Dillard Family Foundation

The Dillard Family Foundation is a mid-size private foundation rooted in the Wichita Falls, Texas community with $16.1M in assets and growing annual giving that reached $763,040 across 28 awards in 2024. The foundation is managed by Tailwind Philanthropic Advisors out of Fort Worth, which means all communication flows through a professional advisory team rather than directly to the Dillard family.

The board's stated preference for sustainable, matching, and revenue-generating grants is the single most important signal for applicants. This means they want to see proposals that demonstrate leverage — dollar-for-dollar matches, earned revenue models, or programs that become self-sustaining over time. One-time capital requests or deficit funding are unlikely to succeed.

The foundation's grantee portfolio reveals a strong preference for established Wichita Falls institutions. Midwestern State University ($1.5M cumulative), The Hundred Club ($436K), Wichita Falls ISD Foundation ($105K), and Wichita Falls Faith Mission ($85K) are anchor grantees. First-time applicants should recognize that this is a relationship-driven funder. The Letter of Intent process serves as a screening mechanism — the board wants to understand your organization and its community impact before committing to a full review.

For new applicants, the optimal approach is to introduce your organization via the January LOI cycle, demonstrate clear alignment with one of the foundation's six focus areas (community development, children, education, healthcare, ministry, or public safety), and emphasize quantifiable community outcomes in the Wichita Falls metro area.

The Dillard Family Foundation has undergone a dramatic transformation in the past five years. Assets surged from $2.8M in 2019 to $16.1M in 2024, likely driven by a major contribution in 2020 when revenue spiked to $11.1M (vs. the typical $1.1-1.6M annual range). This infusion has fueled steadily increasing grantmaking.

Annual giving trajectory: $331,660 (2020) → $610,792 (2021) → $575,698 (2022) → $634,259 (2023) → $763,040 (2024). The compound annual growth rate is approximately 23%, signaling an expanding philanthropic footprint.

Grant sizes: The average grant across the full portfolio is $63,444, but this figure is heavily skewed by the Midwestern State University Energy Center grants (up to $336,660 per award). The median grant is closer to $25,000-$30,000 for most community organizations. The range spans from approximately $500 at the low end to $336,660 at the top.

Sector allocation: Education dominates at roughly 65% of total giving, led by the MSU Energy Center and Wichita Falls ISD Foundation. Public safety accounts for approximately 20% (The Hundred Club's Shield 616 program, Texas Parks & Wildlife). Human services and food security (Faith Mission, Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, Senior Citizens Services) represent about 10%. Ministry and healthcare receive smaller allocations.

Geographic concentration: The overwhelming majority of grants go to Wichita Falls-area organizations. Occasional grants extend to the broader North Texas region (Fort Worth, Dallas, Plano) and Kansas (Emporia), likely reflecting Dillard family connections.

The Dillard Family Foundation sits in a cohort of mid-size family foundations with assets in the $15-17M range. However, its deep geographic focus on a single community (Wichita Falls, pop. ~105,000) makes it unusually impactful relative to peers that spread funding across larger metropolitan areas.

The Dillard Family Foundation stands out among its asset-size peers for having a clearly structured, publicly documented application process with an online portal (Grant Interface) and defined cycles. Many peer foundations of similar size operate by invitation only or with opaque processes. The foundation's transparent two-cycle system and published Grant Help Guide make it more accessible to new applicants than most family foundations in this asset range.

The Dillard Family Foundation filed its most recent 990-PF tax return on November 13, 2025, covering the 2024 fiscal year. The filing showed continued asset growth to $16.1M and the foundation's most active grantmaking year to date with 28 individual awards totaling $763,040 in charitable disbursements.

The foundation's most significant ongoing commitment is to Midwestern State University (now MSU Texas), where cumulative support for the Energy Center initiative has exceeded $1.5M across five grants. This represents a transformational investment in the region's higher education infrastructure and energy research capacity.

The Shield 616 program through The Hundred Club of Wichita Falls has received $436,260 across four grants, making public safety the foundation's second-largest funding category. Shield 616 provides body armor and protective equipment to law enforcement officers and first responders.

No major leadership changes or new program announcements were identified in 2025-2026 web searches. The board composition — Jeff R. Dillard, Bud Dillard, Arvin R. Dillard IV, Stephen Gustafson Sr., Dale Harvey, and Mikal Powers — appears stable. The foundation continues to be managed by Tailwind Philanthropic Advisors in Fort Worth.

Timing is everything. New applicants can only submit Letters of Intent in January or July. Miss these windows and you wait six months. Returning grantees have slightly longer application windows: January 1 - February 8 and July 1 - August 15. Funding decisions are announced in June and December, so plan your project start dates for Q3 or Q1 respectively.

Get your Access Code early. All applicants need an annual Access Code to enter the Grant Portal. Email dillardfamilyfoundation@tailwindadvisors.com before the cycle opens to request yours. First-time applicants applying in a new calendar year must also request a code even if they applied previously.

Frame around sustainability. The board explicitly prefers "sustainable, matching, and revenue-generating grants." Your proposal should answer: How will this program continue after the grant period? What matching funds have you secured? What earned revenue does this generate? A $25,000 request with a 1:1 match from another funder will outperform a $50,000 request with no leverage.

Demonstrate Wichita Falls impact. The vast majority of grants go to organizations serving the Wichita Falls metro area. If your organization operates regionally, make the local impact crystal clear with specific data — families served, students reached, meals delivered within the Wichita Falls community.

Study the grantee list. The foundation's top recipients — MSU Texas, The Hundred Club, Camp Fire North Texas, Wichita Falls Food Bank, Faith Mission — reveal what the board values: established institutions with measurable community impact. Position your organization in this context.

Invest in reporting. Follow-up reports are mandatory for all grantees. Strong reporting demonstrates accountability and builds the relationship for future cycles. Track outcomes from day one and report quantitative results.