For two decades, Boston-based GreenLight Fund has built a national network around a simple idea: every city has unmet needs, and somewhere in the country, someone has already cracked the code.

Now the nonprofit is coming to Dallas—its 15th location nationwide—powered by more than $5 million co-invested by over 100 local philanthropists.

GreenLight Fund formally launched its Dallas site at an event on Nov. 6 hosted by the Communities Foundation of Texas. 

The expansion adds Dallas to a roster that includes Boston, Atlanta, and San Francisco, backed by a mix of national and local supporters including Mark Cuban, the Perot and Troutt families, MacKenzie Scott, and dozens of North Texas foundations and businesses, according to the organization.

Founded 20 years ago, GreenLight Fund identifies gaps in local social systems and brings in evidence-based programs from across the country that have already shown results, the nonprofit said. The model is built around selecting one pressing, unmet need per year—such as early childhood education, family stability, or workforce pathways—and investing in scaling a proven solution with the best fit for the local community.

Todd Platt

“After learning about the track record GreenLight Fund has in other cities, I was immediately excited for the impact it could have in Dallas,” Todd Platt, CEO of Hillwood, a Perot company, said in a statement. Calling GreenLight “the most process and results driven philanthropic cause” he’s seen, Platt said supporters are backing its work to “find effective social programs that fill gaps in our social sector and truly make a difference.”

In the announcement, GreenLight Co-Founder and Board Chair John Simon said the Dallas launch reflects deep local belief in the model. “We are deeply grateful to the local investors and philanthropic organizations whose generosity and belief in our mission have made it possible to bring GreenLight to Dallas,” Simon said. “Their commitment to tackling Dallas’ most pressing challenges ensures that together, we can drive measurable change and create new opportunities for individuals and families experiencing poverty.”

[Photo: Communities Foundation of Texas]

Establishing local advisors

“GreenLight represents the alignment of broad community engagement and targeted community impact in a way we haven’t seen before in Dallas,” said Nadine Dechausay, chief strategy and insights officer at Communities Foundation of Texas. “By anchoring innovation on evidence and data, we increase the odds of achieving a positive return on investment and ensure a level of accountability that doesn’t usually exist in the social sector.”

GreenLight Dallas will form a Selection Advisory Council—known as the SAC—made up of community leaders, residents, and experts across business, nonprofits, philanthropy, and the public sector. The council serves as a key advisor throughout the annual selection process and helps ensure that decisions reflect local priorities.

Bank of America Dallas President Jennifer Chandler, who leads Philanthropic Solutions for the bank, said the expansion brings a tested model to the region. “Bank of America has been a long-time supporter of GreenLight across their national network so I was thrilled to learn that GreenLight was expanding to Dallas,” she said in the announcement. Its community-informed approach and track record of sustainable results, she added, “is going to be transformative for our community.”

GreenLight Dallas will conduct hundreds of community conversations to identify and prioritize unmet needs tied to racial, social, and economic inequities. The organization will then search the country and vet evidence-based programs, selecting an organization with a track record of success addressing that need elsewhere in the country, according to the organization’s website.

GreenLight provides multiyear unrestricted funding, on-the-ground support, and strategic partnership development to help the selected organization establish itself locally and reach sustainable impact. The organization identifies and sets multiyear programmatic and financial targets with each portfolio organization and reports on progress annually, according to
GreenLight Fund.

Each year, GreenLight Dallas and the SAC will identify a specific unmet need, evaluate programs across the country with successful track records addressing that issue, and invest in the one that is the best fit for the region. All focus areas and investment decisions will be made locally. The first selection is expected in late 2026.

United Way of Metropolitan Dallas CEO Jennifer Sampson said the alignment is natural. “United Way of Metropolitan Dallas is deeply committed to driving lasting, measurable change for North Texans,” she said. “GreenLight Fund’s data-driven approach complements our focus on proven solutions that deliver real results for individuals and families, and we welcome their partnership in advancing opportunity across our region.”

Dallas leadership

To lead the work, GreenLight Fund named Shareea Woods as the founding executive director of GreenLight Dallas. She will direct efforts to identify proven solutions and bring them to the region, according to the announcement.

