Dolly Parton gave Tennessee far more than music. She gave us an example of what it means to love your community and act on that love.
From Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27, people across Middle Tennessee are invited to put a little more love into action by giving in honor of Dolly. Give Like Dolly – Middle Tennessee will focus generosity within five areas of need that reflect the causes she championed throughout her life. Four categories will feature local nonprofit organizations doing that work across Middle Tennessee. The fifth will support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Middle Tennessee directly.
The Dollywood Foundation is launching Give Like Dolly as a national campaign. The Middle Tennessee campaign is presented by Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and Music Community Foundation.
We want local organizations to have an equitable opportunity to participate, regardless of their size or prior relationship with Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. That is why we are inviting eligible nonprofits across the region to raise their hands.
Before You Apply
This is not a grant application.
There is no proposal, budget narrative, or report at the end. The form is intentionally short and should take about 10 minutes to complete.
You can choose only one category.
Many organizations could honestly fit within two or three. Choose the area that best reflects your core work.
If your organization is selected,
it will be one of five organizations featured within its category on the Give Like Dolly – Middle Tennessee giving page throughout the campaign.
How the giving works.
Donors give to an area of need rather than to an individual organization. Whatever a category raises will be divided evenly among the five organizations selected for that category. Funds will be provided as unrestricted general operating support, with no reporting requirement. And 100% of donations, minus transaction fees, will be split between the participating nonprofit organizations in each category.
We cannot tell you the amount today, because it will depend on the generosity of donors throughout the weekend.
Eligibility
To participate, your organization must:
- Be a 501(c)(3) public charity in good standing
- Provide direct services to people in Middle Tennessee
- Have work that aligns with one of the four categories below
- Have a current, up-to-date GivingMatters profile
The Four Categories
Help a Child Succeed
Dolly believed deeply in the power of education to change the course of a life. From encouraging students in her hometown to stay in school to providing scholarships that helped young people pursue their dreams, she understood that talent and potential are everywhere, but opportunity is not.
Inspired by that example, Give Like Dolly will support local organizations helping students overcome barriers, stay engaged in school, and have the support they need to learn, thrive, and reach their full potential.
CHOOSE IF
Your core work is with students in and around school.
Help Someone Heal
Dolly believed in taking care of people when they were hurting. She supported children’s hospitals, women’s health, medical research, and families facing serious illness.
Inspired by that example, Give Like Dolly will support local organizations helping children get well, people experiencing homelessness heal after hospitalization, and individuals and families find hope during some of life’s hardest moments.
CHOOSE IF
Your core work is health, healing, recovery, or supporting families through serious illness.
Help a Neighbor in Need
When Dolly’s neighbors were hurting, she showed up. After the devastating Sevier County wildfires, she put money directly into the hands of families who had lost their homes. Her message was simple: these are my people, and you take care of your people.
Inspired by that example, Give Like Dolly will support local organizations helping put food on someone’s table, keeping families housed, helping someone escape violence, or simply giving a neighbor the hand up they need.
CHOOSE IF
Your core work meets a basic and immediate need.
Help Someone Find Their Song
Music gave a young girl from East Tennessee a way to dream, express herself, and ultimately share her gifts with the world.
Inspired by her example, Give Like Dolly will support local organizations helping young people discover their own gifts through music, the arts, and creativity, giving them the opportunity to experience the joy and confidence that come from finding something they love.
CHOOSE IF
Your core work is helping young people through music, the arts, or creativity.
A fifth way to give: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Middle Tennessee
Donors will also be able to give directly to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Middle Tennessee. Because those gifts support the program directly, nonprofit organizations do not apply for this giving area.
How organizations are chosen
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee team will review every submission to confirm eligibility, including alignment with the selected category, direct service to people in Middle Tennessee, and a current GivingMatters profile.
Every organization that meets the eligibility requirements will enter a random drawing. Five organizations will be selected for each of the four categories.
