($29K across 4 grants). Together the top 10 received $101K.
Grant Size Distribution
68 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 68 grants of 68 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2024 filing states that awards must relate to Middle Tennessee, preferably Wilson County. In 2025, 93% of grant dollars went to recipients in Tennessee and 7% to recipients in West Virginia.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 18 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Thackston Family Foundation open to new grantees?
18%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 11 grantees (18%) were first-time recipients. With only 11 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 9 points. First grants averaged $3K; repeat grants $11K. How we count
Medians: $3K first-time, $7K repeat.
- 64% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 253% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out well above its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $29K (2024) to $104K (2025). In 2025 it made 18 grants totaling $104K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Empower Me Center Lebanon, TN | Empower Me Daycamp | $25,000 |
| Lebanon First United Methodist Church Lebanon, TN | Elevator Repair | $20,000 |
| Wilson County Black History Committee Lebanon, TN | Donation | $10,000 |
| Appalachian Trail Conservancy Harpers Ferry, WV | Trail Maintenance | $5,000 |
| Heights National Alumni Association Lebanon, TN | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| Joseph's Storehouse Food Pantry Lebanon, TN | Gift to Food Bank | $5,000 |
| Historic Lebanon Lebanon, TN | Historic Place Markers | $5,000 |
| Lebanon First United Methodist Church Lebanon, TN | Donation | $5,000 |
| Cumberland University Lebanon, TN | Adams Gallery Operations | $4,000 |
| Historic Lebanon Lebanon, TN | Annual Support | $3,000 |
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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 | — | $233 | $110,118 | $103,500 | 18 | $103,500 | $233 | $448 |
| 2024 | $109,885 | $46,766 | $30,675 | $29,250 | 16 | $29,250 | $46,766 | $5,053 |
| 2023 | $121,702 | $18,511 | $38,271 | $36,945 | 15 | $36,945 | $18,511 | $6,098 |
| 2022 | $134,282 | $15,846 | $30,451 | $29,300 | 9 | $29,300 | $15,846 | $8,359 |
| 2021 | $214,103 | $43,346 | $51,215 | $50,200 | 10 | $50,200 | $42,347 | $10,329 |
| 2020 | $229,274 | $13,684 | $36,358 | $35,300 | 16 | — | $13,684 | $10,703 |
| 2019 | $212,615 | $36,678 | $58,481 | $57,300 | 5 | — | $36,678 | $10,342 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Thackston Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $448 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
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its grants show support for scholarships and educational institutions, religious organizations, emergency assistance, historic preservation, a food pantry, and Appalachian Trail maintenance.
Among its 2025 grantees, the Heights National Alumni Association says it preserves and maintains the Alumni House and memories of the old Castle Heights Military Academy and makes scholarship awards for education expenses. Cumberland University describes its mission as providing a personalized, high-quality, value-based educational experience. Appalachian Trail Conservancy says it works to protect and advocate for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and its corridor, disseminate educational information, and cooperatively manage the trail. These are descriptions of the grantees’ missions, not the foundation’s.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 18 grants totaling $103,500. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $25,000, with a median of $3,500. Notable awards included $25,000 to Empower Me Center for its day camp, $20,000 to Lebanon First United Methodist Church for elevator repair, and $10,000 to Wilson County Black History Committee. Other reported awards included $5,000 to Appalachian Trail Conservancy for trail maintenance, $5,000 to Heights National Alumni Association for scholarships, and $5,000 to Joseph’s Storehouse Food Pantry.
The 2025 filing also lists grants of $5,000 to Historic Lebanon for historic place markers, $4,000 to Cumberland University for Adams Gallery operations, and $3,000 to Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library for historic memorial books.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Edward Lee Thackston, Guy Carleton Thackston, and Gemma Kathryn Roberts as directors.
Thackston Family Foundation's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Edward Lee Thackston
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Gemma Kathryn Roberts
Director
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Guy Carleton Thackston
Director
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "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 Thackston Family Foundation
How much does Thackston Family Foundation give each year?
Thackston Family Foundation gave $104K across 18 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $29K across 16 grants.
What is Thackston Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Thackston Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $3,500, and its average grant was $5,750, across 18 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Thackston Family Foundation that year got $3K on average.
Where does Thackston Family Foundation give grants?
Thackston Family Foundation gives mostly in Tennessee: 93% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was West Virginia (7%). The most frequent recipient cities were Lebanon, TN (13 grants), Harpers Ferry, WV (2 grants) and Gallatin, TN (2 grants).
Does Thackston Family Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 18 grants with a stated purpose on Thackston Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Donation" (5 grants).
Who are Thackston Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Thackston Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Lebanon First United Methodist Church ($29,000 across 4 grants), Empower Me Center ($25,000) and Wilson County Black History Committee ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 62% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
What does Thackston Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its grants show support for scholarships and educational institutions, religious organizations, emergency assistance, historic preservation, a food pantry, and Appalachian Trail maintenance. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Thackston Family Foundation?
The 2024 filing describes an open-submission process, with no restriction to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
How much is Thackston Family Foundation required to give away each year?
Private foundations must generally distribute about 5% of their assets annually. For 2025, Thackston Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $448 on its IRS Form 990-PF — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
What is Thackston Family Foundation's EIN?
Thackston Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 62-1541568. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS June 3, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 9, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 19, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 11, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 14, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 14, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 22, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Thackston Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/thackston-family-foundation-morg_661960e80aa24d8783f7cab55f623811
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_621541568_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Thackston Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/thackston-family-foundation-morg_661960e80aa24d8783f7cab55f623811},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. 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 Thackston Family 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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