The Footprint Foundation was formed in 2012 when the Lyndhurst Foundation reorganized to create a new community-led board and spun off five smaller family foundations, including the Chattanooga-based Footprint Foundation.
The Footprint Foundation received its funds from an endowment provided by the Lyndhurst Foundation and the Lupton family with wealth earned from the success of Coca-Cola Bottling Company. The endowment valued at approximately $27 million is a source of support for the Foundation’s programs and administration.
As a family foundation, current trustees are made up of six family members with ties to the Lupton family. Three trustees serve as the foundation’s finance committee. The foundation currently has a staff of one and outsources the compliance, tax, human resources, and investment functions of the organization.
Our mission is to:
Create connections for a more equitable community.
Through efforts of the foundation, we aspire to:
Bring people together
Build community
Address equity and access
Build leadership
Our goals are to support:
A shared community for all, a community taking ownership of their vision.
A cultural shift among those who feel included and at the table.
The tapping of unrecognized or previously unrecognized talent.
Bright minds and talent retention.
Improved opportunities for under-served populations, specifically with regard to the foundation’s focus areas.
Trustees
Alice Lupton Smith, President
Alfred Smith, Vice President
John Montague, Treasurer
Tom Montague, Secretary
Jessica Montague
Kristina Montague
Staff
Lisa Pinckney, Executive Director
As the sole employee of the Footprint Foundation, Lisa is responsible for foundation operations, community relations, program administration, and grant making that creates connections for a more equitable community.
She has a unique combination of corporate, academic, and non-profit experience. At Turner Broadcasting System in Atlanta GA, Lisa began her career in corporate marketing representing the Turner networks (CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies) to the nation's top cable providers including Time Warner Cable and Comcast. Lisa held leadership roles in UTC’s College of Business where she was named the College's first Assistant Dean of External Affairs. At River City Company, she played a key role in the development of new downtown programs including Art in Motion, Clean & Green, and the Urban Design Challenge.
Lisa has held positions on the boards of the Creative Discovery Museum, Chattanooga Design Studio, Downtown Council of the Chamber of Commerce, Riverfront Business and Resident Partnership, Highland Park Neighborhood Association, and Public Art Chattanooga. She is a 2003 graduate of Leadership Chattanooga.
In 2018, Lisa completed BALLE’s (now Common Future) Local Economy Foundation Circle where she spent 16 months in a cohort of foundations exploring how to engage in place-based impact investing and received BALLE’s Outstanding Service to the Leadership Network award. In 2020, Lisa was one of 10 individuals chosen to represent Chattanooga in Harvard’s Young American Leaders Program. In 2022-2023, she and other Footprint trustees were cohort members of Common Future’s Participatory Investing Action Lab.
Originally from rural New Jersey, Lisa moved south for college and has resided there since. She has a B.S. in Operations Management from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and an MBA from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. She has lived in Chattanooga since 1999 and is the proud mom of Jack and Anna Flint.