Light on the Hill church in Kerrville has been putting their $1.2 million grant from the Community Foundation to use by speeding the flood recovery process along for many affected families with financial need.
Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation, said the amount reflects the scale of need in the area.
“It’s because there is so much need in Kerr County,” he said. He pointed to data used to guide the funding decision. “If you look at what they call the iSTAT data, and also our own Rebuild Kerr Needs Assessment data, the information is clear that we have a significant number of people who were flood affected here in the community,” Dickson said.
At the end of July, Dickson announced the Community Foundation would distribute $1.7 million in grants among four Hill Country nonprofits. Light on the Hill received $1.2 million of that amount.
“We looked at the data and distributed funds according to need, so that’s why Light on the Hill received such a significant grant, on top of being an amazing and established community partner.”
Beth Palmer, outreach director at Light on the Hill, said the church is also continuing its food relief work alongside its new financial assistance program.
The financial assistance events happen every Thursday. The second-ever event drew close to 200 families, up from the church’s first, smaller event the week before. “I think we had 63 families at that first event,” Palmer said. “It was sort of our soft opening.”
The program launched at a July 30, 2026, press conference where the Community Foundation announced the grant. The program will run for a couple more months, Palmer said.
“It’ll run through September, unless we run out of funding before. We’re trying as hard as we can to get the funding out to people faster,” Palmer said.
The amount each household receives is not fixed.
“Check amount is based on the assessment results,” Palmer said, referring to the iSTAT and Rebuild Kerr Needs Assessments. “Each family will get an amount based on their level of need.”
The Community Foundation is also supporting other communities in its service area with financial relief for flood-affected residents.
“So our emergency financial assistance grants went to four nonprofits across the region,” Dickson said. “Those four are Light on the Hill here in Kerrville, Catholic Charities San Antonio, which is working in Uvalde County, Hill Country Family Services in Boerne, and the Hill Country Community Needs Council in Fredericksburg.”
The Community Foundation selects only one nonprofit per area.
“We have not had more than one grantee in an area, so that we don’t have duplication, but more importantly, confusion,” Dickson said.
Light on the Hill is also working with several community partners beyond the financial assistance program, including a recent back-to-school giveaway. “We just did a huge back to school event,” Palmer said, “where over 500 children received new shoes, new backpacks, and school supplies.”
The church says it wants to work alongside others, not alone.
“We do not want to be a silo,” Palmer said. “It’s a big community effort. We want to be connected. We want to work with everyone, because that is better.”
People seeking help can visit Light on the Hill in person during the week, or the Kerr Together Disaster Relief Center at 98 Coronado in Kerrville, where staff can help residents complete the assessment forms required for various aid, as well as navigate available resources.
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