How To Apply
Donor-Advised Grants
The majority of grants awarded by CFT come from donor-advised funds. Grants from these funds are awarded by recommendation from the fund’s donor and/or advisor, often in consultation with CFT staff. Donor-advised grants can support items such as program needs, capital projects, or operating expenses, but cannot support individuals or scholarships.
In order to assist the foundation in its efforts to share information about timely community needs with our donors, we invite nonprofit organizations in the Dallas area to submit letters of inquiry outlining critical funding needs at various times throughout the year. Information submitted by nonprofits will be reviewed by staff, with the strongest applications then shared with donors whose interests align with a request’s designated area of focus. Please note that submitting a letter of inquiry for donor-advised consideration is not a guarantee of funding. Donors will select at their discretion. Funding requests of up to $20,000 may be submitted for consideration.
To be eligible to participate in CFT’s letter of inquiry process, organizations must meet both of the following criteria:
- be in receipt of a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt designation from the Internal Revenue Service, and
- at least 50% of the population served must be residents of Dallas, Tarrant, Denton, or Collin Counties.
Upcoming submission deadlines:
- July 1: Arts, Education, Environment and the Elderly
- September 1: Animals, Health, Social Services and Youth
Requests must be submitted using CFT’s Letter of Inquiry checklist and forms, which can be downloaded by clicking on the link below. All information must be received at the Foundation’s office or by e-mail to grants@cftexas.org by 5 p.m. on the specific dates indicated above. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. Applicants will be notified by e-mail if staff or a donor would like more information about the submitted request.
For questions, please contact the Philanthropy Department at 214.750.4222.
Discretionary Grants
Applications for competitive grants from funds managed by Communities Foundation of Texas have historically been reviewed in the spring and fall. These grants are awarded from discretionary funds and field of interest funds, which are not donor-advised and not committed to support specific institutions, organizations or charitable causes. Compared to the resources of donor-advised and designated funds, the smaller amount of discretionary resources creates a very competitive process for grants from these funds.
To receive competitive funding from CFT, organizations must be established 501(c)(3) tax-exempt "public charity" nonprofit entities that demonstrate sound management and fiscal responsibility. New charities that serve distinct, verifiable charitable purposes may also qualify. Grants are not made directly to individuals or to for-profit businesses.
In the past, the discretionary grant funds awarded by the Foundation’s Trustees have been for nonprofit projects in the Greater Dallas Metropolitan area that were capital in nature, such as equipment purchases or facility-related needs. However, this funding focus is currently under review, as CFT is in the process of revising the Foundation’s discretionary grant guidelines. Given this, the Foundation has not yet announced application deadlines for 2010. We expect to be able to share more information about our new funding criteria and application deadlines later in the year, and encourage you to check this webpage again in late summer for updated information.
Once the new discretionary grant guidelines are published, CFT Philanthropy Department staff will announce a workshop date to review and discuss the new discretionary application process, and focus areas. For further information, please call 214.750.4222 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or e-mail grants@cftexas.org.