Dallas Leadership Foundation

About Dallas Leadership Foundation

For over 30 years, Dallas Leadership Foundation (DLF) has been empowering leaders, strengthening families, and transforming communities across Dallas. We believe leadership is the key to sustainable transformation—and our work equips individuals and neighborhoods with the tools, relationships, and opportunities they need to thrive.

Each year, DLF serves more than 12,000 children, youth, adults, and families through four core areas:

Our Focus Areas

POWER Youth (Youth Development): Through POWER Lunch, POWER Mentoring, POWER Camp, and our Leadership Centers, we engage students in meaningful ways that build leadership, character, physical fitness, and life skills. Our holistic approach equips youth to succeed academically, socially, and personally, preparing them to thrive in school and beyond. Through mentorship, lunch and camp the DLF POWER Youth have a 95% graduation rate and a 92% college admission rate. 

Workforce Development: In Partnership with Dallas College and utilizing our 8,000 sq. ft. Workforce Development Center, DLF offers hands-on job training, certifications, job readiness, and wraparound support—helping individuals overcome barriers and secure living-wage jobs. In 2025, 60 participants completed hard skills training with nationally recognized certifications and 28 securing full-time living wage jobs.

Reentry Support: DLF walks alongside returning citizens, providing pre- and post-release mentoring, workforce training, and leadership development that results in dramatically lower recidivism rates and restored lives. Through Dallas Leadership Foundation's dedicated faith-based dorm at Hutchins State Jail, our program achieves a 94% success rate, meaning 94 out of 100 participants stay out of jail, resulting in a low 6% recidivism rate.

Neighborhood Engagement: We partner with local leaders, churches, and residents to strengthen entire neighborhoods through food distribution, community-building events, and leadership coaching. In 2025, Dallas Leadership Foundation distributed over 275,000 pounds of nutritious food supporting reducing hunger and strengthening household stability.

Our Impact

• 17,000+ individuals served annually

• 1,700+ youth engaged through mentoring and camps each year

• Thousands of families supported through monthly food box distribution

At the heart of our mission is a commitment to equity, opportunity, and leadership development—ensuring that every individual, regardless of background, has access to the skills, resources, and relationships they need to succeed. Your North Texas Giving Day gift invests in lasting transformation, helping us identify, affirm, and develop leaders who make Dallas stronger from the inside out.

Visit us at dlftx.org and see how DLF made impact in 2025 through our Annual Report