Operational Plan: Midpoint Update
A letter from our President & CEO
The T.L.L. Temple Foundation has served the needs of rural East Texans for 64 years. It has always sought to do so in a spirit of stewardship and service, with a commitment to investing its resources thoughtfully and effectively. As the most recent plan period for 2021–2025 came to a close, the foundation embarked on a new planning process. We call this an operational plan instead of a strategic plan to highlight that our future efforts will prioritize implementation, relevance, and adaptability to best serve our communities.
We are sharing a midpoint update so there’s visibility into our direction, decisions, and evolution. While the planning process is still ongoing, we want our grantees, partners, and neighbors to know about changes in a timely way.
We’ve spent time listening to and learning from our communities and peers to establish what rural East Texans need and expect from us. Thank you to the hundreds of East Texas stakeholders who chose to participate in those opportunities and the countless others who have shared their perspectives through our work together. We also spent time with rural peers, researching how they best learn from and contribute to their communities across the country, completed an economic analysis, and most importantly observed how people actually live and work across rural East Texas. The message was consistent: the Foundation has done substantive and meaningful work, plays a critical role across rural East Texas, and also has an opportunity and responsibility to build from this point.
The start of that building and the shifts we are making now are provided in detail here. We are not moving away from the issues and organizations we have partnered with to date. Our grantmaking cycles remain active. But we are moving closer to our communities by significantly restructuring how we do our work and what we can bring to bear for rural East Texans.
For active and prospective grantees, Tami Musick and myself will be your point of contact at impact@tlltemple.foundation.
Thank you for your partnership and for the work you do in and for rural East Texas.
Onward,
Charlie Glover
Operational Planning FAQs
What is the Operational Planning Midpoint Update?
It’s a formal report on where our planning stands today — at the midpoint — sharing what we’ve learned and the decisions we are making in real time. We chose to share it before all operational planning is finished because some changes affect our immediate and future work. Read the full update here.
What went into the operational planning process?
Over the past year we had more than 500 conversations across rural East Texas. More than 160 people responded to our community survey, and every county served is represented. We also conducted scores of in-depth interviews with grantees, community leaders, and peer funders, and we studied how other rural foundations across the country work. Most importantly, we asked our communities what they need in order to thrive. All of it is summarized in the Midpoint Update.
What is changing now?
Our previous strategic plan concluded in 2025. A new strategy was planned as part of a standard cycle. What we heard and observed over the past year of listening and learning was that trust and presence matter. Communities also told us their challenges rarely stay inside one sector. So we’re changing how we organize our work to match. We have restructured our programmatic work from sector-based to place-based, made shifts to our service region, updated our website and communication practices, and put a stake in the ground on defining what “thriving” means with our communities.
Are you still receiving and funding proposals?
Yes, if you serve communities in our service area. The application process is online and hasn’t changed. See how to apply. Until planning wraps up in spring 2027, we’re less likely to take on larger new or multi-year requests. If you have questions about applying, email impact@tlltemple.foundation.
Has the service area changed?
Yes. To close the geographic service gap and align to our mission, we have added Marion County and Harrison County to contiguously connect our Deep East and Northeast service areas. Miller County (with the exception of the city of Texarkana) and Harris County are no longer in our formal service area. Organizations outside the service area can still apply for grants that support programs serving people inside it. See more here.
Am I located in your service area and, if so, what subregion?
See the map here. If your work spans a boundary or you have any questions, email us at impact@tlltemple.foundation.
How were the subregions decided?
By looking at several things together: demographics, 15 governmental and administrative service area definitions, an economic opportunity analysis we commissioned, transportation corridors and population density, and what people told us in the survey and interviews about where they consider their community to begin and end. The full rationale is in our Operational Planning Midpoint Update.
Are you hiring?
Yes. We’re hiring Impact Directors in Northeast, Deep East, and Southeast Texas — people already rooted in these communities who will be in-region, and we welcome interest and referrals. We are also hiring a Manager, Data and Learning and Director, Special Projects. See roles here.
Can I refer someone?
Yes, please do. People who know the region are often the best way to find the right candidates. You can send referrals to hr@tlltemple.foundation.
When will operational planning be complete?
Our target is spring 2027. Next, we’ll work with communities to set priorities for each subregion and build better ways to measure progress in rural places. We’ll update this page as additional information is available.