COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS ANNOUNCES $5 MILLION COMMITMENT TOWARD MASS CARE AND DISASTER RELIEF PLAN
Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Grant to Fund Unique Collaboration by Four Major Social Service Organizations Grant to Fund Unique Collaboration by Four Major Social Service Organizations

CONTACT: Laurey Peat
Laurey Peat + Associates
LPEAT@LPAPR.COM
(214) 871-8787

DALLAS January 8, 2009 Communities Foundation of Texas has announced it has established a fund and
committed $5 million as a challenge grant over four years to support development and implementation of a
Mass Care Response and Disaster Relief Plan for North Texas.

The funding from theW.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation at CFT will support a first-in-the-nation collaboration by the
American Red Cross Dallas Area Chapter; the North Texas Food Bank; The Salvation Army, DFWMetroplex
Area Command; and the Volunteer Center of North Texas. As the leading mass care responders in the DFW
Metroplex, the four agencies have joined forces as a Mass Care Task Force, which has a goal of increasing
emergency preparedness from their current ability to shelter and feed 7,800 to being able to accommodate
40,000 individuals.

After Dallas sheltered evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the four nonprofit organizations
formed the task force to strengthen their ability to take action in partnership when called upon to respond to a
disaster in North Texas or to serve evacuees from a neighboring community. Disasters could include tornadoes,
hurricanes, extreme temperatures, a major power failure, earthquake, drought, terrorist attack, or biological,
chemical or nuclear attack.

“Dallas gained a lot of experience sheltering evacuees from Katrina, Ike and Gustav, but we had to consider
how to prepare if a major disaster happened locally,” said Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones, chief executive officer of
the Dallas Chapter of the American Red Cross. “The goal of the Mass Care Task Force is to take the lessons
we’ve learned and build upon them to enable us to respond to a disaster on a much larger scale. If we wait until
a large disaster strikes, it will be too late.”

The task force worked with the City of Dallas to assess risk factors for a number of potential threats. Statistically, for example, an F5 tornado (5 on a scale of 0-5) could affect 250,000 people at various levels, with as many as 40,000 requiring shelter through mass care.The four organizations have been working together for more than a year to coordinate efforts, assign responsibilities and prepare for the next major disaster. Each organization’s primary responsibilities are: American Red Cross manages the shelters, the North Texas Food Bank provides food and drink, The Salvation Army prepares and serves meals, and the Volunteer Center of North Texas recruits and assigns the volunteers needed to assist in the relief effort. The alliance will enable the needs of victims to be met in the most efficient way by coordinating services, streamlining communications and avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort.

Officials at the Red Cross, North Texas Food Bank, Salvation Army and Volunteer Center said Hurricane Katrina
revealed more than just systemic weaknesses in the current national preparedness system. The storm also
demonstrated the need for greater integration of preparedness efforts with state and local governments and the
private and nonprofit sectors as well. A primary issue was the management of the outpouring of volunteers and
contributions of in-kind goods and services that occurred immediately after landfall.

“When Dallas sheltered evacuees from Katrina in 2005, we had a lot of duplication among agencies. But with
Ike in 2008, we knew exactly what resources were needed and the right agencies to provide them as a result of
our Mass Care Task Force planning,” said Jan Pruitt, president and chief executive officer of the North Texas
Food Bank. “The organizations in the Mass Care Task Force want to make sure we’re prepared to meet the
needs of the North Texas community should a much larger disaster occur.”

An estimated 15,000 volunteers could be needed for a major disaster, said Julie Thomas, chief executive officer,
Volunteer Center of North Texas, which serves as a clearinghouse for hundreds of area nonprofit agencies. “Our
role would be to assess the needs during a mass disaster, recruit appropriate volunteers, then send them where
needed.”

“Today’s informed donors expect collaboration, and they recognize the synergies that can be achieved when
organizations combine strengths to make the greatest impact in a community,” said Major C. Mark Brown,
DFWMetroplex Commander for The Salvation Army. “And nobody is more aware than the leadership of these
four organizations that no one organization can meet the total need in a community, even under the best of circumstances. This is especially true during a time of disaster when immediate response and streamlined
processes are vital."

