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Dickson-Allen Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Dickson-Allen Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$5.0M
Granted FY2024still arriving
114
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$785k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$6.4MArts & Culture$2.7MHealth$2.1MPublic Safety & Disaster$1.7MHuman Services$1.7MYouth Development$1.6MRecreation & Sports$909kEnvironment$395kOther$0
02FY2024 · 114 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k27 grants · $111k
  • $10k–50k63 grants · $1.4M
  • $50k–250k21 grants · $2.1M
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.5M
$20,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$86M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LAVACA EXOSITION ASSOCIATION$785,000
LAVACA MEDICAL CENTER$365,000
SACRED HEART CATHOLIC SCHOOL$310,000
THE WITTE MUSEUM$200,000
THE VICTORIA COLLEGE FOUNDATION$191,000
LAVACA COUNTY SENIOR CITIZENS$150,000
Individual grant recipient$150,000
TEXAS A&M FOUNDATION$140,000
TRINITY UNIVERSITY$130,000
THE TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS$125,000
K4 ENTERPRISES$100,000
HALLETTSVILLE ISD$100,000
APPELT'S HILL GUN CLUB$93,880
Individual grant recipient$85,000
SHERIDAN COMMUNITY CENTER$75,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY20–24, $382k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%NAVIDAD VALLEY COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: $10k → 11%SHERIDAN COMMUNITY CENTER: $115k → 15%SHERIDAN COMMUNITY CENTER: $75k → 15%SHERIDAN COMMUNITY CENTER: $75k → 15%SHERIDAN COMMUNITY CENTER: $59k → 15%SHERIDAN COMMUNITY CENTER: $25k → 15%BLUEBONNET YOUTH RANCH: $5k → 20%THE CENTER FOR PURSUIT: $5k → 16%THE CENTER FOR PURSUIT: $3k → 16%HALLETTSVILLE PLAYDAY ASSOCIATION: $10k → 13%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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$19M · 111 repeat orgs$1.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +41% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

111 repeat relationships: 86 still active in FY2024, 25 since wound down; 23 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

111
25

Total granted

$19M
$677k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+16%

Still filing today

41%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $634k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationPhilanthropyPublic Safety & DisasterHuman ServicesEnvironmentOther
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

  • LE
    LAVACA EXPOSITION ASSOCIATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.4M · revenue +48% · 83% of their budget
  • WM
    Witte Museum
    5× · 2020–2024 · $900k · revenue +370%
  • TU
    Trinity University
    5× · 2020–2024 · $690k · revenue +62%

Funded once

  • LC
    LAVACA COUNTY COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
    one grant, 2020 · $155k
  • VS
    VYSEHRAD SCHOOL
    one grant, 2022 · $75k
  • TA
    TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURAL SCIENCES
    one grant, 2020 · $75k
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
Houston Museum of Natural Science

The mission of the Houston Museum of Natural Science shall be to preserve and advance the general knowledge of natural science; to enhance in individuals the knowledge of and delight in natural science and related subjects; and to maintain…

Arts & Culture
2
Texas Flying Legends Museum
—
3
East Texas Arboretum and Botanical Society Inc

Management and operation of the arboretum.

Environment
4
San Jacinto Museum and Battlefield Association

To collect and preserve significant historical materials that relate to the early history and culture of Texas and to promote the study of the history of Texas through exhibits, publications, and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
5
The Museum of Western Art

The Museum of Western Art in the Texas Hill Country is dedicated to excellence in the collection, preservation and display of Western art.

Arts & Culture
6
Texas Forestry Museum

To educate the public about forestry and preserve the history of the forestry industry.

Arts & Culture
7
Center for 20TH Century Texas Studies
—
8
Kimbell Art Foundation
Arts & Culture
9
The Sherman Museum

Preservation and education of history and historical items of interest for the citizens and visitors of sherman, tx.

Arts & Culture
10
Lone Star Flight Museum

Lone Star Flight Museum (LSFM) celebrates flight and achievements in Texas aviation, engages youth through STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and believes aviation inspires achievement and endless possibilities.

Arts & Culture
11
South Texas Zoological Society

Operation of the texas zoo in victoria, texas and connect people with the wildlife from texas and the rest of the world, for nature and advance conservation through education, recreation, science and action. the mission is accomplished…

Animals
12
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts

The mission of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts shall be to establish and maintain a museum in order to house and exhibit a permanent collection of art as well as to provide space for traveling exhibitions, for the purpose of the…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Texas a&M Foundation; the most unlike its peers is The Mc Daniel Family Foundation. 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

64 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 64 of the 159 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.

