CFTHC launches new flood relief fund for victims

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has spent the past year helping to heal and recover a single wounded community, helping Kerr County families rebuild after one of the most devastating floods in its history. [Hill Country Community Journal]

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country established a new regional recovery initiative this week to address the devastating aftermath of flooding that swept across multiple counties, marking the second major disaster in as many years for the area.

The foundation launched the Texas Hill Country Flood Relief Fund on Thursday and Friday following torrential storms that dropped more than 26 inches of rainfall across parts of Kerr County on July 16, 2026. The deluge sent waterways including the Guadalupe River and Cibolo Creek to record levels, forcing evacuations and high-water rescues while damaging homes, businesses and infrastructure across the region's 10-county service territory. At least two flood-related deaths were reported elsewhere in South Central Texas, though officials in Bandera and Kendall counties said no fatalities occurred in those areas.

The new fund represents an expansion of recovery efforts that began after another catastrophic flood struck the region in July 2025. That earlier disaster claimed 139 lives and caused billions of dollars in damage, prompting the foundation to create the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund. Foundation CEO Austin Dickson said the organization spent the past year supporting nonprofits and community partners rebuilding after that event. "One of the things we've learned in the past year in recovery is not about repairing what was lost, but rebuilding what comes next," Dickson said during a virtual news conference.

The new relief fund will serve all 10 counties in the foundation's service area: Bandera, Blanco, Edwards, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Mason, Real and Uvalde. The initiative will initially distribute grants to organizations providing emergency shelter, food, water and cleanup assistance, then transition toward longer-term projects rebuilding homes and small businesses. Foundation officials clarified that donations to the original Kerr County fund remain committed to their intended purposes, with the majority still designated for extended recovery work in that county.

Dickson said the foundation has not yet issued grants from the new regional fund and is conducting assessments to understand the full scope of damage. Foundation staff are consulting with nonprofit groups, local officials and community partners across the region to identify urgent needs, and has requested affected households complete a needs assessment posted on its social media channels. Of the $150 million available from the 2025 flood recovery effort, $82 million has been allocated, allowing more than 130 families to return home.

The foundation is also reaching out to families and organizations it previously assisted to determine whether previous recovery efforts were affected by this week's storms. Individuals, businesses and organizations can contribute to both the new Texas Hill Country Flood Relief Fund and the continuing Kerr County recovery fund.