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Craig & Galen Brown Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Craig & Galen Brown Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2.9M
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$2.6M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$12MHealth$2.6MArts & Culture$300kReligion$8kPublic Safety & Disaster$2kPublic Benefit$500
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $500
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $200k
  • $250k+1 grant · $2.6M
$200,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$6.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY$2,631,766
BO'S PLACE$200,000
THE KINKAID SCHOOL$25,000
ROSS VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION$500
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 21%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%KIPP FOUNDATION: $43k → 10%TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $2k → 11%ROUND TOP-WARRENTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $2k → 14%HOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDN: $1.5M → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $3.2M → 22%KIPP FOUNDATION: $36k → 10%HOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDN: $900k → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $2.6M → 22%HOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $200k → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $2.5M → 22%HOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $12k → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $1.9M → 22%THE KINKAID SCHOOL: $25k → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $938k → 22%HOUSTON FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: $5k → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $750k → 22%THE BRIARWOOD SCHOOL: $1k → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $192k → 22%HOUSTON FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: $4k → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $177k → 22%THE BRIARWOOD SCHOOL: $500 → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $15k → 22%HOUSTON CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL: $1k → 16%STARFOGE FOUNDRY: $5k → 22%BO'S PLACE: $200k → 16%THE PARISH SCHOOL: $1k → 16%BO'S PLACE: $100k → 16%HOUSTON CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL: $500 → 16%NATIONAL MS SOCIETY: $400 → 16%THE PARISH SCHOOL: $500 → 16%KIPP TEXAS FUNDRAISER: $5k → 16%HOUSTON BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $4k → 16%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$15M · 9 repeat orgs$79k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
7

Total granted

$15M
$53k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+70%

Still filing today

44%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $26k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureHealthPublic BenefitPublic Safety & DisasterOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • TM
    THE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
    2× · 2021–2022 · $212k · revenue +52%
  • KF
    KIPP FOUNDATION
    2× · 2017–2018 · $78k · revenue +143%
  • TB
    THE BRIARWOOD SCHOOL
    2× · 2018–2020 · $2k · revenue +25%

Funded once

  • KT
    KIPP Texas Inc
    one grant, 2023 · $36k · revenue -1%
  • SF
    Starforge Foundry Incgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $5k · revenue +70%
  • KT
    KIPP TEXAS FUNDRAISER
    one grant, 2020 · $5k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Kipp Inc dba Knowledge is Power Program Inc

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is committed to developing in underserved students the academic skills, intellectual habits, and qualities of character necessary to succeed at all levels of pre-kindergarten through 12th grade,…

—
2
The University of TexasTexas a&M Investment Management Company

To generate superior long-term investment returns to support The University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems as they provide world-class teaching, push the boundaries of discovery, and achieve excellence in patient healthcare for…

Education
3
St John's School

See Schedule OSt. John's School is an independent, co-educational day school presenting a 13-year sequence of college preparatory training. A non-profit institution, it was founded in 1946 to provide the community with a school of exacting…

—
4
Houston Independent School District Foundation

The HISD Foundation is dedicated to mobilizing the local community to support innovative priorities in HISD to improve outcomes for all students in the district. Our mission is to fund projects and programs of merit that fall outside of…

—
5
The Royal School System

The mission of Royal Public Schools is to spark students' natural curiosity and love of learning while providing the knowledge and skills they need to lead successful and fulfilling lives.

Education
6
Presbyterian School

Family, School, and Church united in the education and support of each child - this is the founding premise upon which Presbyterian School nurtures and challenges its students. The school provides an educational program of the highest…

Education
7
Austin Trinity School

Trinity episcopal school (trinity) is a not-for-profit independent school whose mission is to provide an enriched academic curriculum in a christian environment. trinity is not affiliated with or sponsored by any parish. we will nurture…

Education
8
Vanderbilt University

See Disclosure Above.

Education
9
Bosque School

To create transformative learning experiences that empower a diverse community of students to lead lives of intellectual curiosity, personal integrity, and compassionate contribution to a more just world.

Education
10
The Woodlands Christian Academy

TWCA is an independent, Christ-centered college preparatory school that integrates learning with biblical faith and challenges our students to reach their highest potential - intellectually, creatively, physically, and socially - for the…

—
11
St Peter Catholic

St. Peter Catholic High School empowers students to be models of faith through Catholic spiritual formation, while providing a creative and comprehensive education in career and technical pathways.

Education
12
The Awty International School

See Schedule OThe purpose of Awty International School (Awty) is to create an environment where students experience excellence every day to make their mark on the world alongside their community, in a spirit of curiosity, courage and…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Kipp Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Starforge Foundry Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

11 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 11 of the 18 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
8/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $12,288,670 · OtherTEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYHOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDN: $2,400,000 · OtherHOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDN+6 more: $20,000 · OtherBo's Place: $300,000 · Arts & CultureTHE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $211,999 · HealthKIPP FOUNDATION: $78,430 · EducationKIPP Texas Inc: $35,711 · EducationThe Kinkaid School Inc: $25,000 · EducationStarforge Foundry Inc: $5,000 · Education+2 more: $3,000 · EducationROUND TOP-WARRENTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT: $2,000 · Public Safety & DisasterROSS VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION: $500 · Public Benefit
Other$14,708,670Arts & Culture$300,000Health$211,999Education$147,141Public Safety & Disaster$2,000Public Benefit$500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBo's Place: $300,000 over 2y, 8.2% of budgetTHE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $211,999 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetKIPP FOUNDATION: $78,430 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKIPP Texas Inc: $35,711 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Kinkaid School Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetStarforge Foundry Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetHOUSTON CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $3,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROUND TOP-WARRENTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT: $2,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BRIARWOOD SCHOOL: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Greater Houston Commu…Morgan Stanley Global…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX13× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Craig & Galen Brown Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Craig & Galen Brown Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Craig & Galen Brown Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Craig & Galen Brown Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 18 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Craig & Galen Brown’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home