Charitable Competition

Why your vote matters in the first-ever CultureMap Charity Challenge

Charitable giving, whether you donate time or money, certainly is a year-round endeavor. But during the holidays, we are most inspired by the efforts of local nonprofits that continually better our community and the world.

Few cities can compete with Dallas when it comes to philanthropic spirit. To honor that, we have partnered Briggs Freeman Sotheby International Realty to bring you the first-ever CultureMap Charity Challenge.

Here's the lowdown: We have selected 12 local charities. You vote for your favorite every day, once a day, through December 20. The organization with the most votes will become CultureMap's community service project for 2014. Plus, we're throwing in a $2,500 cash donation and an advertising package. The winner will be announced January 6.

Vote now for one of these deserving organizations:

American Red Cross, which provides compassionate care for those in need through disaster relief, supporting America’s military families, lifesaving blood donations, health and safety services, and international services.
A.W.A.R.E., which promotes Alzheimer's awareness and financial support for its parent organization, the Alzheimer's Association.
Carry The Load, whose mission is to restore the meaning of Memorial Day and honor fallen heroes, veterans, active duty military, firefighters, law enforcement and rescue personnel through a national rally.
LEAP Foundation, which transforms the lives of children and adults around the world who have severe facial or body deformities by providing free specialized medical services.
Men of Nehemiah, which serves homeless and incarcerated men with addictive disorders by providing residential accommodations, substance abuse treatment, life skills and job placement training, case management, and recovery support services.
SPCA of Texas, which is dedicated to providing every animal exceptional care and a loving home.
Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, which improves the care of children worldwide through innovative research and teaching programs, and teaching physicians from around the world.
The Birthday Party Project, which partners with accredited homeless shelters to host themed birthday parties for the children living there.
The Family Place, which empowers victims of family violence by providing safe housing, counseling and skills that create independence while building community engagement and advocating for social change to stop family violence.
The Salvation Army, which operates 7,500 centers across the United States that provide food distribution, disaster relief, rehabilitation centers, anti-human trafficking efforts and children’s programs.
The Trinity Trust, whose mission is to partner with the City of Dallas and other nonprofit groups to achieve the highest standards of excellence in all aspects of the Trinity River Corridor Project.
The Wilkinson Center, a poverty rescue and prevention agency for the working poor that assists more than 14,000 people annually in Dallas. The center provides compassion, community and financial responsibility to empower their clients to become self-sufficient and improve their lives.

Now it's really up to you, so get to it. As you learn more about these nonprofits, we hope you'll find one — or several – to support this holiday and throughout the coming year. If we all do that, then everyone is a winner.

Carry The Load

Photo courtesy of Carry the Load

Carry The Load

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income analysis

This is the family income needed for one parent to stay home in Texas

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

The cost of raising a child has ballooned in major metros like Dallas-Fort Worth, forcing many families to weight the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas, that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support their stay-at-home partner and their child, the report found. If both parents worked in the household, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in North Texas, however, is slightly more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $22,337 to raise a child in Dallas-Fort Worth.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report's author says families will look for ways to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family