Two bequests totaling $24 million from the estate of Mabel Peters Caruth to Communities Foundation of Texas will double CFT’s ability to help meet community needs through competitive grants. The bequests from Mrs. Caruth, along with existing discretionary funds, will enable CFT trustees to increase the amount awarded annually to qualified nonprofit organizations through the foundation’s grants process from $1 million to nearly $2 million in the coming years.
Grants from the new Mabel Peters Caruth Fund will provide support broadly for organizations that deliver educational and social service benefits. Mrs. Caruth favored providing support in modest amounts to many organizations, rather than large grants to a few organizations. She wanted to benefit as many persons as possible who would otherwise be deprived of help through social, educational, health or similar services.
Nonprofits seek the competitive grants by submitting funding proposals to CFT in the spring and fall. Unlike donor-advised grants awarded by the foundation, which offer year-round charitable support across the country and actively involve foundation donors, these discretionary grants solely remain in the local community.
“All of us at Communities Foundation of Texas are grateful to Mabel Peters Caruth for her vision, compassion and generosity,” said CFT President and CEO Brent Christopher. “We’re honored by the trust she placed in the foundation to use the funds to benefit the community in the manner she wanted. The gifts from Mrs. Caruth’s estate will provide CFT’s trustees additional flexibility to respond to critical needs in the Dallas area for generations to come.”