January 2025 Community Spotlight

Giving Together

The Generosity Trust is partnering with the Maclellan Foundation to host an event called Giving Together, which will be held at the Westin on Thursday, March 27th, 2025. Giving Together powerfully connects donors with ministries making a significant Kingdom difference. The Maclellan Foundation will host the evening, and we’d love you to join us and invite your friends to explore the joy of giving together.

How does it work?  

Upon registering to attend, as a committed donor, you are given the opportunity to nominate a Chattanooga-based ministry you would like to see present at the event. All Christian ministries nominated will receive a $1,500 grant from the Maclellan Foundation, just for being nominated. Four are selected to move on to present at the event.

The night of the event, the four nominees will present, and donors will decide where to allocate their donations. The Maclellan Foundation, The Generosity Trust, and a few other generous, sponsoring families will match funds given to the presenting ministries, doubling the amount given! We ask for a minimum intended commitment of $500 per couple or individual attending (although you can give more!).

Giving Together promises to be a time when you can join a “community” of givers who, together, intentionally empower ministries as they do incredible Kingdom work in Chattanooga. We’d love for you to join us!

You can register to attend and nominate a nonprofit by clicking here. Seats are limited, so please register early.

Note: We kindly ask that employees of Christian ministries refrain from nominating the organization they work for. The nominated ministry must be a qualified 501(c)(3) and primarily serve the Chattanooga community.

Giving Collaboration

Our collaborative Giving Circle “Stepping into Generosity” is a group of women who give together and grant together, to support local women and children. Since 2022 over 100 women have given away $278,115 to 13 local ministries, with another large cycle of grants going out early in 2025! Learn more here.

This fall, members of the Stepping into Generosity Giving Circle’s research team visited local ministries making a significant impact to steadily transform lives in our community. Our giving circle is honored to share some of these organizations with you. You are encouraged to get to know more about this sampling of impactful kingdom-focused ministries serving women and children in the Chattanooga area:

We warmly invite area women to attend our community-wide women’s luncheon coming up in March 2025. Our featured speaker Kari Kampakis will share on becoming a cheerful giver. Kari is author of “More than a Mom”, “Love Her Well”, and her newest release “Your, Not Hers: 40 Devotions to Stop Comparisons and Love Your Life.” Kari, her husband, and four daughters live in Birmingham, Alabama. She is excited to speak to a room filled with generous, community-minded women and is tailoring a generosity message just for us.

Call the Generosity Trust at 423-266-5257 or contact us here if you are interested in learning more.

Nonprofit Highlight

Each month, we like to highlight a local ministry doing excellent work. This month’s featured organization is “Blazing Hope Ranch” in Dayton, TN.

Blazing Hope Ranch exists to restore wholeness to female survivors of human trafficking and to weaken the sex trade through the power of Christ. The Ranch utilizes three core distinctives, and the power of hope and horses, to help counter the effects of trafficking: Restoration, Resistance, and Reduction

Restoration through H.O.P.E. Haven transitional living home: Restore wholeness to survivors through trauma-informed long-term aftercare in a transitional living program, that offers a safe, Christ-focused environment. In this family-style setting, with the guidance of a live-in mentor, women learn critical life skills and have access to community resources such as education, medical care, and counseling services all within a biblical framework.

Restoration Reins: Survivors who live on the Ranch, as well as visiting survivors from other survivor-care organizations have access to Restoration Reins, which utilizes horses to foster the healing process. Research and experience demonstrate how God can harness the power of horses to restore hearts

Resistance through Camp Run Free: Prevention is an essential key to fighting human trafficking and fulfilling our mission to weaken the sex trade through the power of Jesus Christ. In summer day-camp, at-risk youth ages 8-13 are taught age-appropriate anti-trafficking curriculum while interacting with horses and enjoying other fun camp activities. More broadly, this Community Outreach seeks to build community awareness of human trafficking, offer activities to strengthen familial bonds, and establish partnerships with churches and a coalition of faith-based organizations passionate about preventing human commercial exploitation.

Reduction through Guardian of Hope: Raise awareness of the contributing factors fueling the exploitation of women that drive the desire for human traffickers to find victims to meet demand and build wealth. Guardian of Hope builds up passionate male leaders who help create accountability and protect the value and honor of the women in our lives and within our reach. Only men who truly show selfless care and compassion for women can destroy the scourge of sex trafficking.

Blazing Hope Ranch is nearly 10 years old, and partners with other organizations fighting human trafficking, including One Voice and Her Song. They maintain communication through a network (both local and non-local) regarding availability of beds for survivors of with differing programmatic needs. To learn more about their equine therapy and other programs, click here.