Dave Scullin joined CFT as president and CEO in January 2017 after a forty-year career with two major global firms, Deloitte and Arthur Andersen. He is a multifaceted leader, strategic business adviser, financial expert, and CPA.
With over 100 employees and assets of more than $1.2 billion, CFT is one of the largest of nearly 800 community foundations in the nation. CFT focuses on growing giving in our region, catalyzing change in critically important areas such as education, medical and scientific research, and public safety, and strengthening the local philanthropic sector of donors and nonprofits.
To support the mission of amplifying philanthropic impact in North Texas and beyond, Scullin works with CFT’s strong board of trustees who have wide-ranging knowledge of community needs, philanthropic perspective, and fiscal responsibility to steward more than 1,000 charitable funds for families, companies, private foundations, and nonprofits. CFT also attracts grants from numerous state and national foundations as well as the state of Texas.
CFT created and operates North Texas Giving Day, which in 2020 raised $58.8 million on just one day to benefit 3,000 nonprofits in the North Texas region. It has become the nation’s largest single-day of community-wide giving, and it has encouraged the development of online giving days across the United States. CFT’s other major initiatives include Educate Texas, a statewide public-private initiative to improve public education; the Caruth Fund grantmaking; the Working Family Success Network of North Texas; and CFT for Business.
CFT has been especially active during the COVID-19 pandemic by deploying its giving day platform, opening ten unique relief funds, and co-developing a shared grant application process, North Texas Cares, to enable more than 30 philanthropic partners to extend grants rapidly. Altogether during the pandemic, nearly $100 million of relief funds have been extended for community support for North Texas nonprofits.
Before joining Communities Foundation of Texas, Dave served as a strategic advisor to Fortune 500 clients with an extensive network in the North Texas community and beyond. Scullin was recognized as a top partner, holding multiple leadership roles over his career, including managing partner, lead client service partner for major global clients, industry leader, and creator of Deloitte’s nationally recognized North Texas CFO Forum.
Dave serves on the Board of Directors of Austin Industries and chairs its audit committee and has also served on numerous civic and other nonprofit entities.
Dave was featured as part of D Magazine’s Dallas 500:The Most Powerful Business Leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Dave lives in Collin County with Susan, his wife of more than forty years. His two adult children, their spouses, and his four grandchildren also reside in Texas.