· Private foundation
Gordon a Cain Foundation
Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2024
- Under $10k17 grants · $77k
- $10k–50k29 grants · $581k
- $50k–250k3 grants · $330k
- $250k+3 grants · $1.8M
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| NATIONAL INFANTRY FOUNDATION | $1,100,000 |
| MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON | $450,000 |
| ALLEY THEATRE | $285,000 |
| ST MATTHEW'S PARISH SCHOOL | $180,000 |
| MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER INC | $100,000 |
| GOODMAN INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH | $50,000 |
| AMERICAN HERITAGE EDUCATION SOCIETY | $45,000 |
| GRANDFATHER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | $35,000 |
| PROJECT 8P | $35,000 |
| HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE | $35,000 |
| NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCATION OF AMERICA | $35,000 |
| GOOD SAMARITAN FOUNDATION OF TEXAS INC | $30,000 |
| UCLA LAB SCHOOL | $25,000 |
| Individual grant recipient | $25,000 |
| STAR OF HOPE | $20,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY20–24, $145k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
Which US states its grants reach
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
46 repeat relationships: 40 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $87k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- NINATIONAL INFANTRY MUSEUM FOUNDATIONINC5× · 2020–2024 · $2.5M · revenue +50%
- TMTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON5× · 2020–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +51%
- ATALLEY THEATRE4× · 2020–2024 · $680k · revenue +118%
Funded once
- FCFIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHone grant, 2020 · $50k
- FOFRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - HOUSTONgraduatedone grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +66%
- BTBATTLESHIP TEXAS FOUNDATIONone grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue -7%
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.
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.
The Houston Local Information Initiative, Inc. provides public service journalism that reflects the civic needs of the diverse communities comprising Greater Houston.
The Heritage Society (THS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1954 whose mission is to tell the stories of the diverse history of Houston and Texas through collections, exhibits, the arts, educational programs, film, video, and other…
Memorial hermann health system is a nonprofit, values-driven, community-owned health system dedicated to improving health. our vision is to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come. our values are community,…
Our mission is to be the leading advocate for our member physicians, their patients and our community, in promoting the highest standards of ethical medical practice, access to quality medical care, medical education, research, and…
The Health Museum is an innovative science center that provides an interactive and entertaining experience for all ages, promotes understanding and appreciation of the human body, mind, and spirit, and inspires a lifelong commitment to…
American Leadership Forum (ALF) brings together, in classes, leaders with diverse perspectives so they can build relationships, learn to dialogue and respectfully differ, and work together for the good of our community.
See Schedule OThe Women's Resource of Greater Houston helps women and girls make choices toward becoming independent, productive, and financially stable. We fulfill our mission by recruiting volunteer instructors to deliver our programs in…
Glasstire is a website about visual art in Texas. Our mission is to expand the conversation about visual art in Texas.
Rebuilding Together Houston is the only organization in Houston and Harris County providing free home repairs to hundreds of families each year. We employ licensed contractors to restore homes to safe, livable conditions, extending each…
Memorial hermann health system is a nonprofit, values-driven, community-owned health system dedicated to improving health. our vision is to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come. our values are community,…
The witte museum inspires people to shape the future of texas through transformative and relevant experiences in nature, science and culture.
The Progress Texas Institute provides research and strategic communications on issues with the ultimate goal of increasing civic engagement.
How this is measured
50 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. 50 of the 69 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 NATIONAL INFANTRY MUSEUM FOUNDATIONINC ↗
- Who funds THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON ↗
- Who funds Houston Museum of Natural Science ↗
- Who funds ALLEY THEATRE ↗
- Who funds MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER ↗
- Who funds Houston Botanic Garden ↗
- Who funds Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research ↗
- Who funds Good Samaritan Foundation of Texas Inc ↗
- Who funds NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA ↗
- Who funds American Heritage Education Foundation Inc ↗
- Who funds STAR OF HOPE MISSION ↗
- Who funds CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE ↗
- Who funds THE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE ↗
- Who funds CHILD ADVOCATES INC ↗
- Who funds NATIONAL CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH ↗
- Who funds TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds NATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY CENTER ↗
- Who funds Bill of Rights Institute ↗
- Who funds HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON ↗
- Who funds THE MENNINGER CLINIC ↗
- Who funds HOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT ↗
- Who funds THE WOMEN'S HOME ↗
- Who funds Houston Area Women's Center ↗
- Who funds THE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION ↗
- Who funds San Jacinto Museum and Battlefield Association ↗
- Who funds Grandfather Community Foundation Inc ↗
- Who funds Texans for Lawsuit Reform ↗
- Who funds The Houston Food Bank ↗
- Who funds Crime Stoppers of Houston Inc ↗
- Who funds APPALACHIAN REGIONAL HEALTHCARE ↗
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.
Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · John P McGovern Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · MD Anderson Foundation · Vivian L Smith Foundation · The Elkins Foundation · The John M O'Quinn Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · Strake Foundation · Alvin & Lucy Owsley Foundation · Mechia Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Gordon a Cain Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gordon a Cain Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
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