Forest Forward

Forest Forward (FF), is a non-profit organization founded in 2017 that partners with the community to drive equitable development, economic mobility, and improve outcomes for children, residents, and families of the South Dallas community. The infusion of public, private, and philanthropic investments into the heart of zip code 75215 will ignite healthy neighborhood revitalization and create a new vibrant core for the City of Dallas.  

Forest Forward works with the community to combat the causes and effects of systemic inequities through neighborhood revitalization that centers efforts to accelerate the advancement and achievements of the community and marginalized people.  

Building upon the vision of community stakeholders, and the transformation of the historic Forest Theater, Forest Forward works towards a just, healthy, and thriving South Dallas. Forest Forward harnesses the power of art and culture to align strategic partnerships to create equitable opportunities, generate revenue, promote entrepreneurship, and establish sustainable best practices.  

While taking a holistic approach, anchored in the restoration and expansion of the Forest Theater offerings, Forest Forward works to sustain the interest, growth, and success of equitable neighborhood development.  Forest Forward has recently completed a visionary plan to intertwine three (3) key strategic pathways:

1. Economic Vitality 

-Restoration of the historic Forest Theater 

-Increase/Improve Job Creation, Revenue generation, infrastructure improvement, etc 

2. Cradle -to- College Education Pathway-MLK Arts Academy, Pre-K through 8th 

-Campus demographics, Attendance, Capacity, Course Offerings expansion 

3. Mixed-Income Housing- 150+ Units of Multi-Family Mixed Income Housing

-Land Acquisition 

-Diverse Housing Offerings (Mixed-income)  

Forest Forward has a formal partnership with SMU CORE (Center of Research and Evaluation) to develop a robust evaluation and assessment agreement to measure key short - term and long-term metrics of neighborhood development and social determinants of health.

Our Needs

According to the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2014-2019) and the 2019 U.S. Census data, the federal poverty level for a family of four in 2019 was $25,100. Considering the Forest District/Fair Park and Highland Hills neighborhoods, those communities are living below the poverty level. The neighborhood data and statistics show that there is less than 25 percent in home ownership, $25,000 as the median income, childhood poverty falls between 30-50 percent, and 20-30 percent of the population have no high school diploma- with higher Hispanic and Black populations being less likely to have adults over 25 with a high school diploma than white populations in areas like North Dallas. The life expectancy in the 75215 area code is 67 years of age-16 years lower than Dallas residents who live just two miles north of the Theatre. The goal is to shift the quality of life of the community through neighborhood revitalization beginning with the restoration of the Forest Theatre.

Forest Forward believes in the creation of cradle to college pipelines, job creation, and access to community-informed resources through significant financial investment. Forest Forward works as the unifying force to bring that investment to the Forest District.