The Howard Hallam Family Foundation is a Dallas-focused funder that concentrates almost exclusively on major performing and visual arts institutions, providing sizable unrestricted/annual support to sustain cultural infrastructure. Its grants go to flagship organizations that anchor the city’s arts ecosystem, indicating a donor interest in ensuring operational stability and high-profile programming. The foundation appears to prefer established institutions over smaller arts projects or education-focused initiatives.
The Howard Hallam Family Foundation’s giving is anchored by a large annual commitment to the Dallas Symphony Association, which received $511,000 in 2024 after $164,345 in 2023. That scale signals a funder that uses major recurring support to underwrite established cultural institutions rather than spread funds widely. The foundation’s recent grants also show steady support for Dallas Opera and the Dallas Museum of Art, both funded through annual support, alongside operating and campaign gifts to other city arts organizations. Across the grant list, the pattern is clear: the foundation concentrates on organizations that carry Dallas’s performing and visual arts infrastructure. The grants also show a preference for institutions with broad public reach. Dallas Symphony Association, Dallas Opera, Dallas Museum of Art, Sammons Center for the Arts, and Nasher Sculpture Center all appear in the recent record, often with annual-fund or annual-campaign support. A smaller set of gifts extends to program sponsorships and capital pledges, including the AT&T Performing Arts Center and Fine Arts Chamber Players. The overall profile points to long-term institutional backing, with repeated support for the same organizations across years.
In orchestral support, the foundation gave $511,000 to Dallas Symphony Association for annual support in 2024, following $164,345 in 2023. Opera funding appears as well: Dallas Opera received $150,000 for its annual fund in 2024 and $5,000 in 2023 for annual fund support. Visual arts institutions also receive sustained backing, including $100,000 to Dallas Museum of Art in 2024 and $60,000 in 2023 for its annual fund. Beyond the major anchors, the foundation supports arts venues and related programming through different funding tools. Sammons Center for the Arts received $60,000 for its annual campaign in 2024 and $15,000 in 2023. The AT&T Performing Arts Center received $50,000 in both 2024 and 2023 as a capital pledge. Fine Arts Chamber Players received $30,000 in both 2024 and 2023 as sponsorship support. These grants show a mix of operating, campaign, capital, and sponsorship giving within the arts sector.
Typical grant size is tightly clustered at the low end: p25 is $1,000, median is $1,000, and p75 is $10,000. The recent record also includes a few much larger institutional grants, which lifts the annual total to $1,462,921 in the latest 990 year on file. Recurrence matters here: several recipients appear in multiple years, including Dallas Symphony Association, Dallas Opera, Dallas Museum of Art, the AT&T Performing Arts Center, First Presbyterian Church, Fine Arts Chamber Players, Nasher Sculpture Center, Momenteous Institute, Southwestern Medical Foundation, and Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The foundation is a family foundation and does not make program-related investments or grants to individuals.
$1M
$0
-$108K
$1M
Most grants fall between $1K and $10K, with a median of $1K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$1K
75th Percentile
$10K
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Highly concentrated, city-centric giving: few, large grants directed to flagship cultural institutions in Dallas; includes repeat funding to the same organization (Dallas Symphony) and focuses on annual/operating support rather than project grants.
Notable grantees: Dallas Symphony Association, Dallas Opera, Dallas Museum of Art
Grantmaking is overwhelmingly local. Texas recipients account for 89% of grants, and every grant in the recent list goes to a U.S. organization. Dallas is the main city in the record, with repeated grants to organizations such as Dallas Symphony Association, Dallas Opera, Dallas Museum of Art, and Sammons Center for the Arts. Outside Dallas, the foundation’s Texas giving reaches Fort Worth through the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Non-Texas recipients in the recent list include Vail, Colorado; Pomfret, Connecticut; and New York, New York.
The recent grants focus heavily on arts organizations, especially major performing and visual arts institutions in Dallas. Examples include Dallas Symphony Association, Dallas Opera, Dallas Museum of Art, Sammons Center for the Arts, Nasher Sculpture Center, and Fine Arts Chamber Players.
Yes. Multiple organizations appear in more than one year, including Dallas Symphony Association in 2023 and 2024, Dallas Opera in 2023 and 2024, Dallas Museum of Art in 2023 and 2024, and the AT&T Performing Arts Center in 2023 and 2024.
The distribution is concentrated at the low end, with a p25 of $1,000, a median of $1,000, and a p75 of $10,000. The recent record also includes larger annual support grants, including a $511,000 grant to Dallas Symphony Association in 2024.
Texas is the top state by grant count, and 89% of grants go to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state. Dallas dominates the record, with additional Texas gifts to Fort Worth organizations as well.
The record includes annual support, annual funds, annual campaigns, capital pledges, sponsorships, and honor gifts. Examples in the data include annual support to Dallas Symphony Association, a capital pledge to the AT&T Performing Arts Center, and sponsorship support to Fine Arts Chamber Players.
