Blog Posts
ETCF Ends 2025 with Record Grantmaking
East Texas Communities Foundation awarded more than $19.9 million in grants to over 800 different nonprofit organizations in 2024. “ETCF is honored to connect generosity with need,” said Kyle Penney, President of East Texas Communities Foundation. “Thanks to the...
Changing Leadership
I don’t know about you, but I have spent the majority of my adulthood unaware of the broad power wielded by the President of the United States. Growing up, “I’m Just A Bill” from Schoolhouse Rock led me to believe the President had an important, but limited role, to...
Leaving A Charitable Legacy
I was in the fourth grade when Jimmy Carter faced off against Gerald Ford in the presidential election of 1976. That election was the first presidential election I had any chance of understanding, and my teacher did a good job trying to use the opportunity to help a...
Last-Minute Gift Ideas
As a child I remember receiving the Sears and JC Penney Christmas catalogs in the fall and meticulously compiling a wish list complete with page numbers, item numbers and detailed product descriptions. I wanted to be sure it was crystal clear to my parents that I...
Give Thanks
Thanksgiving Day is almost overlooked today due to the commercialization of black Friday, but the fact that most commercial activity is still paused on Thanksgiving Day should serve as a reminder of the importance of giving thanks. Setting aside time for giving thanks...
Charitable Business
I sound like a broken record when I observe that fall is a very busy fundraising season in East Texas. You can imagine that the mail here at East Texas Communities Foundation is filled with a steady stream of invitations to...
People Helping People
It is fall in East Texas and the weekdays, weeknights and weekends are filled with nonprofit luncheons, dinners and receptions. These events are meant to rally existing supporters, introduce new supporters to the work of the nonprofits, and raise critical annual...
Scholarship Deadline Approaching
Heavy morning traffic is a reminder that school is back in session for the fall. It is awesome to try to comprehend the learning that takes place at all of our amazing educational institutions each day. From preschoolers learning to explore and interact with their...
Benefits of Volunteering
For the past several years, as a part of the 18-hour online giving event known as East Texas Giving Day, donors have had a chance to not only provide financial support for area nonprofits, they have also been able to pledge to...
Communities We Call Home
On July 1, 2024, East Texas Communities Foundation reached another milestone, completing 35 years of service to the communities of our region. When the organization began operations in July 1989, the name and focus was different than what it is today. The organization...