Our Programs
Geographic Reach
The Lyndhurst Foundation’s geographic focal area encompasses a tri-state, sixteen-county region including and surrounding Chattanooga and portions of the Lower Tennessee River and Upper Coosa River watersheds.
This region has been a major crossroads for the migration of wildlife and humans for thousands of years and is characterized by its unique landforms, biodiversity, culture, and economy.
This geography also mirrors that of Thrive Regional Partnership (Thrive) and reflects a mutual interest in the pursuit of responsible regional growth, natural resource conservation, community resiliency, and collaborative approaches to problem solving.
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We envision a Chattanooga region where all people experience healthy, dignified, and fulfilled lives, and cultivate meaningful and enduring connections to others and the natural world around them.
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The Lyndhurst Foundation invests in collaborative endeavors that improve the well-being and vitality of people, places, and natural systems in the Chattanooga region through strategies that support equitable, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes.
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At the Lyndhurst Foundation, we believe in the interconnectedness of all life and strive to apply our resources using a holistic and ecological mindset. We embrace the following values to guide our craft of philanthropy and our relationships with all whom we encounter:
Authenticity: We value honest and genuine relationships and embrace our region’s unique cultural identity, characterized by the people, built environment, and natural areas that surround us.
Belonging: We believe that belonging and inclusion are intrinsic human rights.
Innovation: We value human ingenuity and believe in the ability of people to imagine and fulfill a vision for a better world.
Creativity: We uphold the creation of art and the participation in creative endeavors as crucial in providing meaning, wholeness, and joy to the human experience.
Regionalism: We believe the region’s future will be shaped by what occurs at the scale of the watershed, viewshed, and workshed, therefore our vision and mission transcend political jurisdictions.
Stewardship: We uphold the caring and conscientious treatment of our human and natural environment as a path away from blight, alienation, and fragmentation, and towards sustainability and beauty.
