25:40

THE REES-JONES FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER

2021 Q2
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth,
whatever you did for one of the least of
these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

- Matthew 25:40



June 22, 2021 | Q2 Newsletter

HOW ARE YOU?



We want to hear from you! Take a minute to send a quick update to your Program Officer about how things are shaping up post-COVID. Also, the Foundation's Program Officers are in the office and available for in-person site visits should your organization's policies and comfort level permit it.
NEW! GRANTEE REPORTS BLOG

As we head into summer, we know that several of our grantees will have Grantee Reports due soon. So we put together a blog post that includes all of the important details you need to submit a top-notch Grantee Report.


View Our Grant Writing Blogs Here!

As a reminder…

  • Grantee Report due dates and reporting criteria are included on the Grant Contract 
  • The Grantee Report will be available on the Grantee Portal 30 days prior to the due date
  • Grantees should receive several email reminders when the Grantee Report becomes available and when the due date is coming up, however, we recommend that grantees keep track of these due dates in case of technology glitches that prevent email delivery
  • If it is within the 30 day window, but the Grantee Report is not appearing in the Grantee Portal, please email Grants Manager Amy Brooks at grants@rees-jonesfoundation.org
  • Grantees must submit their final report before a new grant can be approved

BE SURE TO CHECK-OUT THE FOUNDATION’S BLOG FOR MORE GRANT WRITING TIPS AND INSIGHT!

BE SURE TO CHECK-OUT THE FOUNDATION'S BLOG FOR MORE GRANT WRITING TIPS AND INSIGHT!
View Our Grant Writing Blogs Here!

The Foundation launched a new online portal on March 2, 2020. ALL organizations are required to create an account through the new portal in order to submit requests and grant reports. The Foundation only accepts requests through our online portal.

If you have not yet setup an account, please do so – especially if your organization is currently in grant term or had a grant term end in late 2019 or early 2020. Grant terms can be found in the grant contract.

View the Grantee Portal Help Guide for more information about the portal, including the Foundation’s grant making process, FAQ, and detailed instructions for LOIs, applications and grant reports. 


For more tips, view the Grantee Portal Help Guide here!

"Then he said to them, 'Whoever welcomes
this little child in my name welcomes me; and
whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
For he who is least among you all - he is the greatest.'"


-Luke 9:48

THE REES-JONES FOUNDATION YOUTH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM KICKS OFF FOR THE SUMMER

Established in 2018, The Rees-Jones Foundation Youth Internship (RJFYI) is designed to provide youth with meaningful work experience and mentoring relationships that will help them to continue discovering their unique skills and giftedness.

RJFYI is operating in partnership with Christian, youth development organizations in Dallas County, and is designed for youth ages 16-21, with preference given to younger candidates and those for whom this would be their first paid working experience. Approximately 25 interns and five organizations participate in the program each summer.

This year the internship kicked off in late May via Zoom. Each week the interns spend an hour digging into topics like investing, career paths, and accreditation programs.

 

MEET THE INTERN AGENCIES

BEHIND EVERY DOOR

Its mission is to build relationships and partner with people to leverage resources, pursue opportunities and overcome poverty.

CORNERSTONE CROSSROADS ACADEMY

Its mission is to develop urban youth through transformative education, equipping future leaders to impact their communities for Christ.

DALLAS LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION

Its mission is to identify, affirm, and develop leaders to transform communities.

FOR THE NATIONS REFUGEE OUTREACH

Its mission is to provide educational and family services that help meet the practical needs of refugees and to share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ.

VOICE OF HOPE MINISTRIES

Its mission is to extend the love of Jesus Christ by nurturing and training children through Biblical teaching, Christian character models, life skills coaching and educational support.

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear
but of power and love and self-control."


