A mission-driven grantmaking foundation seeking innovative, sustainable solutions at the nexus of environmental protection and economic vibrancy, with an emphasis on sustainability science and Texas-focused programs.
The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation’s recent giving is shaped by a Texas-centered push for sustainability science, water policy, clean energy, and private land conservation, often through large, multi-year commitments to the same organizations. One of the clearest examples is Vision Galveston Inc., which received $500,000 in 2023, $425,000 in 2024, and $400,000 in 2025 to support capacity building and the implementation of its initiatives. Another recurring thread is water policy: Save Our Springs Alliance Inc. received $457,042 in 2023 for environmental protection projects in the Colorado River basin and litigation support, followed by $393,511 in 2024 and $412,792 in 2025 routed through Greater Houston Community Foundation for Edwards Aquifer protection. The foundation also backs institutions and intermediaries that connect research, advocacy, and practice, including Water Foundation, US Water Alliance, National Wildlife Federation, and the University of Texas at Austin. Across the portfolio, the pattern is less about one-off awards and more about sustained support for technical, policy, and community-oriented work in Texas and related Gulf Coast or statewide systems.
Water is a major throughline. The foundation gave $250,000 to National Wildlife Federation (Austin) in 2023 to advance a resilient and equitable water future for Texas’ people, wildlife, and ecosystems, then $250,000 in 2025 for sound and equitable water policy in Texas. It also supported Water Foundation with $400,000 in both 2024 and 2025 to advance a resilient water future through the Water Table and Texas Wellspring. On land conservation, Texas Agricultural Land Trust received $300,000 in 2025 to secure and share land legacies and advocate for private lands through the Texas Land Policy Center. The foundation also funds public-interest journalism: Texas Tribune Inc. received $250,000 in 2023 for statewide water and energy coverage, and Austin Investigative Reporting Project received $225,000 in 2024 for the JustAustin project.
Typical grant size is concentrated in the middle range, with a p25 of $5,000, a median of $10,000, and a p75 of $35,000. The recent grants list also shows repeated awards to the same organizations across multiple years, including Vision Galveston Inc., Water Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, Hill Country Alliance, and Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated. That points to sustained relationships rather than isolated grants. The foundation is a regular funder and also makes program-related investments, especially in its land conservation work. Several active programs accept unsolicited proposals, including Clean Energy, Subsurface Energy, Land Conservation, and Water.
$12.1M
$420M
$50M
$18.7M
Most grants fall between $5K and $35K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$35K
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Grantmaking is overwhelmingly U.S.-based, and Texas is the core geography: 34% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state. Within Texas, repeated awards land in Galveston, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, with Galveston appearing prominently through Vision Galveston and Build Galveston. Outside Texas, the recent grants list includes New York, Sacramento, Oakland, Boulder, and Washington, DC, showing that the foundation also uses national organizations and intermediaries to support Texas-focused work. Even when recipients are based elsewhere, the grant purposes are often Texas-specific.
The foundation supports clean energy policy and projects, water science and policy, private land conservation and stewardship, subsurface energy governance, sustainability education and research, regional community support in Galveston, and conservation preserve management at Cook's Branch. Recent grants also show public-interest journalism on water and energy and research on carbon management, methane reduction, and produced water reuse.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including Vision Galveston Inc. in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Water Foundation in 2023, 2024, and 2025; National Wildlife Federation in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Hill Country Alliance in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The distribution is centered in the lower tens of thousands: p25 is $5,000, median is $10,000, and p75 is $35,000. The recent grants list also includes larger strategic awards, including multiple grants in the $200,000 to $500,000 range.
Some active programs accept unsolicited proposals, including Clean Energy, Subsurface Energy, Land Conservation, and Water. Other active programs listed as selective, including Legacy / Legacy of Philanthropy Grants and the Cook's Branch Conservancy program, do not accept unsolicited applications.
Texas is the main geography, with 34% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state. Recent awards also go to recipients in New York, California, Colorado, Washington, DC, and Texas cities such as Galveston, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Organizations and projects must align with the Land Conservation Program's strategic initiatives; the foundation uses both grants and program-related investments.
Deadline: No specific public deadlines listed; submit LOI via portal. The foundation states it will reply to LOIs within 45 days.
Who can apply: Projects should align with the Innovation Lab goals, focus on Texas, and applicants are generally expected to be 501(c)(3) public charities.
