The Arlington Life Shelter has purchased a 7,000-square-foot facility adjoining the nonprofit agency’s current property, located at 301 W. Division St. in Arlington.
The new building will be used to expand shelter services for the homeless from Arlington and surrounding communities, beginning in February 2017. The agency provides short-term shelter and employment services for more than 1,000 homeless individuals in North Texas each year.
The purchase is the result of a $500,000 donation by John David Moritz, president of Moritz Management LLC, making Moritz the largest individual donor in the shelter’s 28-year history. Long-time donor Victor Munson and the Heavenly Father Founda¬tion provided the 10 percent match needed to buy the facility outright.
“The new building comes at a critical time for the shelter, as homelessness in Arlington increased nearly 30 percent in 2015, greatly stretching the agency’s resources,” said Arlington Life Shelter Executive Director Becky Orander. “Over the last year, we have had a tremendous increase in the number of families with preschool age children and homeless persons challenged by men¬tal illness, requiring the shelter to operate beyond capacity most nights.”
Specific use of the new facility will be determined by the agency’s 2020 strategic plan, now being completed by the board of directors.
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION RENAMED
TO REFLECT REGION SERVED
The Community Foundation of North Texas is reformatting its name to emphasize the region it serves and reduce confusion with a similarly named entity. Beginning March 2, it took on a new name: North Texas Community Foundation.
The amended name is accompanied by a new logo, graphic identity and updated website.
“Previously, our name was formatted almost identically to one of our peers located in the same media market,” said president and CEO Nancy E. Jones in a news release. “It was easy to confuse the two organizations when encountering either of our names in print or conversation. This small but important modification allows both of us to be clearly understood as distinct entities that operate independently.”
Community foundations work with individuals, families and corporations in a defined geographic area to create permanent charitable funds. The foundations invest and administer those funds to support effective nonprofits.
The North Texas Community Foundation’s new name follows a format that is standard for the industry, according to the organization. Names traditionally define the geographic region served and include the term “community foundation” to define what the organization is and to distinguish it from other avenues for charitable giving such as private foundations or commercial gift funds.
“The new name goes straight to the heart of what we are, a resource for philanthropists in North Texas who want to fulfill charitable giving goals both here and across the country,” said Jones.
The North Texas Community Foundation will continue to serve an 11-county region that covers Bosque, Denton, Hill, Hood, Jack, Johnson, Parker, Somervell, Tarrant, Wise andYoung counties. All its services and initiatives will remain the same.
The Community Foundation has also reformatted its website at www.northtexascf.org. It offers a mobile-friendly platform and provides resources for philanthropists, professional advisers and nonprofit representatives. Features include the new NTX Blog, tools for assessing charitable organizations, community indicators for the North Texas region, recommended reading lists and more.
The Community Foundation’s telephone number remains the same but email addresses will change, and a staff directory with contact information is available at the new website.
The North Texas Community Foundation marks its 35th anniversary in 2016. Its assets have doubled since 2009 and exceed $218 million. It awarded $14 million in grants to nonprofits locally, regionally and nationally in 2015. – Robert Francis
BUTTERFLIES FLUTTER BY
IN FORT WORTH EXHIBIT
The largest exhibit of live, exotic butterflies – photos — in North Central Texas continues its run through April 3 at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd. in Fort Worth.
“Butterflies in the Garden, The Mayan Experience” features 10,000 exotic butterflies in the garden’s conservatory. Visitors can walk among hundreds of fluttering butterflies from around the world and learn about the insects’ life cycle. Both the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) offer programs and exhibits during the run of the event.
The exhibit is presented in partnership with the botanic garden, BRIT, the Fort Worth Garden Club, the Fort Worth Botanical Society and WFAA, Channel 8. The exhibit is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For tickets and information, call 817-392-5510 or visit www.bitg16.org, the botanic garden’s website at www.fwbg.org or BRIT’s website at www.brit.org.
GREATEST GIFT CATALOG
0F 2015 BREAKS RECORD
The National Leadership Foundation celebrated another record-breaking year of donations and participation for The Greatest Gift Catalog Ever. In 2015, the annual charitable catalog helped raise more than $600,000 for 15 Tarrant County-area nonprofits, marking an increase of more than 42 percent in donations from the previous year.
Large contributors, those who gave more than $500, also were on the rise, as donors supported area charities through the catalog’s website and made contributions directly to local organizations.
Since its inception in 2007, the catalog has had a total charitable impact of more than $8.75 million for nonprofit organizations in Tarrant County.
ERIN BROCKOVICH TO KEYNOTE
PLANNED PARENTHOOD EVENT
The Planned Parenthood 2016 Annual Luncheon is slated for March 31 at the Omni Hotel Fort Worth and will feature Erin Brockovich – photo — as the keynote speaker.
Brockovich became a household name 15 years ago as the namesake of the Oscar-winning movie Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts. Over time, the then-unknown legal researcher began spreading messages of personal empowerment and encouraging others to stand up and make a difference.
Proceeds from the annual awards luncheon support Planned Parenthood’s health care and health education services to women, men and young people in Central and North Texas. The 2015 Annual Luncheon raised more than $200,000.
