Committee on Contributions approves FY26 funding recommendations, adds midyear-report requirement

The Committee on Contributions voted Tuesday to forward fiscal-year 2026 funding recommendations to the Trust Board and to change grant eligibility rules so organizations that fail to submit a required midyear report will be ineligible to apply for funding the following year.

Committee members approved a recalculated distribution that recommends funding for 29 organizations — up from 24 in the baseline worksheet presented — and adopted a selection rule to include organizations that scored 80% or higher and received no more than one "no" vote from committee members.

The committee’s staff presenter, Craig (staff), told members the trust’s portfolio produced a roughly 34% increase in distributions compared with the prior year and that the working spreadsheet had been adjusted so the total recommended awards equal the funds available. "Now that we have our investments fully allocated amongst the various investments and professionally managed, we anticipate that they'll continue to grow depending on the market, of course," Craig said.

Why it matters: the committee’s votes set the package the Trust Board will review and introduce a formal compliance requirement into the grant process. Committee members said adding the midyear-report requirement strengthens accountability to the trust and trustees.

Key actions and votes

- The committee voted to amend the grant agreement language so that failure to submit a midyear report makes an applicant ineligible for funding the following year. The motion was seconded and carried in a roll call vote with all members present voting "aye." Staff clarified the change applies moving forward and is not retroactive to the current funding round.

- The committee adopted a policy to include, for this year's recommendations, organizations that scored 80% or higher and had no more than one "no" vote. Lyle (committee member) moved the motion; it was seconded. The motion passed on a recorded vote: Hayes, Hinkle, Lynn, Lynch, Smith and Chair Montgomery voted yes; Martin voted no.

- The committee voted to remove Doors of Hope from the recommended awards for FY26 after the organization failed to submit its midyear report. Carl (committee member) moved that Doors of Hope not be funded on that basis; the motion passed on a roll call vote with all members voting yes.

- The committee approved the final recommended amounts to forward to the Trust Board. The motion to submit the recommended funding package carried on a roll call vote with all members present voting yes.

Discussion and context

Members spent substantial time asking staff how the baseline recommendations were calculated. Staff said they used the same averaging method as the previous year, applied trust-category limitations and then ran an across-the-board adjustment so the totals matched the available funds ($49,696, as shown on the worksheet staff circulated). Committee members discussed alternatives — narrowing eligibility by score, increasing the cutoff to 85% and making exceptions for organizations with missed reports — before settling on the 80%/one-no rule for this round.

Committee members raised recurring concerns about duplication of services among local nonprofits and the difficulty of comparing organizations that serve similar populations. Several members urged encouraging or facilitating partnerships or mergers among organizations that provide overlapping services, and suggested adding application questions and documentation to make collaborations and local spending clearer to reviewers.

Members also discussed whether large, regional organizations should be scored differently when a significant share of their operations are outside Murfreesboro. Staff said program descriptions and midyear reports should make local activity clear, and suggested the committee could request additional applicant information or incorporate explanatory guidance into FAQs.

Quotes

"We anticipate that they'll continue to grow depending on the market, of course," Craig said when describing investment performance and the baseline used for calculations.

"I will make the motion that Doors of Hope is not funded based on non midyear reporting," Carl said during the separate vote to remove that organization from the recommendations.

Ending

Staff said they will circulate the final worksheets and statistics to committee members and will correct any minor spreadsheet issues discovered before forwarding the formal recommendation to the Trust Board. Members requested staff prepare an off-season survey about evaluation questions and suggested staff offer training or panels for applicants to clarify collaboration, local impact and allowable uses of grant funds. The meeting adjourned after scheduling follow-up as needed.

Votes at a glance

- Approve minutes with listed corrections: approved (roll call recorded as unanimous). - Amend grant agreement to require midyear report for future eligibility (moving forward, not retroactive): approved (roll call recorded as unanimous). - Exclude Doors of Hope from FY26 recommendations due to failure to submit midyear report: approved (roll call recorded as unanimous). - Add organizations scoring >=80% with no more than one "no" to this year's recommendations: approved (ayes: Hayes, Hinkle, Lynn, Lynch, Smith, Chair Montgomery; no: Martin). - Approve final FY26 recommended amounts to forward to Trust Board: approved (roll call recorded as unanimous).