Deadline: No specific public deadlines listed; submit LOI via portal. The foundation states it will reply to LOIs within 45 days.
Who can apply: Projects must align with the foundation's water program goals and the broader sustainability science approach.
Deadline: No fixed deadline stated in the provided content.
Who can apply: Projects must align with the foundation's strategies for subsurface energy governance, risk analysis, and regulatory improvement.
Deadline: No fixed deadline stated; LOIs may be submitted at any time.
Who can apply: Projects must fit within the foundation's integrated program strategies and demonstrate a clear, demonstrable match with funding priorities.
Deadline: No fixed deadline stated; LOIs may be submitted at any time.
Who can apply: Not specified in the provided content; applicants should review the foundation's grantmaking guidelines and program priorities.
Deadline: No fixed deadline stated in the provided content.
Who can apply: Projects should support the development or expansion of sustainability science education and academic infrastructure in Texas.
Deadline: No fixed deadline stated; LOIs may be submitted at any time.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Houston Community Foundation | Houston, TX | $412,792 | 2025 | For Save Our Springs Alliance to protect the Edwards Aquifer |
| Water Foundation | Sacramento, CA | $400,000 | 2025 | To Advance a Resilient Water Future through the Water Table and Texas Wellspring |
| Vision Galveston Inc | Galveston, TX | $400,000 | 2025 | To support the implementation of Vision Galveston's initiatives, including PhilanthroVision, MORTAR Galveston 2025, and the 2025 Learning Journey |
| US Water Alliance | Oakland, CA | $315,000 | 2025 | One Water, One Texas |
| Texas Agricultural Land Trust | San Antonio, TX | $300,000 | 2025 | To Secure and Share Land Legacies and Advocate for Private Lands Through the Texas Land Policy Center |
| Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated | New York, NY | $275,000 | 2025 | Setting Durable Guardrails on Texas and the Gulf Coast's Path to a Cleaner Future |
| National Wildlife Federation (Austin) | Austin, TX | $250,000 | 2025 | To advance sound and equitable water policy in Texas |
| The University of Texas at Austin (EI) | Austin, TX | $212,000 | 2025 | To convene experts toward developing a model for understanding the macroeconomic impacts of an orderly phase-down of unabated fossil fuels |
| Hill Country Alliance | Austin, TX | $210,000 | 2025 | To build tools and networks for a more resilient Hill Country |
| Rocky Mountain Institute | Boulder, CO | $200,000 | 2025 | Developing the Critical 'Connective Tissue' Infrastructure in Texas for Powering a new Energy Economy |
| Ceres Inc | Boston, MA | $175,000 | 2025 | To catalyze the net zero pathway for exploration & production companies |
| Prairie View A&M University | Prairie View, TX | $175,000 | 2025 | To support the Prairie View A&M Algae Center of Excellence for Climate Resilient Food-Energy-Water Systems (PACE-FEWS) |
| The Last Kilometer Corp | Ann Arbor, MI | $160,000 | 2025 | For the National Sustainability Society to continue The Pathway Towards Accreditation for Sustai... |
| Hill Country Alliance | Austin, TX | $157,000 | 2025 | To launch the Conservation Accelerator Project for the Hill Country |
| PowerHouse Texas | Austin, TX | $150,000 | 2025 | Advancing Texas's Energy Future Through Science, Policy and Collaboration |
| Water Finance Exchange Inc | Washington, DC | $150,000 | 2025 | To Support the Advancement of Sustainable Water Infrastructure and Healthy Communities in Texas |
| Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated | New York, NY | $150,000 | 2025 | Protecting Texas' subsurface for clean energy uses-Improving understanding of how wells of the past could impact wells of the future |
| CE Buyers Institute | Washington, DC | $150,000 | 2025 | To activate energy customers to drive resilient, reliable, affordable, and clean power for all Texans in 2025 |
| Clean Air Task Force Inc | Boston, MA | $150,000 | 2025 | Accelerating regional perspectives to enable deep power sector decarbonization through events and thought leadership |
| Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development Inc | Minneapolis, MN | $150,000 | 2025 | To Develop a Texas Carbon Management Roadmap |
| Texas AgriForestry Small Farmers and Ranchers | Nacogdoches, TX | $150,000 | 2025 | In keeping with our vision: "Assisting BIPOC small farmers, ranchers, and landowners in being successful" |
| Usher Syndrome Society Inc | Needham, MA | $143,000 | 2025 | To support research funding; not intended for pupblicity campaigns |
| The Aspen Institute Inc | Washington, DC | $135,000 | 2025 | Supporting the Annual Summit of the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program and hosting the Ceres E&P Roundtable in Aspen |
| Greater Houston Community Foundation | Houston, TX | $133,186 | 2025 | For the PACE-FEWS project |
| Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated | New York, NY | $130,000 | 2025 | Towards Sustainability: Modernizing Texas Groundwater Management |
