PRESS RELEASES - JUNE 2007

June 11, 2007

The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation is Established
New organization is making more community grants available

A new community foundation has been incorporated by the State of Texas and granted an official charge to make monetary reinvestments into the Arlington community.

The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation has been formed by the Arlington City Council to oversee an endowment fund created from natural gas revenues realized on City-owned property.

Ninety-percent of gas well lease bonus earnings and 50 percent of all royalties earned on the wells go into a permanent endowment fund. The interest earnings from this fund will be distributed through grants to help improve the quality of life in Arlington. When the Mayor and City Council created the Tomorrow Foundation, they wanted only interest earnings to be distributed so that the fund could benefit the community in perpetuity.

“Neighborhoods and families are the fundamental building blocks of any community,” said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck. “In nurturing and supporting them, we are ensuring our successful future. The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation was created to fund programs, now and into the future, that improve the quality of life for children and families in Arlington.”

Mayor Pro Tempore Ron Wright is the president of the Tomorrow Foundation. He said the fund will encourage partnerships and the leveraging of resources throughout the community.

“The Tomorrow Foundation was not created to be the sole resource for any project,” Wright said. “The Foundation seeks to expand the community’s capacity to achieve great things.

“Whether it is capital that allows neighbors to work together on a project or it is seed money to help get a project started, the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation wants to be an integral partner in projects that improve the community,” he said.

City Manager Jim Holgersson, who is an ex-officio member of the Foundation Board, said the foundation provides an additional source of funding for Mayor and City Council community priorities.

“The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation is committed to the education and development of our children, to ensuring safe and attractive neighborhoods, to providing for parks and open spaces and opportunities to enjoy recreational opportunities, to advancing arts and culture in the community, and to supporting efforts at historic preservation,” Holgersson said. “These are our community goals.”

The Foundation plans to seek other public and private funding to grow the endowment fund and accept gifts from contributors and their estates.

Upcoming Events: Arlington Tomorrow Foundation
On Monday, June 11, the City and the Foundation will award one of its first grants to the Arlington Parks and Recreation Board for the construction of Heroes Park, a new park dedicated to the city’s police and fire officials who have fallen in the line of duty. A $100,000 check will be formally presented at a 6:30 p.m. ceremony in the Parks and Recreation Board Room at 717 W. Main St.
A $1 million Arlington Tomorrow Foundation Grant will go to the River Legacy Foundation on June 26 to support their endowment fund that preserves and enhances land along the Trinity River and its tributaries. The check presentation will occur at the 6:30 p.m. meeting of the Arlington City Council in Council Chamber, 101 W. Abram St.

Composition of the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation
The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation is governed by a five-member board of directors. It includes three elected city officials and two at-large community members. District 7 Council Member Ron Wright is the president, at-large community member Joe Way is the vice president, District 1 Council Member Mel LeBlanc is the treasurer and at-large community member Kristin Vandergriff is the secretary. District 2 Council Member Sheri Capehart and City Manager Jim Holgersson serve as board members. (Foundation Board photo is attached.)
More grant announcements are planned for the fall. The grant application process will be posted this month on the foundation’s newly created website. The recruitment process for an executive director to oversee the day-to-day operations of the foundation begins this summer.
For more information about the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, call or e-mail Sr. Management Analyst, Pamela Rambo-Estill at 817-459-6244 or Pamela.Rambo-Estill@arlingtontx.gov.