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Earl C Sams Foundation Inc at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

Earl C Sams Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$777k
Granted FY2024still arriving
49
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$171k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Animals$1.3MHealth$464kEducation$408kHuman Services$330kArts & Culture$235kFood & Nutrition$208kPublic Safety & Disaster$95kEnvironment$84kOther$0
02FY2024 · 49 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k19 grants · $96k
  • $10k–50k28 grants · $410k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $271k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$21M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
VALLEY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY GLADYS PORTER ZOO$170,500
TEXAS STATE AQUARIUM$100,000
HILL COUNTRY DAILY BREAD MINISTRY$40,000
Individual grant recipient$23,800
COASTAL BEND COMMUNITY FUND$20,000
AGAPE RANCH$20,000
1 HOPE FOR KIDS$20,000
WARRIOR'S WEEKEND$20,000
FRIENDS OF THE PORT O'CONNOR LIBRARY$20,000
FRYDERYK CHOPIN SOCIETY OF TEXAS$15,000
FOSTER ANGELS OF SOUTH TEXAS FOUNDATION$15,000
CORPUS CHRISTI PREGNANCY CENTER$15,000
TIMONS MINISTRIES$15,000
CORPUS CHRISTI METRO MINISTRIES$15,000
MISSION OF MERCY INC$15,000
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, $313k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 97% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%CHOSEN CARE: $5k → 10%GLADNEY CENTER FOR ADOPTION: $5k → 11%WARRIOR'S WEEKEND: $20k → 16%JOE JOE BEAR FOUNDATION: $5k → 16%WARRIOR'S WEEKEND: $20k → 16%JOE JOE BEAR FOUNDATION: $1k → 16%CHILDREN'S COALITION OF ARANSAS COUNTY: $5k → 17%WARRIOR'S WEEKEND: $20k → 16%CHILDREN'S COALITION OF ARANSAS COUNTY: $5k → 17%WARRIOR'S WEEKEND: $20k → 16%OPEN HANDS COMMUNITY CHARITABLE SERVICES: $10k → 27%WARRIOR'S WEEKEND: $20k → 16%1 HOPE FOR KIDS: $20k → 16%1 HOPE FOR KIDS: $10k → 16%1 HOPE FOR KIDS: $10k → 16%FOSTER ANGELS OF SOUTH TEXAS FOUNDATION: $15k → 17%MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE EARLY CHILD DEV NURSEY INC: $10k → 17%CORPUS CHRISTI METRO MINISTRIES: $40k → 17%CORPUS CHRISTI METRO MINISTRIES: $15k → 17%CORPUS CHRISTI METRO MINISTRIES: $7k → 17%MISSION OF MERCY INC: $15k → 17%MISSION OF MERCY INC: $15k → 17%MISSION OF MERCY INC: $10k → 17%MISSION OF MERCY INC: $10k → 17%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.

79%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.9M · 53 repeat orgs$752k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +42% since the first grant, against +1% for those funded once.

53 repeat relationships: 32 still active in FY2024, 21 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

53
47

Total granted

$2.9M
$611k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+42%
+1%

Still filing today

60%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $142k 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
Human ServicesHealthAnimalsEducationArts & CultureEnvironmentOther
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

  • DC
    Driscoll Children's Hospital Development Foundation
    3× · 2020–2022 · $200k · revenue +455%
  • CC
    CORPUS CHRISTI PREGNANCY CENTER INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $67k · revenue +70%
  • FC
    FRYDERYK CHOPIN SOCIETY OF TEXAS INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $57k · revenue +42% · 27% of their budget

Funded once

  • THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $100k · revenue +44%
  • VZ
    VALLEY ZOOLOGICAL ENDOWMENT
    one grant, 2020 · $60k · revenue -5%
  • UT
    UNIV TX RIO GRANDE VALLEY FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $40k
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
Wildlife Rescue of Central Texas

Wildlife rescue of central texas cares for injured and orphaned wildlife, provides public education programs, and promotes peaceful coexistence with our wild neighbors.

Animals
2
Central Texas Children's Home

To provide family services and to provide residential child care for dependent children where there is a need to assist children and families disrupted by problems.

Human Services
3
Animal Friends of Port Aransas Inc

Provide veterinary and shelter services for displaced and wayward animals in the township and outlying area of port aransas, texas.

Animals
4
Texas State Aquarium Association

The texas state aquarium's mission is engaging people with animals, inspiring appreciation for our seas, and supporting wildlife conservation. its vision is to be a global leader in fostering support for the conservation of the gulf of…

Animals
5
Cca Texas Fund

To support coastal conservation association in carrying out the charitable and educational purpose for which it was organized and is operated, namely, promoting and advancing the preservation, conservation and protection of marine, plant…

Environment
6
Comal County Child Welfare Board

Provide support to foster children and at risk families in Comal County Texas. Provide emergency support to victims of child abuse.