Individual tickets are $150 and sponsorships are available. For sponsorship and ticket information, call Susan Smith at 817-984-9674 or go to mailto:events@ppgt.org.
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE
APPOINTS NEW BOARD
The Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth appointed four new board members: Tricia Francis, a vice president with GM Financial; Janeen Lamkin, a community volunteer and recent retiree as cash manager for Walsh & Watts Inc.; Stef Mauler, president and founder of The Mauler Institute LLC; and Beletra Thomas, the regional communications manager for McDonald’s Greater Southwest Region. – photos –
Board officers and executive committee for 2016 are: Chairman Don Marable; President Mary Edwards; President-elect Joel Heydenburk; Treasurer Courtney Garner Lewis; Vice President, marketing and communications, Michael Mayes; Vice President, house operations, Scott McCollam; Secretary Leslie Hunt; Cynthia Prince, chairman of the development committee; and June Hoffman, chairman of the volunteer committee.
Additional trustees are Will Courtney, Stan Davis, Andy Eldridge, Garett Essl, John Flack, David Goodroe, Arminda Grissett, Kurt Haman, Holley Hendrickson, Karen Jasper, Pam Johndroe, Paul Paine and Gloria Starling.
CAMP FIRE NAMES NEW VP,
ELECTS FOUR TO BOARD
Cathy Halliday – photo – joined Camp Fire First Texas as vice president of youth development. She oversees the implementation of the Step Up School Completion Program and out of school programs in Tarrant and Parker counties.
Halliday honed her management and youth development skills over 35 years as a preschool teacher, child care center director and district manager. She is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Camp Fire also added four new board members for three-year terms: Jared Cobb, director of student development services at Tarrant County College, South Campus; Jim D. DeBacker, an engineer and manager of technology services SAP support at BNSF Railway; Courtney Garner Lewis, a senior vice president at PlainsCapital Bank; and Robert J. Reeb III, an attorney at Jackson Walker LLC.
They join returning board members Monica Balbo, Scot Bennett, Jennifer Black, Heidi Coombs, Kimberly DeWoody, Dolores Garza, Marilyn Gilbert, Thomas Hook, Edward C. Lange, Brant C. Martin, Winjie Miao, Randi Mitchell, John Molyneaux, Cheryl Moore, Brit Phillips, Evelyn H. Richardson, Roland Schafer, Linda Springer, John Strong, Lynda Tiedtke, Jared G. Vitemb, Kelli Walter, Andrew Ward, Kay L. West and Lori West.
ARLINGTON URBAN MINISTRIES
PROMOTES WEBER AS EXEC
Jennifer Weber, who previously was interim executive director and development manager at Arlington Urban Ministries, has been named the executive director.
Weber has been with AUM for four years and has 20 years of nonprofit experience including her work as a director at YWCA of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, and Catholic Charities.
Since 2002, AUM has helped low-income Arlington residents in crisis with food, utility bills and rental assistance. The nonprofit operates a resale shop, Nu2U, at 2220 W. Park Row in Arlington and a monthly food pantry in cooperation with Tarrant Area Food Bank.
CIVITAS DONATES $100K
TO ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY
Wayne and Misti Powell, founder and owners of Civitas Senior Living, donated $100,000 to Southwestern Adventist University for a new nursing and administration building at the campus in Keene, in northern Johnson County.
“This generous gift will make a substantial difference in how we educate nursing students on campus,” said President Ken Shaw. “It will positively influence our students for years to come as we will be able to provide state-of-the-art nursing skills labs and simulations labs.”
Civitas, currently located in Fort Worth, will relocate its headquarters to Johnson County in early 2017, initially bringing about 20 new jobs to the area. It specializes in development, acquisitions, operational management and consulting for senior housing properties, including assisting living, memory care and independent senior living communities. It manages 20 senior living communities, with 1,000 employees, throughout Texas.
KOMEN FINDS DEEPEST NEEDS
IN PARKER, JOHNSON COUNTIES
After evaluating the results of its latest community survey, Susan G. Komen Greater Fort Worth has determined that people in Parker and Johnson counties are in need of the most significant breast health resources due to high rates of breast cancer death and late-stage diagnosis.
Komen GFW’s 2015 Community Profile looked at the agency’s service area – Tarrant, Parker, Johnson and Hood counties. It found that Parker County has the highest age-adjusted incidence and mortality rates from breast cancer and the highest increasing trend for late-stage diagnosis.
Compared to the other counties, Parker women ages 50 to 74 represent the lowest percentage of women who report having had a mammogram in the past two years. Johnson County also has an increasing trend for late-stage diagnosis and the second highest age-adjusted mortality rate in the service area.
As a result of its findings, Komen GFW will expand its resources in those counties by providing increased breast health services and education, transportation to the services and support for those who are uninsured and underinsured.
To learn more about Komen Greater Fort Worth or to read the complete 2015 Community Profile, visit komengreaterfortworth.com.
Send nonprofit news to Betty Dillard at bdillard@bizpress.net