14
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
63/64
Grantees still filing
41/64
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LAVACA MEDICAL CENTER: $1,499,440 · OtherLAVACA MEDICAL CENTERSACRED HEART CATHOLIC SCHOOL: $1,272,800 · OtherSACRED HEART CATHOLIC SCHOOLHALLETTSVILLE ISD: $724,500 · OtherHALLETTSVILLE ISDIndividual grant recipient: $602,000 · OtherLAVACA COUNTY SENIOR CITIZENS: $450,000 · Other+112 more: $7,631,387 · Other+112 moreTrinity University: $690,400 · EducationTrinity Unive…Texas A&M Foundation: $560,000 · EducationTexas A&M Fou…BEXAR COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FDN TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ART: $525,000 · EducationBEXAR COUNTY …LAVACA HISTORICAL MUSEUM: $295,000 · EducationLAVACA HISTOR…Turtle Wing Foundation: $150,000 · EducationTurtle Wing F…+6 more: $205,000 · Education+6 moreLAVACA EXPOSITION ASSOCIATION: $1,440,200 · Recreation & SportsLAVACA EX…Morgan's Wonderland: $250,000 · Recreation & SportsMorgan's …Witte Museum: $900,000 · Arts & CultureMCNAY ART MUSEUM: $125,000 · Arts & CultureHOUSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY: $100,000 · Arts & CultureAPPELTS HILL GUN CLUB INC: $93,880 · Arts & CultureSAN ANTONIO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $85,000 · Arts & CultureTEXAS CZECH HERITAGE & CULTURAL CENTER I: $50,000 · Arts & Culture+8 more: $138,500 · Arts & CultureHALLETTSVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $766,600 · Public Safety & DisasterGARWOOD VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $274,666 · Public Safety & DisasterSWEET HOME VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT: $171,050 · Public Safety & DisasterROCK ISLAND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $170,000 · Public Safety & DisasterYoakum Volunteer Fire Department: $96,143 · Public Safety & DisasterVICTORIA COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $892,316 · Philanthropy+4 more: $40,500 · PhilanthropySHERIDAN COMMUNITY CENTER: $349,000 · Human Services+4 more: $32,925 · Human Services
Other$12,180,127Education$2,425,400Recreation & Sports$1,690,200Arts & Culture$1,492,380Public Safety & Disaster$1,478,459Philanthropy$932,816Human Services$381,925

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

25%50%75%100%$10k$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLAVACA EXPOSITION ASSOCIATION: $1,440,200 over 5y, 83% of budgetWitte Museum: $900,000 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetVICTORIA COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $892,316 over 5y, 7.1% of budgetHALLETTSVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $766,600 over 5y, 69% of budgetTrinity University: $690,400 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTexas A&M Foundation: $560,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetBEXAR COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FDN TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ART: $525,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetSHERIDAN COMMUNITY CENTER: $349,000 over 5y, 49% of budgetLAVACA HISTORICAL MUSEUM: $295,000 over 5y, 71% of budgetGARWOOD VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $274,666 over 5y, 43% of budgetLucies Project: $253,000 over 5y, 42% of budgetMorgan's Wonderland: $250,000 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetHOSPICE OF SOUTH TEXAS INC: $180,020 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetSWEET HOME VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT: $171,050 over 2y, 50% of budgetROCK ISLAND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $170,000 over 2y, 87% of budgetTurtle Wing Foundation: $150,000 over 5y, 9.6% of budgetFOSTER PARENTS OF VICTORIA INC: $148,000 over 5y, 29% of budgetBLINN COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $135,000 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetThe Houston Food Bank: $130,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATIVE PRAIRIES ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS: $125,000 over 4y, 4.2% of budgetMCNAY ART MUSEUM: $125,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetWHARTON CEMETERY ASSOCIATION: $120,000 over 5y, 29% of budgetHOUSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY: $100,000 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetYoakum Volunteer Fire Department: $96,143 over 3y, 28% of budgetSAN ANTONIO CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $85,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetSt John's School: $85,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTEXAS HIGH SCHOOL RODEO ASSOCIATION: $80,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTEXAS 4-H YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION I: $75,000 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetSAY SI: $70,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetHouston Botanic Garden: $67,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetTEXAS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTEXAS CZECH HERITAGE & CULTURAL CENTER I: $50,000 over 2y, 5.4% of budgetTEXAS BARNSTORMING MUSEUM: $45,000 over 2y, 16% of budgetTHE VINE SCHOOL: $40,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetGOLDEN CRESCENT COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES INC: $40,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetGASLIGHT THEATRE INC: $35,000 over 1y, 29% of budgetWHARTON CO JR COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 9.0% of budgetALAMO COLLEGES FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSheridan Memorial Library: $27,500 over 5y, 38% of budgetHouston Zoo Inc: $27,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Parks Board: $27,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetGONZALES REGIONAL CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER INC: $25,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetGardenia E Janssen Animal Shelter: $20,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBaylor College of Medicine: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHWEST SCHOOL OF ART: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMemorial Park Conservancy Inc: $20,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHALLET OAK FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 4y, 5.5% 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.

  • Who funds LAVACA EXPOSITION ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Witte Museum ↗
  • Who funds VICTORIA COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds HALLETTSVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT ↗
  • Who funds Trinity University ↗
  • Who funds Texas A&M Foundation ↗
  • Who funds BEXAR COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FDN TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ART ↗
  • Who funds SHERIDAN COMMUNITY CENTER ↗
  • Who funds LAVACA HISTORICAL MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds GARWOOD VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT ↗
  • Who funds Lucies Project ↗
  • Who funds Morgan's Wonderland ↗
  • Who funds HOSPICE OF SOUTH TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds SWEET HOME VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT ↗
  • Who funds ROCK ISLAND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT ↗
  • Who funds Turtle Wing Foundation ↗
  • Who funds FOSTER PARENTS OF VICTORIA INC ↗
  • Who funds BLINN COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Houston Food Bank ↗

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…The Brown Foundation …The O'Connor & Hewitt…Fayette Resale Incorp…The Texas Cavaliers C…Pryor Myra Stafford C…Nancy Smith Hurd Foun…Elizabeth Huth Coates…Gvec Charitable Found…Shell USA Company Fou…The Community Foundat…RICHTER RESPONSIBILIT…
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX25.7× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · The O'Connor & Hewitt Foundation · Fayette Resale Incorporated · The Texas Cavaliers Charitable Foundation · Pryor Myra Stafford Char Tr F0030100 · Nancy Smith Hurd Foundation · Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation of 1992 · Gvec Charitable Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · The Community Foundation of Louisville Depository Inc · RICHTER RESPONSIBILITY FUND FKA Holt Family 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 Dickson-Allen Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Dickson-Allen Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 Dickson-Allen Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Dickson-Allen 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 159 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Dickson-Allen’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