First Tennessee Human Resource Agency

First Tennessee Human Resource Agency (doing business as Fthra), a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Johnson City, Tennessee, operates as a federal grant recipient providing demand-response transportation services, AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent mentoring programs, and community nutrition services across Northeast Tennessee's tri-cities region and surrounding areas. Fthra acts as a prime recipient on the majority of its federal grants (53% of recent awards) and as a sub-recipient on nutrition and social services funding flowing through the Tennessee Department of Human Services and other state intermediaries (47% of recent awards).

Fthra's federal footprint centers on two dominant customer agencies. The Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration funds the bulk of Fthra's operational and capital grants, with 11 awards supporting demand-response service operations, vehicle purchases, facility upgrades, and equipment modernization across Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol, and surrounding communities. Fthra operates a fleet of demand-response vehicles serving low-income, elderly, and disabled residents in urbanized areas outside the three primary cities, with recent FTA grants including a $1.364 million Formula Grant (CFDA 20.507) for operating assistance from June 2026 through May 2027; a $406.25 thousand Project Grant (CFDA 20.526) for vehicle replacement with an 80/15/5 federal-state-local cost share, awarded July 22, 2025; and a $421 thousand–$385 thousand combined allocation from FFY 2022–2023 Section 5307 funding for operations and maintenance facility upgrades, awarded December 10, 2024. The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Veterans Integrated Service Network 9 places 27 awards—the single largest customer by count—comprising sub-recipient nursing and long-term care reimbursements under two Basic Ordering Agreements (VA24913A0050 and 36C24918G0043), though the combined potential value across those 27 awards totals $592 thousand. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service funds 33 awards as sub-awards, flowing through the Tennessee Department of Human Services for Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) reimbursements, Child Nutrition Block Meals, and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) pass-throughs on a monthly reimbursement cycle. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) Office of Grants Management funds Fthra directly as a prime recipient under the AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program (CFDA 94.011): a $494.507 thousand Project Grant effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029, engaging volunteers aged 55 and older to provide mentoring and tutoring to children with special needs or academic disadvantages in schools, Head Start programs, and childcare centers across the tri-cities region, with a 10% statutory match and 11.67% budgetary match requirement. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families contributes five awards to Fthra's sub-recipient nutrition and child-care nutrition funding.

Award activity has grown substantially—from one award in 2022 to twenty in 2024 and seventeen in 2025—reflecting expanded engagement with FTA and nutrition-program funding. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $24.2 million against a combined potential value of $592 thousand, indicating that Fthra's award portfolio reflects heavily obligated multi-year grant operations rather than forward-pipeline potential value. Top operational NAICS categories are Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (27 awards) and Medical-Nursing services (17 awards), with Nursing Home and Long-Term Adult Day Care Services (10 awards) rounding out the category concentration, grounding Fthra's federal work in senior services, disability support, and nutrition assistance delivery. Fthra operates no federal contracts, holds no seat on government-wide IDIQs or GWACs, and does not serve as a defense contractor; its federal footprint is entirely grant-based, flowing through domestic civilian agencies with emphasis on regional transportation and social services delivery in rural Appalachia.