Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation Grant

The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation, established in 1987, has invested over $70 million in grants to enhance community life through education, arts, health, and social services. The Foundation focuses on innovative solutions to persistent challenges, supporting projects primarily in Waco, Texas, while also engaging in discretionary funding for broader initiatives. Its mission emphasizes building resilience and fostering civic participation, ensuring that programs enrich lives, particularly for underserved populations.

Established in 1987, the Bernard & Audre Rapoport Foundation has dedicated over $70 million in grants to improve the social fabric of life.
Areas of Funding Priorities
The Foundation prefers to concentrate on five primary areas including: Arts & Culture, Community Building & Social Service, Democracy & Civic Participation, Education, and Health.
Arts and Culture
The Foundation supports artistic and cultural programs that encourage the participation of children and disadvantaged members of the community thereby enriching their lives. Education and cultivation of new and young patrons is encouraged.
Education
The Foundation is interested in the broad area of education but with a special concern for early learning up to and through the elementary years. Other areas of interest include adult education and training initiatives, college and career readiness, and programs that enhance the capabilities of teachers and other professionals in public schools.
Health
The Foundation seeks to improve the quality and delivery of healthcare services to all citizens, especially to women, children, and those who do not have access to conventional medical resources. Community-based outreach initiatives are also of interest to the Foundation.
Community Building and Social Services
The Foundation seeks to build communities that improve the quality of life for all citizens and foster the growth and development of children. The Foundation encourages programs that build grassroots neighborhood networks, provide job training and job opportunities for the unemployed and under-employed, or provide a comprehensive safety net of social services for the least-advantaged citizens.
Democracy and Civic Participation
The Foundation supports efforts both to make government more responsive and to encourage citizens to take an active interest and role in political life. The Foundation promotes intergovernmental cooperation as well as initiatives that broaden citizen awareness of public policy issues and alternatives, build skills necessary for political leadership, and provide opportunities for community service.
Where We Fund
By policy, one-third of annual grant funds are required to be distributed for projects/programs located in Waco, Texas. (The bulk of awards in Waco tend to fall within the areas of Education, Health, Community Building & Social Services, and Arts & Culture.)
By policy, one-third of annual grant funds are considered discretionary and may be distributed in support of projects/programs throughout Texas and the United States as desired. In recent years, a significant portion of the Foundation’s discretionary grant budget has been largely focused on ad-hoc special interest areas as determined by our trustees. Once the Foundation’s 2025 ad-hoc working group topic has been announced, you will find the relevant information on this website. (The bulk of awards in TX/US tend to fall largely within Democracy & Civic Participation and to a lesser extent, Community Building.)
It is also worth noting that the Foundation does not typically consider funding direct service programs outside of the Waco/McLennan County area or programs benefitting a small geographic area or a narrow audience (outside of Waco/McLennan County). (For more information, please review our FAQ page before submitting an LOI.)
Finally, the remaining one-third of annual grant funds are obligated to the University of Texas at Austin Rapoport Service Scholarship program, the Jerusalem Foundation, and the Jewish Federations of North America.

Eligibility

The Rapoport Foundation can distribute grants only to qualified public entities or 501(C)(3) charities.In addition to the general program/project information requested through the LOI, please be prepared to submit the following documents as well:Budget SummaryIRS 501c3 Determination LetterFinancial Audit and/or IRS Form 9902-3 years of Financial Statements

Ineligibility

The Foundation will not consider requests for individual or for-profit funding support. The Foundation seldomly considers capital requests and has only done so in a few instances for health organizations in Waco. Furthermore, the Foundation does not consider capital funding requests outside of the Waco/McLennan County area.