The Dallas Foundation Makes $750K Grant To Childhood Poverty Action Lab

The Dallas Foundation recently announced a $750,000 grant to Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL) — the organization’s largest grant issued to date.

The grant will help support CPAL’s mission of reducing childhood poverty in Dallas by 50% within a single generation by enabling CPAL to launch a dedicated “birth to three care team” and funding the organization’s work to educate North Texans about poverty in the area.

“CPAL’s work to fight child poverty and change the trajectory of our city, starting with our youngest residents, directly aligns with The Dallas Foundation’s strategic priorities and builds on our proven track record of investing in transformational solutions for children in Dallas,” said The Dallas Foundation President and CEO Matthew Randazzo. “The Dallas Foundation is proud to partner with CPAL on their mission, and we are excited to see the organization continue to take actionable steps towards reducing child poverty throughout Dallas.”

Randazzo said The Dallas Foundation mobilized nearly $70 million in philanthropic support last year, much of which went to nonprofits working on issues of family economic security and wellbeing.

“The Dallas Foundation has a long history of supporting vulnerable children in our community and really investing in strategies that we know can move the needle for kids,” he added.

CPAL President and CEO Alan Cohen said the first three years of a child’s life are critical for the child’s development and a focus on CPAL’s work to fight childhood poverty.

“We know that this incredibly important developmental period of a child’s life, (the) first 1,000 days, is a time when we can truly change the trajectory of and the odds of a child’s life for economic mobility particularly for kids that are born furthest from opportunity, so for us this is a huge significant grant for our ability to put a team together and begin working with stakeholders across Dallas on this critical issue,” Cohen said.

Across Dallas, more than 100,000 children grow up in poverty each year. To combat this, CPAL unites a variety of Dallas’ top resources and officials across a range of issue areas that contribute to the cycle of poverty including: housing, safety, transportation, childcare, food, health, jobs, and education. 

“CPAL is extremely thankful to The Dallas Foundation for this generous grant, and for partnering with us to lift up ‘Birth to Three Care’ as a critical strategy for breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty,” said Cohen. “We know that one of the most effective ways to mitigate inequities and change the long-term odds for children that are born furthest from opportunity is to improve support for families during those children’s first three years.”

For more information about The Dallas Foundation, visit their website. For more information about CPAL, visit their website.