Civic & Community Engagement Collaborative Webinar Series
Harness the Power of Philanthropy for Transformative Change
Rural communities are rich in leadership, relationships, and local pride, yet are but often overlooked in broader civic strategies. This session explores practical ways to strengthen civic participation, build community trust, and spark lasting engagement in rural communities throughout the Southwest through partnerships, local leadership, and place-based investment.
Powered by Houston Endowment, May's webinar will explore effective grantmaking strategies and best practices to effective engage within rural communities across Arizona, Colorado, and Texas. The session will highlight lessons learned, practical strategies, and innovative approaches for funders to engage rural communities from the following organizations:
- Vitalyst Health Foundation is an Arizona-based foundation that improves community well-being by connecting, supporting, and informing efforts that address the root causes of health across the state, with priorities including civic health, housing, and integrated care.
- Trust for Civic Life works to strengthen democracy by building trust, connection, and cross-sector collaboration that helps communities across Colorado thrive.
- Texas Rural Funders is the leading membership organization for philanthropy dedicated to rural Texas, mobilizing the power of funders to strengthen rural communities through collaboration, resources, and strategic investment across the state
Register Now | May 27, 2026 | 10 AM to 11 AM CST
Meet the speakers
Dr. Kelty Garbee, Executive Director, Texas Rural Funders
Dr. Kelty Garbee serves as Executive Director of Texas Rural Funders. Dr. Garbee has 20 years of experience with non-profits, state government, and philanthropy. She previously served as Director of Postsecondary Programs at Educate Texas and Director of Early College High Schools at the Texas Education Agency. In both roles she developed and led large-scale statewide networks with budgets of over $7 million and collaboration between K-12, higher education, and workforce partners. She also worked in the Development Office at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Garbee holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Texas-Austin. Her passion for ensuring equity and access in rural Texas is fueled by her upbringing in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Lynchburg, Virginia, and her work in communities across Texas.
Tito Llantada, Director of Networks & Programs, Trust for Civic Life
Tito Llantada is a veteran practitioner of open innovation and community-centered design methods who specializes in building culture and lasting organizational change. In his role leading the Trust for Civic Life’s network strategy and programming, Tito is designing the collaborative’s pilot grantmaking programs and building a network of organizations and individuals who share a vision for reinvented civic life.
Tito’s work is driven by his passion for the motivations and imperfections that make teams work and communities act, the insights that make them real, and the incentives that make them better. Tito has spent the past two decades designing and leading programs at organizations with global reach, such as Ashoka’s Changemakers, the World Bank Innovation Labs, and Context Partners. He has also partnered with Lemelson Foundation, Nike, International Finance Corporation, Green Mountain Coffee, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and GE to connect their business priorities to social impact strategies. Tito is based in Littleton, Colorado; when he isn’t cooking at home with his family, he is running, biking, or hiking throughout the region.
David Martinez III, Director of Strategic Community Partnerships, Vitalyst Health Foundation
In this role, he oversees the foundation’s capacity-building and grant programs and Civic Health portfolio. This includes leading the Vitalyst Grants & Partnerships Team to build and steward community and partner relationships.
David is on the Steering Committee of the Arizona Together for Impact Fund, serves on the board of the Arizona Democracy Alliance, and is Vice Chair of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP) Census Initiative. He is also a Community Advisor on the Council of Directors for the National Trust for Civic Life, an effort born out of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.
He is a Flinn-Brown Fellow with the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership, a Young Talent Advisor for the Center for the Future of Arizona, an appointee to the City of Phoenix Fast Track Cities Initiative, and a Trustee of the Desert Botanical Garden. Before joining Vitalyst, David was a Project Manager with the Center for the Future of Arizona, Community Engagement Manager for St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, and a lobbyist and organizer for the Arizona Students’ Association.
Born and raised in Marana, Arizona, and one of six children, David is a first-generation college student earning a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education, Political Science, and Journalism from The University of Arizona. He served as Student Regent on the Arizona Board of Regents, worked at the UA Office of Institutional Equity, and was an intern with Congressman Raul Grijalva.
David currently lives in Central Phoenix and loves to travel and explore Arizona.
Evan Wolstencroft, Program Manager, Texas Rural Funders
Evan Wolstencroft is the Program Manager for Texas Rural Funders (TRF). Evan has over a decade of experience working with philanthropy and non-profits. Prior to joining TRF, he was the Deputy Director of Development for Educate Texas at Communities Foundation of Texas. He’s worked with mission-driven organizations large and small, focusing on community grantmaking, public and higher education, healthcare access, homelessness, refugee resettlement, workforce development, and getting out the count for the 2020 Census.
Evan holds a bachelor's degree from Stonehill College and a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Evan is an international exchange alumnus of the U.S. Department of State (Critical Language Scholarship for Chinese, 2016), was a 2023 CONNECT Data Consulting Fellow with the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, and serves on the City of Austin Water and Wastewater Commission. After living all around the US, Evan is proud to call Texas his adopted home.
Philanthropy plays a vital role in driving positive change by uniting the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The Civic & Community Engagement Collaborative (CCE) is designed to empower philanthropic organizations in the southwestern U.S. to become catalysts for transformative impact. Each webinar in the Collaborative series will feature southwest funders in dialogue with nationally recognized organizations, sharing successes, strategies, and lessons learned from their partnerships to strengthen civic engagement and bring communities together across the region.
Questions?
Email Brittany Huber at bhuber@philanthropysouthwest.org.