News Release

Permian Basin Area Foundation Receives $5 Million Grant to Support Soldiers Deployed in Iraq-Afghanistan

Foundation seeks grant applications from nonprofits serving West Texas

February 8, 2007 – MIDLAND, Texas – Permian Basin Area Foundation has been awarded a $5 million grant from the Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund of the California Community Foundation to provide funding to nonprofit organizations that support soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. Permian Basin Area Foundation will respond to funding needs in the western part of Texas in collaboration with The Dallas Foundation and San Antonio Community Foundation, which will make grants for services in north-eastern and south-eastern Texas, respectively. Under the banner of the “TRIAD Fund,” the three Texas community foundations plan to distribute approximately $5 million each, a total of $15 million over a two-year period beginning in early 2007. In addition to the grant from California Community Foundation, Permian Basin Area Foundation will accept gifts from donors wishing to add to the support of U.S. troops and their families.

“Our Nation has been at war in Afghanistan and Iraq for the last six years, and as Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom continue, the toll on our military personnel and their families continues to grow,” said Guy McCrary, vice president and chief operating officer of Permian Basin Area Foundation. “Thousands of Texas service members have played and continue to play a vital role in the fields of conflict, and their families continue to feel the impact of their absence from home, and in many cases, their failure to return home. The TRIAD Fund project will strive to reduce the burden on these Americans who have made so many sacrifices. Permian Basin Area Foundation is honored to be a part of this relief initiative. It is our greatest hope that we can reduce the ongoing burdens of our noble servicemen and women and their families.”

The goal of the TRIAD Fund initiative is to expand assistance to American military personnel and their families who have unmet needs due to death, injury, or other physical or mental detriment, or financial hardship, as a result of service in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Foundation seeks to reach out to nonprofit organizations serving active duty, reserve, National Guard, and veterans of these theatres of conflict and supplement their funding for services to those who have borne the burden of the ongoing conflicts. Research indicates a number of needs that may be addressed with this funding, including: assistance with basic necessities – housing, food, clothing, and utility bills; issues related to youth and children; counseling; medical, legal, and financial management assistance; and urgent/critical issues – death in the family, emergency travel, and crisis referrals.

Permian Basin Area Foundation is now accepting grant applications from qualified tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations providing services in the western part of Texas to former and current military personnel serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and their families. Grant criteria and application information is available at www.triadfund.org. Later this month, the Foundation will announce plans for grant information workshops in multiple west Texas locations.

Established in 1915, the California Community Foundation is the largest community foundation in Southern California with assets of more than $1 billion. California Community Foundation awards grants of over $100 million per year and manages more than 1,400 charitable funds. For more information, visit www.calfund.org.

Permian Basin Area Foundation is a community foundation that provides a broad range of charitable services for communities of West Texas. As its primary mission, Permian Basin Area Foundation partners with donors to facilitate the creation of permanent charitable funds, and provides grants to address changing community needs and enrich the quality of life in the Permian Basin region.

For additional information about the TRIAD Fund project or Permian Basin Area Foundation, contact Guy McCrary at Permian Basin Area Foundation at 432.617.3213, or visit www.triadfund.org.