CFT works to improve lives in its community by growing charitable giving and investing in health, wealth, living, and learning so more people have access to opportunities to thrive.
Communities Foundation of Texas has served donors, nonprofits, businesses, and civic leaders since 1953. The official sources reviewed do not identify the founder(s) or original founding circumstances. CFT has since developed into a major North Texas community foundation, managing charitable funds, supporting nonprofit partners, and distributing grants across community priorities including health, education, housing, economic security, disaster recovery, and public safety.
CFT operates as a community foundation that manages charitable funds for individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits. Its grantmaking draws primarily from discretionary funds entrusted by donors, with staff researching organizations aligned with donor intent, community needs, and CFT’s strategic goals. Nearly all current grant opportunities are by invitation only. Nonprofits are encouraged to complete a Nonprofit Gateway Profile so CFT can identify potential alignment for future opportunities. CFT also supports donor-advised funds, designated funds, nonprofit agency funds, scholarships, business-advised funds, and special-interest impact funds.
CFT reports more than $3B in cumulative grants since 1953 and $218M distributed in FY2025. North Texas Giving Day has raised more than $712M for the region since 2009. The W.W. Caruth, Jr. Fund has made $268M in total grants, including investments across education, health, and public safety systems.
CFT works with donors, fundholders, nonprofits, businesses, professional advisors, civic leaders, and community partners. Its Center for Business Impact supports corporate giving and employee engagement. Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy was founded by CFT and is now led by Philanthropy Southwest, with CFT participating as a strategic partner.
CFT manages 1,500+ charitable funds and reports $1.74B in total assets under management. Its fund options include donor-advised funds, designated funds, nonprofit agency funds, scholarship funds, business-advised funds, and special-interest funds. Provided FAQ text states that donor-advised fund grants cannot be made directly to individuals and must go to nonprofit organizations. The same pasted FAQ text states minimum balances of $25,000 for donor-advised funds, $10,000 for individual designated funds, $30,000 for nonprofit-established designated funds, and a $5,000 minimum contribution to open a business-advised fund. Scholarship applications are available online starting January 15, according to the provided FAQ text.