Coastal Bend Community Foundation

The Coastal Bend Community Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded in 1981 to enhance the quality of life in the Coastal Bend of Texas. The Foundation provides grants to charitable organizations, establishes funds to serve donors, and advances philanthropy in the area.

The Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, under the leadership of Cecil E. Burney, started the Foundation in 1981 with a $150,000 donation from the Paul and Mary Haas Foundation to support the newly formed Foundation. The first executive director was Dr. Dana Williams. Foundation funds have grown to $38 million in assets in only 25 years. During that same time, the Foundation has given more than $50 million in scholarships or grants to charitable organizations in its geographical area of interest, which includes Aransas, Bee, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio and San Patricio counties in Texas.

The Coastal Bend Foundation (CBFC) generously funded the Coastal Bend Environmental Science: Learning on the Edge project by awarding the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program the largest unrestricted grant ever distributed by the foundation. The $100,000 grant was made possible through an endowed gift from the estate of the late F. Starr Pope Jr. of Corpus Christi. Mr. Pope, a prominent estate and probate attorney, followed a family tradition started by his father F. Starr Pope, who also left the bulk of his estate to the Coastal Bend Community Foundation. The proposal of the CBBEP focused on the need for “ a vigorous and adequately funded public education and outreach program …' to increase individual involvement in resource issues.” Patricia M. Eisenhauer, CBCF Chairman, noted that the grant was “ a great example of what can be accomplished when members of the community come together to make a difference in the life of our students and the community we live in.”

Many thanks to the Coastal Bend Community Foundation for having the vision to make the LOTE project happen!

For more information, log on to www.cbcfoundation.org