A Very Important Deadline…
FROM THE DESK OF JONATHAN M. SAENZ
PRESIDENT & ATTORNEY FOR TEXAS VALUES
Dear Friends,
As I write to you today, I am reminded of a powerful scene from the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey is shown what the world would have looked like if he had never been there when it mattered most. George is shocked to see on a graveyard tombstone that his younger brother Harry Bailey died as a kid. George says “that’s a lie—Harry Bailey won the Congressional Medal of Honor, he saved the lives of every man on that transport!” And the angel says “Harry Bailey died, he slipped through the ice when he was nine and drowned because you weren’t there to save him.”
Wow! Looking back on your life after many years can remind you how important you were in big and small moments, moments we may not appreciate at the time.
This got me thinking…What would Texas look like today if our Texas Values nonprofit organization had never been launched (in 2012) and showed up?
Because for nearly fifteen (15) years, Texas Values has showed up—at the Capitol, in courtrooms, at school board meetings, in city council chambers, and across the media—defending Faith, Family, and Freedom for all Texans. We call this a “comprehensive approach to advocacy.”
And because of your help we showed up, and Texas is stronger today.
Texas Values has been one of the leading organizations fighting to:
- Protect unborn children and their mothers
- Defend children from harmful gender transition procedure
- Preserve fairness in girls’ sports
- Protect churches and religious liberty
- Defend the public display and teaching of the Ten Commandments
- And standing against radical policies that threaten Texas families and values
Simply put: Government belongs to those who show up.
And at the most critical moments, Texas Values has been there, often the only one.
Earlier this year, our team stood before the State Board of Education as radical activist groups pushed harmful revisions to Texas curriculum standards. Though strongly outnumbered, we showed up—and we won!
Recently, Texas Values was the leading voice opposing harmful LGBT ordinances before the Arlington City Council because of a new law we helped pass. We showed up—and we won!
In courtrooms and legislative hearings across Texas, organizations like the ACLU know exactly who Texas Values is because they know we will stand and fight for faith, family, and freedom every single time.
But the battles ahead are growing larger, more expensive, and more important than ever. The good news is that there are more elected officials at the state, national and local level who are ready to stand with us and go on the “offense” for our values and when we show up our chances of winning are high!
That is why we need your help before our fiscal year-end deadline on June 30, 2026.
Here are just a few of the major victories your support has helped make possible:
- Protecting children from harmful gender transition procedures, including major legal victories defending Texas law
- Helping preserve the teaching of the Ten Commandments and America’s Judeo-Christian heritage in all 1200 Texas school districts
- Defending Texas women and girls by supporting laws that preserve privacy and fairness, which keep men out of women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and women’s sports
- Fighting the spread of dangerous abortion drugs entering Texas illegally through the mail
- Reaching millions of Texans each year through our comprehensive multimedia efforts in television, radio, podcasts, social media, and daily media appearances
But passing laws is not enough.
We must now make sure those laws are actually followed and implemented.
Anti-Christian activists are already openly discussing ways to undermine Texas laws—from hiding Ten Commandments displays where students cannot see them, to ignoring laws protecting girls’ privacy and safety.
THAT IS WHY TEXAS VALUES IS LAUNCHING: OPERATION—FULFILL THE LAW
This initiative will help ensure Texas laws are fully implemented in schools, local governments, and communities across our state.
At the same time, the legal battle over the Texas Ten Commandments law may soon reach the United States Supreme Court. If that happens, Texas Values must be fully prepared to defend this landmark law all the way to the highest court in the nation. Even though the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that this wonderful law is constitutional (with our help), this case is far from over.
That is why we are also launching our long-term “$10 Million for the Ten Commandments” campaign—to defend these victories in court, support implementation efforts statewide, and ensure future generations understand the moral foundations of our nation.
This summer, while schools are closed, we are preparing a statewide grassroots effort to place Ten Commandments displays (as required by a new law) in all 300,000 public school classrooms across Texas; and build a network of local leaders ready to help us protect and fulfill these laws in every community.
And we are continuing to invest in the next generation of conservative Christian leadership through our internship program and policy development efforts heading into the 90th Texas Legislative Session in 2027.
We are also excited to announce that former State Representative Scott Sanford has joined the Texas Values team as Senior Advisor.
During his years in the Texas House of Representatives, Scott became one of the strongest voices for religious liberty and biblical values, including authoring the Texas Pastor Protection Act (with Texas Values support). Also, Scott has served for many years as an Executive Pastor at Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas.
Scott’s experience, leadership, and strategic vision will help strengthen Texas Values for years to come as we build a long-term legacy for Faith, Family, and Freedom in Texas.
As we approach June 30, our goal is to raise $1 million to fully fund the critical legal, legislative, media, and grassroots efforts now before us.
And thanks to a generous matching challenge grant, every gift made between now and June 30 will effectively be doubled up to $400,000!
Your support today will help Texas Values:
- Defend key laws in court, in the media and in public schools
- Hold schools and governments accountable
- Expand grassroots engagement across Texas
- Train future conservative leaders
- And prepare for the critical legislative battles ahead
- Hire New Staff (we get emails every week from people wanting to join our team)
- Fully Fund Operation: Fulfill The Law
The time to stand and march forward boldly is now!
The time to show up is now. The time to go on “offense” is now and our opportunities to win have never been better.
And with your partnership, Texas Values will continue protecting the Texas we know and love for generations to come.
Thank you for standing with us.
P.S. Every donation made before June 30, 2026, will be matched dollar-for-dollar through our matching challenge grant. Reminder–Texas Values is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, your donations are tax-deductible. Please give as generously as you can today.
P.P.S. If you haven’t already, I strongly encourage you to check out all the free resources we have that you can use to help us keep Texas strong. Go to txvalues.org/resources to see our Texas Values University education program, our Texas Legislative Guide and our specific forms and documents that you can use to protect your rights and values!