Arlington Tomorrow Foundation will expand on training offerings to nonprofits as it aims to become more than a check-writing organization.
Carolyn Mentesana, foundation executive director, said findings from a study about Arlington’s nonprofit sector affirmed much of what city leaders knew about the sector’s needs.
A survey of 176 nonprofits returned an almost equally distributed list of problems facing organizations, which include relying too heavily on few funding sources; difficulty scaling programs; and hardship identifying funding sources.
The study’s work with nonprofits also found that organization leaders would appreciate training opportunities for staff and volunteers, but those resources are unaffordable.
“This study gives us an opportunity to consider becoming more than a check writer in the community,” Mentesana said. “We come alongside them and become trainers. We come alongside the nonprofits and hold them up in ways beyond just writing checks for programs and capital.”
Additionally, Mentesana recommended streamlining the foundation’s grant application process. Applicants could wait up to eight months for a decision on their application, depending on the time of year and whether council members – all of whom are also board members – are on break.
“That’s a long time to wait,” Mentesana said. “That’s my point.”
Foundation board members directed Mentesana to formulate a plan and approved the foundation’s $753,531 budget. The budget includes $40,000 for boot camps, lunch and learns and meetings known as capacity building training, as well as $80,000 for charitable events.
Mentesana said the charitable events portion would fund nonprofit events that the city has historically sponsored as the city looks to reduce general fund spending during its budget cycle.
Grants considered or changed
The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation approved three final applications and denied one.
The approved items include:
- $5,000 for Opera Arlington’s 2024-2025 season.
- $50,000 for Dance Theatre of Arlington’s Shakespeare LIVE production.
- $23,100 to Cook Children’s Health Foundation to purchase two Welch Allyn Spot Vision Screeners for Cook Children’s Arlington Neighborhood Health Center.
The foundation declined a $77,940 request from Nehemiah Builds to fund an after-school skill-building initiative.
Foundation members approved an amendment to a $150,000 grant approved in May for Arlington Animal Services. The city department requested funding to secure a one-year storefront lease at the Parks Mall in Arlington.
Animal services also requested $236,000 and three full-time positions from the city, but the request was denied in its proposed 2025 budget.
The department requested the original foundation grant money be redirected to repairs at the Animal Shelter related to the February 2021 freeze.
Disclosure: The North Texas Community Foundation and Arlington Tomorrow Foundation have been financial supporters of the Arlington Report. News decisions at KERA News and the Fort Worth Report are made independently of each organizations’ board members and financial supporters.
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