Variety of Eastern Tennessee
Variety of Eastern Tennessee is a public charity based in Knoxville, Tennessee. It supports children in need in East Tennessee through programs such as Kids on the Go, which provides mobility equipment for children with disabilities, and community grants to charities serving children.
Key facts about Variety of Eastern Tennessee
In short: Variety of Eastern Tennessee gave $212K across 27 grants in 2025 (avg $8K), mostly in Tennessee. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- EIN
- 33-1025696
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025
- Annual giving (2025)
- $212,000
- Grants made (2025)
- 27
- Average grant
- $7,852
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $1,012,547
- Primary geography
- Tennessee (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- How to apply
- The community grant program assists community charities serving children in need. Full details ↓
- Deadline
- March 1, 2027, for community grant applications.
- Next open deadline
- March 1, 2027 (Community Grants)
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Financial Overview
From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing
Total Assets
$1.0M
+2.0% YoY
Annual Giving
$212K
-26.4% YoY
Grant Count
27
-12.9% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$8K
-15.5% YoY
How Variety of Eastern Tennessee gives
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Mission & Focus Areas
The organization’s stated mission is to fund and provide services for programs that improve the quality of life of underprivileged, physically or mentally challenged, ill, abused, neglected, and abandoned children in Eastern Tennessee. Its filing describes support for local children’s charities and a Kids on the Go program that provided wheelchairs and accessibility equipment.
Its community grants support charities serving children in need. Recent grants funded food and school supplies, child bereavement services, children’s literacy, domestic violence shelter needs, youth programs, and services for children with disabilities. For example, grantee Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties describes its mission as meeting basic needs of primarily low-income residents and helping families become stable and self-sufficient. IVA’s Place describes its mission as aiding women and children affected by domestic violence. Girl Talk describes its work as empowering girls and supporting their educational advancement.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, Variety reported 27 grants totaling $212,000. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $30,000, with a median of $5,000. The largest awards included $30,000 to an individual recipient for nutritious food supporting its children’s Boost Bags; $28,500 to Dream Connection to fulfill dreams for children who are sick or terminally ill; and $20,000 each to Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties for school supplies for its backpack program and Covenant Health’s Katerpillar Kids Camp for supplies for its child bereavement camp.
Other 2025 grants included $15,000 to Friends of Knox County Library for Dolly’s Imagination Library, $10,000 to Epilepsy Foundation of East Tennessee for helmets and camp scholarships, and $8,500 to Child Advocacy Center of the 9th Judicial District for its SCAN program. All reported 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in Tennessee.
Kids on the Go is a separate program providing mobility and other life-enhancing equipment for eligible children with disabilities; it is not described as a grant program for outside organizations.
Review Cycle
March 1, 2027, for community grant applications.
How to Apply
The community grant program assists community charities serving children in need. The website lists a 2027 application deadline of March 1, 2027, with funding notifications in June. The organization’s filing states that community grant recipients must submit a formal progress report one year after the grant is awarded.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from Variety of Eastern Tennessee
Ready to take the next step with Variety of Eastern Tennessee?
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Variety describes its work as serving East Tennessee. Its website says community grants help charities serving children in need, and the 2025 filing reports that all grant dollars went to Tennessee recipients. The listed 2025 recipients were in communities including Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Lenoir City, Morristown, Kingsport, and Athens.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 27 itemized grants.
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $55K (2022) to $415K (2019). In 2025 it made 27 grants totaling $212K.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Fish Hospitality Pantries ($30K). Together the top 10 received $152K.
