The Nashville Chamber Public Benefit Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE NASHVILLE CHAMBER PUBLIC BENEFIT FOUNDATION SUPPORTS THE WORK OF THE NASHVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE THROUGH EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION, ENCOURAGE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE EFFORTS AROUND EDUCATION, AND TO FACILITATE THE EFFORTS TO COMBAT COMMUNITY DETERIORATION.
- Income
- $501,713
- Spending
- $2.7 million
- Spent on programs
- 98%
- Reserves
- 4.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 89%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 3
- Highest pay
- $719,321, former director & president
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 40 out of 100.
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 4.4 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 70% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 429% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 72% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1598% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Fair: 60 out of 100.
Independent board
5 of 250 of 7 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $2.6 million spent. EDUCATION AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT:THE AVAILABILITY AND PREPAREDNESS OF THE NASHVILLE AREA'S LABOR FORCE IS THE NUMBER ONE DRIVER OF ECONOMIC PROSPERITY. THE FOUNDATION'S WORK HELPS ENSURE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, OPPORTUNITY YOUTH, TENNESSEE RECONNECT ADULTS, AND CURRENT WORKERS ARE EQUIPPED WITH THE CREDENTIALS AND EXPERIENCE NECESSARY TO INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY AND PREPAREDNESS OF NASHVILLE AREA TALENT.NEW SKILLS READY IN OCTOBER 2020, JPMORGAN CHASE SELECTED NASHVILLE AS ONE OF SIX U.S. SITES FOR THE NEW SKILLS READY NETWORK, A $7 MILLION INVESTMENT OVER FIVE YEARS TO SUPPORT THE SEAMLESS TRANSITION OF UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS FROM METRO NASHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS (MNPS) INTO POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALS, DEGREES, AND HIGH-WAGE, HIGH-DEMAND CAREERS. THE FOUNDATION SERVES AS SITE LEAD AND FISCAL AGENT. PARTNERS INCLUDE MNPS, NASHVILLE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, TCAT NASHVILLE, MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY, THE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THE TENNESSEE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION, THE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS, THE TENNESSEE COLLEGE ACCESS AND SUCCESS NETWORK, THE SCARLETT FAMILY FOUNDATION, AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.DURING FY25, THE GRANT ENTERED AN EXTENSION PERIOD THROUGH OCTOBER 2025, WITH THE FOUNDATION INVITED TO APPLY FOR AND RECEIVE A SUBSEQUENT NO-COST EXTENSION RUNNING THROUGH MARCH 2027. SUSTAINABILITY DEFINED THE YEAR'S WORK, WITH PARTNERS EMBRACING SHIFTS THAT POSITIONED THE COLLABORATIVE TO CONTINUE BEYOND THE ORIGINAL FIVE-YEAR TERM.CAREER-BASED LEARNING AT MNPS EXPANDED FROM 55 STUDENTS IN 20212022 TO 360 STUDENTS BY THE CLOSE OF FY25, SUPPORTED BY GROWTH IN EMPLOYER PARTNERS FROM 15 TO 23. WHILE NEW SKILLS READY ANCHORED THE MODEL, WORK-BASED LEARNING INFRASTRUCTURE SCALED DISTRICT-WIDE BEYOND THE ORIGINAL FOUR NSR HIGH SCHOOLS. DUAL ENROLLMENT CONTINUED TO GROW AS INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS ASSUMED SUSTAINED ROLES IN COORDINATION AND DELIVERY, WITH TCAT NASHVILLE CONTINUING ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH MNPS TO SUPPORT TECHNICAL DUAL ENROLLMENT FOR ACADEMIES OF NASHVILLE STUDENTS.COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS COACHES ORIGINALLY SEEDED BY THE NSR INVESTMENT WERE SUSTAINED THROUGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL FUNDING AT ALL FIVE PARTICIPATING HIGH SCHOOLS, INCLUDING GLENCLIFF HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH WAS ADDED DURING FY25 AND RETAINED ITS NEWLY PLACED COACH. A FOUNDATION-SUPPORTED PILOT AT OVERTON HIGH SCHOOL PLACED A SECOND COACH TO TEST WHETHER EXPANDED CAPACITY COULD