Featured Photo Credit: University Schools
As Memphis students return to school, Hyde Foundation is investing in strong teachers, school leadership, and career pathways that help students move from classroom to opportunity.
Hyde Family Foundation today announced its first funding cycle of 2026, awarding more than $3 million to 23 community partners across Memphis. More than half of the funding, $1.53 million across nine grants, will support education partners working to strengthen schools, teachers, and career pathways at a moment of significant change in Memphis classrooms.
“Hyde Family Foundation has invested in education for more than 30 years because every student in Memphis deserves a great school, strong teachers, and leadership that puts students first,” said Barbara Hyde, chair and CEO of Hyde Family Foundation. “Our work is guided by a simple question: are students better off? These grants support partners who are helping make sure the answer is yes.”
Grants are made in four impact areas: education; arts & culture; neighborhoods & public spaces; and leadership & civic pride, with additional support for public safety.
The grants in education span the full pipeline from classroom to career. School operators in Frayser, Binghampton, and across the city are expanding high-quality seats and strengthening instruction. Teacher preparation and retention partners are helping produce licensed educators for Memphis classrooms. Through a co-investment with Bloomberg Philanthropies and local partners, Hyde Foundation is bringing Summer Boost to Memphis charter campuses for a fourth consecutive year, serving more than 4,300 students across roughly 50 campuses this summer. Alongside Summer Boost, Hyde is pooling funds through Memphis Education Fund to support high-dosage tutoring partnerships with Literacy Mid-South, City Year, Peer Power, and Teach for America Ignite, reaching more than 1,200 students in the coming school year. New investments in workforce intermediaries will help young adults move beyond a diploma toward credentials, careers, and economic mobility.
The grants in arts & culture back organizations at critical inflection points. Cazateatro Bilingual Theater Group is bringing programming directly into neighborhoods. Indie Memphis is relaunching its film festival downtown after a strategic pause. Music Export Memphis, approaching its 10th anniversary, supports nearly 200 Memphis artists in reaching national and international audiences. And Young Actors Guild, a new partner rooted in Orange Mound, has a 98% college graduation rate among alumni who began as performers.
The grants in neighborhoods & public spaces invest in both place and people. Memphis River Parks Partnership has just completed The Flyway, a 216-foot observation deck extending into the Mississippi River at Tom Lee Park, adding a new way for all Memphians to connect with the river. In Binghampton, the BDC Business Hub is providing structured employment for residents facing significant barriers to work. And MyCityRides, a new partner, is giving low-income Memphians access to affordable, reliable transportation that opens doors to jobs and opportunity across the city.
The grants in leadership & civic pride invest in the infrastructure Memphis’ civic sector depends on. Tennessee Nonprofit Network, which serves more than 1,000 Shelby County nonprofits, is launching a regional initiative to rebuild public trust in the nonprofit sector at a moment when that trust is under pressure nationwide. City Leadership is connecting teachers with Memphis classrooms through Teach901 and advancing a positive Memphis narrative through Choose901. Junior Achievement is building a pipeline of young professionals ready to serve on nonprofit boards. And Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis is beginning a new five-year strategic planning process with deep roots in South Memphis neighborhoods.
With these grants, Hyde Family Foundation’s total investment in Memphis is more than $300 million since its founding in 1992.
Full list of grants in this cycle:
Education:
• CodeCrew
• The Collective Blueprint
• Compass Community Schools
• Facing History and Ourselves
• Libertas School of Memphis
• Man Up Teacher Fellowship
• MTR
• Summer Boost (via 50CAN)
• Tutoring by Literacy Mid-South, City Year, Peer Power and Teach for America Ignite (via Memphis Education Fund)
• University School District (via University of Memphis Foundation)
Arts & Culture:
• Beale Street Caravan
• Cazateatro Bilingual Theater Group
• Indie Memphis
• Music Export Memphis
• Young Actors Guild Neighborhoods & Public Spaces:
• Binghampton Development Corporation
• Memphis River Parks Partnership
• MyCityRides
Leadership & Civic Pride:
• City Leadership
• Junior Achievement of Memphis and the Mid-South
• Memphis Challenge
• Tennessee Nonprofit Network
• Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis
Public Safety:
• Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital Foundation
A full list of partners can be found on the Foundation’s website at hydefoundation.org.
