The Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation prioritizes place-based support for outdoor safety, land conservation and community arts—frequently funding water-safety and drowning-prevention programs, mountain/outdoor recreation and conservation groups (particularly in Colorado), and local arts and museums in the Fort Worth region. Grants are largely programmatic (swimming safety, outdoor education, byways/scenic preservation, and arts instruction) and often target community nonprofits, youth camps, and cultural institutions rather than national policy groups.
The Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation’s largest recent grant was $80,000 to the YMCA in Fort Worth for Safety Around Water, which signals how closely the foundation ties its giving to practical community needs. Across recent years, it has funded a mix of swimming safety, outdoor conservation, local arts, youth programs, and select humanitarian and animal-welfare efforts, with most dollars staying in Texas. The foundation also backs place-based outdoor work beyond Texas, including Colorado trail and peak-access initiatives and scenic-preservation projects. In Fort Worth, its support reaches cultural institutions and youth-serving organizations as well as safety and recreation programs. Grants have gone to the Amon Carter Museum of American Art for general support, Camp Fire First Texas Council for an artist’s Christmas/pavilion project, and Drowning Prevention Council for summer initiatives and outreach. The portfolio also includes support for community institutions such as the North Texas Community Foundation and the Fort Worth Nature Center, showing a preference for nonprofit partners that operate locally and serve defined audiences. Recent awards range from larger program grants to smaller, targeted gifts, suggesting a funder that uses both lead gifts and modest follow-on support to sustain specific projects and organizations.
Water safety is one of the clearest themes in the foundation’s grantmaking. It gave $80,000 to the YMCA for Safety Around Water and another $7,500 to Drowning Prevention Council for summer initiatives and outreach, both tied to swim instruction and prevention. Outdoor conservation and recreation appear in several grants outside Fort Worth. The foundation awarded $35,000 to Colorado Fourteener Initiative for field shoots, educational videos, and volunteer management software, and $10,000 to Trust for Public Land Colorado for general support. It also gave $1,000 to Salida Mountain Trails for general support. Arts and music support is another recurring strand. Grants include $10,000 to Southwest Watercolor Artists for Fabriano in Italy, $4,500 to Salida Concerts Inc for class tuition, instrument acquisition, and group instruction, and $2,500 to Artworks Foundation for the Art Worth Festival. These awards show support for both programming and participation in local cultural life.
$16K
$16.8M
$2M
$352K
Most grants fall between $1K and $10K, with a median of $3K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$3K
75th Percentile
$10K
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A mix of a few larger, targeted grants (one very large gift to a YMCA water-safety program) and multiple modest grants across regionally focused environmental, arts, and youth organizations; funding is program-specific, place-based, and spread among many single-year gifts rather than concentrated multi-year commitments to the same few grantees.
Notable grantees: YMCA (water-safety / Safety Around Water), Colorado Fourteener Initiative (mountain recreation & education), Camp Fire First Texas Council (youth camp / arts pavilion), Amon Carter Museum of American Art (local museum support), Trust for Public Land / Scenic Texas (land conservation and byways)
Typical grant size is modest: the distribution runs from a $1,000 p25 to a $2,500 median and $10,000 at p75. The foundation’s giving pattern includes a few larger anchor grants, but many awards are at or below the median. Some recipients appear more than once across years, including Medical Ministry International Uc and Cowtown Marathon, which suggests repeat support rather than strictly one-time giving. The foundation funds individuals, and the grant list also includes membership and honorific gifts, alongside project support and general operating support.
Texas receives the bulk of the foundation’s grants, with 78% of awards going to recipients in the headquarters state. Fort Worth appears frequently, with grants to the YMCA, Camp Fire First Texas Council, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Drowning Prevention Council, Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center, and others. Outside Texas, the foundation gives in Colorado through organizations in Golden, Denver, and Salida. It also made a grant to an organization in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and to recipients in Memphis, Tennessee and Concord, New Hampshire.
Recent grants show support for water safety and drowning prevention, outdoor conservation and recreation, local arts and music, youth outdoor education, land conservation, and a small number of humanitarian and animal-welfare efforts. Named examples include Safety Around Water, educational videos and volunteer software for Colorado Fourteener Initiative, and the Art Worth Festival.
Its grant size profile is relatively small and concentrated: p25 is $1,000, median grant size is $2,500, and p75 is $10,000. The recent list includes both larger awards, such as $80,000 to the YMCA, and many smaller gifts in the $500 to $3,000 range.
Yes. Texas is the top state by grant count, and 78% of grants go to recipients in Texas. Fort Worth is especially prominent, but the foundation also awards grants in Austin, San Antonio, Kaufman, and other Texas cities.
