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Houston Bar Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

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.

$1.9M
Granted FY2025still arriving
5
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$1.6M
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 2025.

Crime & Legal$11MHealth$534kHousing & Shelter$370kEducation$45kHuman Services$32kYouth Development$20kFood & Nutrition$10k
02FY2025 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $35k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $180k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.6M
$51,238
Median grant
1
States reached
$26M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program$1,645,000
The Center for Pursuit$128,751
Houston Habitat for Humanity$51,238
Harris County Jury Assembly$24,500
HAY Center Foundation$10,000
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 (FY17–25, $569k) 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%The Center: $79k → 16%The Center for Pursuit: $66k → 16%The Center: $59k → 16%Children's Court Services of Houston Area Women's Center: $12k → 16%Children's Court Services of Houston Area Women's Center: $12k → 16%Children's Court Services of Houston Area Women's Center: $1k → 16%Center For Urban Transformation: $10k → 16%The Center for Pursuit: $129k → 16%Center for Pursuit: $48k → 16%The Center for Pursuit: $8k → 16%The Center for Pursuit: $74k → 16%Center for Pursuit: $73k → 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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$12M · 10 repeat orgs$123k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +51% since the first grant, against -4% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
6

Total granted

$12M
$123k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
-4%

Still filing today

80%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
Human ServicesCrime & LegalHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentPublic BenefitOther
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

  • HV
    HOUSTON VOLUNTEER LAWYERS PROGRAM INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $11M · revenue +143% · 58% of their budget
  • HH
    Houston Habitat for Humanity Inc
    6× · 2017–2025 · $370k · revenue +7%
  • HA
    Houston Area Women's Center
    3× · 2017–2019 · $25k · revenue +110%

Funded once

  • HC
    Harris County Civil Courthouse
    one grant, 2024 · $33k
  • HC
    Harris County Criminal Justice Center
    one grant, 2024 · $33k
  • HI
    Houston Independent Sch Dist
    one grant, 2020 · $30k
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
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
2
Houston Family Association
—
3
Houston Local Information Initiative Inc

The Houston Local Information Initiative, Inc. provides public service journalism that reflects the civic needs of the diverse communities comprising Greater Houston.

Arts & Culture
4
Family Service Center of Houston and Harris County

The mission of Family Service Center of Houston and Harris County (Family Houston) is to create a stronger community for tomorrow by helping individuals and families meet the challenges they face today. We help others help themselves.

Human Services
5
Houston MediaSource

Houston MediaSource aspires to be the community media center for the City of Houston. HMS provides public access to media platforms that promote citizen engagement, protect the right to free expression, and provide opportunities to advance…

Arts & Culture
6
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.

—
7
Houston Area Community Services

Our mission is to provide high quality and caring services to promote healthy people and communities.

Health
8
Redeeming Justice Network

Houston Legal Aid Center protects and advances the rights of the poor through the poor through the provision of pro bono or reduced cost legal services while also addressing the underlying spiritual and relational issues affecting…

Civil Rights
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
Coalition for the Homeless of Houston Harris County

The coalition for the homeless of houston/harris county acts as a catalyst, uniting partners and maximizing resources to move people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing with supportive services.

Housing & Shelter
11
Harris County Medical Society

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…

—
12
Houston Area Parkinson Society

The mission of the Houston Area Parkinson Society is to use a whole-human approach to community building, which reduces the fear and isolation associated with a Parkinson's diagnosis.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Houston Area Women's Center; the most unlike its peers is Combined Arms. 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

11 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. 11 of the 16 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
6/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HOUSTON VOLUNTEER LAWYERS PROGRAM INC: $11,019,671 · Crime & LegalHOUSTON VOLUNTEER LAWYERS PROGRAM INC+1 more: $4,417 · Crime & LegalTHE CENTER FOR PURSUIT: $534,208 · Human ServicesHouston Area Women's Center: $25,000 · Human Services+1 more: $10,000 · Human ServicesHouston Habitat for Humanity Inc: $370,114 · Housing & ShelterHarris County Jury Assembly: $57,500 · OtherHarris County Civil Courthouse: $33,000 · OtherHarris County Criminal Justice Center: $33,000 · OtherHouston Independent Sch Dist: $30,000 · OtherHARRIS COUNTY: $27,000 · OtherHOUSTON BAR ASSOCIATION AUXILIARY CHARITABLE FUND INC: $19,494 · OtherThe Houston Food Bank: $10,000 · Other+1 more: $7,016 · OtherHAY Center Foundation: $20,000 · Youth DevelopmentCombined Arms: $17,469 · Public Benefit
Crime & Legal$11,024,088Human Services$569,208Housing & Shelter$370,114Other$217,010Youth Development$20,000Public Benefit$17,469

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 budgetHOUSTON VOLUNTEER LAWYERS PROGRAM INC: $11,019,671 over 9y, 58% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR PURSUIT: $534,208 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetHouston Habitat for Humanity Inc: $370,114 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetHouston Area Women's Center: $25,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetHAY Center Foundation: $20,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetCombined Arms: $17,469 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetThe Houston Food Bank: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR URBAN TRANSFORMATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetHouston Bar Association: $7,016 over 1y, 0.2% 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 VOLUNTEER LAWYERS PROGRAM INC ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR PURSUIT ↗
  • Who funds Houston Habitat for Humanity Inc ↗
  • Who funds Houston Area Women's Center ↗
  • Who funds HAY Center Foundation ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON BAR ASSOCIATION AUXILIARY CHARITABLE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds Combined Arms ↗
  • Who funds The Houston Food Bank ↗
  • Who funds THE CENTER FOR URBAN TRANSFORMATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Houston Bar Association ↗
  • Who funds HARRIS RESOURCE FOUNDATION ↗

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…Houston Endowment IncThe Houston Food BankDonor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX14.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Houston Endowment Inc · The Houston Food Bank · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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 16 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 Houston Bar’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