Two Fort Worth favorites working to do good in the community just got a big opportunity that will help them do even more.
"We think what they're doing in the community in serving students and families is the most important thing we can be doing," said Jay McCall with the Rainwater Charitable Foundation which announced it will invest $500,000 in The Big Good.
Grammy Award-winner and Fort Worth native Leon Bridges and legendary football coach Gary Patterson co-founded The Big Good in 2020. They support nonprofits that reflect The Big Good goal to inspire brighter futures for North Texas.
"It's awesome to connect with another prominent person in the city and whose got a big heart for serving the community," Bridges said. "And, so yeah, it's been really dope."
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Both men see the half-million-dollars as an endorsement of the work they do.
"One of the things they saw was all of our efforts go right back into the community," Patterson said. "So everybody can see all the positives coming out of it."
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"[It's] the city that shaped me and a joy to serve my people," said Bridges who hopes to "leave a legacy behind that is more than music."
The partnership will benefit three nonprofits: Tarrant To & Through or T3 helps students succeed after high school; United Community Centers strengthens families by offering affordable licensed after-school literacy enriched childcare for Pre-K through age 13; and UpSpire focuses on getting jobs for homeless guests at Presbyterian Night Shelter and others facing barriers.
The Rainwater Foundation also supports those three nonprofits so the financial commitment and the challenge to maximize giving made sense.
"We try to find agencies to partner with that have really effective best practices that we've kind of looked around the country and said, 'this is what we think is actually gonna help people'," McCall said. "Those are organizations that we have both supported last year and we really want to magnify our gift by this partnership and just raise awareness about the investment in the community."
Bridges and Patterson hope to double that half-million dollar Rainwater donation at its annual fundraiser on March 30.
