President of the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation

Story by Lyda Kay Ferree, The Southern Lifestyles Lady. Photography by Woody Woodard.

Frank McMeen, a native of Columbia, Tennessee, was affiliated with Freed-Hardeman University for 14 years where he served as Vice President of University Advancement, fundraising, alumni relations, and marketing. He also served as President of Columbia Academy.

He came to the Foundation in 1998 as Vice President with Charles Jackson as president. Charles retired in 2000, and Frank became the president. He has been at the Foundation for 23 years.

Frank received a Bachelor’s degree from Freed-Hardeman University in 1979, a Master’s degree from the University of Memphis in 2008, and currently he is a doctoral candidate at the University of Memphis.
Frank has served on numerous community boards: currently on the Boys and Girls Club; founding member and President of the Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association (L.A.N.A); Chair of the Jackson Historical Zoning Board; Chair of the Jackson Downtown Development Corporation; President of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities; Secretary and Treasurer of the Tennessee Dental Association Foundation; WestStar Board of Trustees; and President of the Jackson Rotary Club Board (and a Paul Harris Fellow).

Among Frank’s many honors are the following: Service to Community, Alumni Association, Freed-Hardeman University; 2012 Outstanding Alumnus of University of Memphis; and Leadership Jackson Harbert Alexander Award in 2018.

Frank is a member of the Skyline Church of Christ. His hobbies include Tennessee Walking Horses and historic preservation. He has renovated 12 homes and is currently working on another.

VIP: What is the focus of your work at the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation?

FM: The focus of my work at the Foundation has been to create a fiscally strong organization that would be sustainable for generations. My goal was to 1) become the largest nonprofit; and 2) become the most-loved nonprofit. By accomplishing the second goal, I felt we could accomplish the first. We had to love and care for our community. Our handprints are all over this community. I want to think our impact has been life-changing.

I think we have had success. We are rather large with $40 million in assets and 550 community funds, raising $10 million a year maintaining a highly credible and sustainable organization.

VIP: Talk about the assets and endowments of the Foundation and why endowments are important.

FM: Endowments make up close to 3/4 of our assets. This is highly important! Sustainable nonprofits must be focused on growing endowments. Without endowments an organization must live year-to-year and suffer in economic downturns. Most nonprofits do not understand this concept and struggle for survival. Sustainable nonprofits are not happenstance. They are deliberate and planned. Endowments provide income forever, enhancing the regular fundraising of the nonprofit.

Some people might say that $40 million might be too big for a nonprofit in Jackson. I would politely differ. The Foundation has worked for decades to purposefully grow our asset base. and to increase our endowments in an effort to perpetuate support for good causes in our community. Today, three-fourths of our assets are endowments with the balance being operational funds. These endowments are invested and provide an income stream that supports many community efforts.

Our board passed an Estate Gift Policy around the year 2000 so that estate gifts automatically become permanent endowments honoring the donor annually. This was the first deliberate action of our board to make sure that we are proactive in growing endowments. Every year the nonprofit or cause that the endowment supports receives the income.

Endowments force delayed gratification. You purposefully invest the estate gift, by the way, which is a windfall (not part of your fundraising efforts) and you reap the benefits forever, always remembering the donor.

VIP: You are quite proud, and rightly so, of the Foundation board. What sets your board apart from other area boards?

FM: When you look at the success of the Foundation during the past two decades, you find that it is because of our Board of Trustees. We have a very diverse board with a depth of knowledge and influence to be able to handle any problem that faces the Foundation.

Nonprofits become successful through leadership. That leadership starts with a strong and influential board. The Foundation has had to deal with growing problems through the years. Our board has had to stay focused on our mission and capable of managing financial successes. They have been committed to effective financial management of the funds people have entrusted to us.

Our board has been committed to always being ethical regarding donors and those in the community we serve. They remain committed to helping the disenfranchised and those without a voice. Diversity is good, and our board tries to reflect the diversities of our communities.

Our board is made up of some of the most capable people in West Tennessee. I do not believe there is an issue that they cannot handle. They have a vision and commitment to Jackson and the surrounding communities.

VIP: Where are the Foundation chapters located in West Tennessee?

FM: The Foundation now has chapters in Humboldt, Trenton, Milan, Camden, Bolivar, Martin and Dyersburg. Each chapter has an independent Board of Directors that works to lead that chapter in meeting the local needs of their communities. They raise their funds and spend them as their board decides, totally autonomous.

VIP: What changes do you envision for the Foundation for the next decade?

FM: There are three changes that I envision for the Foundation. The first relates to our technology. The Foundation is completing an additional upgrade to allow those with Community Funds (mini nonprofits) to have access to their account much like we have access to our bank accounts. We want to provide online services much like your bank. You may check your account at any time.

Second, over the next decade you will see a transition in the CEO. Within the next decade I will retire. Our board and I have been discussing transition planning. The next CEO needs to have the vision and ability to move the Foundation to the next level to serve our community.

The third change is the continued growth of the assets of the Foundation, particularly the endowments. The more endowments that we possess the more sustainable the cause or nonprofit will be. Endowments provide a budgetable income stream for a purpose, cause or nonprofit. For example, if someone believes strongly in having public art, I would encourage them to establish an endowment that supports public art. During their lifetime and well beyond, public art will be placed in the community in the donor’s name.
If a donor wanted to support a specific nonprofit in a major way, I would encourage them to establish an endowment at the Foundation, not at the nonprofit. Why? Sometimes nonprofits decide to liquidate endowments during a downturn. Universities and nonprofits have a unique way of “borrowing from endowments” to do something their board wants to do. They seem to never be able to pay it back.

VIP: What is in the future for the Foundation?

FM: We hope to build a Hospice House in the near future. This $15-$20 million fundraising project will be volunteer-driven and when completed, the facility will provide a short-term home for patients who need a higher level of care than the family is able to provide. This beautiful facility will operate and look much like a home.

Beyond that, we will be looking to provide expanded services at Ayers Children’s Medical Center in being able to do more for children right here and eventually a heart facility.

VIP: Any final thoughts?

FM: I firmly believe that Jackson is the perfect city to live, work and raise a family. Our city is diverse, progressive and continues to be the home of some of the most influential people. We have challenges, but so do other cities.

I have learned that every city our size has school problems. Every city like Jackson has economic challenges. When I attend regional meetings of other foundations, I learn how blessed we really are in Jackson. Perhaps the complainers think other cities are without problems. We do a good job at working through ours.

What a great city we have! I have lived in East and Middle Tennessee. I chose to live here. Jackson is not my hometown, but I am proud to call Jackson my home.

What to Know

West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation
Mailing Address:
620 Skyline Drive
Jackson, TN 38301
Office Location:
74 Directors Row
Jackson, TN 38305
(731) 984-2143 (office)
(731)225-4774 (cell/text)
www.wthfoundation.org