Gas royalties and one man’s vision help make dreams come true in this North Texas city
Arlington prides itself on being the American Dream City.
And thanks to one of the biggest decisions in the history of its City Council, dreams are coming true for many folks in the area through the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation.
The foundation, which began in 2007, has contributed almost $43 million to more than 500 projects. The Foundation’s endowment is invested through an approved statement of investment policy with earnings used for granting.
That endowment came in the form of $100 million contributed by the city in 2006. It was from lease payments and royalties connected to natural gas companies drilling on city of Arlington land.
City leaders discussed what to do with the influx of money. The late congressman Ron Wright, then a City Council member, delivered a brainchild that changed the course of nonprofits in the city forever.
”We were brainstorming. He went home and came back the next morning and said, ‘I know what to do with the gas well money!’” said former council member Kathryn Wilemon. “The city was getting a lot of money because they were drilling all under us. You can attribute the whole thing to Ron Wright.”
Wright, who died in February 2021, would become the foundation’s president.
“The council was split on what to do. I was the deciding vote,” said former council member/mayor pro tem Sheri Capehart, noting that four were in favor of the foundation and four were for using the money for other things, such as road repairs, etc.
“I said, why can’t we do both? All I heard was crickets. I said how about we give 10% to the city and 90% to the foundation and that’s what we did.”
Capehart recalled her reaction when Wright recommended the name Arlington Tomorrow Foundation.
“I said, Ron, that’s ATF!” she said, referencing the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and adding that she suggested dropping the A and just calling it the Tomorrow Foundation. “He said, ‘No, we need that A. Maybe it’ll give us more recognition.”
Suffice to say, Wright was on to something.
What they do
The foundation awards grants to 501c3 charitable organizations serving the residents of Arlington and to city departments (parks and recreation, public works, library services). The foundation’s mission is to “contribute to a thriving Arlington.”
”Our giving categories include supporting people and neighborhoods, nature and animals, lifestyle, leisure and culture,” said Carolyn Mentesana, the only director the foundation has ever had.
The foundation operates with a grant agreement between itself and the city of Arlington and, as such, has a quasi-governmental status. Arlington City Council members serve as the foundation’s board of directors, with the mayor serving in the board president’s role.
Additionally, the foundation’s oversight includes an advisory committee of five citizens appointed by the board. Advisory committee members review all grant applications and offer recommendations to the board on granting activities.
The foundation supports projects for programming and capital. Eligibility excludes support for scholarships, endowments, debt retirement and fundraising events.
The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation is the city’s largest charitable donor. It was the first major donor to the Medal of Honor Museum Foundation (an initial gift of $5 million). Other projects it has helped fund have included:
Theatre Arlington’s renovation, $2.1 million in capital.
The Levitt Pavilion, more than $1 million in grants since 2008.
River Legacy Foundation, $2.2 million in giving since 2007.
Alliance for Children, capital campaign of $1.25 million.
City of Arlington mineral well, $1 million.
George Hawkes Downtown Library, $4.1 million for capital.
Live Prep Academy, $1 million for dormitory renovation.
University of Texas Arlington’s (UTA) School of Social Work and College of Nursing Health Innovation Collaborative Center, $1 million for capital.
And much more.
”Alliance For Children is blessed by the generosity of the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation’s belief in our mission,” said Julie Evans, CEO of Alliance For Children. “Their commitment to dream of a brighter tomorrow for Arlington is a vision we hold true for the children of our community.
”We are honored they have partnered with us to expand our flagship center where we served our first child in 1992. This new space will allow our multidisciplinary team to serve child abuse victims and provide vital healing services for victims and their protective caregivers. Tomorrow Place, our new Arlington center, will aim to bring a tomorrow free of abuse for Arlington families.”
One of a kind
Mentesana stressed that the foundation is an original. She noted that Arlington is the only city in the region of the Barnett Shale discovery that created an entity of this type. She cited a recent study conducted by UT Arlington that confirmed the foundation is the only charitable organization of its kind in the country.
”The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation is a source of pride for all of us who call Arlington home,” she said. “From grants to small cultural groups, animal welfare organizations to the nation’s only museum honoring Medal of Honor recipients, the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation is coming alongside the city’s nonprofit sector to ensure their success and encourage their vital work.”
Wright’s vision was to use proceeds from an “unexpected financial windfall” to benefit future generations. Although Arlington garners support from other regional foundations for local charitable projects, the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation serves as a sort of community foundation for Arlington specifically.
”Creating a charitable endowment with city proceeds was incredibly innovative and required a great deal of political courage. Philanthropy is a crucial component in the ability for communities to meet the complex needs of their citizens,” Mentesana said.
“I think it’s extremely remarkable that we didn’t have a blueprint. This had never happened before,” Capehart added.
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said the foundation’s impact on the community has been nothing short of incredible.
”The foundation is firmly positioned as the community’s largest philanthropic donor and is ensuring we continue to enrich charitable organizations and ensure a thriving Arlington,” Ross said.
District 2 council member Raul Gonzalez serves as the foundation’s treasurer. He recalled what things were like before the foundation’s creation.
”I recall seeing that no-man’s-land between fences and streets being landscaped and looking great,” he said. “Our city is a better place because of this perpetually funded foundation that will continue to benefit our residents for decades to come. I am consistently amazed at the wonderful projects the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation assists with.”
Mentesana noted that with a population of around 400,000, Arlington was one of the largest cities in the state missing robust foundation (corporate, family, community) presence.
”It’s hard to stress just how unique and important the creation of the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation truly is,” Mentesana said. “Throughout the region the power of charitable foundations and their work in building cities and serving our people is evident.
”The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation’s creation addressed that gap and has ensured that the benefits will remain for generations to come.”
State of the sector
In looking ahead, the foundation is funding and developing a first-of-its-kind study to better understand the needs of the hundreds of nonprofit organizations that serve the Arlington community.
In addition to underwriting the research project, the foundation engaged United Way of Tarrant County, the city of Arlington, and UTA to help design and launch a project titled “State of the Sector: Catalyzing a Thriving Nonprofit Community” initiative. The initiative, which includes an 18-month comprehensive research study that began in late March, is considered a big step forward in better understanding the needs of area nonprofits.
“We recognized the overall health and strength of the nonprofit sector is critical,” Mentesana said . “This deliberate, academic research will help us better know our nonprofit sector, which in turn will help us be more strategic and proactive when it comes to funding programs and projects to benefit our community.”
Mentesana said the board took a step back and said: “We have the potential to be more than a check-writing organization. What can we do to strengthen the entire sector to help ensure our grant-making efforts are creating a thriving community where the most effective programming is providing the greatest good?”
Among the goals, the initiative seeks to develop an interactive data dashboard, a one-day workshop, and a published report in 2024 designed to help Arlington nonprofits attract and retain talent, become more fiscally secure, adopt new processes and mechanisms for success, diversify funding streams and document their success post-pandemic.
The study also aims to identify and leverage partnerships and collaborations between the for-profit, government, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors that address the unmet needs of Arlington’s diverse community.
”The Foundation never stops working,” Wilemon said. “I was just with the mayor and we were talking. There are some great things on the drawing board.”
