East Tennessee Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
620807696
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Knoxville, TN, US
Phone
(877) 524-1223
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$27,657,283
Expenses
$19,148,820
Assets
$282,537,401
Liabilities
$3,600,256

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEITH BARBER (PRESIDENT +)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANGELIA NYSTROM (VP/CHIEF LEG): $165,915 total reported compensation
  • KATHARINE KILLEN (VP & COO): $164,954 total reported compensation
  • KEITH BARBER (PRESIDENT +): $164,372 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To serve the community by providing thoughtful giving for stronger communities and better lives.

What it reported doing in 2024

4d-1) expenses of 1,399,853, including grants of 138,900 - made 27 discretionary grants from funds and paid program-related expenses associated with the management of charitable funds and the allocation of grant funds to benefit the 25 county region. 4d-2) expenses of 954,040, including grants of 954,040 - conducted localized, competitive grantmaking programs through the foundation's affiliate and county-specific funds, allowing local advisory boards to select worthy projects and programs at the local level; 93 grants were awarded to 79 organizations for a wide variety of charitable purposes. 4d-3) expenses of 927,897, including grants of 927,897 - conducted 73 competitive scholarship programs to enable students throughout the region to obtain a post-secondary education; 206 students received scholarships and attended 54 institutions of higher learning in Tennessee and throughout the nation. 4d-4) expenses of 511,253, including grants of 511,253 - funded 1 grant from the pat summitt foundation fund to the pat summitt clinic, a state- of-the art facility at utmc for the treatment of alzheimer's and other neurological diseases, 18 grants in support of caregiver trainings, adult day programs, and other alzheimer's and dementias-related purposes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 60% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 93% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 88
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 90.9%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 85.9%; rating input score 86; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 30.8%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.75; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 25 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 88.1% of revenue deployed · 90.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $17.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $166K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 45 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 302 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 283 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.