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Houston Arts Alliance at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Houston Arts Alliance

See Schedule OHouston Arts Alliance (HAA) is a local arts and culture organization whose principal work is implementing the City of Houston's vision, values, and goals for its arts grantmaking and civic art investments.

$16M
Granted FY2024still arriving
128
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$756k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$62MScience & Tech$3.6MAnimals$2.5MCommunity Improvement$1.0MHealth$829kYouth Development$751kEducation$741kReligion$664kOther$0
02FY2024 · 128 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 128 grants below total $12,421,542, the rows itemized in this filing. The $15,749,949 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $3,328,407 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k16 grants · $120k
  • $10k–50k55 grants · $1.4M
  • $50k–250k46 grants · $3.4M
  • $250k+11 grants · $7.5M
$41,537
Median grant
1
States reached
$40M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Museum of Fine Arts Houston$755,710
Houston Ballet Foundation$734,979
Houston Zoo Inc$730,327
The Hobby Center Foundation$727,641
Alley Theatre$717,690
Houston Grand Opera Association Inc$704,263
Houston Symphony Society$703,582
Menil Foundation Inc$698,249
The Houston Museum Of Natural Science$690,870
Theatre Under The Stars Inc$608,772
Childrens Museum Inc$423,416
Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment$135,000
Art League of Houston$128,750
Asia Society Texas Center$125,000
Young Audiences Inc of Houston$108,750
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 (FY17–24, $436k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, 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%Society for Africans in the Diaspora: $22k → 16%Magpies and Peacocks: $5k → 16%Solel International: $13k → 16%India House: $35k → 16%India House Inc: $10k → 16%People Caring for the Community Texas: $10k → 16%India House Inc: $9k → 16%Chinese Community Center: $24k → 16%Chinese Community Center Inc: $21k → 16%Chinese Community Center: $20k → 16%Magpies & Peacocks: $17k → 16%SHAPE Community Center: $42k → 16%SHAPE Community Center: $39k → 16%Third Ward Community Cloth Cooperative: $15k → 16%Shape Community Center: $10k → 16%South Union Community Development Corpor: $10k → 16%SHAPE Community Center: $8k → 16%Amandla Productions: $6k → 16%Homemade Hope For Homeless Children: $31k → 16%Jewish Family Service: $10k → 16%Jewish Family Service: $10k → 16%Magpies and Peacocks Inc: $12k → 16%The TRUTH Project: $6k → 16%The Positive Project: $18k → 16%The Positive Project: $10k → 16%AAPI Voices: $6k → 16%The Positive Project: $10k → 16%The Positive Project: $9k → 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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$71M · 195 repeat orgs$2.7M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +35% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

195 repeat relationships: 104 still active in FY2024, 91 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

195
103

Total granted

$71M
$1.7M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+35%
+20%

Still filing today

88%
51%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $975k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationCommunity ImprovementYouth DevelopmentPhilanthropyOther
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

  • HB
    Houston Ballet Foundation
    5× · 2020–2024 · $5.8M · revenue +25%
  • TM
    THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON
    5× · 2020–2024 · $4.9M · revenue +51%
  • HS
    Houston Symphony Society
    5× · 2020–2024 · $4.3M · revenue +47%

Funded once

  • MI
    MIDTOWN IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $140k · revenue +48%
  • PR
    Project Row Houses Foundation
    one grant, 2023 · $138k
  • FA
    Fresh Arts Coalition
    one grant, 2023 · $59k
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
Hopera

Hopera's mission is to produce live musical performances in unique Houston Area spaces that focus on and empower Houston Area artists. Our Pint-Sized Performance concert series empowers local musicians to create original programs that are…

Arts & Culture
2
Tx Performing Chinese Arts
—
3
Operativo Houston

Providing paid opportunities for Houston based singers.

Arts & Culture
4
Allen Parkway Arts Center Inc

APAC is a supporting organization to Stages, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization producing live theater.

Arts & Culture
5
Japanese Festival of Houston Inc

Introduce the public to and educate the public on japanese culture

Arts & Culture
6
Houston Climate Justice Museum

The Museum brings together the arts with history, science, & activism to tell stories about the unequal effects of environmental change in order to inspire action on the climate crisis.

Arts & Culture
7
Houston Brass Band

The Houston Brass Band has established itself as one of the premier brass groups in Houston, Texas. Our mission is to: Broadly share the unique British brass band style and sound, Provide our audience with inspiring, engaging, and…

Arts & Culture
8
Houston Artists Fund

Fiscal sponsor of publications about Houston Artists.

