| Cecil Burney
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| Dana Williams |
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 makes 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 $47 million in assets in only 30 years. During that same time, the Foundation has given more than $66 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 idea for a community foundation came from Fredrick Goff, a Cleveland, Ohio, banker and former partner in a prestigious law firm. He became interested in philanthropy through his work writing wills and seeking to uphold contested wills. He developed an interest in seeing that funds left for specific purposes that no longer existed be used to benefit mankind.
The Coastal Bend Community Foundation operates in that tradition.
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