Communities Foundation of Texas has been making a difference in Dallas and the surrounding area for 70 years now.
The organization was featured on The Dallas Express‘ list of most influential non-profit organizations for 2023, and its facilitation of charitable giving helped shape aid networks in the city.
Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) was founded in 1953 under the name Dallas Community Chest Trust Fund. It served as a “safety net” for social services in Dallas. The early organization was originally led by boosters, businessmen, and philanthropists like Fred M. Lange, J.L. Latimer, Henry S. Miller, Paul Carrington, and Harold F. Volk, according to CFT’s website.
Since its creation, the organization has received a number of substantial donations, starting with its first of $10,000 worth of stock from Algur H. Meadows in 1948. It also received land in Downtown Dallas valued at $325,000 from Pearl C. Anderson in 1955.
“Through the years, we have taken on some of this region’s more challenging needs by understanding our donors’ charitable intent and connecting them with organizations making a positive difference,” says the organization on its website. “The name change from Dallas Community Chest Trust Fund to [CFT] in 1981 reflected the broader scope of the foundation’s current impact.”
CFT puts its “donor-driven” funds to use by providing “effective ways to make meaningful charitable contributions while realizing significant tax advantages.”
The two categories converge with North Texas Giving Day, which has invested over $500 million into the area since 2009, according to CFT.
CFT has received numerous grants since its founding 70 years ago from different organizations across Texas looking to strengthen local communities across the region.
“For more than a half-century, we have helped donors find ways to give effectively while enjoying significant tax advantages. The approach continues to work today with grants that have provided lifesaving medical equipment, protective gear for Dallas Police officers, significant financial support for the AT&T Performing Arts Center, mental health services in West Dallas and master planning funds for a new Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The foundation’s evolution over the past half-century has been dramatic, but our commitment to know our donors and make good grants remains the same,” reads CFT’s website.
More recently, in 2020, the organization celebrated reaching a milestone of over $2 billion in “cumulative grantmaking” since its founding in 1953.
CFT plans to continue its mission of raising and investing funds into projects that help grow and revitalize communities in Dallas and throughout the region.
