Partners in classrooms and across the state are working to help Memphis students strengthen reading skills, graduate and prepare for successful careers.
Hyde Family Foundation’s Q3 2026 funding cycle awards more than $1.8 million to 15 community partners. Two-thirds of that total, more than $1.2 million across 10 grants, supports education partners working in Memphis schools and at the state level.
"A child's success depends on a lot of people getting things right: the teacher who teaches her to read, the principal who coaches that teacher, and the leaders who set policy for her school. This cycle supports partners at every one of those levels. We fund work in specific schools to learn what works, and we fund partners statewide who can help make sure it reaches every Memphis student."
Barbara Hyde, chair and CEO, Hyde Family Foundation
Reading proficiently by the end of third grade is one of the strongest predictors of a student's likelihood of graduating and pursuing a successful career. This cycle's education grant supports approaches to literacy that can expand across multiple campuses, while also strengthening our teachers, principals and systems:
Compass Community Schools is aiming to improve K-3 reading proficiency on all five of its elementary campuses to 90% by 2030 through the North Star Project, a partnership with Memphis Teacher Residency. A pilot at its Orange Mound campus increased the share of kindergartners reading proficiently from 33% to 77% in two years.
Journey Community Schools, with campuses in Hickory Hill, Raleigh and Sycamore View, is in the third year of a five-year literacy plan built around intervention specialists who work with students reading below grade level.
ALLMemphis, whose curriculum is part of Journey's plan, will train leadership teams from three more charter schools to coach strong reading instruction.
Aurora Collegiate Academy in Berclair will add a third fellow to its program that trains new teachers inside the school before they lead a classroom.
The Principal Learning Center will welcome its third cohort of principals to its year-long instructional leaders fellowship.
EveryDay Labs will bring its attendance strategies and data support services to four single-site charter schools working to better leverage their data and reduce absenteeism.
“We've seen firsthand what’s possible when teachers have the tools, training and support to help every child become a stronger reader. The progress at our Orange Mound campus shows that meaningful gains in literacy are possible, and now we have an opportunity to build on that success across our other campuses. With the Foundation's support, we're helping Memphis students develop the reading skills they need to succeed in life.”
Kristi Baird, Executive Director, Compass Community Schools
At the state level, Tennessee SCORE, a partner since 2010, will build on its policy work with a focus on connecting Memphis students to career pathways leading to high-wage jobs. Tennessee Charter School Center, which serves all Memphis charter schools, will continue advocating for charter schools during a critical period of leadership transitions at both the local district and state levels.
In the Neighborhoods and Public Spaces impact area, a grant to Shelby Farms Park Conservancy continues a nearly 20-year partnership. The Conservancy manages Shelby Farms Park and the Shelby Farms Greenline, maintaining 3,200 acres and 12 miles of trails that attract more than 4 million visits annually. Recent improvements include meadow restoration, new safety surfaces at the Woodland Discovery Playground and Sprayground and accessible pads at picnic pavilions.
In the Leadership and Civic Pride impact area, these grants support the next generation of Memphis' civic and philanthropic leaders. The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis will launch the third and fourth cohorts of its Next Gen Philanthropic Initiative, a six-month program for emerging philanthropists ages 30 to 45. Within a year of completing the program, 30% of participants from the first two cohorts had opened donor-advised funds. New Memphis, a partner since 1995, is incorporating nonpartisan civic education into all five of its leadership programs and launching Memphis 102, a public education initiative designed to help Memphians understand local government and become more civically engaged.
In public safety, Memphis-Shelby Crime Commission is developing the next five-year Safe Community Action Plan for Memphis and Shelby County, which it expects to bring to its board for adoption in January 2027. The plan follows a year in which data shows major violent crime in Memphis at its lowest level in a decade.
More than half of the grants are general operating support, the flexible funding partners say matters most to their work. With these grants, Hyde Family Foundation's total investment in Memphis is more than $300 million since its founding in 1992.
All Q3 Grants
Education
ALLMemphis: Yearlong literacy leadership training for charter school leadership teams.
Aurora Collegiate Academy: Support for a third fellow in its school-based teacher preparation program.
Compass Community Schools: Support for the North Star Project, a network-wide early literacy initiative.
EveryDay Labs (through Memphis Education Fund): Attendance support for four single-site charter schools.
Journey Community Schools: Literacy intervention specialists and instructional materials across its K-8 campuses.
Memphis Education Fund: Operating support for research and charter school sector coordination.
The Principal Learning Center: Operating support for its instructional leadership fellowship for principals.
Tennessee Charter School Center: Operating support to launch its new strategic plan.
Tennessee SCORE: Operating support for statewide education policy efforts and career pathways in Memphis.
TennesseeCAN: Operating support for student-centered education policy efforts in Memphis and across Tennessee.
Neighborhoods & Public Spaces
Shelby Farms Park Conservancy: Operating support for Shelby Farms Park and the Shelby Farms Greenline.
Leadership & Civic Pride
Community Foundation of Greater Memphis: Support for two new cohorts of its Next Gen Philanthropic Initiative.
New Memphis: Support for nonpartisan civic education across its leadership programs and for the broader public.
Volunteer Odyssey: Operating support for volunteer recruitment and nonprofit volunteer management.
Public Safety
Memphis-Shelby Crime Commission: Operating support, including the development of the next Safe Community Action Plan.
About Hyde Family Foundation
Hyde Family Foundation is the foundation created by Barbara and Pitt Hyde with a mission to support the people and organizations working to create a unified, thriving Memphis for all. We focus our support in four impact areas: arts and culture, education, leadership and civic pride, and neighborhoods and public spaces.