The Hawn Foundation, Inc. was established in October, 1962 by William Russell (“Fritz”) Hawn and his wife Mildred Hawn for the purpose of providing aid to charitable, educational, scientific and literary institutions. 

The Foundation made its first charitable grants in 1963. Upon her death in 1970, Mildred Hawn’s estate provided additional funding for the Foundation. Mrs. Hawn was an artist and a patron of the arts in Dallas. The Mildred Hawn Exhibition Gallery in the Hamon Arts Library at Southern Methodist University is named in her honor. The Henry Moore sculpture in front of Dallas City Hall was donated in her memory.

The Foundation currently operates under the direction of Joe V. Hawn, Jr., President, and makes grants to educational, scientific, cultural, Christian and other charitable organizations with a primary emphasis on charitable organizations serving the Dallas, Texas metropolitan area. Each organization receiving a grant is required to provide a copy of their determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service showing tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3). Grant applications for specific programs or projects, capital campaigns and general operations are considered.

The Foundation does not make grants to individuals or loans of any type. All scholarships funded by the Foundation are administered through the respective institutions. The Foundation does not provide scholarship funds directly to students. To find out more about our grant process and determine if your organization is eligible to apply please review our grant guidelines.