ADDRESS ACUTE STUDENT NEEDS; OVERTON SUSTAINED ONE COACH FOLLOWING THE PILOT, WITH LEARNINGS ABOUT COACH CAPACITY INFORMING BROADER STRATEGY. A SEPARATE PILOT TESTED A VIRTUAL WORK-BASED LEARNING MODEL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HARI MEDICAL COLLEGE, COMPLETING ONE COHORT OF APPROXIMATELY EIGHT STUDENTS; WHILE THE DISTRICT DID NOT SUSTAIN THE VIRTUAL MODEL, LEARNINGS ABOUT VIRTUAL WORK-BASED LEARNING INFORMED GO-FORWARD STRATEGY.ACROSS THE GRANT PERIOD, THE NEW SKILLS READY COLLABORATIVE BROUGHT TOGETHER MORE THAN SEVENTEEN PARTNERS SPANNING K-12, POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS, STATE AGENCIES, PHILANTHROPIC PARTNERS, AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, ALL WORKING TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC INEQUALITIES AND BARRIERS TO POSTSECONDARY ACCESS AND PERSISTENCE. THE FOUNDATION'S ROLE AS BACKBONE ORGANIZATION CONVENING AND COORDINATING ACROSS THE COLLABORATIVE HAS BEEN A KEY DRIVER OF PROGRESS AND A FOUNDATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY. THE FOUNDATION ALSO CONVENES THE ACADEMIES OF NASHVILLE PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL, THE DISTRICT-WIDE ADVISORY BODY FOR THE ACADEMIES MODEL. DURING FY25, THE COUNCIL'S FOCUS CENTERED ON CONTINUED GROWTH OF WORK-BASED LEARNING AND EMBEDDING THE H3 (HIGH-SKILL, HIGH-WAGE, HIGH-DEMAND) PATHWAY DEFINITION INTO MNPS'S PATHWAY APPROVAL PROCESS. TWENTY-ONE OF MNPS'S THIRTY-NINE CAREER PATHWAYS ARE NOW ALIGNED WITH H3 SECTORS, INCLUDING HEALTHCARE, IT, AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING.SOCIAL CAPITAL GRANT THE SOCIAL CAPITAL GRANT FROM THE GATES FOUNDATION, ADMINISTERED BY EDUCATION STRATEGY GROUP, CONCLUDED IN THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR. DURING FY25, THE FOUNDATION CONNECTED THE MNPS TEAM WITH GATES AND ESG PARTNERS FOR FINAL REPORTING AND HIGHLIGHTING. THE NEXT PHASE OF THE SOCIAL CAPITAL WORK FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING PARENT-FACING MATERIALS A TRAINING SERIES TO BE CONDUCTED BY THE MNPS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICE, GROUNDED IN THE PREMISE THAT STUDENTS' CAPACITY TO BUILD SOCIAL CAPITAL IS SHAPED BY THEIR PARENTS' CAPACITY TO SUPPORT AND MODEL IT. MATERIALS WERE UNDER DEVELOPMENT AT GRANT CLOSEOUT; NO PARENT COHORT WAS PILOTED BEFORE THE WORK CONCLUDED.NASHVILLE RECONNECT NASHVILLE RECONNECT AND THE NASHVILLE TALENT HUB CONTINUE TO SERVE ADULTS RETURNING TO EARN A DEGREE OR CREDENTIAL, WITH A FOCUS ON NASHVILLE PROMISE ZONE RESIDENTS. THE PROGRAM PARTNERS WITH THE FAMILY COLLECTIVE, PART OF UNITED WAY OF GREATER NASHVILLE, TO CONNECT STUDENTS AT RISK OF BECOMING UNHOUSED, OR CURRENTLY UNHOUSED, WITH INTENSIVE SERVICES AND RESOURCES. BANK OF AMERICA FUNDING SUPPORTED THE NASHVILLE RECONNECT NAVIGATOR ROLE DURING FY25.FY25 BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT SHIFTS TO THE PROGRAM. A REVISED STATE DATA-SHARING AGREEMENT CHANGED HOW THE NAVIGATOR COULD IDENTIFY AND ENGAGE PROSPECTIVE RECONNECTORS, MOVING FROM A MODEL IN WHICH THE NAVIGATOR RECEIVED DIRECT, SYSTEMATIZED CONNECTIONS TO STUDENTS BASED ON THEIR TENNESSEE RECONNECT APPLICATIONS TO A REFERRAL-BASED MODEL LED BY PARTNER INSTITUTIONS. THE NAVIGATOR'S ACTIVE CASELOAD NARROWED AS A RESULT, AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR FY25 DUE TO THE CHANGE IN HOW PARTICIPANT INFORMATION IS COLLECTED UNDER THE REFERRAL-BASED MODEL. STUDENTS WITHIN THE NAVIGATOR'S COHORT CONTINUED TO PROGRESS, EARNING CREDENTIALS DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD.AS NASHVILLE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE'S STRATEGY FOR STUDENT SUPPORT EVOLVED DURING FY25 AND WITH THE RETIREMENT OF ONE OF NASHVILLE STATE'S RECONNECT NAVIGATORS THE CHAMBER AND NASHVILLE STATE BEGAN DISCUSSIONS ABOUT TRANSITIONING THE FOUNDATION'S NAVIGATOR ROLE INTO THE COLLEGE TO ALIGN WITH NASHVILLE STATE'S BROADER STUDENT SUPPORT STRATEGY
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since May 1990.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
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