Skip to content

· Public charity

Good Reason Houston Inc

Good Reason Houston strives to grow and sustain great schools while advocating for families and communities.

$364k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$289k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$7.6MYouth Development$275kCivil Rights$60kCommunity Improvement$20kInternational$15kPhilanthropy$15k
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $50k–250k1 grant · $75k
  • $250k+1 grant · $289k
$288,934
Median grant
1
States reached
$17M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Texas Tech Foundation$288,934
Summer House Institute$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 (FY20–20, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%Change Happens: $20k → 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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.2M · 18 repeat orgs$772k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +54% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 18 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
12

Total granted

$7.2M
$408k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+54%
+14%

Still filing today

56%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $364k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationYouth DevelopmentHuman ServicesInternationalOther
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

  • YP
    YES Prep Public Schools Inc
    3× · 2020–2023 · $1.8M · revenue +63%
  • KT
    KIPP Texas Inc
    3× · 2021–2023 · $1.2M · revenue +21%
  • WM
    William Marsh Rice University
    2× · 2023–2024 · $375k · revenue +45%

Funded once

  • SS
    STEPPING STONES CHARTER ELEMENTARY
    one grant, 2023 · $90k · revenue +16%
  • EMPOWER SCHOOLS INC
    one grant, 2022 · $75k · revenue +14%
  • HI
    Houston Independent School District Foundation
    one grant, 2023 · $60k · revenue -68%
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 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
3
The Fay School

See Schedule O. The Fay School ("the School") is a nonsectarian, not-for-profit, co-educational school in which children of diverse talents and backgrounds with strong academic abilities are offered a high-quality education in a secure,…

—
4
Third Future Schools - Texas

The charter school is a model for the next generation of schools, working to prepare students, especially poor and minority students, for the workplace and college.

Education
5
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
6
Ser-Ninos Inc Dba Ser Ninos Charter School

Ser-ninos charter school is a public school which provides an innovative dual language curriculum in the southwest area of houston, texas. it offers a high quality education through public and private funding to-at-risk children in grades…

Education
7
Riverwalk Education Foundation Inc

Our mission drives academic and socio-emotional development (see Schedule O) through a rigorous college preparatory, STEM-based learning model. The model is anchored on 21st century skills, embraced by a character-building approach, and…

Education
8
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…

—
9
Basis Texas Charter Schools Inc

The mission of basis texas charter schools is to empower students to achieve at globally competitive levels with a transformative k-12 academic program.

Education
10
Austin Partners in Education

Apie provides college and career readiness support through individualized academic and mentoring programs to prepare students for success.

Education
11
Si Se Puede Schools

The organization's mission is to partner with urban public school districts in texas to create and manage neighborhood schools that provide high quality teacher and leadership development programs along with a researched based curriculum,…

Education
12
Uplift Education

Uplift education's mission is to create and sustain public schools of excellence that empower each student to reach their highest potential in college and the global marketplace and that inspire in the students a life-long love of…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Empower Schools Inc; the most unlike its peers is William Marsh Rice University. 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

22 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. 22 of the 33 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)
22/22
Grantees still filing
15/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

YES Prep Public Schools Inc: $1,809,113 · EducationYES Prep Public Schools IncKIPP Texas Inc: $1,165,000 · EducationKIPP Texas IncWilliam Marsh Rice University: $375,000 · EducationWilliam Marsh Rice UniversityTEXAS TECH FOUNDATION INC: $288,934 · EducationTEXAS TECH FOUNDATION INCLATINOS FOR EDUCATION INC: $285,000 · EducationLATINOS FOR EDUCATION INCREVE PREPARATORY INC: $220,000 · EducationElevate Collegiate Inc dba Elevate Collegiate Charter School: $183,200 · EducationAMIGOS POR VIDA - FRIENDS FOR LIFE: $175,000 · Education+7 more: $513,500 · Education+7 moreAldine Independent School District: $1,703,587 · OtherAldine Independent School DistrictHouston Independent Sch Dist: $246,900 · OtherHouston Independent Sch DistKLEIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT: $200,000 · OtherKLEIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTSAN JACINTO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT: $200,000 · OtherSAN JACINTO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRIC…+9 more: $296,220 · Other+9 moreEIGHT MILLION STORIES INC: $220,000 · Youth DevelopmentTEJANO CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CONCERNS INC: $55,000 · Youth DevelopmentTHE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $45,000 · PhilanthropyCivic Heart Community Services: $20,000 · Human ServicesATTACK POVERTY: $15,000 · International
Education$5,014,747Other$2,646,707Youth Development$275,000Philanthropy$45,000Human Services$20,000International$15,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetYES Prep Public Schools Inc: $1,809,113 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetKIPP Texas Inc: $1,165,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $375,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLATINOS FOR EDUCATION INC: $285,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetREVE PREPARATORY INC: $220,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetEIGHT MILLION STORIES INC: $220,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetElevate Collegiate Inc dba Elevate Collegiate Charter School: $183,200 over 2y, 10% of budgetAMIGOS POR VIDA - FRIENDS FOR LIFE: $175,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetETOILE ACADEMY INC: $115,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetTHE BETA FOUNDATION: $115,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSTEPPING STONES CHARTER ELEMENTARY: $90,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetEMPOWER SCHOOLS INC: $75,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetSUMMER HOUSE INSTITUTE: $75,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetHouston Independent School District Foundation: $60,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetTEJANO CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CONCERNS INC: $55,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DALLAS FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIDEA Public Schools: $35,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCivic Heart Community Services: $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetATTACK POVERTY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTHE PARENT TEACHER COLLABORATIVE CO: $8,500 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetWONDERLAND EDUCATIONAL ESTATE DBA BEATRICE MAYES INSTITUTE: $7,000 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.

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 Community FoundationTX26.3× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Houston Endowment Inc · The Brown Foundation Inc · The Houston Food Bank · Project Lead the Way Inc · Houston Texans Foundation · Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · The Powell Foundation · United Way of Greater Houston · Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund · Round It Up America Inc · For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)

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 Good Reason Houston Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Good Reason Houston Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 33 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 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 Good Reason Houston’s filings →

    More from the funding graph