2024
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2024.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DALLAS SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION | DALLAS, TX | $511,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL SUPPORT |
| DALLAS OPERA | DALLAS, TX | $150,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART | DALLAS, TX | $100,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| SAMMONS CENTER FOR THE ARTS | DALLAS, TX | $60,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL CAMPAIGN |
| AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER | DALLAS, TX | $50,000 | 2024 | CAPITAL PLEDGE |
| FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | DALLAS, TX | $40,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| FINE ARTS CHAMBER PLAYERS | DALLAS, TX | $30,000 | 2024 | SPONSORSHIP |
| MOMENTEOUS INSTITUTE - (SALESMANSHIP CLUB OF DALLAS) | DALLAS, TX | $10,250 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| UNITED WAY OF METROPOLITAN DALLAS | DALLAS, TX | $10,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION | DALLAS, TX | $10,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| BRAVO VAIL VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL | VAIL, CO | $10,000 | 2024 | HONOR OF SHIRLEY AND BILL MCFARLANE |
| NASHER SCULPTURE CENTER | DALLAS, TX | $8,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH | FORT WORTH, TX | $5,000 | 2024 | CONTRIBUTION |
| THE BRIDGE | DALLAS, TX | $3,826 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF FORT WORTH | FORT WORTH, TX | $1,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| ADVISORY BOARD OF BTWHSPVA | DALLAS, TX | $1,000 | 2024 | CONTRIBUTION |
| AMON CARTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART | FORT WORTH, TX | $1,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| HAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | HONOLULU, HI | $1,000 | 2024 | MAUI FUND |
| NEXUS RECOVERY CENTER | DALLAS, TX | $1,000 | 2024 | CONTRIBUTION |
| METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2024 | CONTRIBUTION |
| HOSPICE OF LUBBOCK | LUBBOCK, TX | $1,000 | 2024 | MEMORY OF HENRIETTA CANNON |
| DALLAS EDUCATION FOUNDATION | DALLAS, TX | $1,000 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| DALLAS HOLOCAUST & HUMAN RIGHTS MUSEUM | DALLAS, TX | $1,000 | 2024 | DONATION |
| THE TEXAS TRIBUNE | AUSTIN, TX | $1,000 | 2024 | CONTRIBUTION FRIENDS OF SHARRON YOUNG DALLAS |
| TRINITY VALLEY SCHOOL | FORT WORTH, TX | $500 | 2024 | ANNUAL FUND |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE HOSPITAL | DALLAS, TX | $250 | 2024 | MEMORIAL TO BARRY ANDREWS |
| SPCA | DALLAS, TX | $250 | 2024 | CONTRIBUTION |
| DALLAS SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION | DALLAS, TX | $164,345 | 2023 | ANNUAL SUPPORT |
| DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART | DALLAS, TX | $60,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER | DALLAS, TX | $50,000 | 2023 | CAPITAL PLEDGE |
| FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | DALLAS, TX | $40,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| NASHER SCULPTURE CENTER | DALLAS, TX | $33,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| FINE ARTS CHAMBER PLAYERS | DALLAS, TX | $30,000 | 2023 | SPONSORSHIP |
| SAMMONS CENTER FOR THE ARTS | DALLAS, TX | $15,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL CAMPAIGN |
| MOMENTEOUS INSTITUTE - (SALESMANSHIP CLUB OF DALLAS) | DALLAS, TX | $10,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL FOUNDATION | DALLAS, TX | $10,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH | FORT WORTH, TX | $5,000 | 2023 | CONTRIBUTION |
| BRAVO VAIL VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL | VAIL, CO | $5,000 | 2023 | HONOR OF SHIRLEY AND BILL MCFARLANE |
| DALLAS OPERA | DALLAS, TX | $5,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| POMFRET SCHOOL | POMFRET, CT | $5,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| LUMIN EDUCATION | DALLAS, TX | $2,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND AND HONOR OF TERRY FORD |
| METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART | NEW YORK, NY | $1,500 | 2023 | CONTRIBUTION |
| DALLAS FOUNDATION | DALLAS, TX | $1,500 | 2023 | CONTRIBUTION |
| HOCKADAY SCHOOL | DALLAS, TX | $1,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| ENNIS PUBLIC THREATRE | ENNIS, TX | $1,000 | 2023 | CONTRIBUTION |
| DALLAS CHAMBER SYMPHONY | DALLAS, TX | $1,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| AMON CARTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART | FORT WORTH, TX | $1,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| DALLAS EDUCATION FOUNDATION | DALLAS, TX | $1,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| MUSEUM OF MODERN ART | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2023 | ANNUAL FUND |
| BIG BEND CONSERVANCY | BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TX | $1,000 | 2023 | CONTRIBUTION |
AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
$50,000CAPITAL PLEDGE
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
ANNUAL FUND
FINE ARTS CHAMBER PLAYERS
$30,000SPONSORSHIP
BRAVO VAIL VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL
$10,000HONOR OF SHIRLEY AND BILL MCFARLANE
NASHER SCULPTURE CENTER
$8,000ANNUAL FUND
MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH
$5,000CONTRIBUTION
THE BRIDGE
$3,826ANNUAL FUND
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF FORT WORTH
$1,000ANNUAL FUND
ADVISORY BOARD OF BTWHSPVA
$1,000CONTRIBUTION
AMON CARTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
$1,000ANNUAL FUND
HOSPICE OF LUBBOCK
$1,000MEMORY OF HENRIETTA CANNON
DALLAS HOLOCAUST & HUMAN RIGHTS MUSEUM
$1,000DONATION
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE HOSPITAL
$250MEMORIAL TO BARRY ANDREWS
AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
$50,000CAPITAL PLEDGE
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
$40,000ANNUAL FUND
NASHER SCULPTURE CENTER
$33,000ANNUAL FUND
FINE ARTS CHAMBER PLAYERS
$30,000SPONSORSHIP
MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH
$5,000CONTRIBUTION
BRAVO VAIL VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL
$5,000HONOR OF SHIRLEY AND BILL MCFARLANE
POMFRET SCHOOL
$5,000ANNUAL FUND
DALLAS FOUNDATION
$1,500CONTRIBUTION
HOCKADAY SCHOOL
$1,000ANNUAL FUND
ENNIS PUBLIC THREATRE
$1,000CONTRIBUTION
DALLAS CHAMBER SYMPHONY
$1,000ANNUAL FUND
AMON CARTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
$1,000ANNUAL FUND
BIG BEND CONSERVANCY
$1,000CONTRIBUTION