Story and photos by Roni Bailey; editorial contributions by Payton Manis
On April 1, 2026, Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) welcomed leaders from the East Tennessee Foundation (ETF/Foundation) to campus as part of a three-city anniversary tour marking the organization’s 40th year of grant-making across the region. The event drew donors, nonprofit leaders, university administrators, and community volunteers together to reflect on four decades of philanthropic impact and to emphasize what the focus will be for the next chapter.
ETF President & CEO Keith Barber opened the event with a warmhearted speech. Just days earlier, at TWU’s Scholarship Luncheon, a student addressed a room of roughly 100 attendees, including Barber, with a few words that inspired him.
“You took a chance on me. You took a chance on students you never met,” said Hanah Clark, TWU Freshman.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Barber told the attendees, recounting Clark’s words. He drew a direct parallel between Clark’s story and everyone in the room – donors, nonprofit workers, and board members – who take chances on people they’ve never met.
Barber, a first-generation college student who received scholarships as an undergraduate, said the experience of being invested in by strangers was the reason he spent more than three decades in higher education before joining ETF.
ETF and TWU Partnership
For students at TWU, the visit is highly relevant. ETF administers a wide range of scholarship funds, and Barber made clear the foundation is actively rethinking how it delivers student support, moving beyond traditional, one-time scholarships to explore internships, guest lecturers, and other forms of engagement.
“It may not always be a check,” Barber said. “We’re challenging ourselves to figure out how to make it relevant, not just to the students, but to the university and to East Tennessee.”
Barber closed not with an ask for money, but with a challenge: “Find your place in this story. Ask yourself every day, where do I fit in making East Tennessee better?”
A Foundation Built Decade by Decade
Established in 1986 from two existing funds in the Knoxville area, ETF has grown into one of the top 50 community foundations in the United States by assets. Among the milestones Barber highlighted:
- ETF surpassed $100 million in total grants awarded during its second decade
- The Foundation has maintained its National Standards Certification from the Council on Foundations since its third decade, a signal of distinction among community foundations nationwide
- Assets have increased from $500 million (before Barber joined as CEO in April 2023) to $707 million as of January 2026, with a stated goal of reaching 1 billion dollars within three years
In 2025 alone, ETF awarded $30 million in grants and scholarships across areas including arts, education, health, and youth development. Barber noted 86 students received scholarships from 64 different funds but emphasized that figure represents only one-tenth of the applications received, underscoring the gap between resources and demand.
For more information about ETF, visit https://easttennesseefoundation.org/