The Harold Simmons Foundation, established in 1988, is based in Dallas Texas and is funded primarily by Contran Corporation, a company controlled by Harold Clark Simmons.

The Harold Simmons Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life of all members of our community and to ensure they have the resources and opportunities to live with dignity and meaning. The Foundation strives to invest strategically in programs that support systems change and scalability of impact. We support organizations that promote early health and development, safe and enriching environments, and comprehensive support systems for individuals, children, and families. We believe advocacy and research are key elements in this work.

Grants are made by the Harold Simmons Foundation with the goal of improving lives and enriching the community.

Areas of interest include:

• education;
• health care, social welfare, including human rights;
• civic improvement; and
• culture & the arts.

We make grants for operating expenses, capital needs or special projects, generally in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 for first time applicants. In 2012, the Foundation distributed approximately 18.5 million dollars.

We seek well-researched grant proposals for projects that address current community needs only in the Dallas, Texas area. Projects that complement other public and private efforts and/or agency collaboration is encouraged. Proposals are welcomed year round and we have no application deadlines.

We are a private family foundation on a mission to improve the quality and circumstances of life for the people of Texas now and in the future.

WHAT WE FUND: OUR PROGRAM AREAS

Texas is diverse. So is our giving.

We provide grants throughout the state within our program areas and also our initiatives in environment, public education, and mental health.

Arts and Culture

Our founders were passionate about the arts’ ability to illuminate and reflect our communities, reimagine conversations, interpret collective identity, promote public engagement, and preserve memories. We support organizations throughout the state that provide opportunities for all Texans to experience and benefit from the arts. Our most significant partner is Southern Methodist University Meadows School of the Arts and the Meadows Museum.

Civic and Public Affairs

The social fabric of communities is enhanced when effective civic leadership and healthy public systems are combined with a strong network of nonprofit organizations. We assist communities in developing leadership talent, promoting civic and public collaboration, supporting nonprofits through management and capacity-building, and improving processes and infrastructures for delivery of services to all residents. We also recognize the importance of animals and the role they have in many people’s lives. We fund projects that improve their welfare and enhance the human-animal connection.

Education

The link between quality of education and quality of life is undeniable. Knowledge empowers choices that influence our social and family environment, health and mental well-being, home and community, and career and income. Each additional year of schooling increases earnings by 8-10%. In addition, early reading, high-quality instructors, access to equitable resources, and high expectations for all students improve life-long study skills and academic achievements.

Environment

With our population in Texas expected to increase by 73% to 51.5 million people in 2070, the impacts on our environment will be significant. We focus on systematically preserving our rich ecological and biological diversity for future generations while meeting our growing needs.

Health

Access to quality health care is essential. Health programs that offer a chance to rethink what can be accomplished with new knowledge and technology ultimately lead to Texans living healthier lives. We invest in programs and initiatives that promote innovation in services and delivery and strengthen the ecosystem of care.

Human Services

In communities across Texas, people face overwhelming challenges and times of personal or family crisis. We support programs and agencies that thoughtfully weave compassion and respect into the support systems that improve the quality of life for the most vulnerable Texans. We also place emphasis on supporting efforts that systematically reduce homelessness in the Dallas area.

WHAT WE FUND: INITIATIVES 

Five initiatives are linked to our long-term goals, and requests in these areas receive priority emphasis in the review process. 

Postsecondary Completion

The changing economic landscape requires a shift in the kind of preparation offered to connect Texans to jobs, career paths, livable wages, and economic and social mobility. By 2030, 60% of the Texas workforce will need a postsecondary credential to be gainfully employed, a driving factor for the state’s higher education plan. We aim to ensure that awarded postsecondary degrees, credentials, and certificates align to real-time labor needs, are affordable for all Texans, and offer value to students and society. We are working with our partners to increase postsecondary completion rates beyond current projections to meet current and future workforce demands.

Educator Preparation

Quality teachers are consistently identified as the most important school-based factor in student achievement. On average, a high-performing teacher increases student learning by 50% more than expected growth over the course of a school year. Texas has hundreds of educator preparation programs of varying quality and varying levels of accessibility to aspiring teachers. The teacher pipeline must be robust to meet the needs of a growing state with an increasingly diverse student population. We are working with our partners to define, build, and scale models of high-quality educator preparation. 

Water Conservation

Texas has grown rapidly, and the state’s population is projected to expand by 70% from 2020 to 2070. While this growth can fuel robust economic development, ensuring the vitality of Texas’ cities, industries, and agriculture while also protecting natural resources will require careful water management. As water demand increases, state water supplies will drop by 18%. The state water plan suggests that water conservation strategies could meet 30% of future water supplies. 

While conservation success can be determined in part by policies, everyday water users are the conservation decision makers, and how they value water is the most crucial element of achieving an overall demand reduction. We are working with our partners to increase public awareness and support projects that advance water conservation across the state. 

