The Rees-Jones Foundation Commissions North Texas Disability Landscape Study
By CJ Stevenson, Program Officer
“For you created my innermost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” – Psalm 139:13-14
Several years ago, I chose this scripture to capture motivation and inspiration for the Foundation’s disability grantmaking. It articulates our Father’s love for each and every one of us. I praise God because he designed each of us uniquely, and this uniqueness celebrates God’s kingdom and goodness.
Nonprofits working in the disability space provide programming that celebrates and glorifies God’s thoughtful design in each of us. Through the provision of diverse services, families are supported, children are poured into, and adults realize their full potential.
I also chose this scripture to support the leading of a landscape study that we commissioned last fall to identify gaps in the disability ecosystem in order to better serve our friends with disabilities and the nonprofits that provide them with therapeutic services. Our nonprofit partners are the hands and feet of God, serving valuable members of our community each day with high-quality interventions that improve their quality of life.
Our intention with this study was to be the convener where the voices of our nonprofit partners could be heard. Listening is an important part of the work we do. We enlisted the help of ConnectIDD, a consultant specializing in disability nonprofits, that intentionally designed a survey, and hosted one-on-one listening sessions with scores of North Texas nonprofits. The results of those conversations and the survey were enlightening, although not surprising. Those of us working in the disability space know the challenges.
In July, we convened over 50 nonprofit providers of disability services from around North Texas in order to report out on the survey results. The gathering included therapy providers, adult programs, schools, housing, and recreation. In addition to sharing the outcomes from the survey, we spent the bulk of our time working through solutions to the challenges that the study identified and heard our nonprofit partners in the room speak on the challenges, the joys, the resilience it takes to advocate in a community that often feels overlooked. Tables were full of organization representatives who were busy collaborating, learning from each other, and empathizing with some of the difficulties they face day in and day out in serving those with disabilities.
I still remain overwhelmed by the outpouring of solution-based discussion that was expressed during the convening. I feel inspired and energized to tackle these challenges alongside our faithful partners providing services on the ground. These learnings will help us better discern inflection points where philanthropy and nonprofits can come together to work further to improve services and enact real change for our friends with disabilities in North Texas. Now is the time for us to come together, and begin the hard work of making our vision a reality.
If this excites you, I encourage you to reach out to me and join the conversation.