ABOUT THE ALLIANCE

Our Mission
To strengthen organizations that meet community needs.

Our Vision
By 2010, there will be a strong sector of thriving organizations meeting community needs.

Our Core Values
Integrity - We practice what we believe in and live our core values.
Sustainability - We build an economically vibrant community through education and learning.
Stewardship - We act responsively with the resources that are entrusted to us.
Empathy - We act with compassion.
Role Models - We walk our own talk.

Our Code of Ethics
View our Code of Ethics in this PDF file.

Our History
In 1991, one of Memphis' leading community volunteers, Lucia Gilliland, saw that the city's needs and challenges far outweighed local financial resources. She envisioned an organization that could help nonprofits, government and educational institutions attract national funding.

With the assistance of Gid Smith, President of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, and Harry Shaw, President of United Way of the Mid-South, Ms. Gilliland founded the Grant Information Center in 1992. The Plough Foundation, United Way of the Mid-South, and the Memphis Rotary Club provided initial funding. The Center officially opened on January 6 with two staff members and a board of nineteen community leaders.

Originally, the Center offered only information on grant opportunities. Services soon expanded to include training and consulting on the entire grant development and management process, and the name was changed to The Grant Center in 1998.

Over time, competition for funding increased dramatically. Funders started looking more closely not only at what an organization did, but how they did it. The Grant Center recognized that many of its members needed to improve their performance to compete successfully for national funding. The Center added resources for organizational development, and launched the Program for Nonprofit Excellence in 2003.

In 2005, The Grant Center adopted its new mission statement: to strengthen organizations that meet community needs. The board voted in early 2006 to change the name to the Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence to reflect the new mission. In addition to its role in grant seeking, the Alliance assists in building high performing organizations that have a significant impact on the community.

Over the past seventeen years, the Alliance has helped local organizations to secure more than $170 million in national funding. For each dollar of local support the Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence receives, it generates an average of $30 for the community.

		Service Area The Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence currently serves West Tennessee, East Arkansas, and North Mississippi. Its membership includes more than 200 agencies from these three states, with the majority located in Shelby County, Tennessee. Many members are nonprofit organizations supporting human services, health, arts, community development, education, religion, and economic development. Local government agencies represent one-fourth of the Alliance's membership; the remainder includes foundations, corporations, and individual professionals involved in grant seeking or nonprofit consulting.
Location The Alliance office is located in Suite 502 of the Clark Tower at 5100 Poplar Avenue (one block east of Mendenhall). When visiting our office, you may enter the garage on the west side of the building and drive to the 5th floor of the garage. Parking here will allow you to enter on the 5th floor where our office is located. When parking on the surface lot, enter the main lobby and take the elevators to the 5th floor. Hours of Operations Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.