Charitable powerhouse State Fair of Texas gives away nearly $19M in grants, scholarships

Most people think of the State Fair of Texas as a fun-filled extravaganza that runs for 24 days every fall in Fair Park. Some recognize its foundational mission to promote Texas’ massive agricultural industry and educate people about it.

But the nation’s largest state fair — a record 2.5 million people visited last year — produces much more than a good time: The fair funded $18.5 million in philanthropic giving in 2022, much of it allocated for the benefit of Fair Park and South Dallas. “We are better neighbors and providers than we’ve ever been,” says longtime State Fair board member Bruce Sifford, chairman of the board.

Mitchell Glieber made philanthropy a key priority upon becoming president of the organization in 2014. “We not only want to put on a great state fair but also be one of the most impactful nonprofits in the North Texas area 365 days a year,” Glieber affirms. “Community involvement is the third pillar of our mission.”

One of his first moves was to hire a community affairs specialist who went into the neighborhoods to talk to people about how the fair could help them, which had never been done before. “We recognize that there are still wounds dating to the ‘60s, when the city of Dallas used eminent domain to displace a neighborhood for parking for Fair Park and Starplex Amphitheater, now known as Dos Equis Pavilion,” Glieber says. “We needed to hear and listen and make sure they knew we understood where they were coming from.”

Now, several staffers are dedicated to running a host of programs that directly aid underserved residents of Fair Park and South Dallas. So far, this includes giving more than $4 million in nonprofit grants, sponsorships and community programming since 2016; awarding 97 Juanita Craft Scholarships totaling $582,000 in 2023 to graduates of the six closest public high schools; donating 195,319 servings of fresh greens to nearby nonprofits like Austin Street Shelter; and hosting a series of educational opportunities for adults as well as kids.

“All of our team here have embraced this work with the commitment that we are not only about corny dogs and rides and turkey legs, but that we are making a difference in the community, and that is something we are very proud of,” Glieber says.

One of the State Fair’s tactics was to transform a big landscape storage building near the Texas Star Ferris wheel into a hydroponic farm that grows lettuces, collard greens, kale and micro greens. Since its inception in 2016, Big Tex Urban Farms has yielded 1.2 million servings of fresh greens. “We distribute all of it to South Dallas nonprofit organizations who serve people in this particular area because it’s a food desert,” Glieber says.

Groups of local kids visit the farm to learn about agriculture, and horticulture director Drew Demler goes into the community to teach people how to grow their own food and even how to cook with it. Big Tex Urban Farms has been so successful that people come from other states for tours, and the Fair’s Senior Vice President of Brand Experience, Jason Hays, spoke about it at a British farming conference in the United Kingdom.

Another key offering is the Big Tex Business Masterclass, a five-month educational cohort that teaches existing food and beverage businesses how to implement successful operations and disciplines while creating networking, growth and exposure opportunities. Completion of the program is not an automatic acceptance to the State Fair of Texas, but it allows a behind-the-scenes view and insight into what it takes to be a food and beverage vendor for fairs and events. “This is one of our most impactful programs in terms of supporting small businesses because it gives them an opportunity to  prepare to be a fair and festival concessionaire, which can be a game changer for them,” Glieber says.

Other initiatives include NextFest, a college and career event for students from nearby Dallas ISD high schools; a co-sponsored book fair that handed out 1,000 books in May to kids and adults in South Dallas; and quarterly community engagement meetings where local nonprofit executives supporting the South Dallas/Fair Park area discuss issues and share best practices.

Coming soon: a youth agricultural club in collaboration with Jubilee Park and Community Center, TR Hoover CDC,and the Dallas Police Department. “If you looked at the calendar of events for our community affairs department, it would kind of overwhelm you,” Glieber says. “We are gaining trust from people who really didn’t have relationships with the fair previously. We have turned a corner and become someone they can rely on. We want to continue to build trust and help people.”

The fair presents other scholarships in addition to the DISD grants, for a total of $1.3 million awarded to 222 students in May. That includes 116 Youth Livestock Scholarships for agricultural education, five for seasonal employees and five honorary scholarships with various parameters.

Since it first awarded scholarships in 1992, the fair has presented grants to more than 3,000 students for a total of more than $17.4 million. Recipient Marcus D. Johnson, for example, is now resident principal at James Madison High School.

The State Fair of Texas also conducts the single biggest food drive for the North Texas Food Bank. By offering discounted admission in exchange for canned foods, the effort has reaped more than 2.8 million pounds since 2010. Last year’s 280,000 pounds represents 233,333 meals. On top of that, fair staff round up leftover food and beverages from concessionaires at the close of the fair and deliver them to local food pantries and shelters, a program dubbed State Fair Cares.

Fair revenue is critical to maintaining the aging art deco buildings of Fair Park, most of which were not intended nor built to be permanent. The fair is pumping $8.64 million into that this year.

The fair also plays an enormous role in the Dallas-Fort Worth economy — $410 million to $499 million annually, excluding sales generated by the auto show, according to a 2016 study. And it generates 7,000 jobs, with seasonal employee wages starting at $17.82 an hour.

“We are so broad based now,” Sifford observes. “We are doing good deeds for people who need it, and we’re very proud of that.”