-2 Timothy 1:7

LATEST BLOGS BY THE FOUNDATION

Treat the Stranger as the Native Among You

June 20 is World Refugee Day – a day that offers a chance to raise awareness of the plight of refugees around the world and the efforts to protect their human rights. We sat down with Kaitlyn Mullens to learn more about what led her to found For the Nations Refugee Outreach. | Read it now

World Clubfoot Day Celebrates the Birth of Ignacio Ponseti, Pioneer in Clubfoot Treatment

Many infants with clubfoot in developing countries go untreated despite the effective, low-cost treatment available. When left untreated, clubfoot is a life-debilitating condition. Hope Walks seeks to provide free treatment to all children born with clubfoot around the world. | Read it now

Case Management System Designed to Prevent Animals from Entering Shelters

Dallas Pets Alive is developing the first Case Management System of its kind that seeks to harness the power of technology to better improve outcomes for animals in need of a forever home. See how DPA is collaborating with Spay Neuter Network and Dallas Animals Services for the betterment of the animal welfare ecosystem. | Read it now

RJF Podcast: Child Abuse Prevention During COVID

In observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month during April, we spoke with Katie Olse, CEO of Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services, for the Foundation's first podcast. Olse interprets DFPS data and what it means for Texas children. | Listen now!

View more blogs by the Foundation here!

"Two are better than one, because they have a
good return for their work: If one falls down,
his friend can help him up. But pity the man
who falls and has no one to help him up!"


-Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

BIG WINS FROM OUR GRANTEES

MEADOWS MENTAL HEALTH POLICY INSTITUTE

in collaboration with THE CENTER FOR DEPRESSION RESEARCH & CLINICAL CARE AT UT SOUTHWESTERN receives the $10 million Lone Star Prize, a Texas-based competition designed to find and fund bold solutions focused on building healthier, stronger communities. With this funding, the agencies will implement the Lone Star Depression Challenge, an ambitious initiative that will improve the quality of life and mental health care for communities across the state, saving lives and helping millions of Texans receive the care they need to recover from depression.

CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE

matches its 7,000th service dog team since its founding in 1975

NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK

receives 1,331 lbs of toaster pastries as donation from Kellogg Company and 7-Eleven, Inc. setting the Guinness World Record for World's Largest Box of Toaster Pastries

UPLIFT EDUCATION

moves its Dallas Central Management Office into new facility at the Water Cooler at Pegasus Park

JUBILEE PARK & COMMUNITY CENTER

announces novel partnership with PARKLAND HEALTH to provide equitable access to care for low-income communities in Dallas

PRESBYTERIAN NIGHT SHELTER OF TARRANT COUNTY

opens its newly renovated Karl Travis Men's Center and UpSpire Workforce & Career Development Center. The Karl Travis Men's Center received a top-to-bottom renovation in an effort to elevate the space so that it reflects the dignity and respect that each guest should feel when walking through its doors. UpSpire, the social enterprise of PNSTC, now has a dedicated office, which will support its goal of offering employment opportunities to all who desire to work.

Click here to share your big win!

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of
heaven belongs to such as these.'"


-Matthew 19:14

Q2 GRANT MAKING RECAP

The Foundation awarded $9.2 million through 49 grants during Q2 (April, May and June). 

Below is a small representation of the nonprofit organizations that the Foundation humbly supported.

INTERNSHIPS

Funding to support access to internships and professional skill development for youth in low-opportunity communities.

  • BEHIND EVERY DOOR $30,6000
  • CORNERSTONE CROSSROADS ACADEMY $20,400
  • DALLAS LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION $25,500
  • FOR THE NATIONS REFUGEE OUTREACH $30,600
  • VOICE OF HOPE MINISTRIES $15,300

SUMMER CAMPS

Funding to support camp scholarships for children with disabilities or youth in low-opportunity communities.

  • BISHOP ARTS THEATRE CAMP $10,000
  • CAMP BARNABAS $20,000
  • CAMP FIRE FIRST TEXAS $45,000
  • CAMP SUMMIT $110,000
  • CAMP SWEENEY $75,000
  • DALLAS SPARK! $10,000
  • FRIENDS OF SKY RANCH $75,000
  • GEMS CAMP INC. $10,000
  • JONI AND FRIENDS $30,000
  • KIDS ACROSS AMERICA $42,000
  • PINE COVE $75,000
  • PRISON FELLOWSHIP $35,000
  • PROJECT TRANSFORMATION CENTRAL TEXAS $25,000

BethanyKids

$175,000 | Funding to support pediatric surgeries in six African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone).

