A Dallas-based non-profit business organization has reached a new member milestone in its mission to advance charitable and civic engagement throughout Dallas-Fort Worth.
The Metroplex Civic & Business Association (MCBA) recently accepted its 100th Member Company into the organization, a key milestone for the nonpartisan group and its ongoing commitment to the success and prosperity of the DFW region.
The MCBA has experienced a robust increase in new member companies and partner charities since its founding in 2021. This has largely been due to local companies aligning themselves with the organization’s mission for DFW, according to Louis Darrouzet, CEO of MCBA.
“It always feels like it’s going slower than you want, but it’s starting to really gain steam here lately,” Darrouzet told The Dallas Express. “I mean, we signed up 31 companies in the last two months,” and “our team has grown from just me to a little more than five now — so it’s really starting to speed up,” he said.
The MCBA seeks to attract companies in DFW’s five core counties: Tarrant, Denton, Collin, Rockwall, and Dallas. Some of the member companies include Cake Craft, Albers Group, Lentz Law, and Montfort Capital, among others, according to the organization’s website.
By connecting local companies and their employee base to civic engagement opportunities, the MCBA believes it will lead to healthier neighborhoods and more business-friendly environments, which in turn, will attract new people and businesses to the area.
One of the main issues impacting Dallas and hindering its growth potential, according to Darrouzet, is the exodus of companies to areas like Frisco, Prosper, and Celina.
“Several of our member companies that had offices in and around Dallas are now opening up shops in areas like Celina,” Darrouzet said. “It is because the city councils in these areas are opening up the door for them.”
Darrouzet suggests that council members in these cities are saying things like: “Hey, come, we’ll help you get the zoning,” or “Oh, you don’t need that many parking spaces? Okay. Not a big deal.”
“That is not the case in Dallas, though,” he said. “Instead, the city of Dallas says, ‘Oh, you want to come here? First, you have to do X, Y, and Z.’”
Like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Darrouzet wants Dallas to be a haven for growth, backstopped by residents’ ability to be successful — unburdened by strict regulations, steep taxes, rampant crime, and unchecked homelessness — and provide for their families and loved ones, such as by sending their kids to good schools.
In terms of the MCBA’s short-term growth, Darrouzet says he is excited to see where the organization will go and what value it will add to the people and companies of DFW.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if next year we hit 250 companies and 20-30,000 employees between companies. We’d love to get to a place where we’ve got a large group of individuals that are educating their employees and getting involved,” Darrouzet said.