by Whitnee Boyd, EdD, Director of Community Impact at North Texas Community Foundation
When I joined North Texas Community Foundation as the Director of Community Impact, I knew I was stepping into an opportunity to learn, connect, and build on the work that’s already shaping our region. Joining the Economic Mobility Action Network cohort was one of the first commitments I made in this role. I saw it not only as a way to learn best practices from across the field but as a chance to collaborate in a dynamic space alongside local and national leaders who care deeply about the well-being of our community.
Through this cohort, we assembled a team that reflected the power of collaboration in action. I was joined in this work by Kacey Bess, City of Fort Worth; Sarah Geer, Rainwater Charitable Foundation; Stacy Grau, TCU & NTCF Board Member and Fundholder; and Rose Bradshaw, President & CEO of NTCF. In one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, we wanted to work together to generate solutions that would pave the way to investing in historically disinvested neighborhoods to preserve culture, commerce and community.
This cohort also gave us the chance to spotlight what it looks like to work hand in hand with nonprofit leaders to co-create solutions. And thanks to the generosity of our donors, who have generously supported this work, over the last year we’ve been able to award $725,000 to nonprofits tirelessly working each day to ensure the well-being of residents in our local neighborhoods.
We connected with national leaders doing innovative work to build systems that help communities not just survive but thrive. From investing in community preservation plans to designing strategies that protect cultural heritage while driving economic growth, the insights we gained have already influenced how we approach our work locally. The technical assistance we’ve received and continue to receive from experts across the country has been an incredible resource.
Throughout this journey, our team was intentional about making sure the knowledge didn’t stay only with us. Each time we visited a new city through the cohort, we invited local nonprofit leaders working on community development to join us. Those site visits were some of the most inspiring moments of the experience and the sentiments are shared by the nonprofit leaders. They gave us space to learn side by side, to explore models that could be adapted to strengthen our local neighborhoods, and to contribute to a broader national conversation about how local leadership drives lasting change.
Dr. Shawn Lassiter, CEO of BRAVE/R Together and grantee, shared, “What stood out to me was the strong relationship between funders and the community-based organizations; they’re providing flexible funding that allows nonprofits to buy property, control land, and shape what happens in their neighborhoods. I was especially inspired by how they use thoughtful frameworks to build up grassroots organizations. The idea of ‘quarterbacks’ leading in each community resonated, you could clearly see local leaders building coalitions and driving the vision from within.”
As we look ahead, we’re committed to building on this momentum. Our next steps include expanding our strategic grantmaking efforts to continue investing in neighborhoods, deepening our use of technical assistance to guide and inform our work, and convening stakeholders around the future of place-based community development. This work is long-term and deeply relational. And we’re just getting started.
To our donors, nonprofit partners, and community champions, thank you for being part of this journey with us. Together, we’re shaping a thriving North Texas for generations to come.
