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Trellis Foundation

Annual Giving
$11.0M
Grant Range
$8K - $1.3M

Trellis Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $11 million (FY 2024)
  • Success Rate: Highly competitive - only a small percentage of qualified applicants funded
  • Decision Time: Varies by RFP; decisions announced after board meetings
  • Grant Range: $8,000 - $1,270,000 (historical range; average grant size has grown since inception)
  • Geographic Focus: Texas (primarily), with occasional other geographic priorities per RFP
  • Application Method: Invitation only via Request for Proposals (RFP)

Contact Details

Overview

Trellis Foundation is a grant-making public charitable organization established in 2017 by Trellis Company (formerly TG), a Texas-based nonprofit leader in student debt administration and repayment. With $11 million in annual giving in FY 2024 (up from $4 million the previous year), the foundation focuses on improving postsecondary attainment for low-income students and students of color in Texas. Their approach is highly collaborative and prioritizes catalytic investments aimed at changing or informing policy, practice, and systems. The foundation has grown significantly, expanding from 3 to 7 staff members in 2024 and maintaining 189 active grants across all focus areas. As TG, from 2006 to 2016, the organization awarded more than $400 million through its philanthropic program, including nearly $50 million in competitive grants supporting 395 projects nationwide.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation awards grants through periodic Request for Proposals (RFPs) rather than accepting unsolicited applications. Recent grant programs include:

  • General Operating Support Initiative: Launched in FY 2024, serving 26 nonprofit grantee partners (18 new to the foundation)
  • Mental Health and Wellbeing Grants: $2.145 million awarded in 2022 to support mental health at Texas colleges and universities
  • Community-Based Organizations RFP: $2.5 million total awards to 26 Texas CBOs in 2023 providing direct impact services for college completion
  • Multiple RFP cycles annually: Fall 2023 ($2M+), Spring 2024 ($2.9M), Summer 2024 ($3M+), Fall 2024 ($2M+)

Grant amounts in 2024 ranged from $100,000 to $1.27 million, with the foundation's average grant size growing and showing increased commitment to multi-year funding since inception.

Priority Areas

The foundation organizes its work around three strategic focus areas:

1. Holistic Student Supports (89 active grants | $6.3 million)

  • Mental health and wellbeing services
  • Basic needs support (food security, housing, financial assistance)
  • Comprehensive wraparound services for persistence and completion
  • Postsecondary Mental Health Learning Community with 10 Texas institutions
  • Annual Higher Education Policy Summit (240+ attendees in 2024)

2. Streamlined Student Pathways (41 active grants | $1.2 million)

  • Clear, navigable routes into, through, and beyond postsecondary education
  • Key momentum points and transitions
  • Dual enrollment and early college programs
  • Career pathways and workforce development
  • Partnership with Texas Association of Community Colleges on HB 8 implementation

3. Reconnection for Returning Learners (34 active grants | $2.2 million)

  • Dropout recovery programs (ages 18-26)
  • Support for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students
  • Prison-to-university pathways
  • Opportunity Youth programs
  • Removing barriers for students with educational gaps

Cross-Focus Commitments (25 active grants | $1.3 million)

Four Strategic Approaches

  • Localized Direct Impact: Support tailored to local contexts, particularly for historically underinvested organizations
  • Scaling Proven Practices: Expand programs successfully narrowing educational disparities across larger scales and new geographies
  • Structural & Policy Change: Address systemic barriers through advocacy and funding for Texas-wide and broader change
  • Convening & Collaboration: Unify cross-sector actors toward shared goals through leading convenings and collaborative initiatives

What They Don't Fund

The foundation will not fund:

  • Annual fundraising events or general sustaining campaigns
  • Performances or competition expenses
  • Building infrastructure, physical plant, or brick-and-mortar construction
  • Motor vehicles
  • Endowments
  • Debt retirement
  • Lobbying efforts
  • Individual applicants or for-profit organizations

Governance and Leadership

Board of Directors

Dora Ann Verde, CPA – Board Chair Certified Public Accountant with private practice serving nonprofits in San Antonio. Former chief of internal audit for San Antonio Water System. Holds BBA in accounting from UT San Antonio. On the foundation's collaborative approach: "Our best work happens in community with those who believe our destinies are bound together."

