How To Give Wisely

New series teaches Dallas philanthropists how to give more powerfully

In a town where philanthropy is plentiful, Communities Foundation of Texas is now offering a way for Dallas donors to powerfully and personally connect to their gifts. During this new five-class series, appropriately called GiveWisely, people can take a step back and discuss the challenges and opportunities to give in our community as well as clarify their core values to create a clear giving strategy.

With a successful pilot program under its belt, the CFT team is excited to see the benefits of the series already take shape in the community with cases like that of Gini Florer, a pilot participant who was in search of a way to help children with special needs after a stroke in utero left her newborn son, John Lawson, with severe brain damage.

The GiveWisely series helped to inspire her family to provide support to other families with similar life circumstances by sharpening their personal giving strategy — one that reflects the lessons learned through their unique experiences with their son. Through the class, they decided to give to Rays of Light, a nonprofit providing childcare support for parents of special needs children.

Upon finishing the series, participants will have defined their values, created a personalized giving statement, and established a strategic giving plan and budget. Although a $500 tax-deductible contribution is requested of each participant (or participating couple), it will be given as a charitable gift to the nonprofit of their choice at the end of the class.

To help guide participants, Communities Foundations of Texas is bringing in Sharna Goldseker, executive director of 21/64, a nonprofit consulting practice specializing in next generation and multigenerational engagement in philanthropy and family enterprise. Goldseker is the co-author of #NextGenDonors, an innovative study of high-capacity next generation donors in the United States, and trains other advisors on 21/64’s approach.

Here’s a preview of the schedule (classes are from 7-9 pm and include dinner):

Session #1: Identifying Your Values (Wednesday, January 21, 2015)
Session #2: Pinpointing Your Passions (Wednesday, February 18, 2015)
Session #3: Evaluating Effectiveness (Wednesday, March 25, 2015)
Session #4: NexGen Philanthropist Panel (Wednesday, April 15, 2015)
Session #5: Beyond the Class: Keeping Focus and Impact in Your Giving (Wednesday, April 29, 2015)

Those interested in GiveWisely must submit an application, and the ideal person (or couple) for the series currently donates at least $10,000 per year to charity. The ideal candidate is looking to add more focus, structure and enjoyment to their giving and has until January 2 to apply.

Communities Foundation of Texas is hosting a new series called GiveWisely to help people create a powerful strategy for giving.

Photo courtesy of Communities Foundation of Texas

Communities Foundation of Texas is hosting a new series called GiveWisely to help people create a powerful strategy for giving.

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Jobs report

Texas ranks among 10 best states to find a job, says new report

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

You have a better chance of landing a job in Texas than in most other states.

If you’re hunting for a job in Texas amid a tough employment market, you stand a better chance of landing it here than you might in other states.

A new ranking by personal finance website WalletHub of the best states for jobs puts Texas at No. 7. The Lone Star State lands at No. 2 in the economic environment category and No. 18 in the job market category.

Massachusetts tops the list, and West Virginia appears at the bottom.

To determine the most attractive states for employment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 34 key indicators of economic health and job market strength. Ranking factors included employment growth, median annual income, and average commute time.

“Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says.

In September, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas led the U.S. in job creation with the addition of 195,600 jobs over the past 12 months.

While Abbott proclaimed Texas is “America’s jobs leader,” the state’s level of job creation has recently slowed. In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas noted that the state’s year-to-date job growth rate had dipped to 1.8 percent, and that even slower job growth was expected in the second half of this year.

The August unemployment rate in Texas stood at 4.1 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Throughout 2025, the monthly rate in Texas has been either four percent or 4.1 percent.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate in August was 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2025, the monthly rate for the U.S. has ranged from 4 percent to 4.3 percent.

Here’s a rundown of the August unemployment rates in Texas’ four biggest metro areas:

Austin — 3.9 percent
Dallas-Fort Worth — 4.4 percent
San Antonio — 4.4 percent
Houston — 5 percent

Unemployment rates have remained steady this year despite layoffs and hiring freezes driven by economic uncertainty. However, the number of U.S. workers who’ve been without a job for at least 27 weeks has risen by 385,000 this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August. That month, long-term unemployed workers accounted for about one-fourth of all unemployed workers.

An August survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a record-low 44.9 percent of Americans were confident about finding a job if they lost their current one.

This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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