| Bayou City Waterkeeper Inc | Houston, TX | $130,000 | 2025 | For the protection of water quality, wetlands, and water resources in the lower Galveston Bay watershed in Houston |
| Nia Cultural Center | Galveston, TX | $129,292 | 2025 | Capacity building |
| Houston Advanced Research Center | The Woodlands, TX | $125,000 | 2025 | To support HARC's leadership role in the extensive application activities to the USEPA for the C... |
| Wildwood School Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $125,000 | 2025 | For The Wildwood Outreach Center Fellowship Fund in the memory of Cynthia Woods Mitchell |
| West Street Recovery | Houston, TX | $100,000 | 2025 | To organize towards equitable water infrastructure in Northeast Houston |
| Public Citizen Foundation Inc | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 2025 | To advance an affordable and equitable clean energy transition in Texas |
| Texas Health and Environment Alliance Inc | Houston, TX | $100,000 | 2025 | For the toxic superfund cleanup in upper Galveston Bay |
| Houston Advanced Research Center | The Woodlands, TX | $100,000 | 2025 | To provide independent analysis on energy, air and water issues to people seeking scientific ans... |
| EFI Foundation | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 2025 | To support the transition to a low-carbon energy future |
| Greater Houston Community Foundation | Houston, TX | $86,792 | 2025 | For the CGMF DAF #5331 - BGM 2024 FUG |
| Fair Shot Texas | Austin, TX | $75,000 | 2025 | Texas Climate Jobs Project |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Foundation | McAllen, TX | $75,000 | 2025 | To support the transformation of food systems through research, education, and community engagement |
| National Wildlife Federation (Austin) | Austin, TX | $75,000 | 2025 | Advancing One Water in Houston |
| Texas A&M Foundation (College Station) | College Station, TX | $75,000 | 2025 | TAMUGs Win-Win-Win: Leveraging Microalgae-Oyster Interactions for Coastal Protection project |
| Communities Unlimited Inc | Fayetteville, AR | $75,000 | 2025 | To increase small community infrastructure capacity through regional project facilitation and infrastructure funding in the Texas Hill Country |
| Greater Houston Community Foundation | Houston, TX | $73,970 | 2025 | Legacy 2024 Unused Funds |
| Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute | Austin, TX | $70,000 | 2025 | Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in the ERCOT Competitive Market through Virtual Power Plant ... |
| Puente a la Salud Comunitaria | Houston, TX | $67,500 | 2025 | To contribute to food sovereignty and advance the health and well-being of rural communities in Mexico |
| EcoRise Youth Innovations | Austin, TX | $65,000 | 2025 | Advancing K-12 Sustainability Programs with Data, Technology & Partnership in Texas |
| U C Santa Cruz Foundation | Santa Cruz, CA | $61,447 | 2025 | To support Professor Sarker's research in the Kapuscinski-Sarker lab in the collaboration entitled PACE-FEWS |
| The University of Texas Law School Fdn | Austin, TX | $60,000 | 2025 | To Reduce Methane Emissions from Less-Capitalized Oil and Gas Operators in the Permian Basin |
| Texas A&M University (College Station) | College Station, TX | $60,000 | 2025 | To support work by Professor Delbert Gatlin at Texas A&M College Station in the collaboration entitled PACE-FEWS |
| Texas A&M Foundation (College Station) | College Station, TX | $60,000 | 2025 | George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy (MIPEP) |
| Sierra Club Foundation | Oakland, CA | $60,000 | 2025 | To expand clean energy and increase grassroots participation in electricity decision-making in Texas |
| Khelshala Inc | Cambridge, MA | $58,792 | 2025 | To develop and manage lifetime sports programs |
Greater Houston Community Foundation
$412,792For Save Our Springs Alliance to protect the Edwards Aquifer
To Advance a Resilient Water Future through the Water Table and Texas Wellspring
To support the implementation of Vision Galveston's initiatives, including PhilanthroVision, MORTAR Galveston 2025, and the 2025 Learning Journey
US Water Alliance
$315,000One Water, One Texas
To Secure and Share Land Legacies and Advocate for Private Lands Through the Texas Land Policy Center
Setting Durable Guardrails on Texas and the Gulf Coast's Path to a Cleaner Future
National Wildlife Federation (Austin)
$250,000To advance sound and equitable water policy in Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (EI)
$212,000To convene experts toward developing a model for understanding the macroeconomic impacts of an orderly phase-down of unabated fossil fuels
To build tools and networks for a more resilient Hill Country
Developing the Critical 'Connective Tissue' Infrastructure in Texas for Powering a new Energy Economy
To catalyze the net zero pathway for exploration & production companies
Prairie View A&M University
$175,000To support the Prairie View A&M Algae Center of Excellence for Climate Resilient Food-Energy-Water Systems (PACE-FEWS)
The Last Kilometer Corp
$160,000For the National Sustainability Society to continue The Pathway Towards Accreditation for Sustai...
