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Hobby Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Hobby Family 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.

$441k
Granted FY2025still arriving
27
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$107k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Philanthropy$12MEducation$2.5MArts & Culture$1.7MRecreation & Sports$1.0MHealth$791kCommunity Improvement$350kReligion$186kPublic Benefit$171kOther$0
02FY2025 · 27 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k13 grants · $46k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $238k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $157k
$10,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$4.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ST JOHN'S SCHOOL$107,000
BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE$50,000
MENIL FOUNDATION INC - THE MENIL COLLECTION$45,000
UATX$33,333
THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF TEXAS$25,000
KAPPA ALPHA THETA FOUNDATION$25,000
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT OFFICE$20,000
THE COLLEGE FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA$20,000
HAYS CNTY CITIZENS SHERRIFS ACAD ALUMNI$15,000
SAN MARCOS CITIZENS POLICE ACAD ASSOC$15,000
MEMORIAL PARK CONSERVANCY$10,000
HAYS COUNTY FOOD BANK$10,000
FRIENDS OF PUMPKIN PARK$10,000
TELLURIDE FOUNDATION$10,000
TEXAS BUSINESS HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION$7,100
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 (FY17–20, $12k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 17% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%LOCAL MEDIA FOUNDATION: $1k → 13%THIRD OPTION FOUNDATION: $10k → 6%WESLEY COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $1k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
MI
NY
IA
IN
PA
NJ
RI
CA
CO
KY
VA
NM
TN
NC
DC
LA
MS
GA
TX
FL
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.

32%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.3M · 100 repeat orgs$13M to everyone else

100 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2025, 85 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

100
142

Total granted

$6.3M
$13M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+37%

Still filing today

59%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $70k 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
Arts & CultureEducationEnvironmentRecreation & SportsPhilanthropyHealthOther
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

  • MP
    Memorial Park Conservancy Inc
    8× · 2017–2025 · $661k · revenue +138%
  • TU
    The University of Texas Law School Foundation
    5× · 2017–2023 · $403k · revenue +146%
  • BC
    Baylor College of Medicine
    7× · 2017–2025 · $297k · revenue +67%

Funded once

  • VC
    VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWNMENT PROGRAM
    one grant, 2023 · $12M
  • KK
    KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA FRATERNITY INC
    one grant, 2020 · $75k
  • NM
    NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue -16%
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
Glasstire

Glasstire is a website about visual art in Texas. Our mission is to expand the conversation about visual art in Texas.

Arts & Culture
2
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…

—
3
The Heritage Society

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…

—
4
Texas a&M Research Foundation

To facilitate research and development within the texas a&m university system and selected other entities.

Education
5
Houston Christian Foundation dba National Christian Foundation Houston

As the Houston affiliate of the National Christian Foundation (NCF), our mission is to serve and encourage givers to grow as faithful stewards who give wisely to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

—
6
University of Houston Foundation

University of Houston Foundation provides program support to University of Houston System for various scholarship and educational programs.

Education
7
Witte Museum

The witte museum inspires people to shape the future of texas through transformative and relevant experiences in nature, science and culture.

Arts & Culture
8
The Houston Parks Board Foundation

The Houston Parks Board Foundation provides the Houston Parks Board with financial assistance to support operations and park projects.

Environment
9
Breakthrough Houston

The mission of Breakthrough Houston (BTH) is to work with highly motivated students to achieve post-secondary success and empower aspiring leaders to become the next generation of educational advocates.

Education
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
Houston Bar Foundation

The Houston Bar Foundation supports programs that help provide legal representation to the indigent, promote community understanding of our legal system, and foster the administration of justice.

Crime & Legal
12
American Leadership Forum Houston Gulf Coast Chapter

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.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Houston Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Astros 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

