Galveston
For George and Cynthia Mitchell, Galveston was not just their "second home" but a community they actively shaped through decades of historic preservation, economic development, and environmental conservation efforts.
In September 2015, the foundation began a planning process for a Galveston Program that honors George and Cynthia's deep commitment to the island. George's connection to Galveston went far beyond it being his hometown—he was instrumental in preserving the city's historic downtown district, revitalizing The Strand, and establishing Galveston as a premier tourism destination.
Foundation leaders hosted a two-day meeting in Galveston that involved the participation of a diverse audience, including local, state, and national experts, community activists, non-profit leaders, elected officials, philanthropists, and other key influencers. The workshop included discussions about various challenges, current citywide improvement efforts, and potential funding strategies. The meeting also included a "poverty simulation" that enabled 100 Galveston community members to "experience" the challenges of poverty.
During 2016, CGMF continued to focus on the development of the Galveston Program's strategy and began making a series of small grants to select nonprofit organizations in support of its strategic planning process. The outcome of this planning process was the Galveston Program's long-term objective: a Galveston community collectively enhancing its resident's quality of life with equitable access to quality education, health care, livable wages, green space, affordable housing, green energy, and an equitable justice system.
To achieve this transformation, the foundation's board believes that if community leaders, funders, and government officials come together in support of a shared strategic vision, the island will be in a stronger position to tackle its own systemic, interdependent challenges.
In 2017, the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation formally launched its Galveston grantmaking program, beginning with its first learning journey to Detroit to see collaboration between foundations, government, business, and nonprofits and how this led to a shared vision and the transformation of parts of Detroit.
Vision Galveston emerged from lessons learned in Detroit in September 2018, a project to empower the Galveston Island community to define a vision for the future of the city. Over 8,500 people (representing 15 percent of Galveston's diverse population) participated in the community-driven visioning process by responding to surveys, attending interactive workshops, and meeting in small groups in homes, schools, and nonprofit organization offices.
Galvestonians’ comments about what kind of city they wanted and what needed to be done to realize their collective vision were synthesized by nationally recognized consultants and refined with input from experts and a 200-plus steering committee into five broad vision statements and 78 recommendations, resulting in a comprehensive plan.
In 2020, Vision Galveston received its 501c3 nonprofit status as a "collective impact backbone organization" that supports aligning Galveston foundations, nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies to actualize recommendations from its strategic plan, which can also serve as a road map for the development of the City's comprehensive plan.
