The Dallas County Promise, powered by Dallas College and the Commit Partnership, is pleased to announce a series of new investments, including an unprecedented $60 million multi-year investment from the O’Donnell Foundation headed by Kathy Medina O’Donnell.
The investment will dramatically expand student support and substantially increase economic mobility across Dallas County.
The investment is rooted in the proven impact that the Dallas County Promise has created, setting a national example of how to support low-income students in achieving a living wage through educational attainment.
The O’Donnell Foundation investment, one of the largest education investments supporting economically disadvantaged students in North Texas history, will provide more students the opportunity to benefit from enhanced college and workforce programs and numerous other supports promoting student success.
Of the $60 million investment, $30 million is directed to Commit to comprehensively support stronger middle school and high school advising across multiple school districts, data, and other backbone supports, including coordination with employers, to enhance the overall Promise effort.
Dallas County Promise announces new investments to expand student support to increase economic mobility across Dallas.
The remaining $30 million investment from the O’Donnell Foundation represents a direct gift to Dallas College Foundation, the largest private gift in Dallas College’s history.
These funds will be dedicated to various student support programs to aid students in their journey to thriving wage careers. Specifically, the gift features a $6.25 million challenge grant to help Dallas College continue to expand its Promise scholarship program. Similar to programs recently announced by other higher education partners across Texas, this program offers last-dollar tuition-free scholarships to high-need students coming out of high school.
The gift will also expand tuition and other forms of support to additional groups of students, including returning adult students, parents of Promise students, and students engaging in workforce training programs.
Since 2018, Promise has benefitted nearly 27,000 Dallas College students, and program enrollment has surged by 42 percent since 2023.
This effort has the potential to materially transform the lifetime earnings of students being educated in Dallas County, potentially adding billions of dollars in incremental lifetime earnings to the regional North Texas economy.
In speaking about the impact of this gift, leaders added:
William Solomon, Chairman, President and CEO of the O’Donnell Foundation
“The Dallas County Promise holds the potential to become a national exemplar for materially improving postsecondary access and completion thanks to its thoughtful, comprehensive approach.”
Justin Lonon, Chancellor, Dallas College
“This moment marks a bold step forward in Dallas College’s mission to empower students and transform lives with the promise of an education. With this extraordinary investment, we will help to expand opportunities for students to access higher education, gain critical support, and thrive in the career of their dreams. Together, we’re reshaping the future of Dallas County, driving prosperity
The Dallas County Promise was launched in 2017 to increase postsecondary credential attainment for young adults in Dallas County, supporting thousands of additional students in the completion of a degree from Dallas College and other higher education partners.
This expansion transforms the effort from solely focused on the bridge between senior year of high school and college to one that coordinates and comprehensively supports each student’s journey starting in middle school and ending with a career paying a living wage.
Since its founding in Dallas in 1957 by Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr., the O’Donnell Foundation has donated over $1 billion to support education, medicine, and the arts, almost entirely in Texas.
About Dallas College: Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2025, Dallas College consists of seven campuses — Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland—plus a dozen centers located throughout Dallas County.
As one of the largest community colleges in the U.S., Dallas College offers online and in-person learning, serving more than 127,000 credit, workforce, and continuing education students annually. Students benefit from partnerships with local school districts, four-year universities, and industry and community leaders.
Dallas College offers associate degrees and career/technical certificate programs in more than 100 areas of study, as well as bachelor’s degrees in education and nursing. As the largest dual credit provider in Texas, Dallas College serves 30,000 high school students through 63 dual credit programs.
About The Commit Partnership: Founded in 2012, the Commit Partnership has become the largest educational backbone organization in the nation, supporting PK-12 and higher ed systems that educate 700,000 students in Dallas County and, via its support of the Texas Urban Council, 1 in 4 students across Texas.
The Partnership is philanthropically supported by over 150 regional and national investors highly focused on growing economic mobility through a variety of strategies including state and local policy, data insights, capacity building and alignment of actions across both public and private entities to achieve an aspirational goal of 50% living wage attainment by the year 2040 for all young adults.