The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- If your organisation is a 501(c)(3) public charity working in Texas, and your project fits one of the foundation's programmes (clean energy, land conservation, subsurface energy, sustainability education or water), begin with a Letter of Inquiry, since the foundation notifies applicants if a full proposal is warranted.
- Requests around $10,000 sit near the median grant, and about 8 in 10 of its grants fall between $2,500 and $88,000, though that is a typical band rather than a ceiling.
- Do not ask for general operating support, demonstration or local community projects, or technology research and development, and note that research needs an explicit, practical policy application.
- Most grant dollars go to organisations it has funded before, so a first-time applicant should expect a more competitive route, but can still apply by clearly showing how the project supports the relevant grantmaking strategy and a sound communications plan for sharing results.
Overview
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation is a US private foundation based in The Woodlands, TX.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
CGMF seeks innovative, sustainable solutions at the nexus of environmental protection, economic vibrancy and human well-being. Its current sustainability grantmaking programmes focus on clean energy, land conservation, subsurface energy, sustainability education and water. Its sustainability-science approach brings scholarship and practice, global and local perspectives, and natural and social science disciplines together to address complex environmental and social problems. Proposed projects should align with a specific foundation programme, focus on the state of Texas and clearly demonstrate how they support the relevant grantmaking strategy. In general, the foundation provides grants to organisations classified as IRS 501(c)(3) public charities.
Themes
- Clean energy
- Land conservation
- Subsurface energy
- Sustainability education
- Water
Geographic Focus
Texas.
What They Don't Fund
- Organizations that are not classified as 501(c)(3) public charities by the Internal Revenue Service
- Research unless it contains an explicit and practical policy application or outcome
- Grants intended to support candidates for political office or to influence legislation
- The research, development, commercialization, or demonstration of technology
- Demonstration projects or local community projects
- General operating support
How to apply
Applicants should review the grantmaking programmes and guidelines, then complete a Letter of Inquiry. The foundation notifies applicants if a grant application proposal is warranted.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 90% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 1,181 grants to organisations were $10,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- A proposed project must align with a specific foundation programme.
- A proposed project must focus on Texas.
- A proposed project must clearly demonstrate how it supports the relevant grantmaking strategy.
- The foundation favours projects with a viable and sophisticated communications strategy for rolling out the results of the funded effort.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 7%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 3%
- The largest single recipient received 5% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 90% of grant dollars went to organisations The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- 10% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 397 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $10,000 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Greater Houston Community Foundation · For Save Our Springs Alliance to protect the Edwards Aquifer$412,7922024 tax year
- Vision Galveston · To support the implementation of Vision Galveston's initiatives, including PhilanthroVision, MORTAR Galveston 2025, and the 2025 Learning Journey$400,0002024 tax year
- Water Foundation · To Advance a Resilient Water Future through the Water Table and Texas Wellspring$400,0002024 tax year
- US Water Alliance · One Water, One Texas$315,0002024 tax year
- Texas Agricultural Land Trust · To Secure and Share Land Legacies and Advocate for Private Lands Through the Texas Land Policy Center$300,0002024 tax year
- Environmental Defense Fund · Setting Durable Guardrails on Texas and the Gulf Coast's Path to a Cleaner Future$275,0002024 tax year
- National Wildlife Federation Austin · To advance sound and equitable water policy in Texas$250,0002024 tax year
- University of Texas at Austin · To convene experts toward developing a model for understanding the macroeconomic impacts of an orderly phase-down of unabated fossil fuels$212,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Skye Tellen — Board member
- Meredith Heimburger — Board member
- Adrienne Dreiss Ropp — Board member
- J Kirk Mitchell — Board member
- Katina Mitchell — Board member
- Mark D Mitchell — Board member
- Sheridan Lorenz — Board member
- Cody Mitchell — Board member
- Sarah Mitchell — Board member
- Christine Mitchell — Board member
- Graham Mitchell — Board member
- Spiros Vassilakis — Treasurer
- Nichelle Bielinski — Secretary
- M Kent Mitchell — Vice Chair
- C Grant Mitchell — Chair
- Katherine Lorenz — President
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $19,681,521 | $14,292,544 | $361,960,507 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $18,359,968 | $13,050,177 | $392,291,858 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $18,667,468 | $12,078,114 | $434,796,805 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (713) 377-5060
- admin@cgmf.org
- The Woodlands, TX
- cgmf.org
Applying to The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (713) 377-5060
- admin@cgmf.org
- The Woodlands, TX
- cgmf.org