Cotton Bowl Foundation Grants

In its signature giving opportunity of the year, the Cotton Bowl Foundation awarded $350,000 to four deserving organizations as a part of its 2021-22 grants initiative.

FOR OAK CLIFF $150,000

For Oak Cliff used its grant to help provide timely support for its culturally responsive initiatives in South Oak Cliff built on the organization’s foundation of education, advocacy, community building and the arts. These four pillars serve as catalysts to drive change within South Oak Cliff and the broader North Texas community.

MERCY STREET DALLAS $100,000

Mercy Street Dallas earmarked its grant to aid in creating the Mercy Street Dream Center, a state-of-the-art facility with a computer lab, photography, videography and music studios and collaboration spaces for inner-city youth in West Dallas as well as providing job training, resume writing, GED and ESL classes for single parents and grandparents during the school day.

CRISTO REY FORT WORTH

$50,000

Cristo Rey Fort Worth put its grant towards supporting its central mission as the only school in Tarrant County dedicated exclusively to young people of lower economic means, offering extraordinary college preparatory education and an innovative Corporate Work Study Program.

EDUCATE TEXAS

Educate Texas at Communities Foundation of Texas designated its grant to support its Best in Class Coalition, which partners with more than 50 organizations across Texas, and assist in the creation of an awards program to spotlight the amazing work of effective educators in our region.

$15,000

The Cotton Bowl Foundation extended its giving efforts to the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) with a $15,000 grant to support a new initiative targeting upand-coming coaches. In 2021, THSCA launched the R.O.C.K. (Rare, Outstanding, Compelled, Knowledgeable) Coaches Mentoring Program, which pairs the best and brightest young coaches with seasoned mentors to create networking and educational opportunities and spark better retention among coaches looking to grow in the profession.

$50,000 $50,000

Betty Sanford Crawford, a longtime member of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association’s Board of Directors, passed away on July 30, 2021, at her home in Dallas at the age of 75. Her father, J. Curtis Sanford, founded the Cotton Bowl Classic.

To honor Crawford’s enduring, positive impact on the Cotton Bowl Classic, the Cotton Bowl Foundation donated $50,000 to UT Southwestern’s Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research program.

“Betty was such a special person. She always had a smile on her face, was so endearing to so many of us and truly epitomized grace,” said Rick Baker, President/Chief Executive Officer, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. “The legacy of Betty and her impact will live on in our minds and in our hearts.”