Trust is the foundation of effective philanthropy
Texas is one of the fastest-growing and most influential states in the country. The decisions made here shape opportunity for millions of people, influencing the state’s economy, workforce, infrastructure, and quality of life for decades to come.
The challenges facing Texas cannot be solved in a single legislative session. Improving education outcomes, strengthening the workforce, managing water resources, expanding health care access, and building the infrastructure needed for a rapidly growing population require sustained research, thoughtful analysis, and continued engagement with leaders across the state.
Work of this kind depends on one essential ingredient: trust.
Effective philanthropy is built on trust between donors and nonprofit organizations. Donors place their confidence in organizations to identify pressing challenges, develop credible solutions, and deploy resources where they can make the greatest difference. In return, organizations work every day to ensure that the resources entrusted to them translate into meaningful results.
One of the clearest expressions of that trust is flexible support. It allows organizations not only to carry out individual projects, but also to invest in the people, data, and expertise that make lasting progress possible.
Yet one of the most important forms of support that enables this work, unrestricted or general operating funding, remains among the hardest for nonprofits to secure.
Across the nonprofit sector, unrestricted funding often represents roughly 25 to 33 percent of an organization’s overall fundraising portfolio. At that level, organizations have the flexibility needed to sustain strong operations, attract exceptional talent, invest in research and innovation, and respond thoughtfully as circumstances evolve.
Flexibility to tackle long-term work
Without that flexibility, organizations often find themselves pushed toward short-term projects rather than the long-term work required to address complex challenges.
This is particularly true for organizations working to advance long-term policy solutions. Many of the issues shaping Texas’ future, including education, workforce readiness, water supply, health care access, and infrastructure, require years of research, engagement with stakeholders, and careful implementation to ensure reforms deliver real results.
At Texas 2036, our mission is to identify and advance data-driven policies that improve lives and expand opportunities for all Texans. Our work focuses on translating complex research into practical policy solutions, engaging decision-makers across the state, and staying involved through implementation to help ensure reforms deliver real results.
Behind every policy recommendation are analysts, researchers, and subject matter experts working to ensure the data is sound, the solutions are practical, and the outcomes improve the lives of Texans across our rapidly growing state.
Work of this kind depends on sustained investment in people, research capacity, and long-term engagement with policymakers. Flexible philanthropic support allows organizations to maintain the expertise and institutional capacity needed to carry complex policy initiatives from research through implementation.
Long-term policy work also benefits from multi-year commitments that allow organizations to plan ahead, recruit and retain talent, and sustain research across legislative cycles.
Far-reaching benefits to philanthropy
When philanthropic investment strengthens institutions capable of producing credible research and practical policy solutions, the benefits extend far beyond any single project.
Strong institutions help states make better decisions, and those decisions shape opportunity for generations.
In Texas, the choices made today will influence not only current residents, but also the millions of people who will call this state home in the decades ahead.
Trust-based philanthropy allows organizations to stay focused on long-term challenges. By providing the flexibility needed to sustain strong institutions, philanthropic partners help ensure that credible research, practical solutions, and long-term thinking remain central to the conversation about Texas’ future.