Waco Foundation

About Waco Foundation

A bequest-based scholarship program sits alongside Waco Foundation’s broader community grantmaking. Through the Duncan Scholars program, the foundation supports local students with financial aid, academic support, and success coaching, with the stated goal of helping them graduate from college debt free. That education work sits within a larger local portfolio tied to quality of life in McLennan County. Recent grants show a foundation that funds both institutions and immediate needs. Start Up Waco received a $1,110,411 undesignated grant in 2025, while Heart of Texas Community Health Center Inc Dba Waco Family Medicine received major capital support in 2024, including $488,216 for a capital campaign. The foundation also backs nonprofit organizations through operating, program, and undesignated support, and it makes room for emergency assistance when organizations face urgent challenges. Its stated focus areas include education, nonprofit capacity building, community development and quality of life, and emergency and critical needs funding. The grantmaking pattern includes scholarships, capital projects, operating support, and flexible support for local nonprofits. It also reaches into arts and cultural institutions, immigrant support services, and leadership-related nonprofit expenses. Across the portfolio, the foundation appears to use multiple grant types to address both ongoing community infrastructure and short-term organizational needs.

What Waco Foundation Funds

Education is a visible part of Waco Foundation’s work. The Duncan Scholars program supports local students with financial aid, academic support, and success coaching, and the foundation also runs scholarship access through its scholarship portal. Nonprofit capacity building is another clear theme. In 2024, Texas Rural Funders received $777,283 for operating support, and in 2023 Connected Nation Inc received $685,333 for operating support. Those awards show that the foundation funds organizations beyond a single service line when they are tied to local quality of life. Community development and critical response also appear in the portfolio. City of Mart received $425,000 for building and renovation in 2024, while Baylor Scott & White Central Texas Foundation received $131,570 for emergency funds in 2025. The foundation also supports arts and culture; Waco Creative Art Center received $107,600 in 2023.

How Waco Foundation Gives