Highland Dallas Foundation Awards $2.4 Million to Local Nonprofits Addressing Current and Future Needs in the Dallas Community

DALLAS, Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Highland Dallas Foundation today announced that it has awarded $2.4 million in grants to three non-profit organizations in Dallas that play vital roles in the local community. The Highland Dallas Foundation has awarded grants to the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center (DCAC) and The Family Place, which provide critical services to children and families in North Texas, as well as to The Dallas Foundation, which helps bring together resources and ideas to advance our community. Over the past decade, the Highland Dallas Foundation has committed more than $47.8 million to a wide range of charitable causes that have made a tangible, lasting impact on improving the lives of Dallas residents.

$1 Million Grant to Dallas Children's Advocacy Center

Under the most recent round of giving by the Highland Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center will receive a $1 million grant to support its work providing justice and restoring hope to more than 8,000 children and their family members each year. The grant will also help fill gaps in public funding sources and ensure continuity of DCAC's critical work. As a longtime supporter of DCAC, the Highland Dallas Foundation has served as a key sponsor for annual fundraising events and used its philanthropic network to advance DCAC's mission.

"After one of the most difficult years navigating a pandemic, this significant gift from the Highland Dallas Foundation will help us continue the life-saving work carried out at our center," said DCAC's CEO Irish Burch. "The funds will help us manage an expected significant increase in child abuse cases, enabling our experts to reach more clients and provide hope and healing to over 8,000 children and families this year. We thank the Highland Dallas Foundation for its ongoing commitment to our community."

$1 Million Grant to The Family Place

The Highland Dallas Foundation is awarding $1 million to The Family Place, a nonprofit organization that empowers victims of family violence by providing safe housing, counseling and skills that create independence while building community engagement and advocating for social change to stop family violence. This is the second $1 million grant issued by the Highland Dallas Foundation to The Family Place since 2015.

Winter Storm Uri left 123 of The Family Place's clients displaced after pipes in one of the agency's three residential facilities burst, causing significant structural damage. Approximately $500,000 of the Highland Dallas Foundation's $1 million grant will provide funding for repairs to The Family Place's Safe Campus Emergency Shelter. The remaining funds will support The Family Place's Enduring Promise Foundation Campaign and will help provide long-term funding for on-site medical staff who provide essential medical services to clients in two on-site clinics.

"The Family Place would like to thank the Highland Dallas Foundation for being an important part of the solution to ending family violence in our community with its long-standing support of our organization," said Mimi Sterling, CEO of The Family Place. "The support we've received from the Highland Dallas Foundation goes beyond these generous grants. When we asked donors to participate in our 'Adopt A Family' program, the Highland Dallas Foundation stepped up to adopt all the families in need, providing holiday gifts for every resident in our emergency shelter, who were so grateful to receive such an unexpected surprise. This impromptu gesture highlights the level of care and commitment for the Dallas community that drives Highland Dallas Foundation's philanthropy. We're grateful for the ongoing collaboration between the Highland Dallas Foundation and The Family Place, which has been instrumental in providing needed services and promoting awareness of domestic violence in our community."

$400,000 Grant to The Dallas Foundation's Racial Equity Fund

The Highland Dallas Foundation is providing the lead grant to The Dallas Foundation's new Racial Equity Fund. With this award, the Racial Equity Fund has crossed $1 million in donations for its launch. The new Racial Equity Fund aims to use the collective influence and resources of The Dallas Foundation, the first community foundation in Texas, along with those of its donors and partners to advance equity for Dallas' BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) residents by strategically and purposefully directing philanthropic dollars to support organizations that combat systemic inequities, including housing/infrastructure; economic; education; criminal justice/government; and health. The Highland Dallas Foundation has been longtime partner of The Dallas Foundation's work to make Dallas a brighter and more equitable place for everyone who calls it home. 

"Ensuring a strong and healthy start for all Dallas residents requires that we disrupt the historical inequities that disadvantage communities of color. The launch of the Racial Equity Fund recognizes that reality and leans into the idea that it will take aligned, collective action to create a more equitable Dallas where everyone can reach their full potential," says Matthew Randazzo, President & CEO of The Dallas Foundation. "Highland Dallas Foundation's $400,000 grant to this fund represents a significant commitment of resources to improve lives and make visible progress throughout North Texas." 

The Highland Dallas Foundation has a strong track record of supporting the community through its grantmaking, helping fund organizations that are providing critical services and transforming lives across North Texas. Since 2012, the Highland Dallas Foundation has awarded more than $47.8 million to nonprofits in the DFW area operating across a range of issue areas.

About The Highland Dallas Foundation

The Highland Dallas Foundation was established in 2011 for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes. The Highland Dallas Foundation is a supporting organization of The Dallas Foundation, the first community foundation in Texas. Since its inception, the Highland Dallas Foundation has contributed tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes focusing on the following issue areas: education; support for military, veterans, and first responders; health and medical research; economic and community development initiatives; and youth and family. This charitable giving has made a tangible impact on improving the lives of Dallas residents.

About Dallas Children's Advocacy Center

The mission of Dallas Children's Advocacy Center (DCAC) is to improve the lives of abused children in Dallas County and to provide national leadership on child abuse issues. The only agency of its kind in Dallas County, DCAC provides a coordinated, multi-disciplinary approach to the investigation, prosecution, and treatment of child abuse cases. In their last fiscal year, DCAC read over 28,000 reports of child abuse and provided services to over 8,000 children and their non-offending family members. For more information, visit dcac.org.

About The Family Place

In 1978, a group of community volunteers organized The Family Place as one of the first family violence shelters in the state. Today, The Family Place is the largest family violence service provider in Texas, with three emergency shelters providing 177 shelter beds each night, including the state's only shelter for men and children, and three counseling centers. The Family Place served 11,933 clients in 2020 providing 62,118 days of emergency shelter, 36,015 days of transitional housing, 18,526 hours of counseling to nonresidential clients, and 8,758 hours of counseling to batterers. All The Family Place's services are in Spanish and in English. For more information on The Family Place, call 214.559.2170 or visit familyplace.org.

About The Dallas Foundation

The Dallas Foundation, established as the first community foundation in Texas in 1929, brings together people, ideas, and investments in Greater Dallas so individuals and families can reach their full potential. In 2020, The Dallas Foundation, in partnership with our more than 400 fundholders, invested over $60 million into the community. 

CONTACT:
Highland Dallas Foundation:
Joan Vollero
646.818.9016
[email protected]

Dallas Children's Advocacy Center and The Dallas Foundation:
Kimber Westphall
316.516.3277
[email protected]

The Family Place:
Melissa Sherrill
214.443.7710
[email protected]

SOURCE Highland Dallas Foundation