The Moody Foundation announced that it’s pledging $1 billion for Texas education over a 20-year period, marking one of the largest grant commitments ever made by a private foundation in Texas.

Called the “M-Pact Fund,” the initiative reflects the trustees’ vision of a mutual promise and partnership between the foundation and its grantees to support student success.

The foundation said the commitment could reshape the future of education across the state.

“The Moody Foundation is making an unparalleled commitment to the future of Texas by investing in education,” Ross Moody, trustee of the Moody Foundation, said in a statement. “Our goal is to fuel student success in areas of deepest impact and greatest need, while providing the opportunity for every Texan to access a high-quality education.”

“Our commitment encompasses a comprehensive approach to the foundation’s education grantmaking to support students from cradle to career and help them overcome barriers along the way,” Moody added. “We believe the classroom is a launching point for positive change and hope this promise fuels a new generation who will continue to carry forward our vision of a bigger, brighter future for all Texans.”

With benefits extending beyond grant funding, the foundation said that the M-Pact Fund will cultivate a comprehensive network of grantees that are fueling student success.

Under the groundbreaking initiative, the foundation said it will also provide endowments to public colleges and universities in Texas that will be announced at a later date. Those endowments are intended to bolster long-term student success and health, the foundation said.

Education grants in the past decade

The foundation said this pledge continues its legacy of giving in the education space and connects longstanding foundation projects such as Generation Moody and the Moody Early Childhood Education Center in Galveston, the Moody Scholars program, and several foundation-initiated grants and endowments to the University of Texas in Austin, Rice University of Houston, and Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

In the past 10 years alone, the Moody Foundation said it has given more than $500 million to education-related groups and institutions in the state. The foundation now is committing an additional $500 million for education, including the M-Pact Fund, by 2035 to solidify their $1 billion promise.

Over the past decade, the Moody Foundation has awarded a number of significant grants in education, including:

• $24 million to the Moody Scholars Program
• $55 million to the Generation Moody Education Initiative
• Over $200 million to The University of Texas at Austin, for the support of the Moody Center, Moody College of Communication and the Blanton Museum
• $100 million to Southern Methodist University to fund the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies
• $100 million to Rice University for a transformative new student center and multiple endowments
• $5 million to Abilene Christian University for vital renovations to Moody Coliseum

M-Pact Fund targets early learning and postsecondary success

The Moody Foundation’s M-Pact Fund is an annual grantmaking process and a key component of the foundation’s historic commitment of $1 billion for Texas education over 20 years.

Through an open request for proposals (RFP), the foundation said it will distribute grants annually to education institutions and nonprofits whose work aligns with its strategic priorities of early learning and postsecondary success.

The fund will amplify the impact of these grants through strategic initiatives including:

• Direct collaboration with relevant governing agencies to identify education funding gaps and strategically deploy resources.
• Building intentional, collaborative networks among M-Pact grantees including a fully funded annual convening among representatives from each organization.
• Shared, targeted outcomes across grantees within each strategic pillar to enable impact measurement for the initiative over multiple years, at scale.

The foundation said the M-Pact Fund will be complemented by annual regional giving via its traditional grant application process, allowing for continued support of organizations whose work falls outside of the fund’s strategic pillars.

The Moody Foundation said its 2024 open RFP process will be carried out in two funding cycles. For more on the key dates, eligibility, FAQs and additional details, please visit the foundation’s website.

Established in 1942, foundation has awarded over $2 billion in grants

W.L. Moody Jr. and Libbie Shearn Moody established the foundation in 1942 to share their good fortune and make a difference in the lives of the people of Texas.

Since then, it has pledged and awarded more than $2 billion in grants throughout the state to organizations that have educated, healed, nurtured and inspired generations of Texans.

The Moody Foundation continues with a board of three trustees: Frances Moody-Dahlberg, Ross Moody, and Elizabeth Moody.

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