Matthew Randazzo, President & CEO, The Dallas Foundation
The Dallas Foundation is the oldest community foundation in Texas, serving as a catalyst for philanthropy by providing donors with flexible ways to interact with charitable causes. Invest: spoke with President and CEO Matthew Randazzo about recent highlights for the Foundation and its top priorities for the rest of the year, his analysis of the local economy and ways to support the community.
What are some of the key highlights for The Dallas Foundation over the past 12 months?
It was a remarkable year. We brought in over $175 million in new charitable contributions, which was up almost 35% over 2021 and, in partnership with our fundholders, granted over $74 million to the community. Donors continued to double down on supporting the most complicated and challenging issues, such as affordable housing and high-quality education, particularly early learning for children from birth to age 5. They also focused on sustaining nonprofits focused on the arts and their recovery from the pandemic. We also joined our partners from across the philanthropic community to address issues related to economic mobility and racial equity in our region.
What are the top priorities for the rest of the year?
Affordable housing. Dallas-Fort Worth will eclipse Chicago to become the third-largest MSA. We’ve seen remarkable growth and high-paying jobs but our housing stock has also dramatically appreciated in price. We’re at a place where our teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers can no longer afford to live in the communities they serve. We’ll continue to focus on creating equitable outcomes for all Dallas residents. We want to see a Greater Dallas that’s greater for everyone. The financial services community, particularly banks and financial institutions, corporate philanthropies, and organizations like The Dallas Foundation continue to invest in strategies that close the gaps between our White, Hispanic and Black residents. We’ll also remain focused on conversations around accessible and affordable high-quality childcare.
What is your analysis of the strength of the local economy?
Dallas is a resilient place. We’ve fared exceptionally well compared to other real estate markets, even during the rising interest rate environment. Our declines in Dallas have been far less dramatic. We’re seeing resilience in the real estate market and remarkable growth in tourism and healthcare. Fortune 500 companies continue to choose Dallas as the location of their headquarters. Our economy remains strong, despite a few sub-sectors experiencing a slowdown. We’re doing quite well overall.
What are some of the ways community members are looking to The Dallas Foundation for support?
Food insecurity remains a persistent problem in our community. There are fewer food resources available and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits are reverting to pre-pandemic levels. The challenge with the rising tide of our real estate industry is we have left so many moderate wage workers behind in their ability to afford rent or a home. Nonprofits continue to reach out to us to help fund sustainable strategies that keep families in their homes, particularly seniors and multigenerational families whose neighborhoods face gentrification because of the rapidly rising tax base. We’re also seeing an increase in the percentage of rent-burdened individuals, particularly women of color, Hispanic and Black women, who are spending substantially more than 30% of their income on rent.
What challenges do you anticipate with the increased growth in the region?
Housing and infrastructure are the key challenges. Our roads aren’t keeping up with the growth, particularly in the areas surrounding DFW, which causes an increase in the amount of time spent in traffic. School systems are also being strained and some communities are growing so fast they can’t build schools fast enough to accommodate the newly relocated children. I’ve mentioned the challenges with access to safe, affordable housing, which I expect to persist as the DFW region continues to grow.
What are the greatest opportunities that come from this growth for The Dallas Foundation?
As the first community foundation in Texas, we’ve been a long-time trusted partner and have also had the opportunity to build many new relationships. Our revenue is up 35% when many other community foundations saw declines in their assets in 2022. Our donors want to partner hand in glove and be strategically advised on how to deploy their philanthropic capital. It’s incredibly meaningful to us to have their trust. However, not every dollar that goes out to the community is of equal value. Our ability to partner with donors to help them direct that gift to the organization that’s going to deliver the most social return and well-being to our community is a privilege and an honor that we take very seriously. We’ve also been plugged into many more critical conversations with our civic leaders, particularly around issues related to housing, homelessness, and our continued efforts to expand broadband access to every low-income household in this community. The growth and our partners’ trust in us has given us the ability to put our voice, which is the community’s voice, into corporate boardrooms and government meetings across the community.
What projects are in the pipeline for The Dallas Foundation and what is the expected impact of those projects?
We’re wrapping our most recent board-adopted five-year strategic plan this year and are now working with an external strategy partner to identify our next five-year plan so that we can continue to deliver on our mission of bringing together people, ideas and resources to ensure individuals and families can reach their full potential. A community the size of Dallas requires solutions that match the scale of the problems. Dallas is a place where big things can happen but it also faces significant equity gaps in healthcare, housing and intergenerational wealth as well as high quality K-12 access. We’re doubling down on our efforts to close those gaps for our Hispanic and Black community. We launched the first year of our Racial Equity Fund in 2022 and raised several million dollars toward that effort. We plan to launch phase two of the fund in the next 18 months. Dallas has the heart to alleviate these problems. We’ll continue to work with partners and funders to raise the resources necessary to strategically address these, as well as other challenges in our community.