Grant Size Distribution
76 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 76 grants of 76 (100%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Hospitality Pantries Knoxville, TN | Purchase Nutritious Food Supporting Their Children Boost Bags. | $30,000 |
| Dream Connection Knoxville, TN | Fulfilling dreams for children who are sick or terminally ill. | $28,500 |
| Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties Oak Ridge, TN | Purchase School Supplies for Backpack Program. | $20,000 |
| Covenant Health - Katerpillar Kids Camp Knoxville, TN | Purchase Supplies to Support Their Child Bereavement Camp. | $20,000 |
| Friends of Knox County Library - Dolly's Imagination Library Knoxville, TN | Funds would allow one book every month to be delivered to low income families with children for one year. | $15,000 |
| Epilepsy Foundation of East Tennessee Knoxville, TN | Purchase helmets and fund scholarships toward their camps that serve children with disabilities. | $10,000 |
| Child Advocacy Center of the 9TH Judicial District Lenoir City, TN | Support their scan program funding transportation, staffing, and supplies. | $8,500 |
| Iva's Place Lenoir City, TN | Support their domestic violence shelter, funding rent, supplies, toys, utilities and transportation. | $7,000 |
| Court Appointed Special Advocate Lakeway Morristown, TN | Funds will be used for supplies, food, rental fees, background checks supporting 12 new volunteer advocates. Support to train and retain volunteer advocates. | $6,500 |
| Girl Talk Knoxville, TN | Support their after-school program funding supplies and costs related to recruit, train volunteers. | $6,000 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,012,547 | $526,644 | $482,862 | $212,000 across 27 grants |
| 2024 | $993,106 | $472,114 | $610,819 | $288,095 across 31 grants |
| 2023 | $1,085,820 | $815,466 | $525,375 | $219,800 across 14 grants |
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $1,012,547 | $993,106 | $1,085,820 |
| Revenue | $526,644 | $472,114 | $815,466 |
| Expenses | $482,862 | $610,819 | $525,375 |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS February 11, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS February 6, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 21, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS February 18, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 16, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Carol Fusco as executive director and Warren Sanger as treasurer. John Curry became president as of February 4, 2025; Brandon Stroud served as president through that date. Jawad Khan became secretary as of May 1, 2025, and Jackie McClure served as secretary through March 1, 2025. Board members listed were Richard Grover, Mike Campbell, Eric Schwarzentrub, and Robin Wilhoit.
Variety of Eastern Tennessee is led by Carol Fusco, Executive Director since 2024 (on filings since 2019); 1 of 15 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Carol Fusco
Executive Director
Board Member & Past Executive Director → Board Member, 2021
Board Member → Executive Director, 2024
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$38K (2019) → $50K (2025)
John Curry
President
Past President → Treasurer, 2024
Treasurer → President, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brandon Stroud
President
President → President & Chief Barker, 2024
President & Chief Barker → President, 2025
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Eric Schwarzentraub
Board Member
On filings since 2019
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jackie McClure
Secretary
Treasurer → Secretary, 2021
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mike Campbell
Board Member
On filings since 2019
0.3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Robin Wilhoit
Board Member
On filings since 2019
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Warren Sanger
Treasurer
Board Member → Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jawad Khan
Secretary
Board Member → Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Richard Grover
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ashley Wilson
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brooks Leboeuf
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Chris Blevins
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Matt Basford
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Thomas Song
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (8)
- Former: Ken Thewes (2019–2023) — Treasurer
- Former: Matt Eyre (2019–2023) — President
- Former: Patty Thewes (2021–2023) — Executive Director
- Former: Rob Westerling (2019–2022) — President
- Former: Phil Meredith (2022) — 2nd Assistant
- Former: Amanda McPhetridge (2019–2021) — Former Executive Director
- Former: Phil Merideth (2019–2021) — 2nd Asistant
- Former: Keith Goodwin (2019–2020) — Board Member
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $50K, to Carol Fusco (Executive Director).
Contact
Mailing address: 101 E Blount Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920
Phone: (865) 521-9096
Website: https://varietytn.org
Frequently asked questions about Variety of Eastern Tennessee
How much does Variety of Eastern Tennessee give each year?
Variety of Eastern Tennessee gave $212K across 27 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $288K across 31 grants.
What is Variety of Eastern Tennessee's typical grant size?
Variety of Eastern Tennessee's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $7,852, across 27 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Variety of Eastern Tennessee give grants?
Variety of Eastern Tennessee gives mostly in Tennessee: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Knoxville, TN (11 grants), Oak Ridge, TN (2 grants), Lenoir City, TN (2 grants) and Morristown, TN (2 grants).
Does Variety of Eastern Tennessee give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 27 grants with a stated purpose on Variety of Eastern Tennessee's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Funding to Support to Train and Retain Volunteer Advocates." (7 grants).
Who are Variety of Eastern Tennessee's largest grantees?
Variety of Eastern Tennessee's largest 2025 grantees include Fish Hospitality Pantries ($30,000), Dream Connection ($28,500) and Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties ($20,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 37% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Variety of Eastern Tennessee?
Variety of Eastern Tennessee reported $1.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $527K.
What does Variety of Eastern Tennessee fund?
The organization’s stated mission is to fund and provide services for programs that improve the quality of life of underprivileged, physically or mentally challenged, ill, abused, neglected, and abandoned children in Eastern Tennessee. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Variety of Eastern Tennessee?
The community grant program assists community charities serving children in need. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Variety of Eastern Tennessee's EIN?
Variety of Eastern Tennessee's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 33-1025696. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Here's the math on researching Variety of Eastern Tennessee by hand.
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