Left to right: Nebiat Wodere, CAO at Dallas EDC; Alan Walne, Dallas EDC Board; Linda McMahon, CEO at Dallas EDC; Wayne White, President and CEO at Communities Foundation of Texas; Tricia Roark, Investor Relations at Dallas EDC; Holly Reed, Dallas EDC Board; Chris Heinbaugh, Dallas EDC Board [Photo: Dallas EDC]

The Dallas Economic Development Corp. has been awarded a $1.5 million multiyear grant from the Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT).

Dallas EDC said the grant, which extends through May 2028, will provide core operating support to strengthen its organizational infrastructure and accelerate its work to grow the city’s economy.

“This transformative investment from Communities Foundation of Texas both strengthens our capacity and validates the importance of our mission,” Dallas EDC President and CEO Linda McMahon said in a statement. “CFT’s confidence in our work affirms the value of building an independent, agile organization to drive inclusive economic growth in Dallas.”

“We’re honored by their support and energized by the challenge to raise matching funds,” she added. “We look forward to rallying additional investors to amplify the impact of this gift across our city.”

Dallas EDC is an independent nonprofit driving business investment, job creation, and inclusive growth across Dallas.

Grant highlights

Dallas EDC said the funds will empower it to advance its strategic pillars, including, per the organization:

:: Job Creation: Attracting and retaining employers through targeted industry and business retention programs that create living-wage jobs.

:: Real Estate: Catalyzing the revitalization of underutilized and City-owned properties, with a focus on historically underinvested areas in Southern Dallas.

:: Marketing: Positioning Dallas as a premier destination for business investment through proactive, data-driven marketing and industry outreach.

“We’re proud to be a lead investor in the Dallas EDC, an organization that shares our commitment to building a thriving community where every person can succeed,” Wayne White, president and CEO at CFT, said in a statement. “This grant is a strategic investment in Dallas’s economic future. By strengthening Dallas EDC’s core capacity, we are helping to create a more resilient local economy that will benefit Dallas for years to come.”

Dallas EDC said the grant was made possible by support from more than 25 unrestricted and field of interest charitable endowment legacy funds* that Communities Foundation of Texas manages.

Opportunity for all

Dallas EDC is a nonprofit organization established by the City of Dallas to drive economic growth and long-term prosperity with a goal to promote Dallas as a globally competitive business destination that fosters economic opportunities for all members of the city.

Communities Foundation of Texas said its mission is to improve the lives of all people in the community by investing in their health, wealth, living, and learning. CFT said it works to accomplish that by growing community giving, expanding community impact, and advancing community equity.

CFT professionally manages more than 1,200 charitable funds and has awarded more than $3 billion in grants since its founding in 1953. The organization’s North Texas Giving Day raised more than $78 million in September in support of 3,500 North Texas nonprofits.

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