Arts & Culture
9
American Baroque Opera Company

American baroque opera company operates in the state of texas for the primary purpose of furthering the appreciaton of music, particularly opera, for the general public. american baroque opera company performs select operas throughout the…

Arts & Culture
10
Houston Asian American Festival Association

Haafa, 501 c 3, founded 1980: mission to promote, preserve and present asian cultural arts festivals, free to the public, featuring dance, music, martial arts, lion dances & fireworks, for family audiences

Arts & Culture
11
Arts Connect Houston

Arts Connect Houston unites with the greater Houston community to ensure access to high-quality arts education in creative writing, dance, music, theater, and the visual arts for every student, beginning with Houston ISD.

Arts & Culture
12
Kimbell Art Foundation
Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Dance Houston; the most unlike its peers is Ponce Project 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

263 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. 263 of the 319 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.

42
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
90
Early backer (in before they grew)
243/263
Grantees still filing
170/263
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Houston Ballet Foundation: $5,815,557 · Arts & CultureHouston Ballet FoundationTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $4,944,069 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTONHouston Symphony Society: $4,273,223 · Arts & CultureHouston Symphony SocietyHouston Museum of Natural Science: $3,591,954 · Arts & CultureHouston Museum of Natural ScienceTheatre Under the Stars Inc: $3,278,808 · Arts & CultureTheatre Under the Stars IncMenil Foundation Inc: $3,114,372 · Arts & CultureMenil Foundation IncALLEY THEATRE: $2,803,330 · Arts & CultureHouston Grand Opera Association Inc: $2,507,698 · Arts & CultureCHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $2,315,469 · Arts & Culture+108 more: $25,354,064 · Arts & Culture+108 moreART LEAGUE OF HOUSTON: $1,003,732 · OtherART LEAGUE OF…INPRINT INC: $617,617 · OtherINPRINT INCCG Jung Educational Center of Houston Texas Inc: $478,139 · OtherCG Jung Educa…APOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS: $393,667 · OtherCOMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER OF HOUSTON: $329,441 · OtherDance of Asian America: $368,913 · Other+55 more: $5,452,868 · Other+55 moreHouston Zoo Inc: $2,542,587 · AnimalsYOUNG AUDIENCES INC OF HOUSTON: $651,345 · EducationWriters in the Schools: $449,134 · EducationWilliam Marsh Rice University: $168,481 · EducationHouston Metropolitan Dance Center Inc: $157,012 · EducationUniversity of Houston Foundation: $136,314 · EducationFIFTH WARD COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $267,500 · Community ImprovementMIDTOWN IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORP: $140,000 · Community ImprovementHouston Freedmen's Town Conservancy Inc: $112,294 · Community ImprovementCULTURE OF HEALTH - ADVANCING TOGETHER: $86,967 · Community ImprovementEast End Foundation: $30,000 · Community ImprovementArts Business Collaborative: $27,500 · Community ImprovementDiscovery Green Conservancy: $391,080 · Recreation & SportsEmancipation Park Conservancy: $74,188 · Recreation & SportsWORLD YOUTH FOUNDATION INC: $63,300 · Recreation & SportsSHAPE Community Center: $177,735 · Human ServicesPOSITIVE PROJECT: $77,319 · Human ServicesCHINESE COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $64,535 · Human ServicesINDIA HOUSE INC: $54,000 · Human ServicesMagpies and Peacocks Inc: $34,209 · Human ServicesThe TRUTH Project Inc: $33,216 · Human ServicesHomemade Hope for Homeless Children: $30,600 · Human Services
Arts & Culture$57,998,544Other$8,644,377Animals$2,542,587Education$1,562,286Community Improvement$664,261Recreation & Sports$528,568Human Services$471,614