Depression

Depression is the most common mental illness in the U.S. In North Texas alone, 300,000 adults and children experience depression annually. We know that treatment works: two-thirds of individuals who receive evidence-based, measurement-based care get better. However, less than one in 10 receive this type of care. 

With appropriate training and support, primary care physicians can screen, identify, and provide effective behavioral health treatment and referrals to their patients, which could fill this gap in care. In fact, at least 80% of individuals diagnosed with depression can be treated by their primary care physician. We are working with our partners to integrate evidence-based practices into primary and other care settings so that more people in North Texas can be diagnosed and treated for depression.  

Homelessness

More than 4,000 individuals experience homelessness every year in Dallas and Collin counties. The majority of the 2,000 beds in Dallas shelters are full every night, and the median gross monthly rent of $950 is unaffordable to homeless and low-income residents. Access to adequate housing is a human right that provides the safety needed to survive and the stability needed to thrive. We are working with our partners to make homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties rare, brief, and nonrecurring. 

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

Programs or projects aligned with our giving priorities that and:

• Are well planned by organizations with the capacity to execute on them
• Have secured or identified financial support from other sources
• Contain quantitatively measurable outcomes with potential to scale impact
• Would find Foundation support to be vital to its success

WHERE WE FUND

We provide grants throughout Texas. Up to 50% of our giving is focused on the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

TYPES OF FUNDING

• Specific programs or projects account for almost 85% of our total giving
• Although not a significant part of our funding, we will consider
  • Capital projects aligned with our initiatives and green building guidelines
  • Program-related investment loans
• Endowment and scholarship grants are rare

NOTE:

• The Foundation accepts grant applications throughout the year. However, it is a good idea to submit your application at least 4 months before the funding is needed.
• In addition to the locations listed above, the Foundation considers requests from Christian non-profit organizations working internationally in the Foundation’s areas of giving, by invitation only. 

Founded in 2006 by Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones, The Rees-Jones Foundation is a private foundation that works with non-profit organizations, primarily in North Texas, to serve others and improve their quality of life and life circumstances in tangible ways.

The vision of The Rees-Jones Foundation is that the love of Christ is experienced in tangible ways by those in our community who are disadvantaged or who are suffering spiritually, physically, or emotionally.

The mission of the Foundation is to serve God by serving others, sharing His resources in ways that provide opportunities for the disadvantaged, relief for the suffering, and encouragement in the growth and well-being of children and families in our community.

What We Fund

Animal Welfare

The Foundation supports organizations that promote the ethical and humane treatment of animals. It is important to the Foundation to prevent animal cruelty through rescue and rehabilitative care, and to secure safe, loving, forever homes for companion animals.

At the community-level, the Foundation supports initiatives that ensure the city is safe for animals and residents.

The Foundation’s focus in animal welfare is primarily:

• Adoption for animals in need of a forever home
• Preventing animal cruelty
• Maintaining Dallas’ designation as a no-kill city

Child Protection

The Foundation is working to alleviate conditions that are harmful to families or place children at risk of maltreatment by supporting organizations that provide prevention services for youth and their families.

The Foundation supports organizations that prevent child maltreatment. Through support for prevention services, the Foundation encourages healthy family functioning and resiliency of youth who have faced adverse experiences.

In addition, the Foundation supports organizations that provide refuge from unsafe living conditions including homelessness, and second-change programs that help struggling students or youth involved with the juvenile justice system.

The Foundation’s focus in child protection is primarily:

• Provision of parent education and training, home visiting programs, and other helpful interventions that strengthen families
• Preventing child abuse or neglect within families

Child Substitution Care

The Foundation seeks organizations that support children in substitute care and ensure that all children achieve permanency in home that is safe and healthy. For youth who have been maltreated and removed from their home, the Foundation supports organizations that provide those youth with effective support services and safe, therapeutic placements – especially those that can meet the needs of youth with high needs. The Foundation also supports organizations that fight to hold perpetrators of child abuse and neglect accountable.

The Foundation supports organizations that address the needs of those in temporary or permanency conservatorship by meeting their immediate and future needs. Additionally, the Foundation supports innovations, such as Community-Based Care, that improve the foster care system in Texas.

The Foundation’s focus in child substitute care is primarily:

• Building community capacity to care for youth who have been abused or neglected
• Providing youth in substitute care with therapeutic placements and services

Community Benefit

The Foundation supports capacity building that engages the community, and projects that improve the quality of life for North Texans. Programs include large-scale initiatives that engage the community through charitable giving and volunteerism, provide emergency relief, or poverty intervention.

The Foundation’s Youth Internship Program and Christmas Giving also fall into this portfolio as each seeks to improve the community through targeted efforts.

