Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) and The Dallas Foundation (TDF) announce the recipients of their 2023-2024 Equity Fund Cycle Grants. In total, the two community foundations awarded $1.57M in grants to 41 nonprofit organizations in North Texas working to accelerate equity in communities that have been historically and systematically disenfranchised.
Grant funding from Communities Foundation of Texas prioritized North Texas nonprofit organizations that focus on advancing equity and building community power through civic engagement, narrative change, and/or coalition building and community organizing. Nonprofit grantees address diverse issues ranging from environmental equity, health equity, LGBTQ+ rights, human and civil rights, disability rights, and racial equity. These nonprofits also prioritize centering community voice in decision-making, recognizing the residents they work with as key stakeholders.
The Dallas Foundation’s Racial Equity Fund Grants invested in nonprofit organizations located in Dallas County working in the areas of housing and neighborhood infrastructure; economic empowerment; workforce development; education; civic participation; and health.
“Investing in organizations that are fostering and building equity across Greater Dallas is foundational to our work and critical to our mission of ensuring individuals and families can reach their full potential,” said Julie Diaz, President & CEO of The Dallas Foundation. “These grantees, who were selected from a very large pool of applicants, are driving real, measurable transformation and shaping the future of Greater Dallas for generations to come.”
CFT and TDF launched the common equity grant application to simplify the process for nonprofit organizations while also expanding the reach and influence of the available funding.
“Communities Foundation of Texas is committed to advancing equity as one of our strategic priorities to fulfill our mission and achieve the vision of building thriving communities for all. We truly believe we can accomplish more when we collaborate to fund needs in our community together, and it makes it easier on the nonprofits who are seeking funding for their work,” said Wayne White, president and CEO at Communities Foundation of Texas.
The Dallas Foundation’s Racial Equity Fund is made possible through generous donations from NexPoint Philanthropies, the Reis-Bisor Foundation, and The Dallas Foundation’s Community Impact Fund, among many others.
CFT’s equity grants were made possible by the generous support and legacy of more than 20 charitable funds established at CFT by local individuals and families, including the Sammons Foundation Fund, the Mabel Peters Caruth Fund, and the Katie Foundation Fund.
Communities Foundation of Texas’ 2023-24 Equity Fund Grantees include:
| CAUSE AREA & Organization Name |
Grant Amount | Designation |
| HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS Dallas Area Interfaith Sponsoring Committee |
$30,000 | A Cry for Justice and a Call to Action |
| HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS Dallas Chinese Community Center |
$10,000 | Promoting Civic Duties and Civic Engagement in Election Year |
| HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum |
$30,000 | Upstander Partnership |
| HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS Fair Elections Center | $32,000 | Campus Vote Project – Dallas Metro Area |
| HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS March to the Polls |
$50,000 | Increasing Electoral Participation by Youth and People of Color |
| HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS Urban Leaders Fellowship |
$30,000 | Developing a Pipeline of Diverse Public Servants in Dallas |
| HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS (ARTS) Decolonizing the Music Room |
$20,000 | Music Education and Performance Programs |
| HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS (ARTS) Friends of Garland’s Historic Magic 11th Street |
$10,000 | Programming, personnel and costs for obtaining a Texas Historical Marker |
| HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS (ARTS) Teatro Dallas |
$18,000 | La Pizca-A Bilingual Touring Project about Undocumented Youth Working in Agriculture |
| DISABILITY RIGHTS North Texas Disability Chamber |
$15,000 | North Texas Disability Community Forums |
| ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY Downwinders at Risk Education Fund |
$25,000 | Spanish-Language Environmental Justice Organizer |
| HEALTH EQUITY Abide Women’s Health Services, Inc |
$25,000 | Advancing Equity in Maternal Health |
| HEALTH EQUITY BRAVE/R Together $30,000 Braver Together 76104 |
$30,000 | Braver Together 76104 |
| HEALTH EQUITY Joppy Momma’s Farm |
$10,000 | The JMF Learning Kitchen and Classroom Project |
| HEALTH EQUITY The Afiya Center |
$40,000 | An Unapologetic Quest to Protect and Save Black Women’s Lives |
| LGBTQ RIGHTS Dallas Hope Charities |
$25,000 | Collective Hope Coalition |
| LGBTQ RIGHTS Equality Texas Foundation |
$33,000 | Equality Texas Engagement (North Texas) |
| RACIAL EQUITY (ECONOMIC SECURITY) Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC) |
$40,000 | The DEC Network Innovation Center |
| RACIAL EQUITY (ECONOMIC SECURITY) Every Texan |
$30,000 | Advancing Equity and Outcomes through the People’s Budget |
| RACIAL EQUITY (ECONOMIC SECURITY) Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr. Community Outreach Center |
$50,000 | Building Wealth Strategies for Families Low-Income Families Living in South Dallas |
| RACIAL EQUITY (EDUCATION) African American Education Archives |
$15,000 | Changing the Race Narrative |
| RACIAL EQUITY (EDUCATION) BH 365 Education Foundation |
$10,000 | Black History 365 Education Foundation Project |
| RACIAL EQUITY (EDUCATION) Child Care Associates |
$35,000 | The North Texas Early Educator Workforce Analysis & Needs Assessment |
| RACIAL EQUITY (EDUCATION) Dallas Afterschool Network |
$25,000 | DASN Professional Development |
| RACIAL EQUITY (EDUCATION) Educational First Steps |
$25,000 | Four Steps to Excellence |
| RACIAL EQUITY (EDUCATION) National Alliance for Partners for Equity (NAPE) |
$37,500 | Student Voice and Community Engagement Resource Guide |
| RACIAL EQUITY BoardBuild |
$25,000 | Building Community Voice on Boards |
| RACIAL EQUITY Opening Doors International Services |
$30,000 | Removing Access Barriers to Immigration Legal Services |
| RACIAL EQUITY Project Unity |
$25,000 | Together We Dine |
| RACIAL EQUITY Remembering Black Dallas Inc. |
$19,000 | Historical Site Markers |
In total, CFT granted $800,000 to 30 local nonprofits.
Learn more about the details of what each of CFT’s grants will support here.
The Dallas Foundation’s 2023-24 Racial Equity Fund Grantees include:
| CAUSE AREA & Organization Name |
Grant Amont | Designation |
| EDUCATION AT LAST!, Inc. |
$50,000 | AT LAST!, Inc. |
| HEALTH Community Does It |
$75,000 | General operating support for Cuenta Conmigo Center for Family Mental Health Services |
| HEALTH Texas Trees Foundation |
$100,000 | Trees for All: Community-based, Equity-focused Tree Planting to Better Social Determinants of Health |
| CIVIC PARTICIPATION Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation |
$50,000 | Racial Justice Community of Practice |
| CIVIC PARTICIPATION Advocate Foundation Inc |
$100,000 | Dallas Free Press |
| ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT Founders First Community Development Corporation |
$50,000 | Accelerate Texas |
| HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD INFRASTRUCTURE Act (Advocates for Community Transformation |
$70,000 | Legal Advocacy and Community Development for Safer, More Equitable Neighborhoods |
| HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD INFRASTRUCTURE Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center |
$100,000 | Pro Bono Legal Defense for Tenants Facing Eviction |
| WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Dallas Education Foundation |
$51,250 | Call Me MISTER |
| WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce |
$100,000 | The Empowered CEO |
| WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT The Walls Project |
$25,000 | The Walls Project Culture Club Afterschool and Juneteenth Day of Service |
In total, The Dallas Foundation granted $771,250 to 11 local nonprofits.
To read more about our partnership for 2022-2023’s Equity Grantees, click here.