Hill Country Alliance
$157,000To launch the Conservation Accelerator Project for the Hill Country
Advancing Texas's Energy Future Through Science, Policy and Collaboration
To Support the Advancement of Sustainable Water Infrastructure and Healthy Communities in Texas
Protecting Texas' subsurface for clean energy uses-Improving understanding of how wells of the past could impact wells of the future
To activate energy customers to drive resilient, reliable, affordable, and clean power for all Texans in 2025
Accelerating regional perspectives to enable deep power sector decarbonization through events and thought leadership
To Develop a Texas Carbon Management Roadmap
Texas AgriForestry Small Farmers and Ranchers
$150,000In keeping with our vision: "Assisting BIPOC small farmers, ranchers, and landowners in being successful"
To support research funding; not intended for pupblicity campaigns
Supporting the Annual Summit of the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program and hosting the Ceres E&P Roundtable in Aspen
Greater Houston Community Foundation
$133,186For the PACE-FEWS project
Towards Sustainability: Modernizing Texas Groundwater Management
For the protection of water quality, wetlands, and water resources in the lower Galveston Bay watershed in Houston
Houston Advanced Research Center
$125,000To support HARC's leadership role in the extensive application activities to the USEPA for the C...
For The Wildwood Outreach Center Fellowship Fund in the memory of Cynthia Woods Mitchell
To organize towards equitable water infrastructure in Northeast Houston
To advance an affordable and equitable clean energy transition in Texas
For the toxic superfund cleanup in upper Galveston Bay
Houston Advanced Research Center
$100,000To provide independent analysis on energy, air and water issues to people seeking scientific ans...
Greater Houston Community Foundation
$86,792For the CGMF DAF #5331 - BGM 2024 FUG
To support the transformation of food systems through research, education, and community engagement
National Wildlife Federation (Austin)
$75,000Advancing One Water in Houston
Texas A&M Foundation (College Station)
$75,000TAMUGs Win-Win-Win: Leveraging Microalgae-Oyster Interactions for Coastal Protection project
To increase small community infrastructure capacity through regional project facilitation and infrastructure funding in the Texas Hill Country
Greater Houston Community Foundation
$73,970Legacy 2024 Unused Funds
Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute
$70,000Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in the ERCOT Competitive Market through Virtual Power Plant ...
Puente a la Salud Comunitaria
$67,500To contribute to food sovereignty and advance the health and well-being of rural communities in Mexico
Advancing K-12 Sustainability Programs with Data, Technology & Partnership in Texas
To support Professor Sarker's research in the Kapuscinski-Sarker lab in the collaboration entitled PACE-FEWS
To Reduce Methane Emissions from Less-Capitalized Oil and Gas Operators in the Permian Basin
Texas A&M University (College Station)
$60,000To support work by Professor Delbert Gatlin at Texas A&M College Station in the collaboration entitled PACE-FEWS
Texas A&M Foundation (College Station)
$60,000George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy (MIPEP)
To expand clean energy and increase grassroots participation in electricity decision-making in Texas
Khelshala Inc
$58,792To develop and manage lifetime sports programs