—
7
Texas Rescue Inc
Animals
8
Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

The organization is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing orphaned and injured wildlife in the texas panhandle.

Animals
9
Texas Center for Child and Family Studies

To strengthen the lives of children and families.

Human Services
10
Central Texas Spca

Rescue neglected, unwanted homeless dogs and cats nurture and provide shelter until they are placed with a forever family strive to reduce animal overpopulation prevent cruelty to animals teach responsible pet ownership through an outreach…

Animals
11
The Cove - Heart of Texas Inc

Charitable and educational purposes for homeless in-school youth and their families. to provide a safe place and nurturing environment to unaccompanied homeless youth and their families in order to attain success with academic, social and…

Education
12
Texas Christian Foundation

Texas Christian Foundations mission is to mobilize resources by inspiring biblical generosity and educating Texans on ways their generosity can impact their community, Texas and the world.

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas Inc; the most unlike its peers is Sabinal Alumni. 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

72 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. 72 of the 117 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
21
Early backer (in before they grew)
70/72
Grantees still filing
47/72
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VALLEY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY GLADYS PORTER ZOO: $742,500 · OtherVALLEY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY GLADYS PORTER ZOOTEXAS STATE AQUARIUM: $400,000 · OtherTEXAS STATE AQUARIUMCOASTAL BEND COMMUNITY FUND: $110,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · Other+69 more: $1,178,402 · Other+69 moreWARRIORS WEEKEND: $100,000 · Human ServicesWARRIORS WE…CORPUS CHRISTI METRO MINISTRIESINC: $62,000 · Human ServicesCORPUS CHRI…MISSION OF MERCY INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesMISSION OF …1HOPE FOR KIDS INC: $40,000 · Human Services1HOPE FOR K…NEW LIFE REFUGE MINISTRIES: $40,000 · Human ServicesNEW LIFE RE…FOSTER ANGELS OF SOUTH TEXAS FOUNDATION: $15,000 · Human Services+7 more: $49,000 · Human Services+7 moreDriscoll Children's Hospital Development Foundation: $200,000 · PhilanthropyTHE INTREPID FALLEN HEROES FUND: $10,000 · PhilanthropyCORPUS CHRISTI EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropyCORPUS CHRISTI PREGNANCY CENTER INC: $67,000 · HealthSOUTH TEXAS LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND: $25,000 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $20,000 · HealthBROWNSVILLE SOCIETY FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN INCORPORATED: $20,000 · HealthBILLY T CATTAN RECOVERY OUTREACH: $10,000 · HealthBROKEN CHAINS INC: $10,000 · HealthTEXAS DIAPER BANK: $7,000 · Health+1 more: $5,000 · HealthVALLEY ZOOLOGICAL ENDOWMENT: $60,000 · AnimalsPEEWEE'S PET ADOPTION WORLD & SANCTUARY INC: $20,000 · AnimalsMEEKER CLASSIC SHEEPDOG CHAMPIONSHI: $17,500 · AnimalsTriple Me Mac Equine Sanctuary: $16,000 · AnimalsFriends of the ARK Inc: $15,000 · AnimalsINTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION INC: $6,500 · AnimalsGULF COAST BIRD OBSERVATORY INC: $5,000 · Animals+1 more: $2,000 · AnimalsFRYDERYK CHOPIN SOCIETY OF TEXAS INC: $57,000 · Arts & CultureCAMILLE PLAYERS INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureSEA TURTLE INC: $20,000 · Arts & CultureCORPUS CHRISTI SYMPHONY SOCIETY INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureRockport Art Association Inc: $5,000 · Arts & CultureCHARITY LEAGUE OF CORPUS CHRISTI: $25,000 · EducationFRIENDS OF THE PORT O CONNOR LIBRARY INC: $20,000 · EducationSABINAL ALUMNI: $16,500 · EducationCITIZENS FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE INC: $15,000 · EducationARANSAS PASS FOR YOUTH INC: $11,000 · EducationSOUTH TEXAS LITERACY COALITION: $10,000 · EducationSAN ANTONIO BAY PARTNERSHIP INC: $5,000 · Education
Other$2,530,902Human Services$356,000Philanthropy$220,000Health$164,000Animals$142,000Arts & Culture$122,000Education$102,500

