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For over 50 years, the Community Foundation has helped people give with purpose, strengthening Memphis and the Mid-South.

We make giving easier and more impactful by matching your generosity with the causes and community you care about most.

We offer solutions and resources to donors and the professionals who advise them to help you give smarter and do more good.

We offer funding opportunities that helps nonprofits and students create positive change and build futures.

When you get involved with the Community Foundation, you join a group of people committed to Memphis’s future.

Learn more about the philanthropic hub that connects capital with the solutions that make our community thrive.

Community Foundation Grand Reopening

Event Date: September 17, 2026

Date
Time
CDT
Location
Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, 1900 Union Avenue
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Community Foundation Grand Reopening

1900 Union is our home again—and it’s never looked better. Drop in anytime between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. to tour the totally reimagined space, meet the team, and see how you can do more good here. Drinks and light bites. Casual dress. Come and go as you please.

Stone building with columns and 1900 UNION above the door. Steps lead to a sign reading Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, welcoming visitors for the Grand Reopening. Sunlight filters through a tree on the right.
Stone building with columns and 1900 UNION above the door. Steps lead to a sign reading Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, welcoming visitors for the Grand Reopening. Sunlight filters through a tree on the right.

Preserving the Past, Building for the Future

The Community Foundation acquired 1900 Union Avenue, formerly the site of the Hinds-Smythe Cosmopolitan Funeral Home, in 1997. The move to the Midtown landmark was made possible through a bargain sale by donor Katherine Hinds Smythe. The sale not only demonstrated Smythe’s commitment to seeing the Midtown landmark properly stewarded for the future; it also saved the building from being razed by potential developers.

The building was originally a two-story clapboard house built in the early 1900s, and was expanded in 1938, when the stone and columns were added, and again in 1962 and 1982 by former owners. Since being in the hands of the Community Foundation, improvements have been made over time, including the creation of the Gid H. Smith Community Room.

By 2022, it became clear that a major renovation would be necessary to support the growing staff and needs of the community. Foundation staff and board worked with archimania and Grinder Taber & Grinder for two years to design a space that honored the façade and historical, architectural integrity of our building, while reimagining its interior to better serve donors, staff, our nonprofit sector, and the community. After two long years of renovation, the results are this new, state-of-the-art facility designed for the whole community to enjoy.