Pyramid Peak Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Pyramid Peak Foundation makes community development grants to support organizations in the greater Memphis, Tennessee area. It also supports K-12 and early childhood education.
IP TAKE: This is not an accessible or transparent funder, which limits information about grantmaking strategies. While Pyramid Peak does not appear to have clear funding areas, several members of its staff sit on the boards of different charter schools, which indicates that education is likely a funding priority. Tax filings show that nearly all of its yearly grantmaking is conducted through the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.
PROFILE: Established in 2012, the Pyramid Peak Foundation was created by O. Mason Hawkins, founder and chairman of Southeastern Asset Management. It seeks to “Contribute to existing charitable organizations.” Hawkins graduated from the University of Florida and earned his MBA from the University of Georgia. He began his career at First Tennessee Investment Management and Atlantic National Bank before founding Southeastern. He is also a Co-Founder of Poplar Foundation. Pyramid Peak conducts nearly all of its grantmaking through a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis. The foundation heavily prioritizes education and the Memphis community in its grantmaking. Past grants have supported youth athletic programs, outdoor recreation and local schools.
It is worth mentioning that the Pyramid Peak Foundation shares office space with G. Staley Cates’ Poplar Foundation, and the two are frequently discussed simultaneously by local Memphis media. Cates is vice-chairman at Southeastern Asset Management. The foundations’ renovated offices are featured here.
The Pyramid Peak Foundation is a client of the Boston-based Bridgespan Group’s consulting services for “data-driven giving.”
Grants for K-12 Education and Early Childhood Development
While it is difficult to know from tax records exactly which education groups have benefitted from Pyramid’s grantmaking, it is clear that supporting K-12 and early childhood development organizations is important to the foundation. Hawkins has served as a board member of Charter School Growth Fund, which works to build networks of public charter schools. Additionally, Jim Boyd, Pyramid’s executive director, served as president of BRIDGES, a youth leadership organization in Memphis, for over 15 years, and he has been on the board for local charter schools, including KIPP Memphis and Aspire Public Schools.
The foundation previously supported Project Grad USA. It has also recently collaborated with Bloomberg Philanthropies to bring its out-of-school learning program Summer Boost to Memphis.
Grants for Community Development and Tennessee
It is difficult to know what organizations the foundation’s grants have supported, but, according to Memphis Magazine, the Pyramid Peak Foundation and Poplar Foundation have jointly “given more than $100 million to causes ranging from youth athletics to Soulsville to leafy bike paths that now extend across [Shelby] county.”
Important Grant Details:
This funder made about $80 million in grants in a recent year. The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis receives most of this funding, making it difficult to discern which organizations benefit from grants. The foundation’s only other grantee in recent years has been Project Grad USA, a Houston-based organization that works to improve academic outcomes in schools that serve “primarily minority and low-income students.”
The Pyramid Peak Foundation does not maintain a website and does not appear to accept applications for funding at this time. The foundation may be reached by telephone at (901) 818-5239. A mailing address is provided below.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
The Pyramid Peak Foundation
1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 383
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 818-5239
