The responses are in! TREC Foundation’s new powerful $1 million grant, called the Dallas Catalyst Project, pulled in nearly 40 responses to the RFP last week. We are thrilled to have this much interest from the community! And now the hard work begins.
What’s Already Happened
To recap, the Dallas Catalyst Project was rolled out in April and is designed to Ignite Positive Community Change. This new multi-year grant will combine the efforts of several partnering nonprofits to tackle a significant challenge within a defined geographic area. More than 70 nonprofits attended an information session in May and nearly 40 responses were submitted with the combined efforts of more than 150 nonprofits.
What’s on the Horizon
Our Foundation Committees are mobilizing. This includes three committees:

1. Research & Development Committee: Conducts field research of projects to determine if the investment is viable
2. Metrics Committee: Reviews applications, develops plan to track quantifiable results and monitors the results
3. Grants Committee: Reviews applications and makes funding recommendations after reviewing the R&D Committee’s findings

Along with the Task Force, these committees will be knee deep in determining the recipient of TREC Foundation’s $1 million contribution. If you want to help in this process, tell us you’re interested. But in reality, we need ALL our members to help. After our Foundation Committees complete due diligence, our members will vote on which project TREC Foundation supports for three years with $1 million and the expertise they need to build the projects they’ve dreamed of. Consider a gift to the annual I Give campaign today!
Here’s what happens when:
June

• Task Force and Foundation Committee Chairs invite selected applicants to complete full application

July 

• Selected applicants are invited to complete the full application
• Members sign up for Foundation Committees

August

• Foundation Committees are finalized

September

• Nonprofits submit full applications
• Task Force and Grants Committee determine which applicants will be assigned to R&D teams
• R&D and Metrics Committees are deployed

October

• Task Force and Grants Committee evaluate findings of R&D teams

November

• Semi-finalists present to TREC membership
• Members vote on Finalists

December

• Dallas Catalyst Project is announced at Speaker Series