Grant Provides Scholarships for Trade Students

January 13, 2022

Education is important to our community, which is why many Community Foundation of Abilene donors choose to establish scholarship funds. Creating a scholarship fund, however, is not the only way CFA donors can support education initiatives. 

In fact, during our 2021 fiscal year, more than 8% of the foundation's unrestricted grantmaking went to education initiatives, and our donor-advised fundholders made additional grants throughout the year to nonprofits serving educational needs.

TSTC Grant

One example is a $10,000 grant to the Texas State Technical College (TSTC) Foundation during CFA's fall discretionary grant cycle. This grant provided scholarships for local students attending TSTC.

"The TSTC Foundation is profoundly thankful for our partnership with the Community Foundation of Abilene," said Beth Wooten, CEO of the TSTC Foundation. "Working together ensures that we can provide a cushion for struggling students and families pursuing an education. By eliminating financial barriers, our students have a better chance of successfully completing their programs and entering the Texas workforce."

Meeting Evolving Needs

This grant is a testament to CFA's ability to respond to evolving community needs through our discretionary grant cycles. These competitive grant cycles happen in the spring and fall, giving local nonprofits serving a variety of needs a chance to apply for funds. Donors who establish Unrestricted funds at CFA make these grant cycles possible, as the purpose of Unrestricted funds is to give CFA the ability to make grants to a diverse range of the most current charitable needs in our community.

Donor-Advised Grants & Grant Catalog

Donor-advised fundholders can also participate in the discretionary grant cycles by viewing the slate of nonprofit applicants and directing grants from their funds to support any of the initiatives that interest them. The same goes for the general public. We open an online grant catalog, giving everyone in the community a chance to see the nonprofit grant applicants and donate to the causes they like.

Your Charitable Giving Partner

If you would like to learn more about what it means to be a fundholder or other ways CFA can help you accomplish your charitable giving goals, our team is always on standby to talk with you! Contact us any time at cfa@cfabilene.org or 325-676-3883.

LEARN ABOUT FUND TYPES  |  LEARN ABOUT OUR GRANT CATALOG