The Memphis Lift (TML) is an advocacy group that mobilizes parents and family members to push for improvements to the Memphis area school system. It has advocated for more school choice and charter schools. ^{1 2}

Background

The Memphis Lift was founded by Sarah Carpenter Owens with 19 parents concerned about the state of schools and education in the Memphis area. The group has since grown dramatically, with its website variously reporting 1,000, 4,000, and 5,000 involved activists and volunteers from the community and large budgets and assets. In 2022, it received a grant of $1.5 million from Mackenzie Scott’s Yield Giving initiative. ^{3 4 1}

The Memphis Lift is primarily concerned with improving the quality of schools and student access in Memphis. The group notably supports the expansion of charter schools and the ability of children to attend different public schools than those in the district in which students live, going so far as to protest the 2016 meeting of the NAACP over its opposition to charter schools. It is also partnered with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. ^{1 2}

Financials

For 2024, The Memphis Lift reported $551,979 in revenue, of which $105 derived from investment income, with the remaining $551,874 stemming from contributions and grants. It did not report any government income. ⁵

TML reported $1,037,248 in expenses, of which $721,663 was spent on salaries and compensation. Other expenses amounted to $315,585 and included $28,974 for travel, $65,435 for events, and $9,199 for professional development. ⁶

It ended the year with a deficit of $485,269 and $3,305,236 in net assets. ⁷

In 2022, TML received a $1.5 million grant from Mackenzie Scott’s Yield Giving initiative. ⁸ Other major donors include the Memphis Education Fund, which provided $350,000 in 2023; the Walton Family Foundation, which provided $100,000 in 2023; and the National Philanthropic Trust, which provided $300,000 in 2024. ⁹

Activities

The Memphis Lift runs multiple initiatives geared towards mobilizing parents, family members, and community members to force improvements in the many low-performing Memphis area public schools .¹

TML will provide counseling to parents to assist them in finding the best school for their children and help with the paperwork in the event a transfer is deemed necessary. It also runs the Brenda Rogers Parent Resource Center, which administers a food bank; can assist with acquiring school uniforms; and provides laundry facilities. There is also a program to assist children with special needs navigate the system to ensure their children have access to needed resources and options. ^{10 1 11}

Board Watch is TML’s program for organizing parents to attend school board meetings with an organized agenda to push for changes. It relatedly has a “surge” program to mobilize parents and community members, sometimes organizing volunteers to go door to door to raise awareness about pending school and school-board related issues. ^{12 4}

Leadership

Sarah Carpenter Owens is the founder and executive director of The Memphis Lift. Owens became involved in educational activism after discovering the dramatically different education that her grandchildren were receiving in different schools and she launched TML to mobilize community activists to improve the many underperforming schools in the Memphis area. ^{13 14}

Owens notably led a protest against the NAACP in 2016 to oppose its opposition to charter schools. ¹⁵

1. “Our Mission.” Memphis Lift. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://memphislift.org/our-mission/.
2. Grandmother Turned Education Activist Battles NAACP Over Charter Schools.” Education Week. December, 12 2016. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/video-grandmother-turned-education-activist-battles-naacp-over-charter-schools/2016/12
3. ^[1] “Yield Giving-Memphis Lift.” Yield Giving. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://yieldgiving.com/gifts/?q=the+memphis+lift.
4. “Surge Outreach.” Memphis Lift. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://memphislift.org/surge-outreach/
5.  The Memphis Lift. Return of an organization exempt from taxation (Form 990). 2024, Part I, VIII.
6. The Memphis Lift. Return of an organization exempt from taxation (Form 990). 2024, Part I, IX.
7. The Memphis Lift. Return of an organization exempt from taxation (Form 990). 2024, Part I.
8. “Yield Giving-Memphis Lift.” Yield Giving. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://yieldgiving.com/gifts/?q=the+memphis+lift.
9. “Memphis Lift Parent Institute.” Cause IQ. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/memphis-lift-parent-institute,822560581/.
10. “Choice Counseling.” Memphis Lift. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://memphislift.org/choice-counseling/
11. “SPED.” Memphis Lift. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://memphislift.org/sped/.
12. “Board Watch.” Memphis Lift. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://memphislift.org/board-watch/.
13. ^[1] “Why We Invest in Education.” Hyde Family Foundation. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://www.hydefoundation.org/news/the-check-in-why-we-invest-in-education.
14. “Sarah Carpenter.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 25, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-carpenter-66a06120b/
15. Education Week. “Grandmother Turned Education Activist Battles NAACP Over Charter Schools.” Education Week. December, 12 2016. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/video-grandmother-turned-education-activist-battles-naacp-over-charter-schools/2016/12