Caris Foundation

About Caris Foundation

Caris Foundation’s recent giving is defined by two large internal flows: payment for general support to Caris Foundation International in Irving and to Abilene Christian University in Abilene. Those two recipients account for the clearest picture of the foundation’s priorities in the latest grants list, with support landing repeatedly in the same Texas-based institutions year after year. Beyond those anchor recipients, the foundation also funds a smaller set of Texas nonprofits and schools, along with mission-aligned organizations outside Texas. The grant record shows a pattern of unrestricted support rather than tightly specified project funding, especially for affiliated religious-education and international mission activity. The foundation’s portfolio is not broad; it is concentrated and recurring. Several of the largest gifts in the recent list are multi-year payments to the same organizations, suggesting a steady relationship rather than one-off awards. Smaller grants extend that pattern into teacher appreciation, hardship assistance, and general operating support for local groups. Caris Foundation also appears in the data as a funder of individuals, which fits the presence of hardship assistance among its recent awards. Overall, the profile is of a grantmaker that channels substantial resources through a small circle of mission-aligned recipients while maintaining a local Texas footprint.

What Caris Foundation Funds

In higher education, Caris Foundation gave $2,550,000 in 2025 to Abilene Christian University for payment for general support, following similar support in prior years. That makes the university a central beneficiary of the foundation’s education-related giving. The foundation also supports faith-based and ministry-oriented organizations. It gave $100,000 in 2025 to George W Bush Foundation for payment for general support and smaller grants to Bands Ministries, including $65,786 in 2025 and additional payments in 2024 and 2023. Another recurring recipient, Lake Cities Church of Christ, received general support in 2024 and 2025. Teacher appreciation is another visible theme. Fortress Youth Development Center received $91,001 in 2025 and $83,144 in 2024 for teacher appreciation, and Van Zandt-guinn Elementary School received teacher appreciation grants in 2025 and 2024.

How Caris Foundation Gives