How Austin Built a Foundation of Generosity

In 1977, one woman’s gift helped launch Austin Community Foundation—but the story begins earlier, with a growing city, a bold idea, and a group of local leaders who believed generosity could be shaped into something lasting for our region.

Austin was changing quickly in the 70’s. The city was growing, attracting new ideas and investments, and becoming more of the place we know today. At the same time, many in the community did not share equally in that growth. Local leaders saw an opportunity to create something that could serve all of Austin over time: a community foundation that would bring people together, steward charitable resources, and help meet local needs for generations to come.

That vision had been taking shape for years before ACF was formally created. In fact, civic and banking leaders had already explored the idea of a community trust fund in Austin. That early effort did not last, but the idea stayed with George K. Meriwether, a trust officer at Austin National Bank, who believed Austin would one day benefit from a permanent philanthropic institution.

A few years later, that opportunity arrived. Meriwether encouraged a client, Fannie Gray Leo, to consider leaving part of her estate to help create a community foundation for Austin. When she died in 1975, she left a bequest valued at $30,000 for that purpose. Her gift made Austin Community Foundation possible, but it took a broader community effort to make ACF a reality.

Around the same time, longtime Austin Parks & Recreation Director Beverly Sheffield had been asked by the City of Austin to lead a new effort focused on civic legacies, trusts, and endowments. When Meriwether shared his vision, Sheffield recognized the opportunity. With the deadline to place Mrs. Leo’s gift into a nonprofit quickly approaching, Meriwether recruited tax attorney Richard Donoghue to prepare the charter, and Sheffield filed the articles of incorporation for Austin Community Foundation with the Texas Secretary of State on May 9, 1977.

That is what makes ACF’s origin story so meaningful. It is not simply the story of one donor or one moment. It is the story of a generous act meeting a larger vision—and of people coming together to build something the community could carry forward.

• Fannie Gray Leo’s bequest was the catalyst.
• George K. Meriwether stewarded the idea.
• Beverly Sheffield helped turn it into action.
• Richard Donoghue created the legal framework.
• And the Foundation’s earliest board of governors guided ACF in its first chapter.

Together, they helped create what ACF was always meant to be: a community steward rooted in local leadership, shared responsibility, and deep care for Austin’s future.

From the beginning, ACF was designed to be more than a place to move charitable dollars from one moment to the next. It was built to last. That is the power of endowment. An endowed gift can meet a need today while also creating a permanent resource for the future. What started with one bequest helped lay the foundation for a tradition of generosity that continues to support Central Texas over time.

Nearly 50 years later, that founding story still says something important about Austin Community Foundation. ACF began with the belief that generosity is most powerful when people come together around a shared purpose. Communities are stronger when they invest in something larger than themselves, and when charitable resources are stewarded thoughtfully, they can continue to respond to changing needs and new possibilities for generations.

This is where the story starts: with people who believed Austin needed something lasting and helped build it together.