Think tank’s economic impact analysis, produced with the University of Tennessee’s Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research, finds nonprofits reach every Tennessee county and contribute $2.9 billion in state and local tax revenue each year
NASHVILLE, TN – Tennessee’s nonprofit sector supports more than 725,000 jobs, generates $59 billion in income, and contributes $2.9 billion in state and local tax revenue each year, according to a new economic impact analysis from ThinkTennessee and the Boyd Center. That footprint is equivalent to 21.5% of the state’s nonfarm jobs, 11.9% of its personal income, and 12.6% of its FY2024-25 tax revenue – but recent shifts in government funding put the financial stability of the sector at risk.
The analysis, More Than Mission: How Tennessee’s Nonprofits Drive Jobs, Income, and Tax Revenue, produced in partnership with the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, examines nonprofits’ presence and spending across all 95 counties, the jobs and income their operations support, and how much of the sector depends on government grants.
“Tennessee’s nonprofits are best known for the services they provide to our communities, but this analysis shows they are also a major economic engine – employing our neighbors, buying from local businesses, and reaching every county in the state,” said Erin Hafkenschiel, president of ThinkTennessee. “With so many nonprofits relying on government grants to keep their doors open, recent funding shifts don’t just threaten the services communities count on – they put the state’s economic growth at risk too.”
Key Takeaways
- Nonprofit operations reach every Tennessee county and support over 725,000 jobs across the state.
- Tennessee nonprofits generate $59 billion in income and $2.9 billion in tax revenue each year and spend nearly $7,800 on average per resident.
- Funding shifts – at federal, state, and local levels – risk diminishing nonprofits’ economic and social impact.
Nearly 40,000 nonprofits – 39,263 as of July 2026 – are registered in Tennessee, averaging 54 organizations per 10,000 residents statewide. Outside of Williamson, Hamilton, Shelby, and Davidson counties, nonprofits’ per capita presence is most notable in a handful of rural counties, such as Grundy, Pickett, and Humphreys. Most operate on modest budgets: 66.2% bring in less than $50,000 a year, while just 25 organizations – 17 of them in health services – account for more than half of the sector’s $61.8 billion in total revenue.
Tennessee nonprofits directly employ 361,188 workers – about one in ten of the state’s nonfarm jobs, more than double its construction workforce and nearly as many as its manufacturing sector. Nonprofits’ purchases from Tennessee vendors and their workers’ spending at local businesses support another 363,936 jobs. Nonprofit spending in the state totals $55.1 billion a year, or roughly $7,795 per resident.
The analysis also finds that much of the sector relies on public dollars. Between 2020 and 2024, 2,187 Tennessee nonprofits received $4.6 billion in government grants; without them, 72.5% of those recipients would face an operating deficit. In 24 counties, government-funded nonprofits would be in the red without its grants.
Those pressures are already surfacing. In a spring 2026 survey conducted by ThinkTennessee and the Tennessee Nonprofit Network, 159 of 261 participating nonprofits reported receiving government funding. Among them, 59.1% said at least one federal, state, or local funding stream had decreased or been eliminated in the past year.
The full analysis is available at https://www.thinktennessee.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/nonprofits-economic-impact-thinktn-boydcenter.pdf.
