DALLAS, TX (April 3, 2020) – The Dallas Foundation has awarded $1.2 million in immediate funding to 26 area nonprofit organizations and will mobilize at least an additional $1 million in the coming weeks. All grants are being awarded without restrictions to allow maximum flexibility for recipients to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
Simultaneously, The Dallas Foundation has established The Fund for COVID-19 Relief, kickstarted with contributions from three notable Dallas philanthropists. The O’Donnell Foundation, the Beck Family Office and The Rees-Jones Foundation have each contributed $100,000 to the fund, which will award grants to organizations serving the Dallas area’s most vulnerable populations through the current global pandemic.
“These generous donors symbolize the spirit of giving that is synonymous with Dallas,” said Foundation Board Chair Jeanne Whitman Bobbitt. “We are grateful that they, along with countless others, have stepped in to help galvanize The Dallas Foundation’s rapid response to this crisis.”
Dallas Foundation President & CEO Matthew Randazzo said that, as soon as the impact of the pandemic on our community became evident, the organization quickly redirected the majority of the organization’s spring grant dollars and activated the Foundation’s donor community to address the escalating demands nonprofits are facing during this ever-changing community crisis.
“The extraordinary situation we find ourselves in, and the long-term implications that will result, will require our collective creativity, generosity and collaboration,” said Randazzo. “The Dallas Foundation is here to work in partnership with and facilitate the generosity of our donors and to support our community through this crisis. We are here to meet this moment.”
The money raised through The Dallas Foundation Fund for COVID-19 Relief will be directed toward relieving the extraordinary burden being placed on the public healthcare system; supporting the basic needs of low-income individuals and families; providing childcare assistance for low-income families; addressing mental health needs and concerns; or supporting and sustaining nonprofit operations and capacity-building needs during this time of disruption.**
Business leader and community volunteer Peter Beck shared, “Many of our neighbors in Dallas are facing critical needs brought about or amplified by this pandemic. For individuals who are able to lend support, it’s important that we respond quickly and turn to organizations like The Dallas Foundation, who have the best perspective of where the needs are and can best direct resources to those on the frontlines.”
The Dallas Foundation’s Field of Interest, Accelerator and TRIAD Funds have recently awarded the following grants:
Field of Interest Funds
Annie L. Stevens Fund / Elizabeth T. Robinson Fund Child and Family Guidance Center
ChildCareGroup
Family Compass
Momentous Institute
Senior Source
Bertice Carter Speck Fund
North Texas Food Bank
Dale and Barbara Reed Fund for Abused Children (Collin County)
City House
Erin Wylie Fund / Betty Pope Fund
Dallas Pets Alive
Jean Baptiste (Tad) Adoue, III Fund
Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas
Cry Havoc Theater Company
Dallas Symphony Association
Dallas Theater Center
Farmers Branch Community Theatre, Inc. (dba The Firehouse Theatre)
Louis B. and Mary Ratliff Critical Needs Fund
Austin Street Center
Metrocrest Services, Inc.
Parkland Foundation
Lucile W. and George R. Pattullo Fund
The Dallas Foundation African American Giving Circle
Morris Hartley Morgan, Jr Fund
Children’s Medical Center Foundation
The Jalonick Family Memorial Fund – Breast Cancer
Bridge Breast Center, Inc.
The Jalonick Family Memorial Fund – Domestic Violence
The Family Place, Inc
The Accelerator Fund of The Dallas Foundation
Catholic Charities of Dallas
Family Gateway
Agape Clinic
Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center
TRIAD Fund of The Dallas Foundation*
Metrocare Services
Shared Housing Center
*Funds must support homeless veterans or their families who served in OIF or OEF conflicts.
About The Dallas Foundation
The Dallas Foundation, established as a community foundation in 1929, brings together people, ideas and investments in Greater Dallas so individuals and families can reach their full potential. For more information, visit dallasfoundation.org.
To donate to The Dallas Foundation Fund for COVID19 Relief, visit dallasfoundation.org/COVID-19
Photo caption: Photo credit Parkland Foundation.
**In lieu of a grant application process, funding decisions for The Dallas Foundation Fund for COVID-19 Relief will be based on requests submitted through North Texas Cares.
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