← Back to US Funders Directory

Kinder Foundation

Annual Giving
$57.0M
Grant Range
$30K - $150.0M

Kinder Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $55-60 million (varies annually)
  • Total Committed: $850+ million since 1997
  • Total Distributed: $621.4 million (as of December 31, 2024)
  • Grant Range: $30,000 - $150,000,000
  • Geographic Focus: Greater Houston, Texas area
  • Application Method: Invitation only / no public application process

Contact Details

Address: 2229 San Felipe St, Suite 1700, Houston, TX 77019-5648

Website: kinderfoundation.org

EIN: 76-0519073

Note: The Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications and only makes contributions to pre-selected charitable organizations.

Overview

The Kinder Foundation is a family philanthropic foundation established in 1997 by Richard and Nancy Kinder of Houston, Texas. With over $621.4 million distributed from more than $850 million in committed grants, the foundation has become one of Houston's most transformational philanthropic organizations. The foundation is funded solely by Rich and Nancy Kinder, who signed the Giving Pledge in 2011, committing to donate 95 percent of their wealth to charity. Nancy Kinder serves as President and CEO, while Rich Kinder serves as Chairman. The foundation's mission is to enrich the lives of people in the Greater Houston area through transformational grants that impact urban green space, education, and quality of life. The foundation is intentional about "transformational giving," focusing on making sizable, impactful gifts that transform Houston in significant ways rather than distributing numerous small grants.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Kinder Foundation operates through three primary funding areas:

Urban Green Space The foundation's most prominent focus area, with grants ranging from $8 million to $100 million for major park projects:

  • Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan: $100 million (2022) - largest single donation in Houston parks history
  • Memorial Park Master Plan: $70 million (2018) - then Houston's largest single parks grant
  • Bayou Greenways 2020 Project: $50 million (2013) - creating 1,500 acres of new parkland and 150 miles of trails
  • MacGregor Park Improvement Project: $27 million (2023)
  • Emancipation Park expansion: $18.5 million
  • Discovery Green: $10 million
  • SPARK Parks (combined with other funders): $8 million (2023) for 40 school parks

Education

  • Kinder Excellence in Teaching Awards (KETA): Since 2001, over $5.3 million awarded to 323 teachers. Each awardee receives $30,000, honoring Rich Kinder's mother, Edna C. Kinder, a special education teacher. Awards distributed across Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, KIPP Texas Public Schools – Houston, Teach For America Houston (in partnership with Aldine ISD and Houston ISD), and YES Prep Public Schools.
  • Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research: $11.8 million (2023)
  • University of Missouri Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy: $25 million (2015); additional $4.7 million (2023)
  • Houston Local Information Initiative: $2.5 million (2023)
  • Good Reason Houston: Support for educational initiatives

Quality of Life

  • Kinder Children's Cancer Center (Texas Children's Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center): $150 million (2025)
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston campus redevelopment: $50 million (2015)
  • Texas Heart Institute: Major grant recipient
  • DePelchin Children's Center: Major grant recipient
  • Houston Food Bank: Major grant recipient

Priority Areas

  1. Urban parks and green spaces - The foundation's signature focus, particularly transformative projects that create or dramatically enhance public parks in Houston
  2. Education excellence - Supporting exceptional teachers and educational research institutions
  3. Quality of life improvements - Healthcare facilities, cultural institutions, and social service organizations serving Greater Houston
  4. Transformational impact - Projects that would not happen without foundation intervention

What They Don't Fund

  • Organizations outside the Greater Houston area
  • Projects that can be funded through other sources
  • Small-scale or incremental improvements (preference for transformational gifts)
  • Unsolicited applications from organizations not already on their radar

Governance and Leadership

Key Leadership

Richard Kinder - Chairman of the Kinder Foundation. A billionaire energy executive and founder of Kinder Morgan, Rich is a life trustee and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. He has served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards.

Nancy Kinder - President and CEO of the Kinder Foundation. She oversees the vision and strategic leadership of the organization's major gifts and served as the founding chairman of Discovery Green Conservancy.

Leadership Philosophy

Rich Kinder described their strategy: "We didn't want to be a shotgun foundation that gives money here and everywhere. We wanted to be a rifle shot … if a project wouldn't get done if we didn't step in, then that's transformational."

On their focus areas: "So we decided early on, our core principles would be that we would invest most of our philanthropy in Houston and then that we would try to concentrate on really three areas that we thought really needed help, that's education and urban green space and then kind of a lump-it-all-in quality of life."

On urban green spaces: "The first thing city budgets do is run out of money for parks and urban green space, and that's why we have concentrated on it."

On selecting partners: "Like in business or anything else in life, it's really kind of a bet on people. And I think that's probably been the single most important part of our operation—picking the right people."

Nancy Kinder on legacy: "I want [our grandchildren] to be proud of us… and I want them to know that's what we expect of them when they grow up. They have to give back, and it's not all about us."

