The Linbeck Family Charitable Trust concentrates its giving in Houston-area Catholic and education causes, with a strong preference for supporting faith-based institutions, K–12 Catholic schools and school networks, and conservative legal/advocacy groups. Nearly the entire portfolio is dominated by one very large grant to a philanthropy vehicle (St Augustine Trust), with the remainder split among Catholic parishes, Catholic campus ministry, Catholic schools and a handful of education and community‑economic development organizations. Recipients tend to be mission-driven organizations tied to Catholic education, parish life, and conservative public‑policy work.
A $25,218,804 grant to St Augustine Trust dominates the recent record of The Linbeck Family Charitable Trust and shows how concentrated this funder can be. Beyond that single award, the trust’s giving points to a clear mix of Catholic institutions, Houston-area education organizations, and a small set of legal and civic advocacy groups. Recent grants include support for St John Vianney Catholic Church, Magnolia School, Families Empowered, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, and Fellowship of Catholic University Students. That combination suggests a funder that favors single-organization support and mission-aligned institutions rather than broad open calls. The trust’s portfolio also includes schools and parish-based organizations tied to Roman Catholic life, along with education service providers and community economic development groups in Houston. In the latest grants list, the largest non-flagship awards were $200,000 to Seton Education Partners and $60,000 to Families Empowered, followed by smaller grants to local churches, schools, and advocacy organizations. Recipients are mostly Texas-based, with a strong Houston concentration, but the trust also supports a few organizations outside the state when they fit its mission. Its giving pattern is better read as selective and relationship-based than as dispersed across many unrelated causes.
Catholic institutions are a central part of the trust’s grantmaking. In 2025, it gave $15,000 to St John Vianney Catholic Church, $10,000 to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, and $10,000 to St John Xxiii Inc, showing support for parish life and Catholic school communities. Education is another recurring area. The trust awarded $200,000 to Seton Education Partners for education-single organization support, then later gave $15,000 to Magnolia School and $15,000 to Families Empowered for educational services. Those grants point to interest in school operations and family-facing education support. The trust also funds community and civic advocacy work. It gave $30,000 to Center for Opportunity Urbanism for urban and community economic development, $25,000 to Woodlawn Foundation for nonprofit management, and $10,000 to Texas Right to Life Committee Educational Fund for right-to-life advocacy. A $10,000 grant to Becket Fund adds a legal and religious-liberty dimension.
$25.6M
$25.2M
$2M
$976K
Most grants fall between $10K and $28K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$28K
STEPHEN D MAISLIN
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Highly concentrated overall (one extremely large grant accounts for the vast majority of dollars) combined with a basket of smaller, targeted awards: recurring modest grants to Catholic institutions and a few education and civic groups. Mix of repeat grantees and one-time multi‑million transfer to a grantmaking/trust vehicle.
Notable grantees: St Augustine Trust, Seton Education Partners, Fellowship of Catholic University Students, Center for Opportunity Urbanism, Becket Fund (and Texas Right to Life Committee Educational Fund)
Typical grants are modest: the p25 is $10,000, the median is $15,000, and the p75 is $27,500. That distribution sits alongside one exceptionally large award, so the trust appears to use a small-grant pattern for most recipients while making occasional outsized commitments. The recent record also shows repeat support: Fellowship of Catholic University Students received grants in both 2023 and 2025, as did Families Empowered and Center for Opportunity Urbanism. The trust does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. The available record shows direct grants rather than an application-based public grantmaking process.
Grant dollars and recipient counts are heavily concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 67% of grants and is the top state by grant count. Houston appears most often among recipient cities, with grants to St John Vianney Catholic Church, Families Empowered, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, and Center for Opportunity Urbanism. Other Texas recipients include Katy and Fort Worth. Outside Texas, the trust has given to organizations in New York, Denver, and Washington, DC. All recorded grants in the file are to US recipients.
The trust gives to Catholic parishes and diocesan groups, Catholic campus ministry, Catholic K–12 education, and selected community and legal advocacy organizations. Recent examples include St John Vianney Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Seton Education Partners, Fellowship of Catholic University Students, Center for Opportunity Urbanism, and Texas Right to Life Committee Educational Fund.
The typical grant size is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $15,000 at the median, and $27,500 at the 75th percentile. That means most grants in the recent record are relatively small, even though one award to St Augustine Trust was much larger than the rest.
Yes. Fellowship of Catholic University Students received grants in both 2023 and 2025. Families Empowered also appears in two years, and Center for Opportunity Urbanism received grants in 2023 and 2025. The record shows follow-on support rather than only one-time gifts.