The Foundation’s focus in community benefit is primarily:

• Improving the community through philanthropy and volunteerism

Healthy Families

The Foundation supports programs that focus on strengthening families and communities so that both thrive.

The Foundation supports organizations that help families achieve safety and stability through the provision of evidence-based programming, such as parenting and marriage support, and solutions that address food insecurity, and increase access to health care.

The Foundation also seeks to provide children residing in under-resourced communities with access to high-quality, early childhood development programs and Christian education.

The Foundation’s focus in healthy families is primarily:

• Building support systems and community engagement with reducing exposure to trauma
• Providing access to high-quality child care that promotes child development

International 

The Foundation supports efforts around the world that provide rehabilitative services to youth with disabilities, and provide families with basic needs such as clean water, and services that teach economic and social resilience.

The Foundation supports primarily Christian organizations that serve children and families in Africa, Central America and India in the following areas:

• Chronic Health & Disability Services – focuses on programs that provide life-changing surgeries and therapies to children in Africa with physical and intellectual disabilities.
• Human Rights & Child Protection– focuses on programs that serve youth and families in India through efforts to end bonded labor and human trafficking.
• Water & Sanitation – focuses on programs that provide youth and families in Africa and Central America with access to safe water.
• Youth & Family Empowerment – focuses on programs that provide youth and families in Africa with enrichment opportunities, such as financial literacy classes and family counseling.

The Foundation considers applications for international grants by invitation only.

Disability Inclusion

The Foundation is working to support children and youth adversely affected by a disability by supporting access to adaptive youth experiences, animal-assisted therapy, traditional and nontraditional therapeutic services, and independent living programs.

The Foundation supports organizations that serve youth with a broad range of conditions that impair their daily living and quality of life. Services that are funded include traditional and nontraditional therapy, youth and family supports, and enrichment opportunities that serve youth with disabilities or chronic health conditions that may or may not be curable.

The Foundation is also interested in supporting programs that assist youth with the transition to adulthood, and animal-assisted therapy, including service dog programs and equine therapy.

The Foundation’s focus in chronic health and disability services is primarily:

• Early Childhood Intervention services
• Special education
• Animal-assisted therapies
• Adaptive youth experiences

Youth Formation 

The Foundation supports access to formative, Christian experiences, such as out-of-school-time (after school and summer) programs, camp, and mentorships, for youth in order to cultivate character, develop a healthy lifestyle, and expand opportunities available to them.

The Foundation supports organizations that provide youth with a range of activities that offer academic assistance, enrichment opportunities, and healthy lifestyle outcomes.

The hope is for youth to have experiences that instill moral character, introduce a Christian world view, and develop qualities of a Christian servant leader, such as humility and integrity.

The Foundation’s focus in youth experiences is primarily to:

• Encourage Christian discipleship among youth
• Create opportunities for moral and ethical character development

Youth Mental Health 

The Foundation works to expand access to mental and behavioral health services for children and youth by supporting organizations that provide counseling and therapy to families at the local level.

The Foundation supports organizations that provide traditional and nontraditional therapies with an emphasis on trauma-informed care and measurement-based care. Additionally, the Foundation is interested in early diagnosis of mental health disorders through the integration of screenings performed by a child’s primary care provider during annual check-ups.

The Foundation supports organizations that provide counseling and therapy in community-friendly, easily-accessible spaces. The Foundation also seeks to partner with organizations that provide therapeutic services to individuals coping with more complex mental health conditions.

The Foundation’s focus in mental and behavioral health is primarily:

• Utilize measurement-based care for treatment of depression and other mental health conditions
• Access to mental health care in diverse settings such as schools and primary care providers

Since its inception, the Foundation, which is still led by Lester T. Sunderland's descendants, has focused on supporting construction projects, awarding grants to nonprofits in the Kansas City region and other markets traditionally served by the Ash Grove Cement Company. 

 The Foundation prefers to make grants for construction and special interest projects rather than for annual operating expenses. 

Grants for planning, design, construction, renovation, repairs and restoration of facilities are considered. Areas of interest include higher education, youth serving agencies, health facilities, community buildings, museums, civic projects and energy efficient affordable housing projects sponsored by qualified tax-exempt organizations. 

Funding Areas

In recent grant cycles, the Board of Trustees has awarded the majority of grants in four broadly defined areas:

Health Care and Hospitals

A growing area of need in many of the communities the Foundation serves. In 2017, more than $2.9 million was awarded to hospitals and health-care groups to build and improve their facilities. 

Human Services

The Foundation awarded over $7 million to human service nonprofits in 2017, and the majority of grants in this area were awarded to groups that provide essential services to youth and families. Grantees included a range of youth-focused groups, including the Kansas 4-H Foundation, Kids TLC, Ronald McDonald House & Boys & Girls Clubs. 

