Impact in the Wake of Tragedy

August 18, 2016

On July 7th as we were all devastated by the violence downtown and the loss of lives of our dedicated police force. Early in the morning of the 8th, Communities Foundation of Texas staff were at work to find the best way to respond and be impactful in our community. Quickly we were able to:

Open CFT’s fund for disaster relief and recovery to receive outside contributions and grants for middle to long-term support.
CFT’s intention in these instances is to encourage all contributions for immediate support, but to also provide a place for people to support recovery and healing after the immediate needs are met. We ask “What will the community need to get beyond the initial damage and destruction?” Many donors and CFT fund holders have given money to support the long-term healing and community unity work needed to be not only whole, but better.

Quickly provide the online giving form and support for WFAA to seek contributions for the Assist the Officers Foundation.
This page went live and was broadcast by WFAA and the Tegna network across the state and has resulted in more than $300,000 raised for victim support. We are grateful to be a long-time partner with WFAA in all of their charitable outreach.

Assist Craig and Kathryn Hall with utilizing their full network to raise dollars for all shooting victims.
CFT has had a long relationship with the Halls and when the Halls wanted a quick and efficient way to raise support, they turned to CFT to create a new fund. Their giving page quickly in order to offer a $100,000 match through the family foundation for all contributions raised.

CFT was able to act quickly and with an eye toward the future of our community in our response due to the strong relationships we have developed with donors. The ability to use these strong bonds to be quick, efficient, responsive and timely for our fund holders and our community is critical, and it is the reason we are all proud to be part of CFT.

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