Third Ward Community Fund Management Corporation

The Cloth recognized its need for a mechanism to support its vision. So in 1995, the Third Ward Community Fund Management Corporation (TWCFMC) was created to support the leadership of the Cloth. The Third Ward Community Cloth Cooperative’s administrative support, through the TWCFMC, will continue to strengthen and coordinate our administrative operations, essentially allowing us to move from a “volunteer/ contract staff supported operation” to a model structure that can better offer resources to fully address new and pressing organizational needs.  

The Core Values of the TWCFMC

• Capacity-Building: Strengthen the economic sustainability and stabilization of The Cloth nonprofit and our community partners, with knowledge and skills, expanding their capacities to meet the needs of children, youth and families in the Greater Third Ward area. 

• Unity: Strengthening existing connections between our coalition of Cloth members to increase partnership and cooperation, based on a foundation of trust, transparency, and synergy. 

• Resources: Enhance the information sharing of resources amongst Cloth members that help address current community issues and the needs of residents in the Third Ward. 

• Shared Prosperity: Increasing the operational capacity of the Cloth by recruiting full- time staff and Cloth leadership within the threads who can help improve the quality and volume of services provided to support the economic sustainability and stabilization of Cloth members.

History of Third Ward Community Fund Management Corporation

Since its founding 30 years ago, the Third Ward Community Cloth Cooperative (formerly the Third Ward Community Fund Management Corporation, a 501(c)(3)) has worked to connect underserved and economically challenged residents with vital resources. Over 600 social, health, and community organizations have benefited from our monthly capacity-building sessions, held the first Tuesday of each month with 50–60 organizations in attendance.

In 2011, the Cloth launched the Intern Project in partnership with the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work to provide professional staff support to nonprofits lacking resources. Since then, more than 150 interns—primarily from UH, Prairie View A&M, and Texas Southern University—have been placed in agencies across the Third Ward. With additional support since 2018, we have been able to provide required honoraria to field instructors guiding these interns.

Looking ahead, the Cloth will expand its internship program by transforming our 15 volunteer field instructors and 10 interns into a consulting team offering technical, administrative, and program support to community organizations. We are also launching a Capacity Building Unit (CCBU) to strengthen and expand our role in supporting Third Ward nonprofits.

Amid today’s local, state, and national challenges of social injustice and limited access, the Cloth is reaffirming its mission—redefining the threads to better serve organizations, churches, families, and individuals across the greater Third Ward.