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 budgetDriscoll Children's Hospital Development Foundation: $200,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWARRIORS WEEKEND: $100,000 over 5y, 52% of budgetCORPUS CHRISTI PREGNANCY CENTER INC: $67,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetCORPUS CHRISTI METRO MINISTRIESINC: $62,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetVALLEY ZOOLOGICAL ENDOWMENT: $60,000 over 1y, 9.3% of budgetFRYDERYK CHOPIN SOCIETY OF TEXAS INC: $57,000 over 4y, 27% of budgetMISSION OF MERCY INC: $50,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetTIMON'S MINISTRIES: $45,000 over 4y, 2.6% of budget1HOPE FOR KIDS INC: $40,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetNEW LIFE REFUGE MINISTRIES: $40,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetAGAPE RANCH: $40,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetMESSIAH MINISTRIES INC: $40,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetCORPUS CHRISTI LITERACY COUNCIL: $36,000 over 4y, 7.1% of budgetCORPUS CHRISTI HOPE HOUSE INC: $35,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetPort OConnor Chamber of Commerce: $35,000 over 1y, 54% of budgetCAMILLE PLAYERS INC: $30,000 over 2y, 9.4% of budgetSOUTH TEXAS LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND: $25,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCHARITY LEAGUE OF CORPUS CHRISTI: $25,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetSOUTH TEXAS BOTANICAL GARDENS: $24,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetVETERANS ASSISTANCE DOGS OF TEXAS INC: $22,000 over 2y, 9.1% of budgetMAJESTY OUTDOORS: $20,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPEEWEE'S PET ADOPTION WORLD & SANCTUARY INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetBROWNSVILLE SOCIETY FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN INCORPORATED: $20,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE PORT O CONNOR LIBRARY INC: $20,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetSEA TURTLE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetMEEKER CLASSIC SHEEPDOG CHAMPIONSHI: $17,500 over 3y, 4.1% of budgetSABINAL ALUMNI: $16,500 over 3y, 6.7% of budgetTriple Me Mac Equine Sanctuary: $16,000 over 2y, 8.3% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF SOUTH TEXAS INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetFOSTER ANGELS OF SOUTH TEXAS FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetFriends of the ARK Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 9.9% of budgetCHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF BROWNSVILLE INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetCITIZENS FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetDISCOVERY CAMPS INC: $15,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetMOONLIGHT FUND INC: $15,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetGROW LOCAL SOUTH TEXAS: $14,500 over 3y, 6.7% of budgetARANSAS PASS FOR YOUTH INC: $11,000 over 1y, 7.2% of budgetBILLY T CATTAN RECOVERY OUTREACH: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF TEXAS: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOPEN HANDS COMMUNITY CHARITABLE SERVICES: $10,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetTHE INTREPID FALLEN HEROES FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBROKEN CHAINS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetCORPUS CHRISTI SYMPHONY SOCIETY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetAgape Harbor: $10,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetSOUTH TEXAS LITERACY COALITION: $10,000 over 1y, 9.5% of budgetGalveston Bay Foundation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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 Driscoll Children's Hospital Development Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds WARRIORS WEEKEND ↗
  • Who funds CORPUS CHRISTI PREGNANCY CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CORPUS CHRISTI METRO MINISTRIESINC ↗
  • Who funds VALLEY ZOOLOGICAL ENDOWMENT ↗
  • Who funds FRYDERYK CHOPIN SOCIETY OF TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds MISSION OF MERCY INC ↗
  • Who funds TIMON'S MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds 1HOPE FOR KIDS INC ↗
  • Who funds NEW LIFE REFUGE MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds AGAPE RANCH ↗
  • Who funds MESSIAH MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds CORPUS CHRISTI LITERACY COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds CORPUS CHRISTI HOPE HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds Port OConnor Chamber of Commerce ↗
  • Who funds CAMILLE PLAYERS INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH TEXAS LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND ↗
  • Who funds CHARITY LEAGUE OF CORPUS CHRISTI ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH TEXAS BOTANICAL GARDENS ↗
  • Who funds VETERANS ASSISTANCE DOGS OF TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds MAJESTY OUTDOORS ↗
  • Who funds American Heart Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds PEEWEE'S PET ADOPTION WORLD & SANCTUARY INC ↗
  • Who funds BROWNSVILLE SOCIETY FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN INCORPORATED ↗

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.

Ed Rachal FoundationBehmann Brothers Foun…Coastal Bend Communit…Allen Lovelace Moore …The John G and Marie …United Way of the Coa…Laverne & Thomas Howe…Frazier Family Founda…Alice Kleberg Reynold…Puente de Maravillas …Susser Family Foundat…The Moody Foundation
Ed Rachal FoundationTX66.3× affinity30 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ed Rachal Foundation · Behmann Brothers Foundation · Coastal Bend Community Foundation · Allen Lovelace Moore and Blanche Davis Moore Foundation · The John G and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation · United Way of the Coastal Bend Inc · Laverne & Thomas Howell Foundation · Frazier Family Foundation Inc · Alice Kleberg Reynolds Meyer Foundat A0479800 · Puente de Maravillas Foundation · Susser Family Foundation · The Moody 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 Earl C Sams Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Earl C Sams Foundation Inc. 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%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    16report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    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.

    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 117 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 Earl C Sams’ 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