New Report | Innovation with Heart
Community colleges are where nearly half of Texas students begin their postsecondary journey—and they’re also where some of the most impactful innovation is happening.
Our new report, Innovation with Heart: How Texas Community Colleges Are Changing the Student Experience, highlights how Texas community colleges are:
• Removing barriers to student success
• Building systems that respond to real lives
• Creating pathways to living-wage careers
Innovation, when paired with deep care for students, is changing outcomes across the state.
“The thoughtful approaches we’re seeing from these institutions hold so much promise for replicating across the field at large.”
– Leilani Lamb, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
Recent Grants
In its history, Greater Texas Foundation has awarded more than $165 million in grants to changemakers in Texas education.
In January, we announced grants to the following organizations for projects that align with our Strategic Plan:
CollegeSpring Inc
Training Teachers to Bring College Readiness Into the Classroom
$430,600
Competency-Based Education Network
A Systems Approach to Expanding Apprenticeships in Texas
$200,000
East Texas A&M University Foundation
A New Online Pathway for Early Childhood and Elementary Educators
$416,555
Institute for Evidence-Based Change
Connecting Institutions to Create Seamless Pathways for Students
$721,294
Texas Higher Education Foundation
Clarifying Texas’s General Education Curriculum to Support Student Success
$200,0007
Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania
Turning Behavioral Science Into Scalable Student Support
$160,033
Trellis Strategies
Closing Service Gaps for Student Parents at Rural Institutions
$383,216
Tyler Area P-16 Council
Connecting East Texans to Skills, Credentials, and Opportunity
$200,000
Victoria College Foundation, Inc.
Building Capacity to Reconnect Adult Learners to College
$300,000
Recognizing Dr. Donald E. Thompson
After almost 20 years supporting the mission of Greater Texas Foundation, Dr. Donald E. Thompson recently stepped down from the Board of Directors. We caught up with him between his ongoing consulting work and wide-ranging travel to talk about why he spent so many years with GTF and why creating hope for students is essential to Texas being a great state.
GTF Scholars Conference: Strengthening Programs, Empowering Students
In March, the foundation will bring together our eight GTF Scholars partner institutions for the annual GTF Scholars Study Meeting and Leadership Conference. Program leaders will gather for evaluation updates and small-group discussions focused on strengthening and adapting the program on their campuses.
At the same time, up to three students from each institution will participate in an energizing leadership experience featuring team-building, an etiquette dinner, a keynote speaker, and interactive sessions designed to build confidence and leadership skills.
Read the research that shows what makes our signature scholarship program so successful.