How the Permian Basin Area Foundation Gives in West Texas

Editor's note: This article was revised and updated on 6/30/2021.

The Permian Basin Area Foundation is just one of more than 700 community foundations across the country, but it’s a lifeline for local groups in West Texas. This funder has been on the philanthropy scene since 1989 and promotes a philosophy of “giving where you live.”

PBAF often makes announcements about its new grant commitments, such as recent news about over $1.8 million going out to organizations serving West Texans in a spring grant cycle. Let’s take a closer look at the types of causes PBAF funds.

Education

An example of a PBAF education grantee is Catholic Charities Community Services, which will use the grant to offer adult education services like GED training and computer literacy. Adult literacy is a topic of interest for this funder, which also awarded a grant to Midland Need to Read for this cause. The foundation also awarded a grant to the Marfa Education Foundation to cover tuition and books for economically disadvantaged students. Youth services grants are also linked to the funder’s commitment to education.

Arts & Culture

One example of a recent arts and culture grantee is the Midland Community Theater, which secured a grant for educational programs. The Arts Council of Midland also received a grant for its 33rd Annual Celebration of the Arts in May.

Health and Human Services

Health grantees from this recent round include the Dawson Medical Foundation in Lamesa for a facility for EMTs. The foundation also funded grants to help people living with aphasia and to educate new parents about raising children from birth to age five.

Community Development

One new grant in this category went to the Midland Community Development Corporation to acquire land to develop affordable housing for low-income residents. Midland Habitat for Humanity also received a grant to build homes for low-income families in Odessa. Housing-related grants have been on the rise iwth PBAF in recent years.

The Elderly

Senior citizens often play a role in PBAF’s grantmaking. For example, the Midland and Odessa branches of Christmas in Action Midland just received grants to buy materials to help elderly and disabled homeowners. Although this isn’t its own grant category, grants for seniors are still common with PBAF.

“Just as oil prices have dropped, so have services, generally speaking,” Guy McCrary, president of the foundation, once said. “But the demand for services has not declined. In most cases, it’s increased.”

Today, the foundation has more than $200 million in assets and has returned around $100 million to West Texas communities through its grant and scholarship programs. There are hundreds of permanent funds at PBAF, but a big part of the foundation’s grants is the competitive grant program.

The foundation typically reviews grant applications in the spring and fall of each year. Check out the Grants section of the foundation website to learn more about the priorities and procedures. Our full profile, Permian Basin Area Foundation: Texas Grants, offers additional insights and resources.