Casa del Lago

$35,000 | Funding to support its early childhood education and after-school reading programs in the Bachman Lake community.

Family Compass

$350,000 | Multiyear funding to support child abuse and neglect prevention services.

Forefront Living Foundation

$50,000 | Funding to support the hiring of a child life specialist for Faith Presbyterian Hospice's Child and Family Bereavement Center.

Frazier Revitalization

$35,000 | Funding to support its after-school and summer camps that seek to equip kids for future success.

Human Trafficking Institute

$400,000 | Multi-year funding to support anti-human trafficking work in Uganda.

Project Unity

$100,000 | Funding to support its Together We Vaccinate program, which will utilize communities of faith and trusted non-profit organizations to deliver COVID vaccines to under-resourced neighborhoods.

Wilkinson Center

$15,000 | Funding to support the Stock Up for Summer food program, which provides families that are food insecure with supplemental food during the summer months.

The Warren Center

$115,000 | Funding to provide individualized, therapeutic care and support to children with disabilities.

See more grants awarded by the Foundation here
LOOKING BACK AT 2019
VIEW THE 2019 SUMMARY OF GRANTS
THANK YOU FOR 15 YEARS

2021 – the Foundation is celebrating its 15th anniversary! 

Jan and Trevor established The Rees-Jones Foundation in 2006 out of proceeds from an entrepreneurial business enterprise and a conviction that God had blessed them as custodians of His resources.

For Jan and Trevor, the premise of the Foundation is straight forward: serve God by serving others, and in the process enable others to experience the love of Christ in very tangible ways.

“One of the blessings we enjoy is the passion of those who lead the organizations that perform the services needed by so many. We marvel at their energy, their dedication, their creativity and their ability to do so much with whatever resources are provided. We want to be their partners; we want to share their successes; and we want to be a support when they are stretched.

“These leaders deserve all the credit although they too would be the first to say they do not work for the credit that comes their way. That is why it brings us so much joy to be their partners. They want to see improvement in the lives of the individuals served and in our society at large.

“Our thanks go to them as we seek to encourage them in the work they do.”

-Jan & Trevor Rees-Jones

Since 2006, The Rees-Jones Foundation has awarded more than $475 million through 2,280+ grants to non-profit organizations serving in North Texas and abroad.

Over the last 15 years, we, as the Foundation’s staff and board, have traveled far and wide – across the Metroplex and beyond our country’s borders – to witness first-hand the life-changing work of our non-profit partners.  

We give thanks for your continued dedication to the communities that you serve, and the hope that you instill in others.

The mission of The Rees-Jones Foundation is to serve God
by serving others, sharing His resources in ways that provide
opportunities for the disadvantaged, relief for the suffering,
and encouragement in the growth and well-being of children
and families. In so doing, the Foundation hopes that the
love of Christ is experienced in practical ways by those served.

ABOUT THE FOUNDATION'S NEWSLETTER

25:40 is a quarterly newsletter from The Rees-Jones Foundation. This newsletter is specially designed for you – our wonderful grantees! We hope that you will find the information both useful and interesting.

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'” – Matthew 25:40

ABOUT THE NAME | We decided to name this newsletter 25:40 after the scripture from Matthew 25, which we as a foundation, draw inspiration from in our work. Through our grant making, we seek to deliver hope, resources, and support to those in our community who are in need.

The Rees-Jones Foundation is a private foundation that works with non-profit organizations, primarily in North Texas, that provide programs that defend the welfare of children suffering from abuse or neglect, afford relief to those facing mental health challenges, provide youth with opportunities for enrichment and character development, encourage healthy families and communities, and promote the humane treatment of companion animals.
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