The drawing is designed to create equitable access and give every eligible organization a genuine chance to benefit from this unexpected moment of generosity. We do not believe there is a credible way to fairly rank nonprofits on such a short timeline, so we intentionally designed a process that does not replicate a traditional competitive grant application.
At least three of the five organizations selected in each category will have annual budgets under $5 million. Three organizations will be drawn from the eligible organizations below that threshold. The remaining two will be drawn from all eligible organizations within the category.
Selected organizations will be notified by Friday, September 18 and featured on the Give Like Dolly – Middle Tennessee giving page during the campaign.
Ready to raise your hand?
Submissions are due Friday, September 11, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
The form should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
FAQs
About the campaign
A three-day giving campaign, Friday, September 25 to Sunday, September 27, honoring Dolly Parton.
The Dollywood Foundation is announcing Give Like Dolly as a national campaign, and this is the Middle Tennessee campaign, presented by Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and Music Community Foundation. People across the region give within five areas of need. Four of those categories feature a small number of local nonprofits, and the fifth supports Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Middle Tennessee directly.
The opening day is a nod to 9 to 5.
Give Like Dolly is inspired by Dolly’s legacy of giving. Being selected does not mean Dolly Parton or the Dollywood Foundation supports, endorses, or has any relationship with your organization, and we ask that you not describe it that way. You are welcome to say your organization was selected for Give Like Dolly – Middle Tennessee.
Applying
No. There is no proposal, no budget narrative, and no report at the end. It is a short form that should take about ten minutes.
501c3 public charities in good standing that provide direct services to people in Middle Tennessee, whose work fits one of the four categories, and that have a current GivingMatters profile.
No. Gifts made to Imagination Library of Middle Tennessee will support the program directly. Nonprofit organizations can participate in one of the four other Give Like Dolly – Middle Tennessee categories.
Submissions close Friday, September 11, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
No. Please choose the one category that best reflects your organization’s core work.
No. Your GivingMatters profile already carries that information, which is why a current profile is required.
The form to submit lives in our grants portal, which is a separate system from CFMT.org and from GivingMatters.com, and credentials from either of those will not work there. If your organization has not applied for a CFMT grant in the past two years, you will need to create an account. Go to the application link and choose Create New Account.
GivingMatters
Search your organization on the mapping page or the Nonprofit Directory. A current profile shows a green check mark beside your organization’s name at the top left of the page. If you see an orange x in the top left corner instead, your profile has updates to complete. Log in at givingmatters.cfmt.org to finish them.
Update your profile before you submit. Log in at givingmatters.cfmt.org.
You can claim it at roundtable.givingmatters.com/sign-up, then log in and update it.
Update your profile first, then use the same figure on both. Our team checks that the two match.
Selection
Our team confirms eligibility for every submission. Every organization that is eligible is placed into a random drawing, and five organizations per category are selected.
Selected organizations are notified by email by Friday, September 18. If you have not heard from us by then, your organization was not selected for the campaign.
Yes. Five organizations are selected in each category, and every selected organization will receive an equal share of the funds raised within that category. Funds are provided as unrestricted general operating support.
Because on a timeline this short, a ranking could be influenced by familiarity and existing relationships. The drawing gives a small organization with no prior relationship with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee the same opportunity as one that has worked with us for years.
No. Submissions are reviewed for eligibility, not scored or ranked. Once eligibility is confirmed, selection is made through a random drawing, with at least three of the five organizations selected in each category having annual budgets under $5 million.
Yes, by design. Three of the five organizations in each category are selected from eligible organizations with annual budgets under $5 million. The remaining two are selected from all eligible organizations in that category, giving organizations under $5 million an opportunity to be selected in either drawing.
If you are selected
We cannot tell you today. It depends on what people give during the campaign. What we can tell you is that whatever a category raises is split evenly among the five organizations selected in it.
No. It is unrestricted general operating support with no reporting requirement.
We may use your answer to the last question, or a shortened version of it, and the photo you’ve provided on the giving page.
Questions?
Start here. If your question is not answered above, submit it here. We are answering in batches and adding common questions to this page, so it is worth checking back.
