Risk & Innovation

The Foundation is committed to meeting today’s needs while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow. Creating lasting impact often means taking strategic risks and moving beyond what’s familiar.

In the nonprofit space, real change rarely comes from playing it safe. While not every new idea succeeds as planned, every attempt brings us closer to more effective solutions, whether it delivers immediate results or key insights. We value the ability to test, adapt, and learn.

That’s why the Foundation seeks partners who are willing to question the status quo, pilot new approaches, and explore different ways of tackling tough problems. By supporting thoughtful experimentation, we create conditions where promising ideas can grow and lead to meaningful change.

Housing Forward is a great example of this. They were founded in 2002 to serve as a collective voice for homelessness in North Texas. A few years ago, their work was brought to the immediate attention of the Foundation. Over the years of working with them, we helped establish a funders collaborative which was the first of it’s kind in the city. This group helped find a variety of different funding opportunities for Housing Forward and nonprofits like them in order to transform the rehousing system in Dallas and Collin Counties. With this, we have achieved a 24% decrease in unsheltered homelessness. These numbers only continue to grow stronger.

Another project that has been launched is the Texas Disability Project (TDP). TDP is a first-of-its-kind statewide initiative to showcase the economic power of Texans with disabilities, break down barriers to access, and guide smarter policy and investment. Built on the groundwork of the Foundation and more than 90 stakeholder conversations, TDP, now led by ConnectIDD, will deliver Texas’ first comprehensive study on the disability community’s economic and social impact. The goal is to show how disability is a proven driver of growth, making Texas the best place for people with disabilities and their families to live and thrive. This project now has legs of its own, and the Foundation continues to be at the forefront of supporting this project and this mission.

As we look ahead, we will continue to protect the resources entrusted to us while investing in ideas that carry the potential for outsized impact. Taking a chance on ideas and people are what keep innovation moving forward.