CFMT’s Community Impact team and community members gather for one of CFMT’s cohort sessions.
BUILDING SOMETHING THAT LASTS, TOGETHER.
CFMT’s strength is the local knowledge it carries and the steady care it brings to Middle Tennessee. Laundrea Lewis and Jerry Williams help tell the story of why CFMT has lasted for 35 years. Laundrea has built systems, relationships, and institutional knowledge that has carried the Foundation forward. Jerry has seen, as a donor, board leader, and grants committee chair, how that work turns generosity into something lasting.
Explore more in CFMT’s 2025 Annual Report
“While community may be the first word in our name, without foundation, we wouldn’t be here. You cannot build anything without a stable foundation.”
Laundrea Lewis — CFMT’s Director of Grants Management and its first employee in 1993
Who is Laundrea Lewis?
Laundrea Lewis, a Nashville native, joined Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee as its first employee in 1993. As Director of Grants Management, she oversees many of CFMT’s core grantmaking efforts, including the Special Interest Grants program and donor advised giving, and helped shepherd special initiatives such as the Serving Tennessee Seniors program. For more than three decades, she has been part of nearly every chapter of the organization’s story.
What was CFMT like when Laundrea officially joined the staff?
When Laundrea officially joined the staff in 1993, CFMT was still new enough that most people in Nashville were asking the same question: what is a community foundation? The work required patience, explanation, and a willingness to learn in real time.
“Of course, since a community foundation was a new concept to Nashville, people would ask exactly that,” Laundrea recalled. “I was learning on the fly along with everyone else.”
How did Laundrea help build CFMT from the beginning?
Before CFMT had an established office or a track record of more than $1 billion in giving, there was a small team learning as they went. In those early years, Laundrea would finish her day job and head to Ellen Lehman’s house to help set up systems for what was then known as Nashville Community Foundation.
They worked in Lehman’s upstairs garage office until CFMT was gifted office space downtown in the St. Cloud Corner building at 5th and Church Street.
What has Laundrea seen stay the same?
Over 35 years, Laundrea has watched CFMT become an institution built on trust, relationships, and a commitment to connecting generosity with need across Middle Tennessee. The work has expanded from its earliest days into something far larger in scale, yet it remains unchanged at its core. The mission has held steady and so have the values.
“What has stayed the same is that a good portion of the Foundation’s team has been here for 10-plus years,” she said. “Think of all that institutional wisdom.”
How has that foundation helped CFMT show up for the region?
Wisdom is part of what has carried CFMT through floods, tornadoes, a pandemic, and other defining moments for the region. It has shaped the steady infrastructure behind donor relationships, grantmaking, and community trust. The story of CFMT’s growth is not only about size or milestones but about what that growth has made possible for people across Middle Tennessee.
“The Foundation is nimble enough to act quickly in times of crisis,” Laundrea said. “We’ve made so, so many dreams come true. Many lives have changed for the better.”
What does Laundrea want the next generation to remember?
For Laundrea, CFMT’s future depends on the same steadiness that shaped its beginning. Growth matters, but the work must remain grounded in trust, local knowledge, and a clear sense of purpose. The name Community Foundation carries both parts of that responsibility.
“While community may be the first word in our name, without foundation, we wouldn’t be here,” Laundrea said. “You cannot build anything without a stable foundation.”
Who is Jerry Williams?
Jerry Williams is a longtime Nashville civic leader best known for her 25 years as executive director of Leadership Nashville where she helped prepare more than 1,000 leaders for civic service. Her influence extends across philanthropy, education, arts, health, and historic preservation through roles with Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Nashville Public Education Foundation, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and other major community institutions. Recognized with honors, including CFMT’s Joe Kraft Humanitarian Award, Jerry Williams, is widely regarded as a connector whose work has strengthened Nashville’s leadership and civic life.
What does Jerry remember about CFMT’s early days?
Jerry Williams first memory of CFMT was serving on the Grants & Allocations Committee in the early 90s when meetings were held in a room at Loventhal Insurance on 23rd Avenue North near Vanderbilt. The committee included community leaders Father Charles Strobel, Howard Stringer and George Bullard. Jerry recognized that CFMT was shaped by people who understood both the needs of the region and the power generosity can have when people come together.
“The founders were an impressive group,” Jerry recalled. “I have always been impressed with the work of Ellen Lehman, Ida Cooney, and other visionaries who turned an idea into a reality.”
How did Jerry become involved with CFMT?
In 1996, Jerry and her husband, Ernie, opened a donor advised fund at CFMT. She later joined CFMT’s Board of Directors and went on to serve as board chair in 2014. For many years, she also chaired the Grants & Allocations Committee, working closely with Laundrea as they researched, verified, and followed through on grant requests. That work gave Jerry a greater understanding of Middle Tennessee’s nonprofit community and the challenges organizations faced.
What has Jerry seen CFMT make possible for donors and nonprofits?
CFMT’s growth has always been about making it easier for people to give, and to give well. That began with grantmaking and donor advised funds, expanded through tools like GivingMatters.com, and continues today through the Foundation’s role as a trusted place for donors, nonprofits and community partners.
“Middle Tennessee is full of generous people, and the Community Foundation from the beginning has made it easier for them to give,” said Jerry.
What does Jerry believe makes CFMT different?
For Jerry, CFMT’s strength is not only in its scale, but in its knowledge of the community it was born to serve. As the region grows and its needs become more complex, she believes CFMT’s impact will continue to depend on trust, discernment, and a steady connection to Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
“From a donor advised fund perspective, choosing the Community Foundation instead of a commercial institution or another public company is to tap into the Foundation’s knowledge of Nashville and Middle Tennessee,” said Jerry. “This is our secret sauce.”
