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History

Respecting Our Past

The T.L.L. Temple Foundation was created in 1962 by Georgie Temple Munz, daughter of Thomas Lewis Latane (T.L.L.) Temple, who established the Southern Pine Lumber Company in 1893—later evolving into Temple Industries and Temple-Inland. Georgie's vision was to create a foundation that would directly benefit the communities in the region where her father's timber business operated. The history of the Temple family cannot be separated from rural East Texas, East Texans, or the family’s former business interests—Temple-Inland and First Bank and Trust of East Texas. For more than 100 years, descendants of T.L.L. Temple have lived, worked, and served in rural East Texas.

Two men seated in a crowd at a community gathering, one in a cap and plaid shirt and the other in a hat and jacket, applauding.
Diboll Day, 1986. Albert L. Mitchell (left) and Arthur Temple Jr. (right) at the dedication of a statue modeled after Mitchell, honoring the working men and women of Diboll, TX. Temple called Mitchell “a living symbol of what loyalty, devotion, and spirit has meant to our company and our town.”

Mrs. Munz’s intent was to enhance the quality of life for East Texans—for the people and communities that helped the family build its business. The foundation has been about that work for more than 50 years and remains committed to her hopes and dreams for our region.

Mrs. Munz established the foundation with an initial gift of 1,000 shares of Southern Pine Lumber Company stock worth $56,000. Upon her death in 1982, Mrs. Munz left the balance of her estate to the foundation, whose assets have grown to more than $600 million. Today, the foundation is governed by a board composed of Temple family members and community leaders who share Mrs. Munz’s commitment to strengthening rural East Texas. Since its inception, the foundation has invested more than $630 million, primarily in rural East Texas.

Pine forest in autumn with a red sweetgum among the pines. A forest track with shafts of light falling through the trees.

Building Our Future

Today we are aligning our efforts around place. After a year of listening to communities, learning from other rural funders, and reflecting on the 2021–2025 strategic plan, the foundation is organizing its work around the places it serves rather than around topic areas. That means building capacity at the regional level and having a stronger physical presence in rural East Texas communities.

Our service area is now organized into the Northeast, Deep East, and Southeast. The foundation’s portfolio will be organized by these areas, in a structure that enables staff to be deeply rooted in the regions they serve. The approach is founded on a conviction: the people who live and work in rural East Texas, building on the inherent assets of the region, are the ones who can best identify and tackle shared challenges.

To learn more about the planning behind this shift, view the Operational Planning Midpoint Update.