About Greater Houston Community Foundation
Growing effective philanthropy by connecting donors to the causes they care about, providing excellent stewardship of assets entrusted to us, and convening resources to address important community needs.
Focus Areas
Donor advised funds (DAFs)Disaster recovery & resiliencyScholarshipsStrategic philanthropy / consultingHigh-impact grantmakingCommunity data and research (Understanding Houston)Legacy & planned givingFoundation services
Who They Fund
general public/communitiesstudents and educational institutionsindividuals needing social services/vulnerable populationsglobal/international communities
About Greater Houston Community Foundation
A single $170,000,000 grant to Wood Next Philanthropies stands out in Greater Houston Community Foundation’s recent giving and shows the scale at which the foundation moves donor capital. As a community foundation and donor-advised-fund platform, it combines discretionary philanthropy, scholarship administration, disaster funds, and strategic grantmaking services across Greater Houston. Recent grants also reach major public charities and institutions, including Schwab Charitable Fund, National Christian Charitable Foundation Inc, and the University of Pittsburgh, alongside Houston-area organizations such as National Christian Foundation Houston, Young Life, Methodist Hospital Foundation, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. That mix suggests a funder that works both through large donor-directed vehicles and through place-based community priorities. The foundation’s active programs point to a broad infrastructure for giving: competitive high-impact grantmaking for economic mobility, donor-managed scholarship funds, and disaster-relief vehicles created for Hurricane Harvey, the winter storm, and Tropical Storm Imelda. Its own description emphasizes connecting donors to causes they care about, stewarding entrusted assets, and convening resources to address community needs. With annual grants of more than $642 million and total assets above $1.1 billion, it operates at a very large regional scale while keeping a strong Houston focus.
What Greater Houston Community Foundation Funds
In economic mobility work, Greater Houston Community Foundation runs a competitive High-Impact Grantmaking initiative that pools donor resources for organizations and collaboratives serving Greater Houston. The 2024–2025 cycle prioritized systems-change approaches to poverty and community collaboratives working to increase family income and stability, with grants in the $100,000–$200,000 range. Education is another major lane. The foundation administers scholarship funds for students and also supports education-oriented institutions through donor-directed giving; recent grants include Texas A&M Foundation for educational purposes and The Kinkaid School Inc for education. Health and human services appear in both strategic and direct grantmaking. Recent grants included Methodist Hospital Foundation for health and Young Life for human services, while strategic philanthropy services are designed to help donors define focus areas, research grantees, evaluate results, and manage the grantmaking process.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$204M
Total Assets
$1.1B
Total Revenue
$293.3M
Total Expenses
$267.8M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $52K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$52K
Geographic Reach
Regional51 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
STEPHEN D MAISLIN
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