“Dallas has given me incredible opportunities to grow my career and raise my family, and I want every family here to have that same chance to thrive,” Woods said in a statement. “Dallas embodies innovation, talent, and heart. Together with our investors and community, I look forward to building on that spirit by bringing innovative solutions that solve our most persistent challenges.”

Woods brings more than 15 years of experience driving systems change and expanding opportunity for underserved communities, according to GreenLight Fund. Most recently, she served as director of the Texas College Access Network (TCAN) at Educate Texas, partnering with state agencies, philanthropic leaders, and regional coalitions to increase postsecondary access across Texas.

She previously served as chief program officer at the Young Women’s Preparatory Network, supporting the development of public all-girls schools statewide.

A “results-driven philanthropic cause”

Wayne White, president and CEO of Communities Foundation of Texas [Photo: CFT]

“When Dallas’ strong philanthropic community comes together to collaborate and co-invest, new and innovative opportunities emerge,” said Wayne White, president and CEO of Communities Foundation of Texas. “We are thrilled that one of those opportunities is welcoming the GreenLight Fund to our Dallas community. GreenLight will work across sectors in Dallas to listen and then act, helping to align support where it’s most needed to build thriving communities.”

The investor list at the time of announcement reflects a deep bench of support across Dallas’ philanthropic community. Backers, alphabetically, include:
Larry Anders, Chuck Anderson, Bain Capital, Bank of America, David Bettenhausen, Lindsay Billingsley, Henry and Lucy Billingsley, Tré Black/On-Target Supplies and Logistics, Christy and Adam Blumenfeld, Chuck and Kate Brizius, Lael and Peter Brodsky, Arthur and Hannah Brousseau, Victoria and Stuart Brown, Catholic Charities Dallas, Debra Caudy and Clay Heighten, the Chipman Family Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, Frank Mihalopoulos/Corinth Properties, Bill and Leslie Cornog, Robert and Josephine Covington, Mark Cuban, and D. Lance Currie.

Dallas College Foundation, the Dallas Foundation, Deloitte, MJD Starfish Foundation, Linda and Scott Davis, Christian Delzell, Mark and Debbie Denissen, John Diaz, Tony and Lillian Dona, Driven Brands, Tim and Samantha Durst, Eric and Steffanie Evans, Deborah and Lauren Gage, Chris and Lisa Gannett, Kent and Jennifer Gardner, Robert and Kathleen Gibson, Mark and Jane Gibson, Gilead Sciences, Goldman Sachs Gives, Shaun Gordon, Rob Graffum, Sachin and Ash Gupta, Mollie Hale Carter/Sunflower Bank, Christina Hanger and Lyndon Cakerice, Pilar and Jay Henry, the Hersh Foundation/Ken Hersh and Regen Horchow, Lee and Ann Hobson, Annabel and Joe Hoffman, iHeartMedia, ILE Homes, Jack Jacobsen, Anurag and Gunjan Jain, Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation.

Robert S. Kaplan, Yoo Jin Kim and Nan Teele, Ashlee and Chris Kleinert, Ben Kohlmann, Sandy and Kent Laber, Ken Luce, LDWW, Libby and Murray McCabe, Wayne McCullough, Alana and Steven McIntyre/Braeside Capital, Mark and Lauren Melton, Lauren and Tommy Luallin, Annabel Morgan, Anne and Alan Motsenbocker, J. Marc Myers, Greg and Cheryl Nelson/RSA Security, Pamela Nelson, the NFL, Triet Nguyen, O’Melveny and Myers LLP, Carrie and Steven Parsons, Phillips Foundation, Laurie and Todd Platt Family, Anne and Rob Raymond, Trevor R. and Jenny Rees-Jones, Joanna and Eric Ridgway, John and Deborah Scott, Mackenzie Scott,

Dupree Scovell/Woodbine Development, Boaz and Randi Sidikaro, John and Sue Simon, Mike Smith, Southern Methodist University, Molly and Craige Stout, Jill E. Tananbaum Family, Texas Capital Bank Foundation, Dan Thomas/Healthcare Highways, Lisa and Kenny Troutt, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Collins and Julianna Ward, Bill and Beverly Warren, Sarah and Russell Weinberg, Mark and Alison Weinzierl, Williams Family Foundation, and Mackenzie Wong.

Quincy Preston contributed to this report.

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