My Possibilities, a Plano-based nonprofit organization, recently received a $1 million grant from The Rees-Jones Foundation to support continued development of its Campus for Higher Learning, a college-style education center for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). At this campus, My Possibilities (MP) provides a trademarked curriculum for higher level education, vocational training and job development, along with socialization and fitness opportunities for these adults.
A three-year $25 million capital campaign launched in 2017, allowing MP to break ground on its 22-acre campus in central Plano, located near the George W. Bush Turnpike and Coit Road. This past May, the doors were opened to the first building on the campus, the Fischer Family School of Life Skills. In 2019 MP plans to break ground on the LaunchAbility Career Services Center. These two buildings are located in the center of the campus, which will expand over time to include a therapy center, a health-and-wellness center, a retail center, a performing arts center and dormitories.
MP originally opened its doors in 2008 to serve 10 students, affectionately dubbed Hugely Important People (HIPsters). The organization now serves 450 HIPsters a week, in addition to providing job coaching services to more than 175 individuals with IDD working throughout the Metroplex.
Founded in 2006 by Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones, The Rees-Jones Foundation is a private foundation that works with nonprofit organizations, primarily in North Texas, to serve others and improve their quality of life and life circumstances in tangible ways. Since 2006, The Rees-Jones Foundation has awarded more than 1,300 grants, in North Texas and internationally, exceeding $300 million in total.
My Possibilities and Rees Jones first began their relationship in 2016 when the foundation awarded MP a $50,000 operation grant. Those funds supported the agency’s daily programming, designed to enrich the lives of HIPsters and promote their independence.
The Rees-Jones Foundation approved the $1 million capital request in Aug. 2018 to support construction of the LaunchAbility Career Services Center, the second building at MP’s Campus for Higher Learning. This is the largest single grant My Possibilities has ever received, bringing total revenue for its capital campaign to $18.4 million to date.
Michael Thomas, executive director at My Possibilities, expressed how grateful the organization is for the way that the DFW community has rallied around its students and its community, saying, “It’s evident our growth and programming are positively affecting so many.”
In the last six months, grants from these organizations have generously supported My Possibilities:
- $300,000 from the McDermott Foundation (collectively the McDermott Foundation and McDermott Family have given a total of $1.5 million)
- $250,000 from Meadows Foundation
- $250,000 from The Perot Foundation
- $100,000 from Hoblitzelle Foundation
- $50,000 from M.B. and Edna Zale Foundation
In addition to these generous gifts, notable contributions from Dallas County in the past year include:
- $150,000 from the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation
- $100,000 from Communities Foundation of Texas
(Editor’s note: This story was updated on Dec. 6 to include two additional contributions.)
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My Possibilities Campus for Higher Learning
3601 Mapleshade Lane
Plano, TX 75075
