San Antonio, TX - Texasnonprofits.org (TXNP), the highest-trafficked Web portal for nonprofits in Texas, announced today the formation of a Board of Advisors also known as the Texas Think Tank. The Texas Think Tank has been commissioned to advise TXNP concerning its Web-based delivery strategies.

The group will meet bi-annually to discuss and set strategies on topics related to the leveraging of resources and information to improve nonprofit capabilities to benefit Texans. Other priorities include facilitating the grant search process for nonprofits, methods for encouraging corporate philanthropy, expanding the reach of Foundations' giving in Texas, and fostering multiple levels of collaboration.

Members include:
1. Jacqueline Beretta, chairman, The Beretta Foundation (San Antonio); editor/publisher, Texasnonprofts.org
2. Bruce Esterline, vice president for grants, The Meadows Foundation (Dallas)
3. Greg Flores, director of public affairs and corporate communications, H-E-B (San Antonio)4. Sandra Gilliland, president, The Gilliland Foundation (Amarillo)
5. Maggie McCarthy, executive director, The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation (Waco)
6. Curtis Meadows, executive director, The RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service (Austin)
7. Bill Reaves, associate vice chancellor of public education, Texas A&M University System; executive director, Center for Research Evaluation & Advancement of Teacher Education (CREATE) (Houston)
8. Benjamin Rodríguez, president, Management and Business Advisors; TXNP facilitator and strategic planner (San Antonio)
9. Justin Schmidt, corporate relations manager, Allstate Insurance Company (Dallas)
10. Fred Smith, president, The Gathering (Tyler)
11. Graham Weston, chief executive officer, co-chairman, Rackspace Managed Hosting (San Antonio)
12. Valleau Wilkie, Jr., executive director, Sid W. Richardson Foundation (Fort Worth)

"We are so fortunate to bring in top-notch professionals who are experts in corporate, government, education and technology," said Beretta. "I look forward to working with them and taking TXNP to a new level, which will in turn benefit many communities in Texas."

"Texasnonprofits.org has assembled a great group of thinkers and doers in the field of philanthropy," said Maggie McCarthy. "I hope the entire state can benefit from the bounty of brainstorming that will take place. After all, you have people who have spent their careers as elegant architects of the box that crafted the field, and you have folks who crash the walls of that box with both feet. It should be a heady mix of talent and passion, and I can't wait to see what this rich brew will yield."

"TXNP is facilitating communications between nonprofits, corporations, foundations, and individuals to encourage efficient social responsibility in Texas," said Greg Flores. In fact, they are acting as sector connectors."

ABOUT TXNP
Under the direction of publisher and editor Jackie Beretta, TXNP was formed in 2001 by the Beretta Foundation in an effort to facilitate the grant search process through an extensive information clearinghouse. TXNP supports the State's nonprofit community by bringing together nonprofits, philanthropists, foundations, nonprofit advisors, corporations, and individuals.

The TXNP website offers several free benefits to registered users, including posting and searching of job opportunities, news, and events from nonprofits around the state as well as a director of nonprofit consultants, volunteer activities, and nonprofit wish lists. The site's fee-based services include the Texas Online Foundation Directory, which includes information on more than 4,000 foundations in Texas, and a database of more than 70,000 non profit groups. Users can search by geographic location, area of interest, and size. The site receives approximately 700,000 page views per month. www.txnp.org.

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