Yes. Medical Ministry International Uc received grants in both 2023 and 2024 for relief efforts in Ukraine, and Cowtown Marathon received grants in 2023 and 2024 for the Cowtown Challenge Scholarship Program. That pattern shows repeat support for selected organizations and programs.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTHWEST WATERCOLOR ARTISTS | FORT WORTH, TX | $10,000 | 2025 | FABRIANO IN ITALY |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE AUDUBON | CONCORD, NH | $2,500 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT IN HONOR OF TRACY HOLMES |
| ARTWORKS FOUNDATION | MEMPHIS, TN | $2,500 | 2025 | ART WORTH FESTIVAL |
| ENTRADA | FORT WORTH, TX | $575 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LANDMARKS - UT AUSTIN | AUSTIN, TX | $10,000 | 2024 | INTERNS STIPEND |
| FRIENDS OF THE FORT WORTH NATURE CENTER | FORT WORTH, TX | $3,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MEDICAL MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL UC | SAN ANTONIO, TX | $2,500 | 2024 | SUPPORT THE RELIEF EFFORTS IN UKRAINE |
| PANTHER CITY FERAL CAT COALITION | FORT WORTH, TX | $1,500 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| COWTOWN MARATHON | FORT WORTH, TX | $1,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT OF COWTOWN CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM |
| JUNIOR LEAGUE OF FORT WORTH | FORT WORTH, TX | $500 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| YMCA | FORT WORTH, TX | $80,000 | 2023 | SAFETY AROUND WATER |
| COLORADO FOURTEENER INITIATIVE | GOLDEN, CO | $35,000 | 2023 | FIELD SHOOTS AND EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS AND VOLUNTEER MNGMT SOFTWARE |
| CAMP FIRE FIRST TEXAS COUNCIL | FORT WORTH, TX | $30,000 | 2023 | FUNDING FOR ARTIST'S CHRISTMAS/PAVILLION |
| NORTH TEXAS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | FORT WORTH, TX | $15,000 | 2023 | TOOLBOX GRANT |
| TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND COLORADO | DENVER, CO | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| NATURE CONSERVANCY LOUISIANA | BATON ROUGE, LA | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| AMON CARTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART | FORT WORTH, TX | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT (CIRCLE FUND) |
| SCENIC TEXAS | AUSTIN, TX | $10,000 | 2023 | BYWAYS PROGRAM |
| DROWNING PREVENTION COUNCIL | FORT WORTH, TX | $7,500 | 2023 | SUMMER INITIATIVES FOR PROGRAMS AND OUTREACH |
| MEDICAL MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL UC | SAN ANTONIO, TX | $5,000 | 2023 | SUPPORT THE RELIEF EFFORTS IN UKRAINE |
| SALIDA CONCERTS INC | SALIDA, CO | $4,500 | 2023 | SUPPORT OF LOCAL MUSIC COMMUNITY THROUGH CLASS TUITION, INSTRUMENT ACQUISITION, GROUP INSTRUCTION |
| CONGREGATION OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE | SAN ANTONIO, TX | $2,500 | 2023 | SHOES AND COATS FOR 96 CHILDREN WHO ATTEND ESCUELA |
| COWTOWN MARATHON | FORT WORTH, TX | $2,000 | 2023 | SUPPORT OF COWTOWN CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM |
| SALIDA MOUNTAIN TRAILS | SALIDA, CO | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SPAY NEUTER NETWORK | KAUFMAN, TX | $1,000 | 2023 | SUPPORT FOR THE SPAY/NEUTER CLINIC |
| REEL RECOVERY | AZLE, TX | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SOUTHWEST EXPO & LIVESTOCK SHOW | FORT WORTH, TX | $1,000 | 2023 | CALF SCRAMBLE |
| PHILANTHROPY SOUTHWEST | DALLAS, TX | $675 | 2023 | MEMBERSHIP |
| PRESBYTERIAN NIGHT SHELTER | FORT WORTH, TX | $500 | 2023 | SUPPORT IN HONOR OF MARYANN & MATT DUFRENE |
| THE CLIBURN | FORT WORTH, TX | $300 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LIVE OAK MEETING HOUSE | NEW YORK, NY | $50 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
SOUTHWEST WATERCOLOR ARTISTS
$10,000FABRIANO IN ITALY
NEW HAMPSHIRE AUDUBON
$2,500GENERAL SUPPORT IN HONOR OF TRACY HOLMES
ARTWORKS FOUNDATION
$2,500ART WORTH FESTIVAL
ENTRADA
$575GENERAL SUPPORT
LANDMARKS - UT AUSTIN
$10,000INTERNS STIPEND
FRIENDS OF THE FORT WORTH NATURE CENTER
$3,000GENERAL SUPPORT
MEDICAL MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL UC
SUPPORT THE RELIEF EFFORTS IN UKRAINE
PANTHER CITY FERAL CAT COALITION
$1,500GENERAL SUPPORT
COWTOWN MARATHON
$1,000SUPPORT OF COWTOWN CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF FORT WORTH
$500GENERAL SUPPORT
FIELD SHOOTS AND EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS AND VOLUNTEER MNGMT SOFTWARE
TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND COLORADO
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
NATURE CONSERVANCY LOUISIANA
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
AMON CARTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT (CIRCLE FUND)
SCENIC TEXAS
$10,000BYWAYS PROGRAM
DROWNING PREVENTION COUNCIL
$7,500SUMMER INITIATIVES FOR PROGRAMS AND OUTREACH
SALIDA CONCERTS INC
$4,500SUPPORT OF LOCAL MUSIC COMMUNITY THROUGH CLASS TUITION, INSTRUMENT ACQUISITION, GROUP INSTRUCTION
CONGREGATION OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
$2,500SHOES AND COATS FOR 96 CHILDREN WHO ATTEND ESCUELA
COWTOWN MARATHON
$2,000SUPPORT OF COWTOWN CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
SALIDA MOUNTAIN TRAILS
$1,000GENERAL SUPPORT
REEL RECOVERY
$1,000GENERAL SUPPORT
SOUTHWEST EXPO & LIVESTOCK SHOW
$1,000CALF SCRAMBLE
PRESBYTERIAN NIGHT SHELTER
$500SUPPORT IN HONOR OF MARYANN & MATT DUFRENE
LIVE OAK MEETING HOUSE
$50GENERAL SUPPORT