About Gordon A Cain Foundation
The Gordon A Cain Foundation concentrates large, strategic gifts to major Houston cultural institutions and to military/heritage causes, with occasional support for faith-based education. Most grants are sizable and directed to well-established museums, theaters, and a national infantry foundation, indicating a preference for visible, institution-building investments largely centered in Houston with at least one national military/heritage commitment.
Focus Areas
Support for major Houston visual arts institutions (e.g., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston)Funding for natural history and science museums in Houston (e.g., Houston Museum of Natural Science)Support for regional performing arts organizations (e.g., Alley Theatre)Military history and infantry heritage projects/national military museum support (e.g., National Infantry Foundation)Parish-based K–8 religious schooling in the Houston area (e.g., St. Matthew's Parish School)
Who They Fund
not specified
Giving Approach
About Gordon A Cain Foundation
A $1.1 million unrestricted grant to the National Infantry Foundation stands out as the foundation’s largest recent award and helps define its pattern: large, flexible gifts to established institutions. Gordon a Cain Foundation also backed Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts with $450,000 in 2025 and $136,000 in 2024, alongside $285,000 to Alley Theatre, showing repeat support for major arts organizations rather than one-off project bets. The recent record also includes cultural, educational, health, and heritage organizations such as the Houston Museum of Natural Science, St Matthew's Parish School, and the Holocaust Museum of Houston. Across its recent grant list, the foundation favors unrestricted support, which suggests a preference for giving recipients room to direct funds where they are most needed. Its board-reviewed grantmaking appears to be used for institution-building, with a strong concentration in Houston and a smaller set of awards reaching other parts of the United States. The pattern is visible in both the size of the gifts and the mix of grantees: museums, theaters, schools, and mission-driven nonprofits that already operate at scale.
What Gordon A Cain Foundation Funds
Houston cultural institutions are a central theme. The foundation gave $475,000 in 2024 to Houston Museum of Natural Science for unrestricted support, and in 2025 it awarded $450,000 to Museum of Fine Arts Houston, also unrestricted. Performing arts appear as another recurring area, including $285,000 to Alley Theatre in 2025. Outside the arts, the foundation has funded heritage and civic-history work: National Infantry Foundation received $1.1 million in 2025 and $100,000 in 2024, both unrestricted. Educational support also appears in the recent record, including $180,000 to St Matthew's Parish School in Pacific Palisades for unrestricted use. The mix points to a funder that supports institutions serving culture, history, and education, with most awards tied to existing organizations rather than short-term projects.
How Gordon A Cain Foundation Gives
Typical grants cluster around a modest-to-mid six-figure range for this foundation’s portfolio, with p25 at $5,500, a median of $10,000, and p75 at $22,500. The recent grant list also shows much larger awards, indicating that the foundation uses a wide spread of gift sizes depending on recipient and purpose. Several organizations appear in multiple years, including Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston Museum of Natural Science, National Infantry Foundation, Media Research Center Inc, Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research, and Uso - Houston, which points to repeat relationships rather than isolated giving. Grants are described as unrestricted in the recent record, and the foundation’s active programs accept unsolicited proposals from 501(c)(3) nonprofits through semiannual board review in May and December.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.8M
Total Assets
$68.8M
Total Revenue
$10.9M
Total Expenses
$3.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $6K and $23K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$6K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$23K
Geographic Reach
Regional7 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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