Texas is the top state by grant count, and 67% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state. Houston is the most common recipient city in the record, with multiple grants to organizations there, including faith-based, education, and community-development groups.
The largest recent grant is $25,218,804 to St Augustine Trust in 2025 for single-organization support. That award is far larger than the rest of the recent grant list and is the clearest indicator of the trust’s scale.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST AUGUSTINE TRUST | FORT WORTH, TX | $25,218,804 | 2025 | PHILANTHROPY, VOLUNTARISM & GRANTMAKING FOUNDATIONS-SINGLE ORGANIZATION SUPPORT |
| FAMILIES EMPOWERED | HOUSTON, TX | $140,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| MAGNOLIA SCHOOL | HOUSTON, TX | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| ST JOHN VIANNEY CATHOLIC CHURCH | HOUSTON, TX | $40,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| SETON EDUCATION PARTNERS | BRONX, NY | $40,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING |
| FAMILIES EMPOWERED | HOUSTON, TX | $15,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION-EDUCATIONAL SERVICES |
| MAGNOLIA SCHOOL | HOUSTON, TX | $15,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION-SINGLE ORGANIZATION SUPPORT |
| ST JOHN VIANNEY CATHOLIC CHURCH | HOUSTON, TX | $15,000 | 2025 | RELIGION |
| ARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON-HOUSTON | HOUSTON, TX | $10,000 | 2025 | RELIGION-RELATED-ROMAN CATHOLIC |
| FELLOWSHIP OF CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY STUDENTS | DENVER, CO | $10,000 | 2025 | RELIGION-RELATED-ROMAN CATHOLIC |
| ST JOHN XXIII INC | KATY, TX | $10,000 | 2025 | EDUCATION-SECONDARY & HIGH SCHOOLS |
| CENTER FOR OPPORTUNITY URBANISM | HOUSTON, TX | $7,500 | 2025 | COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT & CAPACITY BUILDING-URBAN & COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
| SETON EDUCATION PARTNERS | NEW YORK, NY | $200,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION-SINGLE ORGANIZATION SUPPORT |
| FAMILIES EMPOWERED | HOUSTON, TX | $60,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION-EDUCATIONAL SERVICES |
| CENTER FOR OPPORTUNITY URBANISM | HOUSTON, TX | $30,000 | 2023 | COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT & CAPACITY BUILDING-URBAN & COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
| WOODLAWN FOUNDATION | NEW ROCHELLE, NY | $25,000 | 2023 | COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT & CAPACITY BUILDING-NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT |
| BECKET FUND | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2023 | SOCIAL SCIENCE-POLITICAL SCIENCE |
| FELLOWSHIP OF CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY STUDENTS | DENVER, CO | $10,000 | 2023 | RELIGION-RELATED-ROMAN CATHOLIC |
| TEXAS RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE EDUCATIONAL FUND | HOUSTON, TX | $10,000 | 2023 | CIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION & ADVOCACY-RIGHT TO LIFE |
ST AUGUSTINE TRUST
$25,218,804PHILANTHROPY, VOLUNTARISM & GRANTMAKING FOUNDATIONS-SINGLE ORGANIZATION SUPPORT
MAGNOLIA SCHOOL
$100,000GENERAL OPERATING
ST JOHN VIANNEY CATHOLIC CHURCH
$40,000GENERAL OPERATING
EDUCATION-EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
MAGNOLIA SCHOOL
$15,000EDUCATION-SINGLE ORGANIZATION SUPPORT
ST JOHN VIANNEY CATHOLIC CHURCH
$15,000RELIGION
ARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON-HOUSTON
$10,000RELIGION-RELATED-ROMAN CATHOLIC
FELLOWSHIP OF CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
$10,000RELIGION-RELATED-ROMAN CATHOLIC
ST JOHN XXIII INC
$10,000EDUCATION-SECONDARY & HIGH SCHOOLS
CENTER FOR OPPORTUNITY URBANISM
$7,500COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT & CAPACITY BUILDING-URBAN & COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CENTER FOR OPPORTUNITY URBANISM
$30,000COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT & CAPACITY BUILDING-URBAN & COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT & CAPACITY BUILDING-NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT
FELLOWSHIP OF CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
$10,000RELIGION-RELATED-ROMAN CATHOLIC
TEXAS RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE EDUCATIONAL FUND
$10,000CIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION & ADVOCACY-RIGHT TO LIFE