Donor Impact Stories

Each of our donors has a unique and inspirational story tied to their giving, and we're thrilled to share them.

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Collaboration Matters

Five health-focused nonprofits partner with CFT to create a community of practice

To address community needs during the COVID-19 public health crisis, CFT launched a funding opportunity for organizations addressing vaccine hesitancy, aiming to reduce transmission of the virus in urban and rural communities. We also wanted to help nonprofits build community trust and learn if culturally relevant, grassroots approaches to vaccine education and deployment could make a difference in these communities.

Compassion Matters

More than 100 organizations unite in $72MM initiative toward ending homelessness in our community

The number of local people experiencing homelessness has increased significantly in the last several years, with a 50 percent increase between 2017 to 2020 and an additional 11 percent jump from 2019 to 2020.

Community Matters

CFT invests in public parks to advance community equity

Our vision of thriving communities for all hinges on our ability to advance community equity. One of our intentional investments from our discretionary funds focused on advancing equity is the creation and expansion of public parks. We’ve been investing in parks since our founding in the 1950s, including significant investments in Klyde Warren Park.

Giving with Meaning

The Ashish & Mona Khanna Family Charitable Gift Fund at CFT

“Giving toward a passion brings home a different message. You see the long-term rewards from investing locally and in an area that holds a special place in your heart. Working with CFT has been incredibly rewarding, because the internal satisfaction that comes when you give with meaning is unparalleled.” – Ashish and Mona Khanna

Leaving Legacies of Love: Future Newlyweds Rise to the Occasion

Newlyweds open a charitable giving fund for their guests to make a charitable donation in lieu of a gift.

“We were so excited to tell our parents about our charitable fund. They are deeply proud of our choice. The response from our friends and family has been extremely positive,” said Sarah.

Leaving Legacies of Love: The Cole Wehunt Fund

Parents honor late son's legacy through fund at CFT

“Cole inspired giving. He was such a generous person. We wanted to give back to our community because North Texas was Cole’s home and where he thrived growing up,” said Kay.

Inspiring Giving From Generation to Generation

The Fallen Family Fund at CFT supports Freedom Day

“It’s been the greatest gift,” said Nancy. “I feel like what granddad gave us was an opportunity – an opportunity to make a difference and to explore within ourselves something he had already figured out: lifting up the people around you is what matters most. He knew that the fund could bring good to others but also to us as we practiced generosity together.”

Spurring Social Innovation

Across Public Safety, Education & Health Through CFT's Caruth Fund

“Our new approach to Caruth grantmaking seeks to increase access for organizations of different sizes, both within and across our priority issue areas of education, health, and public safety, and their intersections,” said Nadine Dechausay, Community Philanthropy Director. “We’re providing funding not only to projects that are fully implemented or expanding, but also to projects in initial development that we believe will be transformational for our community.”

Raising the Bar of Generosity

CFT's North Texas Giving Day Rallies 100,000 People to Give Back

In 2019, CFT’s North Texas Giving Day raised $50 million benefiting nearly 3,000 local nonprofits, bringing the eleven-year total to over $290 million for our community. North Texas Giving Day is the largest community-wide giving event in the nation and this year more than 169,000 gifts poured in from 50 states and 25 countries.

We're Furthering Family Values

Involving our children in our charitable giving plans beyond our lifetime from the very beginning!

“GiveWisely gave us an opportunity to come together around giving. We learned a lot about our kids and their unique and overlapping passions by going through the values-based exercises. It was a great experience to bond us in ways we hadn’t thought of before, and have us focus as a family on causes we care about,” said Ann. “There are many worthy causes, so being able to focus and know what’s most important to us as a family and being able to align that with the charitable giving we do has been really meaningful.”

Investing In Our Neighbors

"CFT was the perfect avenue for us to dig deep to make a difference in Collin County."

“There has been tremendous economic opportunity, but it’s important that each of our neighbors has an opportunity to come along on Collin County’s journey of growth. There are a lot of challenges and quiet needs here that many people don’t see,” noted Brian.

We're Building Bridges to Opportunity

Giving life-changing scholarships to students enrolled in Bishop Lynch High School and beyond.

“We’re giving good, solid kids who earn Bs and Cs a leg up with this scholarship. It’s not only life-changing for them, it’s life-changing for me in my involvement,” said son Michael. “Our role was just planting the seed in each recipient to show that we believe in their ability, and the students have done all the rest,” said Jackie.

We're Spreading Good Cheer!

Phyllis Meyerson with CFT's Galen Smith & Geri Jacobs

"I love working with CFT because I know my funds will be going to the best places, where they can have the greatest impact, long after I'm there to hand out the funds myself." – Phyllis Meyerson

Uplifting the Underrepresented

Ross & Rebecca were both largely inspired by their families, particularly their mothers, to give of our time, talent and treasure.

Ross and Rebecca Anthony are tremendously intentional about their charitable giving, and have partnered with CFT in a variety of ways to align their values with their personal giving strategies.

You can't take it with you!

Ford Lacy and Cece Smith Plan Their Community Legacy

"YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU!" is the first thing Ford Lacy said when we asked what spurred him and his wife, Cece Smith, to plan in advance how they would give to charity through their wills.

Are you ready to leave your charitable legacy?

CFT's philanthropic experts are here to work with you to develop your personal, strategic charitable giving plan. Contact us today for a confidential consultation about a giving program to fit your needs.

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