Earlier this week, we had the opportunity to celebrate and thank the incredible schools across Central Texas that partnered with the St. David’s Foundation Dental Program during the 2025–2026 school year. 🦷💙
Collaboration and compassion are core values that guide our work — and our Dental Program's impact would not be possible without the support of the school admins, teachers, and nurses who proudly welcome our clinical teams onto their campuses to provide free, high-quality dental care for their students.
Through our community partnerships this school year, our Dental Program was able to:
🚌 Visit 30 elementary schools in Central Texas
🪥 Treat more than 4,400 children
🦷 Seal cavities for over 2,600 patients
🙂 Provide an estimated $7.1 million in free dental care
Together, we are #GoingTheExtraSmile to provide essential dental care to underserved communities in our region. Thank you to our school partners for making this work possible and for your continued commitment to the health and well-being of children in Central Texas.
Thank you to all of our school partners in Central Texas:
@austinisd@del_valle_isd@roundrockisd@pflugervilleisd@manor_isd@bastropisd@sanmarcoscisd@hpsaustin@waysideschools
#NewFundingOpportunity 📣 Catalyzing Community-Led Change
Through this funding opportunity, we seek to advance community-driven health priorities by investing in existing community-led networks and organizations across Central Texas that are supporting resident leadership in communities facing the greatest health challenges.
🗓️ The application and full details on this funding opportunity will be announced May 27, 2026.
ℹ️ Visit stdavidsfoundation.org/funding to learn more.
2026 marks an important milestone for St. David’s Foundation — this year represents 30 years of grantmaking in our region. For three decades, we have had the privilege of investing in organizations, programs, and people working every day to improve health and well-being across Central Texas. ⭐️
In the last 30 years, Central Texas has experienced extraordinary growth, shifting demographics, rising costs of living, and increasing pressure on the systems that support health and well-being. However, one thing has remained constant: our belief that lasting change is only possible through partnership with community.
From our first grant in 1996, our work has been grounded in listening – to residents, non-profit leaders, healthcare providers, educators, and community organizations working every day to improve lives across our region – setting the tone for decades of community-centered work. As the Foundation has grown, our approach to grantmaking has evolved to maximize impact, foster deep partnerships, and drive towards advancing health equity. To date, the Foundation has funded over 550 unique organizations in Central Texas and invested over $1 billion to improve the health and well-being of communities with the greatest health needs.
🔗 Read the full story at the link in our bio!
#TogetherInHealth #30YearsOfGrantmaking #CentralTexas #HealthEquity
REMINDER — The deadline to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) for our We All Benefit 2.0 Funding Opportunity is on April 27, 2026 at 5 PM CT.
If your LOI demonstrates a strong alignment with the goals of the funding opportunity, your organization will be invited to submit a full application due by June 18.
Through this funding opportunity, we seek to invest in local, community-informed organizations providing core economic stability services (income supports, food security, and healthcare access) to the communities with the greatest health needs in Central Texas, with a focus on increasing enrollment in public benefits that foster economic stability.
Learn more and apply at stdavidsfoundation.org/funding.
What happens when one action sparks change across an entire region?
Community leaders, intermediaries, grassroots changemakers, funders and students came together this week to explore how one bold action can ripple outward to transform lives, particularly in rural communities, at the third annual Rural Reckoning Summit, hosted by @heal_alliance and Central Texas Health & Wellbeing Network.
St. David's Foundation joined @centxcf and the @greaterfcf for the “Belonging, Collaboration & Regional Impact” panel. One of our program officers, Joycelyn Jurado, reflected on the Foundation’s role in the unintended positive impacts of rural philanthropy and strategies to deepen networks. Thank you K. LaFleur-Anders for hosting the panel and for the thoughtful questions.
"At St. David’s Foundation, I’ve been inspired by the intermediaries who bring community-directed giving to life, reaching deep into their communities and closest to the challenges they face. It’s exciting to see movement in community organizing. How can St. David’s Foundation be even more intentional in supporting grassroots efforts?” —Joycelyn Jurado, Program Officer
Sergeant. Workhorse. Advocate. Energizer Bunny. These are just a few ways people lovingly describe Janice Bruno, the executive director of Career Tracks in Smithville, Texas. Her work is grounded in a mission: empower the rural workforce and provide local employers with job-ready talent.
