About The Foundation
The Assisi Foundation of Memphis, Inc. serves nonprofit organizations that work to improve Memphis and the MidSouth. Through our partnerships, we address pressing challenges while also searching for root causes with the goal of creating community-wide transformation.
WE BELIEVE IN PHILANTHROPY, DONE WELL.
Our guiding principles begin and end with respect, compassion, service, and stewardship for our community and one another. We strive to effectively and to the best of our abilities, allocate resources to support the diverse needs of our community in a way that improves the quality of life for all.
Since our formation in 1994 from the sale of St. Francis Hospital, The Assisi Foundation of Memphis, Inc. (The Foundation) has awarded more than $280 million to nonprofit organizations serving people located primarily in the Greater Memphis area.
Our Staff
The Assisi Foundation staff is available to assist you with questions regarding eligibility for funding as well as qualification for our training and Seminars. Please feel free to contact any of our staff.
Leadership
The Foundation’s leadership team thoroughly and thoughtfully—individually and as a group—weighs requests as they relate to our mission of effective philanthropy.
Working from the notion that serving is a privilege, our diverse group of leaders convenes quarterly to review applications and determine funding approvals. Each leader brings specific and valuable skill sets, as well as professional and personal experiences. Collectively, they strive to make the most responsible decisions for the greatest, most lasting impact. Our leaders are focused, dedicated and motivated—much like our community partners.
Board of Directors
- Susan M. Aguillard, M.D., Secretary
- Jack A. Belz
- Ronald A. Belz
- Barbara Daush
- Marvin Davis
- Thomas Farnsworth, Vice Chair
- Mott Ford
- Willie Gregory
- Harry Goldsmith
- Robert D. Gooch III
- Frank Gusmus
- Cato Johnson
- Carol Johnson Dean, Ed.D.
- Ellen Klyce
- J. Martin Regan
- Nisha Powers
- Beverly Robertson
- Charles D. Schaffler
- David Scully
- Martin F. Thompson
- Peggy I. Veeser, Ed.D. Board Chair
- Philip R. Zanone Jr., Treasurer
Emeritus
John D. Canale Jr., (deceased) Founding board member
Fred L. Davis, (deceased) Founding board member
A. F. “Bud” Dudley, (deceased) Founding board member
Edward C. Duke, (deceased) Founding board member
Forrest N. Jenkins, (deceased) Founding board member
William A. Loewenberg, (deceased) Founding board member
John D. Pera, Ph.D., (deceased) Founding board member
M. Rita Schroeder, (deceased) Founder of St. Francis Hospital
Joseph S. Sims, (deceased) Founding board member
James A. Sweeney, (deceased) Founding board member
C. Thomas Whitman, Founding board member
Russel L. Wiener, D.D.S., (deceased) Founding board member
Summer Internships
We hire a limited number of interns for the summer. Applications should be submitted no later than December 31 of each year for the following summer. To inquire about eligibility, please complete the form.
The Story of Francis
Though we are not affiliated with the Catholic Church or any Franciscan organization, we do believe in the philosophy of St. Francis and his lifelong example as one who loved compassionately and lived in service of Christ and his fellow man.
Many of the stories that surround St. Francis deal with his love of animals, his caring for the natural world, and his dedication to the poor and the suffering.
The Prayer Of ST. Francis
- “Lord, make me an instrument of your Peace,
- where there is hatred, let me sow love;
- where there is injury, pardon;
- where there is doubt, faith;
- where there is despair, hope;
- where there is darkness, light;
- where there is sadness, joy;
- Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
- to be understood as to understand;
- to be loved as to love.
- For it is in giving that we receive;
- it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
- And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.”