Better Together Fund Grants

Better Together Fund Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Dallas Foundation A Tx Nonprofit Corporation
Amount: US $15,000 - US $65,000
Last Updated: February 08, 2026

Summary

The Better Together Fund Grants aim to foster social change by supporting collaborations among nonprofits, focusing on formal partnerships that enhance efficiency and impact. Since 2017, 102 grants totaling over $6 million have been awarded to 64 collaborations involving more than 250 organizations. The fund encourages diverse partnerships, including mergers and shared services, to tackle community challenges. Eligible applicants must be nonprofits serving North Texas, demonstrating a commitment to collaborative efforts for lasting change.

Overview

NOTE: Before the proposal deadline submit a preliminary consultation; expect a response within 10 business days. The preliminary consultation will be scheduled if the request meets the BTF funding criteria. Submit the LOI any time following approval from the BTF Steering Committee Member who conducted your preliminary consultation and before the proposal is due. Expect a response ~5-7 business days after submitting the LOI. Better Together Fund Grants The Better Together Fund seeks to drive large-scale social change by supporting nonprofits that come together in a formal collaboration, for a common purpose, as a way to maximize impact. In its first five years from inception in 2017, BTF awarded 102 grants worth over $6,000,000 to 64 unique collaborations, representing 250+ organizations. Approximately 40% of funded collaborations were mergers, and the remaining 60% of collaborations were other forms of formal collaboration such as shared serivces, shared space, or long-term joint programming or coordinated strategy. How We Define Formal Collaboration We see formal collaboration as a relationship between one nonprofit and another nonprofit, corporation or governmental agency that: changes the way participating organizations do business for the long-term and cannot easily be undone,has board involvement and endorsement, andpreserves, expands or improves efficiency or services to constituents. Success for Us Looks Like Big ideas. Multiple organizations create significant impact doing together what they could not have done individually.Efficiency. The region’s nonprofit sector is strengthened by aligning complementary strengths and resources.Exploration only. We’re even excited by organizations that explore coming together formally and strategically elect not to. They’ll move on with a better understanding of the landscape and their unique roles.The new norm. Conversations become more routine at the board and leadership level about considering formal collaboration as a way to solve problems and have more impact. Types of Support Exploration 1) Feasibility Grant Grant purpose: Answer open questions about the feasibility of a proposed formal collaborationGrant size: Up to $15,000Up to 20% can cover general operations/staff time for partnering organizations. A minimum of 80% must be used to pay external facilitators/consultants.Examples of Qualifying Expenses: One-time costs associated with technical assistance providers, travel, or meeting expenses. 2) Planning Grant Grant purpose: Assess, negotiate and design a formal implementation plan, timeline and business model for the collaboration. Grant size: Up to $50,000Up to 20% can cover general operations/staff time for partnering organizations. A minimum of 80% must be used to pay external facilitators/consultants.Examples of Qualifying Expenses: One-time costs associated with planning activities for collaboration including legal, accounting, strategy, branding, communications, program metrics, fundraising, HR, curriculim or program designers technology. Implementation 3) Implementation Grant Grant purpose: Execute a formal collaboration between two or more organizations.Grant size:  Up to $65,000Up to 10% can cover general operations/staff time for partnering organizations. A minimum of 90% must be used to pay for one-time expenses associated with implementing the collaboration.Examples of Qualifying Expenses: One-time costs associated with executing a formal collaboration including change management, legal, technology, marketing, severance, or compensation adjustments. Grant types are designed to meet organizations wherever they are. Each funding request will be considered independently.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Applicants must be in pursuit of a formal collaboration, be that for exploration, active planning, implementation or post-implementation support. For your proposed collaboration to be eligible for any of the grant types, at least one of the partnering organizations must: Be a nonprofit based in and/or serving the North Texas community. Preference will be given to collaborations that serve constituents in Dallas County. Meet financial criteria including: a complete annual independent audit, an annual tax return (990/990EZ), an active board of directors and an IRS determination letter verifying non-profit status. New Initiatives and Nonprofits must present equivalent financial documentation such as audited financial statements or a board-approved budget.Better Together Fund believes that the nonprofit, for-profit, and government sectors have unique strengths and limitations, and impactful change can be achieved when the sectors work together.Collaborations applying for a Better Together Fund Grant must include at least one non-profit partner. However, we encourage all nonprofit organizations to be creative and look to other sectors when considering partnerships and collaborative efforts.Funding Criteria:Meets the definition of formal collaboration and has the potential to meaningfully preserve, expand or improve efficiency or services to constituentsAlignment of purpose among the partnersDemonstrated commitment to the success of the collaboration among the partners at ED/Board Chair level (or equivalent leadership)The degree to which Better Together Fund funds can play a catalytic role in the processThoughtful pre-planning among partners as demonstrated in well-conceived application responses, with clearly articulated costs, goals, timeline and benchmarks as appropriateMake sure you meet all the following requirements for the grant that you are applying to.All applications must be submitted jointly by participating entities of proposed collaboration. For administrative purposes, one contact person must be designated to steward the grant application process.The size of funding allocations for each grant type will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the complexity of the proposed collaboration. Better Together Fund anticipates some collaborations will face unexpected and unintended expenses that are outside the framework of the support types described and withholds the right to deploy additional capital at the Better Together Fund's discretion.

Ineligibility

Better Together Fund does not consider any transaction involving only one organization (e.g., internal reorganization/repositioning), or any short-term activity (e.g., organizing a conference in partnership, co-branding a one-time advocacy campaign).Better Together Fund does not support program-level only collaborations that do not involve a fundamental shift in the organizations’ business models (e.g., a nonprofit providing afterschool programming is not eligible for a grant because it “works” with a school).