Giving Grace outlines "Love First" campus after $6 million Denton County grant

Dawn Chapley, CEO of Giving Grace, said the nonprofit will break ground in August on a 15-acre "Love First" campus funded in part by a $6,000,000 grant from Denton County that she called the organization’s "culminating dream." "We were given a $6,000,000 grant from Denton County," Chapley said, adding that construction is scheduled to begin in August.

Giving Grace formed in 2022 through the merger of two local ministries, Giving Hope and Grace Like Rain, Chapley said. The organization serves Denton County and runs four core initiatives: street outreach, a housing-and-readiness program, life-skills classes funded by a Texas Health Community Impact grant, and the Love First residential project.

Chapley described street teams that connect with people in encampments and parking lots and a housing-readiness pathway intended to move people from street settings into housing or, when appropriate, into diversion arrangements with family members. On the role of skills training, she said the Texas Health-funded program provides classes in budgeting, goal setting and job readiness because "housing is not enough." "It's one thing to get someone housed, but housing is not enough," Chapley said.

About the Love First campus, Chapley said the single-site development will sit on 15 acres near McKinney in Denton and is intended to house about 75 families at a time while supporting many more through program turnover. The campus will include a childcare center to support resident families and those transitioning out of the program.

Chapley emphasized that the local housing crisis is especially acute for single mothers with children and framed the Love First campus as a community response to that need. She said Giving Grace works to build long-term relationships with businesses and individual monthly donors, who the organization calls "Grama Givers," to sustain its programs.

The announcement did not include a detailed budget breakdown for the county grant or a timeline beyond the planned August groundbreaking. Chapley identified the Texas Health community-impact award as supporting life-skills programming but did not specify its amount.

Next steps described by Chapley: finalize site preparations and begin construction in August, develop the on-site childcare facility, and continue life-skills and outreach programs countywide. Additional funding sources and operational details beyond the Denton County grant were not specified in the presentation.