Down the hill from Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) is the Caruth Homeplace. CFT and the Caruth family have had a close relationship for more than four decades.
In 1974, Will Caruth, Jr. established W.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation at CFT, which has distributed more than $110 million dollars to support public safety, education, and scientific and medical research in Dallas and beyond.
It was through the generosity of Will's wife, Mabel Peters Caruth (1914-2000), that CFT was able to restore the Caruth Homeplace, honoring a remarkable family and preserving an important part of Dallas history.
Shortly before her death in 2000, Mabel made it possible for CFT to acquire Caruth Homeplace, and she also provided the funds to build and endow CFT’s current headquarters at 5500 Caruth Haven Lane in Dallas.
In 2008, additional funds were given from her estate to CFT to permanently endow grantmaking by the foundation to meet the ongoing needs of the local community year after year.
Continuing the Legacy of Philanthropy
CFT’s renovation of Caruth Homeplace focused not only on restoring it to its 1938 condition, but enabling the adaptive re-use of the home so it could function as the headquarters for two major nonprofit organizations — the Hoblitzelle Foundation and the Summerlee Foundation.