142 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. 142 of the 258 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
35
Early backer (in before they grew)
137/142
Grantees still filing
104/142
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWNMENT PROGRAM: $12,382,611 · OtherVANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWNMENT PROGRAM+127 more: $3,802,639 · Other+127 moreThe University of Texas Law School Foundation: $403,000 · EducationBaylor College of Medicine: $297,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: $101,000 · EducationUATX: $99,999 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION: $95,500 · EducationTHE LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON FOUNDATION: $80,000 · EducationKAPPA ALPHA THETA FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · Education+12 more: $131,250 · EducationMemorial Park Conservancy Inc: $661,000 · EnvironmentTHE WILL ERWIN HEADACHE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $62,500 · EnvironmentBuffalo Bayou Partnership Inc: $56,000 · EnvironmentHouston Botanic Garden: $32,000 · EnvironmentWILDFLOWER DONOR INC: $30,000 · Environment+8 more: $49,500 · EnvironmentMenil Foundation Inc: $310,000 · Arts & CultureThe Hobby Center Foundation: $105,000 · Arts & CultureBRENHAM MAIN STREET HISTORICAL PRESERVATION INC: $70,000 · Arts & CultureFoundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies: $60,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $54,500 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureHouston Arts Alliance: $37,500 · Arts & CultureGLENWOOD CEMETERY HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION: $37,500 · Arts & Culture+11 more: $103,700 · Arts & CultureHouston Parks Board: $112,500 · PhilanthropyTexas Cultural Trust Council: $81,000 · PhilanthropyTHE COLLEGE FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: $50,000 · PhilanthropyUnited Way of Greater Houston: $20,000 · PhilanthropyASTROS FOUNDATION: $15,000 · Philanthropy+5 more: $17,000 · PhilanthropyTELLURIDE FOUNDATION: $135,000 · Recreation & SportsANGELS AND CAUSES INC: $35,000 · Recreation & SportsSan Marcos Youth Baseball Softball Association: $10,990 · Recreation & SportsFriends of Pumpkin Park: $10,000 · Recreation & Sports+2 more: $4,000 · Recreation & SportsGreater San Marcos Youth Council Inc: $60,000 · Human ServicesTHE CENTER FOR PURSUIT: $22,000 · Human ServicesFOSTER ANGELS OF CENTRAL TEXAS FOUNDATION: $18,500 · Human ServicesTHIRD OPTION FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Human Services+1 more: $3,000 · Human Services
Other$16,185,250Education$1,257,749Environment$891,000Arts & Culture$828,200Philanthropy$295,500Recreation & Sports$194,990Human Services$113,500

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetMemorial Park Conservancy Inc: $661,000 over 8y, 5.5% of budgetThe University of Texas Law School Foundation: $403,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetMenil Foundation Inc: $310,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetBaylor College of Medicine: $297,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSt John's School: $231,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetTELLURIDE FOUNDATION: $135,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetHouston Parks Board: $112,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetThe Hobby Center Foundation: $105,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC: $101,250 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: $101,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR NEW AMERICAN MEDIA INC: $100,000 over 2y, 48% of budgetUATX: $99,999 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION: $95,500 over 3y, 3.3% of budgetTexas Cultural Trust Council: $81,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetTHE LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetBRENHAM MAIN STREET HISTORICAL PRESERVATION INC: $70,000 over 5y, 35% of budgetTHE WILL ERWIN HEADACHE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $62,500 over 7y, 1.8% of budgetFoundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies: $60,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetGreater San Marcos Youth Council Inc: $60,000 over 3y, 3.3% of budgetBuffalo Bayou Partnership Inc: $56,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $54,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetCenter for Public Policy Priorities: $51,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetTHE COLLEGE FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: $50,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetKAPPA ALPHA THETA FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSIRE INC: $41,100 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetHouston Arts Alliance: $37,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGLENWOOD CEMETERY HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION: $37,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetTexas 2036: $35,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetANGELS AND CAUSES INC: $35,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetHouston Botanic Garden: $32,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetThe Broach Foundation For Brain Cancer Research: $30,000 over 4y, 3.2% of budgetPin Oak Charity Horse Show Association: $27,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetTHE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF TEXAS: $26,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetTexas Appleseed: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $23,750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetVIRGINIA STUDENT AID FOUNDATION INC: $23,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR PURSUIT: $22,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $21,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetADMIRAL NIMITZ FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTEXAS TRIBUNE INC: $20,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetUnited Way of Greater Houston: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Kinkaid School Inc: $19,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFOSTER ANGELS OF CENTRAL TEXAS FOUNDATION: $18,500 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN - AUSTIN: $16,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetASTROS FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCity Kids Adventures: $14,000 over 5y, 1.4% 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 Memorial Park Conservancy Inc ↗
  • Who funds The University of Texas Law School Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Menil Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Baylor College of Medicine ↗
  • Who funds St John's School ↗
  • Who funds TELLURIDE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Houston Parks Board ↗
  • Who funds The Hobby Center Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR NEW AMERICAN MEDIA INC ↗
  • Who funds UATX ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Texas Cultural Trust Council ↗
  • Who funds THE LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BRENHAM MAIN STREET HISTORICAL PRESERVATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE WILL ERWIN HEADACHE RESEARCH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies ↗
  • Who funds Greater San Marcos Youth Council Inc ↗
  • Who funds Buffalo Bayou Partnership Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds Center for Public Policy Priorities ↗
  • Who funds THE COLLEGE FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA ↗
  • Who funds KAPPA ALPHA THETA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SIRE INC ↗

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 …Houston Endowment IncAlbert & Ethel Herzst…The Powell FoundationVivian L Smith Founda…Sterling-Turner Found…The Elkins FoundationStrake FoundationThe William Stamps Fa…Alvin & Lucy Owsley F…Austin Community Foun…
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX68.9× affinity64 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 · Houston Endowment Inc · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · The Powell Foundation · Vivian L Smith Foundation · Sterling-Turner Foundation · The Elkins Foundation · Strake Foundation · The William Stamps Farish Fund · Alvin & Lucy Owsley Foundation · Austin Community Foundation Inc

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 Hobby Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Hobby Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    33report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 258 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 Hobby Family’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