Staff Team

The foundation operates with a small team of approximately 10 individuals, led by and including Rich and Nancy. Key staff members include:

  • Gary - Chief of Staff (since 2009), also serves on Kinder Foundation's board
  • Sabrina Kirwin - Chief Financial Officer (since 2015), responsible for financial planning, analysis, and accounting
  • Patra Brannon-Isaac - Director of Education and Community Projects
  • Guy Hagstette - Senior Vice President of Parks and Civic Projects, a registered architect and urban planner who directs the foundation's park and civic projects
  • Sarah Newbery - Director of Parks and Greenspace, coordinates partnerships and leads initiatives related to the foundation's park projects

The foundation has a team of experts on staff—from architects to community specialists—who provide valuable perspectives on projects.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Kinder Foundation does not have a public application process. The Foundation only makes contributions to pre-selected charitable organizations and operates on an invitation-only basis. Organizations cannot apply directly for funding.

The foundation's approach is highly strategic and proactive, with the Kinder team identifying transformational projects that align with their mission and would not be feasible without their intervention.

Getting on Their Radar

The Kinder Foundation takes a hands-on, relationship-based approach to grantmaking. Based on their documented approach:

Project-Centered Selection: The foundation looks for projects that meet specific criteria:

  • Transformational impact - projects that wouldn't happen without their intervention
  • Alignment with their three focus areas (urban green space, education, quality of life)
  • Strong leadership - "It's really kind of a bet on people...picking the right people"
  • Benefit to Greater Houston

Partnership Approach: The foundation provides more than just funding:

  • A team of experts on staff (architects, community specialists) provide valuable perspectives on projects
  • The foundation takes an active role in projects, not just writing checks
  • Nancy Kinder served as founding chairman of Discovery Green Conservancy, exemplifying their hands-on involvement

Established Organizations: Recent grants have gone to well-established Houston institutions including:

  • Buffalo Bayou Partnership
  • Memorial Park Conservancy
  • Houston Parks Board
  • Texas Children's Hospital
  • MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • Rice University
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Connection Points: Organizations that have received funding often have existing relationships with:

  • Houston's philanthropic community
  • Other major Houston foundations
  • Civic and cultural leadership in Houston
  • Urban planning and parks advocacy organizations

Decision Timeline

Not publicly disclosed. Given the transformational nature of grants (often $10 million+), decisions likely involve extensive due diligence, planning discussions, and relationship building over months or years.

Success Rates

Not applicable - invitation-only grantmaking model.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - organizations do not apply or reapply. The foundation proactively identifies and approaches organizations for funding opportunities.

Application Success Factors

Since this is an invitation-only funder, traditional application success factors do not apply. However, based on the foundation's documented preferences and funded projects:

Transformational Scale: The foundation explicitly seeks projects that "wouldn't get done if we didn't step in." They favor large-scale, transformative initiatives over incremental improvements. Their grants typically range from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars.

Houston-Centric: All funding must benefit Greater Houston. The foundation has stated: "We would invest most of our philanthropy in Houston." There appears to be no funding for projects outside the Houston area.

Strong Leadership and Management: Rich Kinder emphasized: "It's really kind of a bet on people. And I think that's probably been the single most important part of our operation—picking the right people." Organizations must demonstrate exceptional leadership and management capability.

Strategic Alignment: Projects must align with one or more of their three core areas:

  • Urban green space (particularly parks)
  • Education (particularly recognizing teaching excellence or supporting educational research)
  • Quality of life (healthcare, cultural institutions, social services)

Public Benefit: The foundation funds projects with broad public benefit. Their major parks grants create accessible public spaces; their education grants recognize teachers across multiple school networks; their quality of life grants support institutions serving the broader Houston community.

Partnership Readiness: The foundation provides expert staff support and takes an active role in projects. Organizations must be ready for a partnership approach rather than a hands-off grant relationship.

Financial Sustainability: While the foundation makes transformational gifts, they partner with organizations that have sustainable operating models. For instance, parks grants often support conservancies with long-term maintenance plans.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public application process - The Kinder Foundation identifies and approaches organizations proactively. Organizations cannot submit unsolicited applications.

  • Focus on transformational impact - The foundation explicitly uses a "rifle shot" rather than "shotgun" approach, making large grants to projects that wouldn't happen otherwise rather than many small grants.

  • Houston-only geography - All funding benefits Greater Houston. Organizations outside this area are not funded.

  • Relationship-based grantmaking - The foundation "bets on people" and takes an active partnership role in funded projects, providing expert staff support beyond financial resources.

  • Three core focus areas - Urban green space (especially parks), education (especially teaching excellence), and quality of life (healthcare, cultural, social services) are the only funded areas.

  • Scale matters - Recent grants range from $2.4 million to $150 million, with many in the $10-100 million range. The foundation seeks major impact, not incremental change.

  • Long-term vision - The Kinders have committed 95% of their approximately $10 billion wealth to Houston charities, with commitments extending through 2031, signaling sustained grantmaking for years to come.

References

← Back to US Funders Directory