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 budgetHouston Ballet Foundation: $5,815,557 over 5y, 3.9% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $4,944,069 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetHouston Symphony Society: $4,273,223 over 5y, 4.2% of budgetHouston Museum of Natural Science: $3,591,954 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetTheatre Under the Stars Inc: $3,278,808 over 5y, 16% of budgetMenil Foundation Inc: $3,114,372 over 5y, 2.8% of budgetALLEY THEATRE: $2,803,330 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetHouston Zoo Inc: $2,542,587 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetHouston Grand Opera Association Inc: $2,507,698 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetCHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $2,315,469 over 5y, 5.1% of budgetSpacetaker: $1,213,713 over 8y, 70% of budgetART LEAGUE OF HOUSTON: $1,003,732 over 8y, 51% of budgetASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTER: $734,693 over 8y, 2.0% of budgetThe Hobby Center Foundation: $727,641 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetYOUNG AUDIENCES INC OF HOUSTON: $651,345 over 8y, 12% of budgetINPRINT INC: $617,617 over 8y, 8.1% of budgetCENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITAR HISTORY: $575,959 over 8y, 5.0% of budgetDIVERSEWORKS INC: $566,113 over 8y, 31% of budgetFotofest Inc: $546,392 over 7y, 10% of budgetRiver Oaks Chamber Orchestra: $537,796 over 8y, 7.8% of budgetHOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT: $530,881 over 8y, 5.7% of budgetHOUSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY: $518,201 over 7y, 18% of budgetPERFORMING ARTS HOUSTON: $500,684 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetAMERICAN FESTIVAL FOR THE ARTS: $491,197 over 7y, 14% of budgetThe Orange Show Foundation: $485,888 over 7y, 6.5% of budgetMulticultural Education and Counseling Through the Arts: $482,943 over 6y, 8.2% of budgetCG Jung Educational Center of Houston Texas Inc: $478,139 over 5y, 16% of budgetContemporary Arts Museum Houston: $468,215 over 5y, 5.2% of budgetMercury Chamber Orchestra Inc: $462,132 over 8y, 9.1% of budgetARS LYRICA HOUSTON: $460,970 over 8y, 17% of budgetWriters in the Schools: $449,134 over 6y, 5.9% of budgetStages: $443,362 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetHouston Center for Photography Inc: $439,395 over 6y, 14% of budgetHITS Theatre: $435,944 over 7y, 14% of budgetHOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY: $430,942 over 7y, 33% of budgetINDO-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION: $425,488 over 8y, 76% of budgetCatastrophic Theatre Inc: $423,649 over 8y, 15% of budgetBAY AREA HOUSTON BALLET & THEATRE: $419,214 over 8y, 16% of budgetDa Camera Society of Texas: $418,572 over 6y, 7.6% of budgetProject Row Houses: $403,626 over 6y, 7.4% of budgetTHE ENSEMBLE THEATRE: $402,771 over 6y, 4.6% of budgetArt Colony Association Inc: $395,871 over 7y, 11% of budgetAPOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS: $393,667 over 8y, 29% of budgetDiscovery Green Conservancy: $391,080 over 8y, 1.2% of budgetMain Street Theater Houston: $389,517 over 7y, 5.2% of budget4TH WALL THEATRE COMPANY: $383,353 over 7y, 44% of budgetLawndale Art & Performance Center: $377,346 over 6y, 31% of budgetDance of Asian America: $368,913 over 8y, 27% 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 Houston Ballet Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds Houston Symphony Society ↗
  • Who funds Houston Museum of Natural Science ↗
  • Who funds Theatre Under the Stars Inc ↗
  • Who funds Menil Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds ALLEY THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds Houston Zoo Inc ↗
  • Who funds Houston Grand Opera Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds Spacetaker ↗
  • Who funds ART LEAGUE OF HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds ASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds The Hobby Center Foundation ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG AUDIENCES INC OF HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds INPRINT INC ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITAR HISTORY ↗
  • Who funds DIVERSEWORKS INC ↗
  • Who funds Fotofest Inc ↗
  • Who funds River Oaks Chamber Orchestra ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY ↗
  • Who funds PERFORMING ARTS HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN FESTIVAL FOR THE ARTS ↗
  • Who funds The Orange Show Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Multicultural Education and Counseling Through the Arts ↗
  • Who funds CG Jung Educational Center of Houston Texas Inc ↗
  • Who funds Contemporary Arts Museum Houston ↗
  • Who funds Mercury Chamber Orchestra Inc ↗
  • Who funds ARS LYRICA HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds Writers in the Schools ↗
  • Who funds Stages ↗
  • Who funds Houston Center for Photography Inc ↗
  • Who funds HITS Theatre ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds INDO-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Catastrophic Theatre Inc ↗
  • Who funds BAY AREA HOUSTON BALLET & THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds Da Camera Society of Texas ↗
  • Who funds Project Row Houses ↗

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.

Houston Endowment IncThe Brown Foundation …The Cullen Trust for …Miller Theatre Adviso…Albert & Ethel Herzst…Arts Connect HoustonThe Wortham Foundatio…The Powell FoundationGreater Houston Commu…Mid-America Arts Alli…The Houston Fund for …Shell USA Company Fou…
Houston Endowment IncTX124.6× affinity74 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Houston Endowment Inc · The Brown Foundation Inc · The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts · Miller Theatre Advisory Board Inc · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · Arts Connect Houston · The Wortham Foundation Inc · The Powell Foundation · Greater Houston Community Foundation · Mid-America Arts Alliance · The Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity · Shell USA Company 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 Houston Arts Alliance funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Houston Arts Alliance. 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    60report 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 319 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Houston Arts Alliance’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