North Texas Community Foundation awarded $304,700 to nine nonprofit organizations through the 2026 ToolBox grant cycle. Individual grants range from $20,000 to $50,000 and build organizational capacity to strengthen the nonprofit sector and support organizations serving vulnerable populations across Tarrant County.
Funded initiatives focus on building nonprofit capacity that can be shared or scaled, including leadership development, technology improvements and expanding access to shared resources. Collaboration is a defining feature of this cycle. Seven of the nine projects involve partnerships between two or more organizations. Collectively, all funded projects are expected to benefit more than 250 local nonprofits.
“Strong nonprofits are better positioned to meet rising community needs,” said Rose Bradshaw, president & CEO of North Texas Community Foundation. “The focus of this grant cycle is on impact that reaches beyond a single organization.”
The 2026 ToolBox grant recipients are:
Arlington Charities: In collaboration with Arlington Life Shelter, this project will strengthen frontline staff skills, volunteer systems, and HR infrastructure across Arlington nonprofits to improve service quality, staff and volunteer retention, and coordination for vulnerable populations.
Arlington Museum of Art: In collaboration with over 50 Arlington arts nonprofits, The Museum will develop a comprehensive Cultural Masterplan for the city of Arlington, to help build shared infrastructure and coordinated operational support systems for Arlington’s nonprofit cultural sector.
BRAVE/R Together: In collaboration with Community Healing and Mental Health Partnership (CHAMP), BRAVE/R will offer a one-day immersive summit designed to strengthen and equip grassroots nonprofit leaders across Tarrant County.
Clayton Youth Enrichment: In collaboration with the Boys & Girls Club of Tarrant County, Clayton will be offering a two-day capacity-building summit that equips Tarrant County youth-serving nonprofits with adaptive leadership tools, strategic clarity, and collaborative partnerships to navigate shifts in education and funding environments.
Community Frontline: In collaboration with UT Arlington’s Fort Worth campus, Frontline will continue with The Changemakers Nonprofit Lab that equips Tarrant County nonprofits with practical operational tools and leadership training while developing a shared services framework to increase efficiency, sustainability, and ecosystem collaboration.
Mental Health Connection: In collaboration with Dream Big-PSP Counseling and The Telos Project, Mental Health Connection will provide will provide an accredited Mental Health Leadership Certificate program that will serve emerging, mid-level, and current leaders seeking to strengthen or refresh skills.
Northside Inter-Community Agency: In collaboration with Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber and Transform 1012 N. Main, NICA will launch a shared Northside Nonprofit Events Portal to improve communications, coordination, and community access to programs and services.
One Safe Place: In collaboration with The Net FW and Unbound Now, One Safe Place will strengthen Tarrant County nonprofits addressing domestic violence and human trafficking through advanced leadership training in collective impact, philanthropic fundraising, crisis communication, and collaborative culture.
Tarrant Area Food Bank: Using a data-driven tool by Service Insights, TAFB will provide training and analysis to partner agencies that aim to improve service delivery, identify gaps, and expand equitable access to food assistance.
The 2026 grant cycle was shaped by a yearlong effort to better understand the challenges nonprofits face. North Texas Community Foundation engaged more than 200 organizations through surveys, focus groups and listening sessions to identify gaps in capacity and areas of greatest need. That insight guided a reimagined approach to capacity-building that focuses on practical solutions to resource gaps and operational pressure.
“Working directly with nonprofit leaders to not only hear the needs but understand how we could aid in helping them stay strong, let us clearly know how we needed to shift our funding to align,” said Whitnee Boyd, EdD, director of community impact at North Texas Community Foundation. “The 2026 ToolBox grant cycle is a direct response to what our leaders shared would help build capacity across nonprofits in Tarrant County who are addressing our community’s most pressing needs.”
Funding for the 2026 ToolBox grant cycle was made possible by generous support from NTCF donors, including:
>Allyson and Rick Baumeister Charitable Fund
>Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation
>Bob and Betty Crow Family Fund
>Havener 20 Charitable Fund
>Ann Louden
>George C. and Sue W. Sumner Fund
>Vulnerable Populations Fund
>Lisa & Burch Waldron Charitable Fund
>The Sharon Ann McCulloch-Wells and John W. Wells Endowed Fund
>Doris C. and Harry K. Werst Charitable Fund
>Margaret Mann Wilson Fund
>Jack W. & Paula J. Winter Charitable Fund
>Youth Assistance Fund
For more information, please visit: www.northtexascf.org