Preds Foundation Grant Recipients Continue to Make Impacts in Community

The West Nashville Dream Center didn't intend to use their grant from the Nashville Predators Foundation empowered by SmileDirectClub to hire a North Nashville coordinator, but then, the March 3 tornado struck.
Manna Café Ministries originally planned on utilizing their grant for their Operation Pomegranate Junior Program, but then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.
Musicians On Call reallocated their grant funds because an in-person Children's Bedside Performance Program was no longer feasible in this climate.
The Preds Foundation initially identified these three organizations, and so many more throughout the community, as worthy causes who deserved some assistance in helping to make their missions come true. But things haven't come easy as of late in Nashville, and when a pandemic put a shutdown on everyday life just days after a tornado struck the region, the work of institutions like these garnered even more importance.

Typically, the grants must be used for the cause originally stated by the organization. However, these times are anything but typical, and the Preds Foundation didn't hesitate to allow for adjustments all across the region - and even with a lack of hockey and fundraising ability, they'll still be distributing funds again this coming spring.
The process for the Foundation's 2021 Grant Application is now open, and thanks to a reserve that has been accumulated over the years, the Preds Foundation will be able to keep making the impact they always have.
"The money coming in, it's not normal, but I think it is safe to say that thanks to our fans, our sponsors and our partners, we have a healthy reserve that's going to help us carry through this next year and maintain what we've been able to do in the community," Preds Vice President of Community Relations Rebecca King said. "If there's a time to dig into your reserves, it's now. We're going to be able to help nonprofits, and it's not a lot of money - $10,000 isn't going to make or break them - but it may help create a program or sustain them for a little bit."
A total of 168 charities were grateful to receive any sort of assistance over the past year, and the Foundation handed out a total of $700,000 with an average grant amount of $4,200. Once the tornado, and then the pandemic hit, 62 of those organizations reallocated their funds, and each instance allowed for the covering of salaries, overhead or other pressing needs that weren't previously considered.

The West Nashville Dream Center's work immediately shifted after the tornado, and they knew they had to go into the North Nashville community that was deeply affected by the storm. The Center used their $2,500 grant to fund the salary for that coordinator position of eight weeks, allowing for a collaborative effort to keep people in their homes and communities while making sure their properties weren't bought or sold out to developers.
"It made it possible to form a deeper relationship with the North Nashville community, whom we had tried to connect with and serve for the past year with minimal success," West Nashville Dream Center Development Director Katie Kines said. "That community specifically is very weary of organizations that want to 'help' because historically very well-meaning organizations have tried to change the neighborhoods without asking them what they really need to succeed, meet their goals and better their lives.
"We now have a thriving food ministry site in North Nashville, set up the North Nashville Housing Coalition with other nonprofits to work in the area, and are working closely with the Community Engagement Team at the North Precinct for Metro PD."
That $5,000 received by Manna Café Ministries instead went to prioritize their emergency food service provisions, an operation that was much needed under the circumstances.

"It is an absolute honor to partner with the Preds Foundation, and we are so thankful for their willingness to support our mission and our community," Manna Café Ministries Development Specialist Becky Watson said. "During this extraordinary time of uncertainty, our gratitude goes even deeper. The Preds Foundation's willingness to allow for a reallocation of funds strengthened our capacity to provide for the unmet basic needs of our community through hot meals and food boxes, showers and hygiene items."
The Children's Bedside Performance Program developed by Musicians On Call would have provided live music, delivered by volunteer musicians, at the bedsides of children receiving treatment in Nashville. Instead, the $5,000 from the Preds Foundation allowed MOC to transition to their Virtual Bedside Performance Program by utilizing technology to broadcast performances from musicians'' homes into the hospital rooms of children.
"The Predators Foundation offered the most thoughtful and committed support in a year of incredible uncertainty," Musicians On Call Senior Manager of Grants & Research PJ Cowan said. "This grant support and the consideration of reallocating funds meant that MOC was able to carry forward and not miss a beat when it came to ensuring that hospitalized children, their family members, and caregivers across Music City are still able to hear the songs they love, delivered live at their bedside."

The endeavors enacted on a daily basis by these organizations are always inspiring, but it's what they've done in the face of adversity that has truly impressed those who oversee the Preds Foundation.
Every Nashville resident has been adversely affected in some way over the past eight months, some more so than others. That's where people like Kines, Watson and Cowan come in, doing whatever is necessary to make someone else's day, week or outlook just a little bit better.
"This assistance from Predators Foundation enabled Musicians On Call to complete its transition to full-time Virtual Bedside Performance Program operations in Nashville and, ultimately, reach more than double the amount of hospitalized children, family members, and caregivers that were originally projected for 2020," Cowan said. "We're grateful to have received this funding from the Preds Foundation."
"Thanks to the Preds Foundation's generous support, we provided 1,200 hot, nutritious meals to our food-insecure community members," Watson said. "This donation also helped to sustain our mission by providing for our operational expenses, a funding category that is often difficult to secure through grants. We are humbled by the compassion and generosity of the Preds Foundation."
To learn more about the Nashville Predators Foundation, or to apply for a grant in 2021,
click here
.