Higher Education

In 2017, the Foundation awarded more than $10 million to over 45 educational organizations. Grantees included community colleges, private colleges, and public universities. 

Arts and Culture

Arts and culture projects received $7 million in 2017, including grants to the Eisenhower Foundation in Abilene, Kansas; the Kansas City Symphony, the Nelson Gallery Foundation and many more.

NOTE: We have implemented some critical changes to our funding priorities. We have moved to a model where the engagement of Foundation family members in the work or cause of an organization is an overarching requirement for funding. That said, if none of our family members are involved with your organization, funding is unlikely, especially if you have not been funded by us in the past.

Our Mission

To support individuals and families as they build productive and meaningful lives.

We Value

• The legacy of M.B. and Edna Zale
• Jewish identity, heritage, and Tikkun Olam*
  • *Hebrew: “Repair the world” – Humanity’s shared responsibility to heal, repair, and transform the world.
• The power of community
• The diversity and passion of our family members
• The creativity and dedication of our nonprofit partners

Funding Areas

The Foundation has an interest in four areas of funding:

Community Services

Programs that serve the poor and disenfranchised, especially those programs that:

• Strengthen families
• Develop children
• Address the senior population
• Train people in job skills
• Provide health services

Health

Programs that address the prevention and treatment of illness and disease.

Education

Programs that assist the financially disadvantaged with:

• Equality of access
• Early intervention
• Academic assistance and enrichment

Jewish Heritage

Programs that address:

• Identity and heritage
• Continuity
• Education
• Human services

We Fund

• Education
• Early childhood development
• Job training
• Hunger and homelessness relief
• Health care
• Jewish culture and continuity

Priority is given to programs and organizations that:

• Promote organization or personal self-sufficiency.
• Are innovative approaches to solving social problems.
• Articulate clear outcomes and are accountable for them.
• Can be replicated or scaled for larger impact.

William L. and Faye L. Cowden established the Faye L. & William L. Cowden Charitable Foundation in 1988, to help as many people as possible, with an emphasis on children.  After Mr. Cowden’s death in 1989 Mrs. Cowden continued to make charitable donations to qualifying organizations.  The foundation was fully funded after Mrs. Cowden’s death in 2003.

Grants are directed to 501(c)(3) organizations which fall within the principal charitable purposes of the foundation as outlined below.

This trust is created and shall be operated exclusively for charitable, educational, scientific and religious purposes. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the principal purpose of this trust is to provide financial assistance, to be used in the State of Texas, to Qualified Organizations which direct their activities toward one or more of the following charitable purposes:

• The health, medical care and treatment and rehabilitation of children, including related medical research.
• The education of children and young adults, and the provision of special educational opportunities for young persons otherwise unable to afford them.
• The prevention of cruelty to children or animals.
• The protection and preservation of wildlife and natural areas.

The ACT on Health Equity: Community Solutions Challenge is advancing health equity through the support of community-based non-profit programming that prioritize the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of historically excluded and disenfranchised populations.

The ACT on Health Equity: Community Solutions Challenge will provide up to $1 million in funding to new and existing programs. Organizations may apply for $25,000.

Program Focus

Community-based programs must cover one of the two following areas:

Community Health & Wellbeing

Improve conditions that affect community health and wellbeing including but not limited to housing, environmental and neighborhood safety, nutrition, and access to care.

Next Generation STEM Education

Increase access to education and career readiness in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Community Focus

Programs that address health disparities among historically excluded and disenfranchised populations and prioritize their social, cultural, and linguistic needs.

Program Geographies

Nonprofit organizations across the US and US territories are invited to apply for funding to support programs focused within one or more communities

Over the past fifty-five years, the Rachael and Ben Vaughan Foundation has awarded grants in the areas of education, environmental preservation, health care, human rights, poverty reduction, religious support, and substance abuse. This year, the Foundation will again primarily support organizations working in these fields.  

The Foundation invites organizations to submit a Grant Request Application that describes a specific project in one of the above areas. Grant requests may range between $2,000 and $20,000. The implementation of the project should require no more than twelve months. While the Foundation’s grants largely support work in Texas, it has no geographic limit as the location of the recipient or the project. However, no matter the location, the Foundation encourages grant requests for programs that serve local residents, do not duplicate the efforts of other organizations, minimize administrative fees and will continue to produce benefits after the official date of completion.

Mission

Mr. Rhoads established the Foundation in 1971 to promote the extension of religion, education, the alleviation of human suffering and the prevention and control of diseases.

The grantor also intended for funds to be utilized for the acquisition, construction, maintenance and beautification of public buildings, grounds and/or works for the encouragement of public and civic betterment.

Mr. Rhoads also wanted to provide for the relief of the indigent and to aid in scientific research for the betterment of mankind.

Program types:

• Health Care:
• Community Improvement & Capacity Building;
• Education;
• Human Services;
• Religion-Related