Texas’ First Community Foundation Impacts Full Spectrum of Community-Centered Causes for Nearly a Century
DALLAS –November 3, 2022 – The Dallas Foundation is proud to announce it has awarded over $1 billion to Dallas-area nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of North Texas neighbors. This significant milestone has been almost a century in the making. Since the Foundation’s inception, the mission has consistently improved lives and made progress throughout North Texas. Over the course of that history and in partnership with families, fundholders, and businesses who care deeply for Dallas, the Foundation surpassed the noteworthy $1B grantmaking mark.
“Many of the grant investments that contributed to this $1 billion milestone are visible across Dallas’ landscape, while others can be seen in the upward trajectory of test scores for third graders across Dallas ISD, in vibrant early learning classroom settings, and inside hospitals, food banks and homeless shelters,” said Matthew Randazzo, President and CEO of The Dallas Foundation. “Although the impact to date has been significant, we are truly just getting started.”
The Dallas Foundation displays how significant investments can result in transformative change in the communities it serves. For example, the Foundation has served as a philanthropic partner and facilitated the charitable donations that supported the following well-known projects and initiatives:
- The design, structural engineering support, and project management of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
- Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts
- Letot Girls Residential Treatment Center
- Katy Trail
- Dallas Police Memorial
The Dallas Foundation has also directly invested Board-directed grants to the following notable community entities, among many others:
- Dallas Museum of Art
- Commit!
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Dallas Opera
- Spay Neuter Project
- Dallas Public Library
- Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center
- Old Red Courthouse
- Texas National Guard Family Support Foundation
- And thousands of other nonprofit organizations that serve the residents of Dallas.
Additionally, The Dallas Foundation played a pivotal role in incubating or launching the following organizations in Greater Dallas:
- Nurse Family Partnership
- TexProtects
- Social Venture Partners Dallas
- Bonton Farms
- Bachman Lake Together Family Center
“While we are proud of all that the Foundation has invested in and accomplished, the important role of philanthropy has never been greater,” said Randazzo. “And, there is still much to do in this city, where we have the third highest rate of child poverty in the nation, where there is a 20-year gap in life expectancy for individuals who live in Fair Park versus those who live in Highland Park, and where a minimum-wage worker paying Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment will pay 87% of his income in rent alone. It’s clear there is a lot of work remaining to make Dallas a more equitable place for all.”
ABOUT THE DALLAS FOUNDATION
The Dallas Foundation, established as the first community foundation in Texas in 1929, brings together people, ideas, and investments in Greater Dallas so individuals and families can reach their full potential. In 2021, The Dallas Foundation, in partnership with the more than 800 fundholders, invested over $80 million into the community.
