North Texas Community Foundation Awards Over $336,000 in Grants Through ToolBox Grants Program
North Texas Community Foundation announced that 30 nonprofits and two neighborhood associations have been awarded more than $336,000 in grants through the ToolBox Grants Program: Building Nonprofit Capacity to Combat Poverty in Our Neighborhoods, bringing the total funding for the three-year cycle to $1,031,804. The grants aim to help nonprofits build organizational capacity by strengthening leadership development, organizational effectiveness and operational efficiency.
The ToolBox Grants Program runs on a three-year cycle with capacity building grants awarded each spring. The 2018-2020 grant cycle focuses on nonprofits serving the neighborhoods experiencing the highest poverty levels in Tarrant County. The neighborhoods identified include Western Hills (Las Vegas Trail), Como, Diamond Hill-Jarvis/Northside, Butler Place/Historic Southside/Morningside, East Seminary/Wichita Street, Stop Six and East-Central Arlington.
The grants range in size from $930 to $15,000 and are intended to be one-time, transformative investments to strengthen services and improve the lives of local families. Grant proposals were reviewed by a grants committee chaired by Michael Appleman, and included Stephanie Brentlinger, Kelly Hanley, Adelaide Leavens, Ann Lopez, Chuck Milliken, Judy Needham, Tony Prenger and Jake Richter.
The 2020 grant cycle was supported by myriad investors, including four North Texas Community Foundation endowed funds and eight donor advisors. Additionally, five private and corporate foundations provided financial support for the cycle.
“The ToolBox Grants Program shows that when we come together to support smart solutions, big things happen,” said Rose Bradshaw, president & CEO of the North Texas Community Foundation. “These grants will help nonprofits strengthen their services and outreach in neighborhoods that are disproportionately impacted by lack of access to education, health, income and employment resources. Together with our fundholders and partners, North Texas Community Foundation is intent upon making our region strong for generations to come,” said Bradshaw.
Since its inception in 2010, the ToolBox Grants Program has run three grant cycles providing more than $2.8 million in grants for critical capacity building to more than 100 nonprofits serving Tarrant County. To learn more about the ToolBox Grants Program please visit https://northtexascf.org/community-investment/toolbox-grants-program/.
2020 TOOLBOX GRANTEES
Alliance for Children: Improve organizational effectiveness through the implementation of a strategic plan.
Arlington Charities: Engage consultant services to help retool operations and identify and write policies for reopening.
Arlington Life Shelter: Computers, security cameras and keycard system for the new Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County branch at the shelter.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County: Technology and production equipment for virtual programming for Tarrant County youth.
Camp Fire First Texas: Conduct a pilot study to determine the feasibility of and increase capacity to provide online professional development to early educators.
CASA of Tarrant County: Governance and fundraising training for board members to grow capacity.
Community Food Bank: Professional warehouse and supply chain efficiency evaluation.
Community Healthcare of Texas: Professional services to create a Spanish-language option for viewing content on www.chot.org.
Como Neighborhood Advisory Council: Website design and upgrade.
Cornerstone Assistance Network: Staff certification and training through the Poverty Initiative.
Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition: Consulting services for the creation and execution of a strategic communications plan to reach targeted underserved communities.
Fort Worth Public Library Foundation: A library computer lab in the LVTRise Community Center giving children and adults access to technology for individual use and group skills training.
Fortress Youth Development Center: Training for leadership staff and board.
Foundation for Young Women’s Leadership Academy of Fort Worth: Computer hardware and software for three workstations.
Lighthouse for the Blind: Professional services for website design, development and launch of Mission Optical, a new outreach program serving nonprofits whose uninsured clients receive a donated pair of glasses made by blind employees.
LVTRise: Software and hardware to support LVTRise operations.
Mission Travis Mercy (Mercy Clinic): Spanish language website, pharmacy software, and complete a technology expansion.
National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum: Redesign website to help improve online visitors’ experiences and give staff the ability to make regular updates.
NewDay Services for Children and Families: Development staff training and technology and supplies for filming online classes due to COVID-19.
Opening Doors for Women in Need: Increase the organization’s visibility by obtaining marketing services and website upgrades.
Proyecto Inmigrante: Updated legal immigration training for 12 staff members and three board members.
Rivertree Academy: Hire an expert consultant to provide training in unconscious bias for board and staff.
Sam Houston High School Alumni Associations: Work with consultants to help the board with governance training and the development of a strategic plan.
Spay Neuter Network: Work with CNM to assess and evaluate current outreach practices, identify opportunities and develop an outreach plan for Southeast Fort Worth.
Tarrant County Homeless Coalition: Develop neighborhood engagement workshops in an effort to address homelessness.
The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation: Increase the organization’s operational efficiency with new computers, equipment and software for staff, and Search Engine Optimization training.
The Welman Project: Website development, including e-commerce functionality, mobile responsive design, and Search Engine Optimization as well as an integrated database system.
Trinity Habitat for Humanity: Develop the second iteration of the ReHab mobile application for the Preserve a Home program and provide training to staff on new functionalities.
Water From The Rock: Purchase of hardware and software to transition to an online intake system and support client services.
West Fort Worth Center of Hope: Program management software to support serving the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood.
WestAid: Migrate the current food pantry platform to the Pantry Saver platform for enhanced efficiency in tracking clients and managing inventory.
Western Hills North Neighborhood Association: Increase membership in the neighborhood association with two mass mailings to neighborhood residents.
