Statements
Mission
Our Mission
The Junior League of Nashville is an organization of women whose mission is to advance women's leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training.
Our Vision
The Junior League of Nashville is a premier women's volunteer organization that offers our members the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with others who are unified by a desire to give back to our community. Through the talents of a diverse membership, we will support and enrich the lives of women, children, and families in our community. Together we have greater impact than we do individually.
Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
The Junior League welcomes all women who value our mission. We are committed to inclusive environments of diverse individuals, organizations, and communities.
Our Values
The Junior League of Nashville accomplishes our mission through the actions of women who share our core values.
Community: We value engagement with our community to anticipate and address its needs through education, service, and strategic partnerships.
Connection: We value opportunities for engagement with a diverse group of women to develop lifelong personal and professional relationships.
Growth: We value a dynamic organization that develops and empowers our members to be community volunteers and leaders.
Background
The Junior League of Nashville (JLN) was founded in 1922 by a group of visionary women committed to serving the Nashville community in a volunteer capacity. Today, JLN has more than 1,400 members and remains committed to developing the potential of women as leaders and grass-roots volunteers in charitable causes that improve the lives of women, children, and families in middle Tennessee. The League is a member of the Association of Junior Leagues International. Of the 294 Leagues around the world with a total of 125,000 members, the Junior League of Nashville ranks in the top 15 largest Leagues annually. JLN has founded many important Nashville resources such as Nashville Children's Theater, Renewal House, JLN McNeilly Child Care Center (formerly known as the JLN Child Care Center at Red Shield), and the JLN Children's Services at the downtown Nashville Public Library. JLN founded the Junior League Home for Crippled Children in 1923, which is now a part of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and remains a major focus of JLN philanthropy and volunteer support. In April 2012, the Junior League signed an agreement pledging funds of $1.5 million to establish the Junior League Sickle Cell and Asthma Program at MCJCHV. In the summer of 2017, a new pledge of $1.5 million was made to Monroe Carell; $500,000 was paid for the hospital's capital campaign, and $1 million was paid to the Child Life Program. In 2022, JLN again pledged $1.5 million; this pledge is to help establish a pediatric rehabilitation program. Beginning in June 2023, JLN will focus on the two areas of alleviating poverty and impacting childhood literacy. JLN is supported by membership dues and Annual Fund donations.
Impact
Over our 101-year history, the Junior League of Nashville has made many contributions to the Nashville community. Throughout that time, our focus has remained the same: helping women and children reach their full potential. Through hands-on volunteer service, training, and educational programs, and by working side by side with other women who share the same commitment to voluntarism, our members build meaningful relationships and learn how to be leaders and effective team members in the community and their everyday lives. The Junior League of Nashville currently has community partner agencies where we place trained JLN volunteers and charitable affiliates with whom we collaborate on an ongoing basis. Collectively, our membership of more than 1,400 women performs 50,000 hours of volunteer service hours annually. Since our inception in 1922, JLN has founded 21 agencies in the Nashville community.
Needs
Continue our legacy of founding projects that address unmet community needs. Attract women from different cultures and ethnicities to better reflect our diverse community. Encourage lifelong membership and reduce the number of women who resign each year due to other time commitments.
CEO Statement
Junior Leagues are unique in that their mission-related work is completed entirely by volunteers. A staff of 2 full-time employees and 1 part-time employee assist in administrative tasks, but direct service to agencies in the community is done solely by our volunteer corps. In many other nonprofits, volunteers supplement the charitable mission; in this case, without volunteers, JLN would cease to exist. JLN volunteers renew their membership annually by paying dues. Each active member is required to serve on a committee and is encouraged to support fundraising activities. Committee assignments and leadership positions change every year. Though ensuring continuity through annual change is challenging, this cycle enhances opportunities for training and personal growth. All Junior Leagues are committed to developing the potential of women from all ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. In order to have the time necessary to fulfill JLN volunteer responsibilities, JLN suggests that women reach the age of 21 before applying for membership. Members are highly motivated women who fulfill personal goals of both affiliation and achievement through their association with JLN. Expectations for member participation and meeting attendance are high; however, full participation in the organization only increases a member's satisfaction with belonging to JLN.
Board Chair Statement
There is endless opportunity for Leadership training in the Junior League of Nashville. Whether a member is a stay-at-home mom, a career woman, a business owner, or a full-time volunteer, she can find many significant opportunities to lead and be trained as a leader in our organization. We operate on a Board and Management Team system with the President serving as the CEO for one year after a year and a half of training immediately prior to her term. The Junior League of Nashville has a restricted trust to benefit the Junior League Home at Vanderbilt with other assets in land, buildings, equipment, and receivables. The Board President in conjunction with the Board and the Board of Trust has authority over the entire budget for the Junior League of Nashville. As we are volunteers, we also utilize trustees who are professional money managers to assist in the financial oversight of the Junior League. The Programs of the Junior League of Nashville are the strongest aspect of our organization. We embark on a Community Research process every year and form partnerships with nonprofits in our community. These agencies are selected very carefully based on their need and how they fit into JLN's mission of training volunteers and serving women children and families in need. We send over 300 volunteers to serve these agencies as well as provide funding for the agencies. Our volunteers are also involved in JLN's fundraisers, are able to serve on our Board, Councils, and committees, and receive strategic training on how to be effective leaders and better serve our community.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Public & Societal Benefit - Leadership Development |
| Secondary Category: | Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations - Philanthropy/Charity/Voluntarism Promotion (General) |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
Primary service areas are Davidson & Williamson Counties; community projects, especially the Junior League Home at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, reach a broader population throughout middle Tennessee.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Williamson |
