For program officers & grant reviewers
Funders & Grants
Who we are, what we've accomplished, where we're going, and how we measure it, all in one place.
At a glance
Legal name
Kingdom Partners
Status
501(c)(3) nonprofit
EIN
82-3022044
Network
150+ churches since 2018
Affiliation
Leadership Foundations member
President
Oliver Richmond
Track record
Relationships first. Then results.
2018
A citywide cohort begins
200+ faith leaders across race and denomination.
2020
COVID-19 response
4 virtual learning centers; 40 churches brought online.
2020
Charity to Change
20+ churches complete the Lilly Endowment–funded program.
2022
The city invests
$2.55M for housing, mentoring, and literacy.
2025–26
Tend Fold Initiative
Executive-level leadership cohorts for pastors.
142
affordable homes on two church properties (62 + 80)
300
youth mentors funded for recruitment and training
35
organizations in the Mentoring Collective
16 of 17
literacy tutors returned for a second year
[Photo: housing project]
[Photo: Tend Fold session]
Funding received
Trusted by public and private funders
Funder
Purpose
Amount
Lilly Endowment Inc.
Charity to Change (via Leadership Foundations) and Tend Fold leadership cohorts
[Amount]
City of Chattanooga
Affordable housing program (2022)
$1,800,000
City of Chattanooga
Recruit and train 300 youth mentors (2022)
$500,000
City of Chattanooga
After-school literacy, five-year grant (2022)
$250,000
Urban & Community Forestry Grant
Administered for the Chattanooga Food Forest Coalition
[Amount]
Thank you to our funding partners
[Lilly Endowment]
[City of Chattanooga]
[Community Foundation]
[Maclellan Foundation]
[The Generosity Trust]
[W. F. Osborne Foundation]
Our next stage · proposed
LINK Chattanooga
LINK brings to scale what worked in Charity to Change and Tend Fold. Congregations from across the city spend 12 months learning together, building leadership capacity, and carrying out a shared project for a real neighborhood need.
Congregations
30–45
Annual cohorts
3 × 10–15
Program length
4 years
Per congregation
12 months
01
Monthly City Engagement Training
Eight two-hour sessions on theology, case studies, and engagement tools.
02
Executive Coaching
At least monthly with a seasoned corporate executive.
03
Congregational Mobilization
Asset mapping, Bible study, sermon series, communications.
04
Strategic Planning
A faith-based plan for each church and the cohort.
05
Purpose & Calling Discernment
Members leave with a clear statement of purpose.
06
Collaborative Demonstration Project
Four months to plan and carry out a shared response.
How we measure
Three outcomes, tested every year
LINK uses a pre- and post-survey design. Year 1 findings adjust the training and project components for later cohorts, avoiding a one-size-fits-all program.
1
Deeper understanding of context
Awareness of neighborhoods' social and cultural realities and a sense of connectedness.
2
Stronger collaboration
Churches partner with one another and with institutions to plan and carry out responses.
3
Greater leadership capacity
Pastors and lay leaders manage, support, and guide their congregations more effectively.
Training survey
Engagement knowledge, partnership networks, collaboration capacity, management practices.
Project survey
New church partnerships, community-informed projects, leadership capacity.
Governance
A volunteer board of pastors, attorneys, and civic leaders governs Kingdom Partners, advised by a Leadership Council of business leaders.
Rev. Robert T. J. Childers, Chairman
Novella S. Miller, Vice-Chairman
Judge Walter F. Williams (Ret.), Treasurer
Charlotte Berry McKee, Secretary
Pastor Marcellus Barnes Sr.
Mark Straub
Documents for reviewers
Talk with Oliver Richmond
Our president is glad to walk through outcomes or arrange a visit to a cohort session or project site.
orichmond@kingpartners.org 423-708-4402