The Brown Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 74-6036466 · since 1952brownfoundation.org·Houston·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$84.3M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$2,500 to $125k

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$50,000

Typical grant (median)

222 grants in the latest filing

Open to applications

Fixed application deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

The Brown Foundation funds organisations building, sustaining and enhancing institutions and community life in the Greater Houston area, with education and the arts as its top priorities alongside human services, healthcare, conservation and land protection, parks and urban greenspace, and civic assets, so a strong fit with one of these themes and a Houston connection matters.
A modest request is realistic: about 8 in 10 of its grants to organisations fall between $2,500 and $125,000, the median grant is $20,000, and half of its grants were $20,000 or less, though the largest grant was about $20,500,000.
All new applicants must complete a brief pre-application form so the Foundation can assess eligibility and fit with its mission, geographic focus and priorities, and pre-applications are reviewed in four annual cycles, so allow time for this process.
The Foundation tends to favour organisations in the growth or maturity stage with evidence-based results and community demand to expand, typically serving at least 1,000 beneficiaries annually or scaling toward that level, with an annual operating budget above $1 million, and investment in start-ups is not typical.
A majority of its grant dollars go to organisations it has funded before, suggesting relationships count, and it does not fund 509(a)(3) organisations, Type III organisations or private operating foundations, nor does it support endowments, endowment campaigns, debt retirement, or event sponsorships, galas or similar.

Overview

The Brown Foundation is a US private foundation based in Houston, 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

The Brown Foundation supports organisations working to build, sustain and enhance Houston institutions and community life. Education and the arts are its top grantmaking priorities. Its education giving spans early childhood to higher education, with a priority for direct support to a diverse ecosystem of school models. It also supports organisations in human services, healthcare, conservation and land protection, parks and urban greenspace, and civic assets. Its arts support reaches organisations of all sizes, from performing arts groups and museums to small community-based groups and flagship institutions. In civic assets, it supports parks, gardens, nature conservancies, places for children and efforts to protect ecologically sensitive areas; its health support ranges from academic medical centres to community-based clinics. Its grantmaking is locally focused, primarily in the Greater Houston area, and it aims to support organisations dedicated to ambitious goals, excellence and exceptional impact.

Themes

Education
Arts & Culture
Human services
Healthcare
Conservation and land protection
Parks and urban greenspace
Civic assets

Geographic Focus

Priority: Greater Houston area.

What They Don't Fund

509(a)(3) organizations
Type III
Private Operating Foundations
Endowments
Endowment campaigns
Debt retirement
Any type of event sponsorships, galas, or similar

How to apply

All new applicants must complete a brief pre-application form, which the Foundation uses to assess eligibility and fit with its mission, geographic focus and priorities.

Deadlines: Pre-applications are accepted and reviewed in four annual cycles.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 69% 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 1,939 grants to organisations were $20,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

The Foundation prioritises direct support to a diverse ecosystem of school models.
The Foundation favours organisations in the growth or maturity stage, with evidence-based results and community demand to expand their services or impact; investment in start-ups is not typical.
Grantees typically serve at least 1,000 beneficiaries annually or are scaling to that level; most also have an annual operating budget greater than $1 million.
During review, staff may request follow-up conversations, site visits or supplemental data about an organisation, its mission and its impact.
Grant size decisions take account of an organisation’s scale and budget, age and maturity, prior relationship and programme area, among other factors.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

Texas88%

Pennsylvania8%

New York1%

Arkansas<1%

New Mexico<1%

New Hampshire<1%

6 other states: <1%

The largest single recipient received 11% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 69% of grant dollars went to organisations The Brown Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
11% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

222 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $50,000

How much do they typically give?

Share of 222 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$10k–$25k3%

$25k–$50k26%

$50k–$100k36%

$100k–$250k17%

$250k–$500k6%

$500k–$1M7%

$1M and over6%

Median $50,000 (tax year 2024)

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

National Philanthropic Trust · Study Group and Matching Grant Programs
$11,000,0002024 tax year
Harris Health Strategic Fund · Investing in a Healthier Harris County
$10,000,0002024 tax year
Precinct4Forward · Burnett Bayland Park Improvements
$7,500,0002024 tax year
YES Prep Public Schools · The Power of YES
$7,000,0002024 tax year
Hermann Park Conservancy · 10-year plan (Phase I)
$6,000,0002024 tax year
Greater Houston Community Foundation · Houston Charter Seed Fund
$5,000,0002024 tax year
Houston Museum of Natural Science · Brown Hall of Entomology ($2,850,000) and Youth Education Support ($150,000)
$3,000,0002024 tax year
Coalition for the Homeless of HoustonHarris County · Achieving Equilibrium ($1,500,000) and Operating Support ($75,000)
$1,575,0002024 tax year

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

Officers and directors

Christopher B Sarofim — Trustee
Elisa Pye — Trustee
Ryan O'Connor — Trustee
Caroline Negley — Trustee
Maria Mathis-Kruser — Trustee
William N Mathis — Trustee
Holbrook F Dorn — Trustee
Ralph Abendshein — Trustee
Jacklyn Tatge — CFO / Treasurer
Ann Ziker — ED / Assistant Secretary
Lousia S Sarofim — Secretary / Trustee
Isabel S Lummis — President / Trustee
John O'Connor — Chair / Trustee

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$91,981,368	$84,864,132	$1,884,155,948	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$125,930,873	$117,902,276	$2,094,844,968	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$92,692,676	$84,269,500	$2,197,022,299	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.