The $5 million Caruth Foundation grant will serve as a lead challenge grant, to be matched dollar-for-dollar, to
support a $26.7 million project to create and implement a Mass Care Response and Disaster Relief Plan for
North Texas, serving Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Ellis and Denton counties. The project would be carried out over
five years in four mass care service areas: shelter, feeding, volunteers and communications. Expenses include
capital items as well as management expenses associated with operating the effort. All management and capital
expenses included in the project budget represent costs over and above current operations for each partner.
Nonetheless, much of the equipment and supplies to be purchased can be used by the agencies on an ongoing
basis or rotated through their inventories to stay fresh.

“Communities Foundation of Texas is extremely proud to step in at the beginning to assist the Mass Care Task
Force,” said Brent E. Christopher, president and chief executive officer, CFT. “Public safety was a major concern
ofW.W. Caruth Jr. when he established the Caruth Foundation at CFT. Four critical agencies are coming together to meet large-scale human needs in an efficient and effective way. For this significant effort, it is important to have stakeholders from throughout the entire community.We hope the grant from the Caruth Foundation
will attract the support of other foundations and individuals throughout North Texas.”

Plans for a fundraising campaign have not yet been announced. Despite the downturn in the economy, however,
planning will move forward. “Each organization in the task force has generous donors individuals, corporations
and foundations,” said Ms. Sutterfield-Jones. “Our experience responding to hurricanes over the past few
years has caused many citizens to think about disaster preparedness.With Communities Foundation of Texas
and the Caruth Foundation kicking off this effort, we believe others will see the vital need and respond.”

Communities Foundation of Texas, a public charity founded in 1953, works closely with donors, nonprofits and
other funding organizations. CFT improves lives by receiving charitable gifts, managing assets responsibly and
making effective grants. As the largest community foundation in Texas and one of the largest in the country,
CFT professionally manages more than 800 component funds, and it has distributed more than $950 million in
charitable grants since its inception.

Mass Care Task Force Partners

• American Red Cross Dallas Chapter
  The Dallas Area Chapter of the American Red Cross has been helping people across North Texas prevent,
  prepare for and respond to emergencies since 1911. Last year, more than 3,000 volunteers helped
  victims of local disasters, taught lifesaving skills, and helped U.S. service members separated from their
  families stay connected. More information about the Dallas Area Chapter can be found at
  www.redcrossdallas.org.
  
• North Texas Food Bank
  The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a nonprofit hunger relief organization that distributes donated,
  purchased and prepared foods through a network of feeding programs in 13 North Texas counties. The
  NTFB supports the nutritional needs of children, families and seniors through education, advocacy and
  strategic partnerships. Close the Gap is the NTFB’s 3-year initiative to unite the community to narrow
  the food gap by providing access to 50 million meals annually. Founded in 1982, the NTFB is a certified
  member of Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest The Nation’s Food Bank Network).
  Last year 26 million meals were distributed. Each month agency pantries distribute food to more than
  50,000 families and on-site meal programs serve 435,000 meals/snacks.
  
• The Salvation Army, DFWMetroplex Area Command
  The Salvation Army is a worldwide Christian organization that in the Dallas-FortWorth Metroplex provides
  more than 40 different services to help make life better for individuals and families. Services
  include: substance abuse treatment, homeless shelters, life-skills classes, nonperishable food, Christmas
  gifts for children, domestic violence programs, emergency financial assistance, child care, after-school
  programs, summer day camps, computer training, senior citizens services, and low-cost youth sports
  leagues. For more information, go to http://www.salvationarmydfw.org/.
  
• Volunteer Center of North Texas
  The Volunteer Center of North Texas serves 1,655 nonprofits in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties
  with essential programs and services. During 2008 VCNT referred 79,560 volunteers to nonprofits.
  VCNT also provides agencies with training programs, background checks for volunteers and employees,
  and goods donated by area businesses. In addition, the Volunteer Center of North Texas matches nonprofits with corporations looking for employee volunteer projects, and offers project design and management services.