Houston Endowment

• Houston Endowment funds public education, civic engagement, arts and culture and greenspaces, and the organisation or project must benefit people in Greater Houston, covering Harris, Brazoria, Chambers and 5 more counties in Texas.
• It operates by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests, so a grant writer should not send a cold application; once invited, the application is submitted electronically through GivingData, deadlines are communicated at that point, and invited applicants can discuss their request with a programme officer.
• About 8 in 10 of its 1,114 grants fall between $4,000 and $500,000, the median grant was $100,000, and the largest grant was $10,000,000, so a request around the median is a realistic benchmark for most organisations.
• The foundation looks relationship-led rather than open-door: 85% of its grant dollars went to organisations it had already funded in its two previous filings, so a new applicant is competing for a smaller share of funding dollars until invited and funded.
• Organisations whose work does not benefit people in Greater Houston, or who plan to apply without an invitation, should not approach the foundation directly.

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

• Greater Houston Community Foundation · Program Support for Houston Charter Seed Fund
  $5,000,0002024 tax year
• Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · In support of the Charitable Activities of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors' Sponsored Project the Greater Houston Voter Engagement Project
  $5,000,0002024 tax year
• Harmony Public Schools · Project Support for Phase Two of Houston Expansion
  $3,000,0002024 tax year
• United Way of Greater Houston · Project Support for the Building Possibilities Campaign for United Way to Assist Houston's Nonprofit Sector Pursue Public Grants
  $3,000,0002024 tax year
• Houston Local Information Initiative Inc DBA Houston Landing · General Operating Support
  $2,325,0002024 tax year
• Pacific Charter School Development · Project Support for Expansion of the Texas Charter School Development Facilities Fund
  $2,000,0002024 tax year
• Greater Houston Community Foundation · 2024 Houston Endowment Directed Grant Program Administered by GHCF
  $1,502,0902024 tax year
• Texas Immigration Law Council · General Operating Support
  $1,400,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

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.