Alma Garcia – Vice Chair Former bilingual education teacher and principal in Brownsville ISD. Specialist in dual enrollment and Early College High Schools at Educate Texas. Holds bachelor's in education from UT-Pan American and master's in educational administration from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Mark Milliron, Ph.D. – Immediate Past Chair President and CEO of National University. Former board chair 2021-2023. Co-founder of Civitas Learning. Holds doctorate in education administration from UT Austin.

Josh Hunt – Board Member Executive Vice President of Hunt Companies, Inc. (El Paso). President of Hunt Family Foundation. Serves on Texas State History Museum Foundation and WestStar Bank boards.

Richard Rhodes, Ph.D. – Board Member President of Texas A&M University-Central Texas. Former chancellor of Austin Community College District. Chair of American Association of Community Colleges. Holds doctorate from UT Austin.

Suzanne Walsh, J.D. – Board Member President of City University of Seattle. Former President of Bennett College. Previously Deputy Director of Postsecondary Success at Gates Foundation. Holds J.D. and MSW from Case Western Reserve University.

Welcome W. Wilson, Jr. – Board Member President and CEO of Welcome Group, LLC. Chairman of Alamo Trust. Appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Named one of Houston Business Journal's "Most Admired CEOs" in 2018.

Key Staff

Kristin J. Boyer – President & CEO Leads foundation's equitable postsecondary outcomes initiatives. Advisory committee member for Pell Institute. On partnership: "We approach our grantmaking with strong doses of curiosity and humility, unified by a sense of shared purpose." On impact: "We want to cultivate partnership, acknowledging our dependence on the insight and wisdom that our grant partners generously share."

Erica Villarreal Ekwurzel, MPAff, CAP® – Chief of Staff Over two decades in organizational change and philanthropic leadership. First-generation college graduate. Grantmakers for Effective Organization's 2025 Change Leaders fellow.

Sara Reeves – Senior Manager for Grants & Operations Former United Way for Greater Austin grantmaking manager. Peace Corps volunteer. Holds master's in public affairs from Indiana University.

Jenny Achilles – Senior Program Officer Nearly a decade in higher education. Vice Chair, City of Austin Community Development Commission. Serves on steering committees including Advance Together.

Dr. Jay L. McCullar, Ed.D. – Program Officer Distinguished educator and equity advocate. Created Louise's Kids scholarship initiative. Board member of LatinX Leaders Austin.

Jesus Perales – Program Officer Over ten years in policy and advocacy. Former Immigration Policy Coordinator at Texas AFL-CIO. Legislative staff experience at Texas Senate.

Mia Ibarra – Strategic Learning Officer 14+ years in nonprofit and philanthropic service. Former advocate at Every Texan. Managed Udall Foundation scholarship program.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Trellis Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. All funding opportunities are announced through periodic Requests for Proposals (RFPs).

To learn about funding opportunities:

  1. Subscribe to the foundation's quarterly newsletter at https://www.trellisfoundation.org/grant-information/
  2. Monitor the Grant Information page on their website for RFP announcements
  3. When RFPs open, detailed submission requirements and deadlines are provided

When invited to apply:

  • Online application system generates automatic confirmation within 24 hours
  • Applications must include letters of support or memoranda of understanding for proposed partners
  • Site visits may be conducted for selected applicants (advance notice provided)

Eligibility requirements:

  • 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations
  • Public charities under section 509(a)
  • Entities designated under section 170(c)
  • Individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible

Decision Timeline

  • Funding decisions are announced after Trellis Foundation Board meetings
  • Each RFP specifies when funding decisions will be announced
  • Timeline varies by grant cycle
  • Organizations not selected for funding are contacted
  • Unsuccessful applicants can request written feedback on their applications

Success Rates

The foundation has limited financial resources and can fund "only a small percentage of qualified applicants." Many excellent projects, even those within their areas of interest, may not be funded. Declining to fund a proposal does not mean the project lacks merit.

