Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Rapoport Foundation supports civic engagement, community development, health, economic opportunity, education and arts and culture with a strong focus on Waco, Texas and surrounding areas. The foundation also provides ongoing support to the University of Texas Austin, the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jewish Federations of North America.
IP TAKE: The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation “seeks innovative solutions to intractable and persistent problems and strives to cultivate emerging talents and promising models.” This funder places a heavy emphasis on the communities of Waco, Texas, where it is based, and where at least one-third of its grantmaking is directed. An additional third of its funding maintains longstanding relationships with the University of Texas Austin, the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jewish Federations of North America. Nevertheless, this is an approachable funder that accepts letters of inquiry for two annual grantmaking cycles.
PROFILE: The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation was established in 1986 by Bernard Rapoport, founder of American Income Life Insurance Company, and his wife, Audre. The foundation’s mission is “to meet basic human needs while building individual and social resiliency.” Its stated grantmaking areas of focus are Arts & Culture, Community Building & Social Service, Democracy & Civic Participation, Education, and Health.
Grants for Community Development, Work and Opportunity
The foundation’s Community Building and Social Services grants work to “build communities that improve the quality of life for all citizens and foster the growth and development of children.” Stated areas of interest include community development initiatives, job training programs and “social services for the least-advantaged citizens.” More than half of the foundation’s grantmaking in these areas remains in the greater Waco area.
Grantees include Greater Waco Legal Services, Prosper Waco, the Lone Star Justice Alliance, the Working America Education Fund, the Waco Foundation, Texas Rural Funders and Casa of McLennan County.
Grants for Civic Engagement, Democracy and Journalism
The Rapoport Foundation’s Democracy & Civic Participation grantmaking area is one of its largest and aims “make government more responsive and to encourage citizens to take an active interest and role in political life.” Of special interest are “initiatives that broaden citizen awareness of public policy issues and alternatives,” leadership development and community service programs. The foundation does not name journalism as a specific area of interest, but some of its democracy grants supported investigative journalism recently.
Grantees of this giving area include Every Texan, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Vote Riders, the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy, Pennsylvania Youth Vote and the Partnership for Public Service.
Grants for Education
The foundation’s Education grantmaking works broadly to support early childhood, K-12, higher education and teacher development initiatives, although institutions of higher education appear to receive more than half of the foundation’s education grants.
The foundation provides ongoing funding to the University of Texas Austin, where it bankrolls the Rapoport Service Scholarship Program, which recognizes 36 students annually for their strong community service commitments. Other education grantees include Baylor University, Tufts University, Towson University and the Waco-based Talitha Koum Institute, a faith-based, therapeutic early childhood intervention program.
Grants for Public Health and Mental Health
The foundation’s Health grantmaking “seeks to improve the quality and delivery of healthcare services to all citizens,” but prioritizes women, children and “those who do not have access to conventional medical resources.” Rapoport also focuses on community-based outreach initiatives such as immunization programs. The foundation does not name mental health as an element of its health giving, but grants have supported mental and behavioral health initiatives in recent years.
Past health grantees include Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, the Waco Family Practice Foundation, Community Doulas of Waco, the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network and Cook Children’s Health Foundation.
Grants for Arts Education, Arts and Culture
Rapoport’s Art & Culture grantmaking focuses on programs that “encourage the participation of children,” for the purposes of education and “cultivation of new and young patrons.” The foundation also prioritizes programs that target “disadvantaged members of the community.” This is one of the foundation’s smaller giving areas, with most grants staying in the Waco area.
Past arts grantees include the Waco Civic Theatre, the Dr. Pepper Museum, Wild Imaginings, Creative Waco and the Waco Cultural Arts Festival.
Grants for Jewish Causes
The foundation provides ongoing support to the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jewish Federations of North America, but does not generally give to Jewish organizations beyond these commitments.
Important Grant Details:
The Rapoport Foundation’s grants generally range from $5,000 to $500,000.
This funder specifies that one-third of its annual grantmaking support organizations in the Waco, Texas area. A second third is designated as “unrestricted/national,” and the final third is reserved for long-standing commitments to the University of Texas, the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jewish Federations of North America.
Support for direct services is restricted to organizations in the Waco, Texas area.
Grants have gone to organizations of all sizes, but multi-year funding is rare.
Civic engagement appears to be the foundation’s largest area of giving, followed by community development, higher education and health.
The Rapoport Foundation accepts letters of inquiry twice a year in January and August, with applicants receiving invitations to submit full proposals in March and October of each year.
All materials must be submitted through the foundation’s online grant portal.
This funder welcomes questions via its contact page or by telephone at (254) 741-0510.
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