How has CFMT earned trust in moments of need?
That trust matters not only in steady times, but in moments of urgency. Jerry believes CFMT’s ability to quickly create emergency funds after local and national disasters has helped solidify its role as a place people turn when they want to make a difference. The Foundation’s local relationships and knowledge allow generosity to move with care when the need is immediate.
“Looking ahead, I see the impact of the Community Foundation only growing. The staff and the leadership want the best for this region and people,” said Jerry. “Collectively, our work can make a difference.”
Thirty-Five Years, Together.
A Reflection
It began not in a boardroom or a grand hall, but in a garage in Nashville—the humblest of beginnings for what would become one of the most enduring expressions of generosity in Middle Tennessee.
In the autumn of 1990, a question was asked and a seed was planted. A visionary leaned across a lunch table and urged a friend to do something that had not yet been done: build a community foundation for Nashville. Ellen Lehman listened. And then she got to work rallying neighbors, dreamers, and believers who decided that Middle Tennessee deserved a charitable home for its future. After thirty-one years, she passed the torch to a trusted friend and fellow Nashvillian, and the mission carried on.
Thirty-five years is a long time. Long enough to weather floods and tornadoes, economic uncertainty and a global pandemic. Long enough to welcome new generations of givers and witness remarkable growth across our region. Long enough to see more than $1.25 billion invested in communities, causes, and people throughout Middle Tennessee.
But numbers alone cannot tell this story. The real story is one of belonging.
Every gift entrusted to this Foundation has been an expression of hope. Every fund established has reflected a desire to make a difference and a belief that we are connected to one another. Every grant awarded has affirmed a simple truth: communities thrive when people choose to take care of one another.
This Foundation has never belonged to any one donor, leader, or generation. It has always belonged to all of us. It is your Foundation, rooted in this place, accountable to those who call it home, and committed to the future we share.
That commitment remains our mission today: to build a more thriving and inclusive community, now and for generations to come, by transforming thoughtful generosity into positive change.
Our world looks very different than it did in 1990 but the invitation remains the same. To come together. To listen. To invest in one another. To build the kind of community where every person has the opportunity to flourish.
Today, our home at the corner of Woodmont and Belmont stands as a reflection of that vision. More than a building, it is a gathering place. A community clubhouse where neighbors become partners, where ideas become action, and where relationships become the foundation for lasting change.
Because philanthropy is not ultimately about transactions. It is about relationships. It is about recognizing that our futures are intertwined and that we accomplish more together than any of us can alone.
As we mark this thirty-fifth year, we offer our deepest gratitude to every donor who placed their trust here, every nonprofit partner who served with courage and compassion, and every community member whose generosity helped shape this story.
You did not merely fund programs. You expanded opportunity, strengthened relationships, and created pathways for hope.
In the end, the Foundation’s greatest achievement is not what has been built over the last thirty-five years. It is who we have become together—a community that continues to show up for one another, invest in one another, and make room for more people to belong.
Thank you for building it with us.
BUILDING A BETTER
COMMUNITY, TOGETHER.
These stories from our 2025 Annual Report highlight what happens when donors, nonprofit partners, and CFMT sit down at the same table — taking on housing, belonging, and a culture of giving, together.
Hal Cato – CEO at CFMT, and Stephanie Coleman – President and CEO at Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
ADDRESSING OUR HOUSING CRISIS, TOGETHER.
Nearly half of renters in Davidson County spend more than 30% of their income on housing, and the leaders shaping policy, funding, and development have too often worked in silos. The Unified Housing Leadership Council, a cross-sector effort supported by CFMT, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Mayor’s Office, now brings them to one table to guide the region’s Unified Housing Strategy.
“People need access to housing they can afford in order to live near jobs, schools, transportation, and amenities. Housing affordability has become one of the biggest issues impacting workforce availability and our region’s economic competitiveness.”
STEPHANIE COLEMAN — PRESIDENT & CEO, NASHVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Adnan Karim – Vice President of Community Impact at CFMT, and Lisa Sherman Luna – Executive Director at TIRRC
FOSTERING A SENSE OF BELONGING, TOGETHER.
When CFMT’s Adnan Karim and Hal Cato first sat down with Lisa Sherman Luna of the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, The Belonging Fund hadn’t yet been born. That exploratory conversation grew into a steering committee of immigrant- and refugee-serving organizations from across the region — TIRRC bringing community trust and lived experience, CFMT bringing donor relationships and the ability to mobilize resources quickly. In 2025, eight partners distributed $430,000 in support for legal fees, healthcare, utility assistance, emergency housing, and other basic needs.
“Partnership was the only way to approach the work responsibly and in a way that actually reflects what the community needs.”
ADNAN KARIM — VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNITY IMPACT, CFMT
(Left to right) Rondal Richardson – Executive Director of Music Community Foundation; Kristen and Charlie Worsham – The Compadres and Follow Your Heart Scholarship Funds at CFMT.
GROWING A CULTURE OF GIVING, TOGETHER.
When CMA Award–winning musician Charlie Worsham came to CFMT in 2016, he was carrying gratitude for home and a scholarship idea for students from his Mississippi hometown. With Rondal Richardson, the Follow Your Heart Scholarship Fund gave that vision the structure to last — and in 2023, Charlie and his wife Kristen expanded their giving as a family with the Compadres Fund. Ten years in, their story shows what happens when the right people, structure, and trust let generosity keep growing as life changes.
“In those early days, my goal was not to wait for my career to take off before laying the cornerstone for my philanthropy. I was hyper-focused on building something that would pay forward the investment my music teachers had made in me.”
Charlie Worsham — The Compadres Fund & Follow Your Heart Scholarship Fund
