The Maclellan Foundation, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, is one of the world’s largest, most prominent impact grantmakers.
In 1857, Thomas Maclellan was a young man, living in Blairgowrie, Scotland. On his twentieth birthday, he wrote a covenant, committing to be generous and give “all that I am and all that I have, the faculties of my mind, the members of my body, my worldly possessions, my time, and my influence over others.”
Years later, in 1892, Thomas had immigrated to America. He invested in Provident Insurance Company, which provided disability insurance to at-risk coal miners and sawmill laborers. By 1900, Thomas had become its sole owner. Under his leadership, Provident grew and went public. By 1916, it served workers in 15 states. By 1997, Provident was America’s largest disability insurance provider.
The fifth and sixth generations of Maclellans are now engaged with the foundation. As its assets have grown, so has its global vision. More than 70 percent of Maclellan’s giving flows overseas. The foundation continues to fulfill Thomas’s personal mission of giving people around the world the chance to be free, and the joy of living generous lives.
Maclellan’s Situation
Some of Maclellan’s projects are in closed countries that Maclellan couldn’t reach.
Some grants cost unreasonable amounts in fees.
Some providers offered less personal touch and set a lower bar for customer service.
When making some technically challenging grants, Maclellan wanted another set of eyes to provide legal assurance but didn’t know where to turn.
In one instance, the best way to serve a grantee in Europe was through a loan rather than a direct grant. Maclellan knew that was the right answer but did not know how to execute.
“TrustBridge provides the path to get funds to impactful partners in hard-to-find and hard-to-fund corners of the world,” says Denmark. “They’re able to go to places that no one else will do. If I need a grant to get into the Congo, they can do that.”
Maclellan’s Director of Operations, Cathy Cates, says, “We value that extra research that often our grants team does not have time or expertise to do for complicated grants.”
“I have always been confident in their technical abilities,” says Behar.
Cates admits to having reservations when she first met TrustBridge. “I wondered, ‘Are they really doing what they say they’re doing?’ It’s my job to ask those questions.”
Cates pressed TrustBridge with a barrage of questions about each step of their process. “I’ve sat with them face to face and asked how they do things.”
“Now I prefer them to any other service,” says Cates.
“Their attention to detail is excellent,” says Cates.
“During early discussions, TrustBridge has raised questions and we have mutually decided not to move forward with projects due to issues they have found.”
“We now pay TrustBridge one percent for something that we used to pay others seven percent,” says Behar.
“TrustBridge offers lower costs than other groups that provide services like equivalency determinations or fiscal sponsorships.”
“They think creatively and they’ll introduce you to people who are thinking creatively as well,” says Behar.
“TrustBridge is going to have ways of doing things that you didn’t even know you wanted to do.”
“Some services don’t provide a contact person,” says Cates, “but with TrustBridge we have a personal relationship.”
“Within 30 minutes, TrustBridge is responding to me,” says Behar.
“I can’t think of anything I need that TrustBridge isn’t providing.”
“Now I prefer them to any other service.”
Maclellan wanted to make loans to global impact focused businesses using U.S. charitable dollars. Despite the peculiarity of the request, TrustBridge found a way to get it done seamlessly, creatively, and inexpensively. Here's how:
Maclellan is connected with impact focused businesses in Eastern Europe whose lenders charge exorbitant fees. Those outrageous fees mean that these cash strapped businesses have to use their precious resources paying banks rather than giving to local needs. Lee Behar, Maclellan's Strategy Director for Europe, knew there had to be a better way.
Behar says, "TrustBridge figured out a way to do that loan that I didn't know existed, because I didn't realize the intricacies of Swiss charities."
"I can give to a U.S. public charity, which can then give to the donor-advised fund in Switzerland, which then makes a loan to a missional private company in Europe. The proceeds of that loan come back to the donor-advised fund in Switzerland to be granted or reinvested."
"I was aware of the pieces, but TrustBridge figured it out."
Results
TrustBridge has delivered more than $3.5 million through 34 of Maclellan’s grants. These grants have flowed through TrustBridge to all four continents — Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.
These grants have spread across the globe and touched all kinds of people including:
“At this point, I don’t even feel the need to investigate other options,” says Behar, “Because I can’t think of anything that I need that TrustBridge isn’t providing at this stage.”
Have questions or want to explore how TrustBridge can support your mission? Reach out to our team to learn more.