Removing economic barriers is central to improving health outcomes. By investing in collaborative, region-wide efforts to create pathways to employment opportunities in the healthcare sector, we can address critical workforce shortages and foster economic stability – particularly for individuals from historically marginalized communities.
The January ribbon-cutting ceremony for Career Tracks marked more than a new building, the Smithville community celebrated a vision and commitment to expanding education and workforce opportunities. St. David’s Foundation awarded an initial grant in 2020 to Career Tracks to help launch Bruno’s vision and support staffing for the future center. Today, students from the four-surrounding counties are served by Career Tracks and the program partners with 160+ companies.
Learn more about Career Tracks’ impact at the link in our bio!
This week, Dr. Edward Burger joined the @leadershipatx Essential Program’s Health and Environment session to share insights into effective thinking, leadership, and change management. To illustrate these practices, he offered a deep look at the work of the Foundation and explored barriers to health facing many Central Texans. What followed was a thoughtful conversation with the impressive cohort of this year’s class about access to care and opportunity to thrive in our community.
Thanks to Leadership Austin for building a space where leaders in Central Texas can connect, learn, and grow.
New Job Opportunity 📣 St. David's Foundation is seeking a Program Associate to join the Community Investments team!
The Program Associate coordinates and manages data, processes, and engagements in support of the Foundation's mission. The Program Associate is a member of the Foundation's Community Investments team, which works collectively to improve the health and well-being of our Central Texas neighbors through grantmaking efforts.
This position works across the Foundation's community impact goal areas: access to care, economic stability, and community driven change.
Learn more and apply at stdavidsfoundation.org/careers.
#2026Grantmaking: Announcing Recipients of Healthy Births, Healthy Communities Rural Funding Opportunity
Nine grants totaling $4.6M have been awarded to organizations providing culturally responsive, community-informed perinatal support to improve maternal health and birth outcomes in Central Texas.
This announcement comes during #BlackMaternalHealthWeek, a national observance that celebrates the leadership and expertise of Black community-based organizations necessary in advancing equity and ensuring transformative, durable improvements in Black maternal health.
Read the full announcement and view the full list of grant recipients at stdavidsfoundation.org/news (link in bio).
Earlier this year, St. David’s Foundation launched an open call funding opportunity to support local media organizations and community-centered journalism, with a focus on strengthening coverage of health and social issues impacting Central Texans—particularly those experiencing the greatest health disparities.
The "Strengthening Local Media to Advance Community Health" initiative awarded over $3M in grants to 21 organizations to deepen local coverage of health and social issues in Central Texas.
Read the full announcement at stdavidsfoundation.org/news-and-stories (link in bio).
There’s still time to register for our informational webinar to learn more about our new open call funding opportunity, We All Benefit 2.0: Building Economic Stability, happening Wednesday, April 1 at 11:00 AM CT.
Through this funding opportunity, we seek to invest in local, community-informed organizations providing core economic stability services (income supports, food security, and healthcare access) to the communities with the greatest health needs in Central Texas, with a focus on increasing enrollment in public benefits that foster economic stability.
This webinar is optional to attend and not required to submit an application. A recording will be available on our website after the webinar.
Learn more and register for the webinar at the link in our bio.
New Funding Opportunity 📣 We All Benefit 2.0: Building Economic Stability
Through this new open call funding opportunity, we seek to invest in community-informed organizations providing core economic stability services (income supports, food security, healthcare access) for historically marginalized communities, with a focus on increasing enrollment in public benefits that foster economic stability.
To apply, organizations must submit a Letter of Intent by April 27 at 5 P.M. CT. If your LOI demonstrates a strong alignment with the goals of the funding opportunity, your organization will be invited to submit a full application due by June 18 at 5 P.M. CT.
More information and FAQs are available now at stdavidsfoundation.org/funding.