Volume indicators:

  • FY 2024: 189 active grants totaling $11 million
  • Average of 3-4 RFP cycles annually with varying award sizes
  • Community-based organizations RFP (2023): 26 awards from $2.5 million pool

Reapplication Policy

The foundation discourages resubmitting previously rejected projects in subsequent years. However, organizations are not permanently barred from applying to future RFPs with different projects.

Application Success Factors

What Trellis Foundation Looks For

Based on their published evaluation criteria and recent grants, successful proposals demonstrate:

1. Clear Measurable Outcomes "Goals and objectives are clearly and directly tied to measurable deliverables, outcomes, and expectations." Applications must articulate specific, achievable targets with concrete metrics.

2. Strategic Collaborative Partnerships Evidence of existing or proposed partnerships that enhance grant impact and "promote improved coordination among organizations and institutions within the community." Include letters of support or MOUs for partners.

3. Sustainability Beyond Grant Period Applicants must "ensure sufficient institutional, organizational, or other support for the efforts to continue" after funding ends. Show organizational investment beyond the requested grant.

4. Broader Knowledge Transfer Projects should have "potential to increase knowledge across the postsecondary community or to inform practices or policy development that could be adapted by other organizations or institutions."

5. Equity-Centered Design President & CEO Kristin Boyer emphasizes: "Centering equity in our work is key to our mission." Successful applications explicitly address how they serve low-income students and students of color and reduce disparities.

Recent Funding Examples Demonstrate Priorities

Mental health integration with basic needs (Fall 2024: $1.27M to Action Network for Equitable Wellbeing): "In attempting to address mental health concerns, we acknowledge the interconnectedness of students' basic needs and mental health and wellbeing, and the role that mental health plays in ensuring students get to and through college." - Kristin Boyer

No-wrong-door approaches (Fall 2024: $450K to Region One ESC for dropout recovery): "Ensuring a talent-strong Texas requires that we support a no-wrong-door approach to education, training, and workforce preparation – particularly for students who have stopped out of our formal education systems." - Kristin Boyer

Prison education pathways (Fall 2024: $350K to UTSA for TEJA-S program): Supporting incarcerated students through June 2024 statewide convening on prison education

Rural access (Summer 2024: $370K to ACCSS): Partnership between six rural school districts and Blinn College District

Career pathways for vulnerable populations (Fall 2024: $350K to E2E): Opportunity Youth support in Coastal Bend region

What Successful Proposals Excel At

According to the foundation: "The proposals that are successful often excel in presenting compelling, clearly defined goals tied to measurable outcomes and indicating evidence of partnerships."

Additional success factors:

  • Innovative solutions or replicable models with plans for disseminating best practices
  • Strong community buy-in beyond a single champion
  • Multi-year impact vision even if requesting single-year funding
  • Alignment with foundation's strategic approaches: localized impact, scaling, policy change, or convening

Partnership Philosophy Matters

From Kristin Boyer's values letter: "We approach our grantmaking with strong doses of curiosity and humility, unified by a sense of shared purpose...We want to cultivate partnership, acknowledging our dependence on the insight and wisdom that our grant partners generously share."

The foundation seeks partners who:

  • Embrace collaborative learning
  • Share insights from implementation
  • Contribute to systemic change conversations
  • Value trust and relationship-building

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Don't submit unsolicited proposals - Only apply when RFPs are announced; subscribe to quarterly newsletter for notifications
  • Texas focus is paramount - While other geographies may occasionally be included per RFP, programs serving Texas students are prioritized
  • Equity must be explicit - Clearly articulate how your project centers low-income students and students of color and addresses systemic disparities
  • Partnerships strengthen applications - Collaborative approaches with documented partner support significantly enhance competitiveness
  • Think beyond project grants - The foundation offers general operating support and multi-year funding; average grant size is growing
  • Show systemic potential - Demonstrate how your work can inform policy, practice, or be scaled/replicated beyond your organization
  • Emphasize sustainability - Even for time-limited projects, show organizational commitment and plans for continuation
  • Competition is intense - Only a small percentage of qualified applicants receive funding; excellence alone doesn't guarantee an award
  • Align with strategic focus areas - Proposals fitting holistic supports, streamlined pathways, or reconnection priorities are most competitive
  • Feedback is available - If unsuccessful, request written feedback to strengthen future applications

References

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