Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Memphis-based Plough Foundation, a long-time supporter of many initiatives and organizations in Memphis and Shelby County, has announced that it will grant its remaining dollars to local nonprofit organizations in the near future. United Way of the Mid-South has been named as one of the recipients, with the Foundation making a $5 million grant to provide for the future of our United Way, and in turn, for the many United Way partner agencies on the front lines providing a multitude of services to individuals and families in need.
United Way of the Mid-South has long been a beneficiary of Plough Foundation’s philanthropy. Our current Endowment Fund was established by the Foundation in 1987 with a $5 million grant, paid over five years, to support general operational needs and create a solid base for the sustainability of our United Way. The proceeds from the Endowment Fund have also catalyzed new, innovative, research-informed and partnership-focused solutions generated by nonprofit agencies or collaboratives that have improved the lives of Mid-Southerners.
"United Way has been such an iconic and effective supporter of the nonprofit community in Memphis and our region for decades,” said Diane Rudner, Chairman of the Board, Plough Foundation. “Plough Foundation is making this grant with total confidence in United Way of the Mid-South as a trusted steward of the resources of our foundation, which over the 60 years of the foundation’s existence has reflected our long-term mission of doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people. We’ve demonstrated this by our longstanding support and creation of many initiatives over the years, supporting such areas as health and social services, organizations supporting the Jewish community, the aging population, arts, public education, the homeless, crime prevention, conservation and countless civic improvements in Memphis and Shelby County.”
Rudner also praised United Way’s Driving The Dream, a functional, coordinated network of effective community-based services and supports to help families advance from where they are to where they dream to be. Unprecedented and innovative, Driving The Dream is the largest local strategy to create a non-profit system of care; now involving 73 partner agencies which collectively serve more than 200,000 households annually. These agencies provide a rich array of services in the areas of education, employment, physical and mental health and well-being, and supports for income, food and housing. Plough recognized that there are few other efforts which have undertaken this level of sector integration on behalf of individuals and families facing entrenched, multigenerational economic challenges. Today, Driving The Dream is even more crucial in connecting persons impacted by COVID-19 to services.
"For the last five years, United Way of the Mid-South has consistently executed our Board-endorsed plan for enhancing financial and community support for our long-term sustainability,” said Rev. Kenneth S. Robinson, M.D., President and CEO, United Way of the Mid-South. "As a donor-funded, public charitable foundation, the business of United Way of the Mid-South, as all Mid-South nonprofits, has also been severely disrupted by the global impact of the pandemic on the economy. Yet, our Board and I are grateful that Plough Foundation looked beyond the temporal nature of the crisis to make another transformational, future-facing investment in our Endowment Fund; thereby further ensuring a solid operational undergirding for our ongoing work to improve the lives of Mid-Southerners.”
Plough Foundation's grant uplifts the valuable work of United Way and validates its impact in our community, and Plough’s significant grant to United Way substantiates our shared commitment to the Mid-South and its citizens.
About United Way of the Mid-South
Founded in 1923, United Way of the Mid-South has brought the time, talents and treasures of citizens together so individuals and families in need can enjoy a better quality of life. We do this by being the leading catalyst in stimulating support and services for individuals and families as they progress from poverty to prosperity. Located in Memphis, Tennessee, United Way serves an eight-county region which includes Shelby, Fayette, Tipton and Lauderdale counties in Tennessee; Desoto, Tate and Tunica counties in Mississippi; and Crittenden county in Arkansas. The mission of United Way is to improve the quality of life for Mid-Southerners by mobilizing and aligning community resources to address priority issues. We strive to advance people from where they are to where they dream to be by providing access to a better quality of life for all Mid-Southerners. To learn more, please visit www.uwmidsouth.org.
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