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Houston Museum District Association at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Houston Museum District Association

The Houston Museum District Association (HMDA) is dedicated to collaborative efforts that maximize the enjoyment of the artistic, scientific, and educational resources of Houston Museum District institutions by all residents of and visitors to Houston.

$2.6M
Granted FY2019
11
Grants FY2019
1
States reached
$834k
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 2019.

Arts & Culture$5.3MScience & Tech$1.6MHealth$523kAnimals$341kEducation$124k
02FY2019 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • $50k–250k8 grants · $834k
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.8M
$114,046
Median grant
1
States reached
$480k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON$833,719
HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE$546,636
THE MENIL COLLECTION$407,683
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON$192,699
THE HEALTH MUSEUM$114,046
HOUSTON ZOO INC$114,046
CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM HOUSTON$114,046
HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON$114,046
MOODY CENTER FOR THE ARTS$61,611
THE JUNG CENTER OF HOUSTON$61,611
LAWNDALE ART CENTER$61,611
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–19) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON: $194k → 16%CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON: $193k → 16%Children's Museum of Houston: $192k → 16%HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON: $115k → 16%THE HEALTH MUSEUM: $115k → 16%THE HEALTH MUSEUM: $114k → 16%HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON: $114k → 16%Holocaust Museum Houston: $112k → 16%The Health Museum: $112k → 16%Museum of Fine Arts Houston: $844k → 16%MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $840k → 16%MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $834k → 16%MOODY CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $62k → 16%MOODY CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $62k → 16%Rice University Art Gallery: $58k → 16%THE MENIL COLLECTION: $411k → 16%The Menil Collection: $411k → 16%THE MENIL COLLECTION: $408k → 16%Contemporary Arts Museum Houston: $153k → 16%Houston Museum of Natural Science: $552k → 16%CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM HOUSTON: $115k → 16%HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE: $551k → 16%CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM HOUSTON: $114k → 16%HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE: $547k → 16%THE JUNG CENTER OF HOUSTON: $62k → 16%HOUSTON ZOO INC: $115k → 16%THE JUNG CENTER OF HOUSTON: $62k → 16%HOUSTON ZOO INC: $114k → 16%The Jung Center of Houston: $58k → 16%Houston Zoo Inc: $112k → 16%LAWNDALE ART CENTER: $62k → 16%LAWNDALE ART CENTER: $62k → 16%Lawndale Art Center: $58k → 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.

100%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.9M · 11 repeat orgs$0 to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2019, 0 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
0

Total granted

$7.9M
$0

Still filing today

100%
0%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2019, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19
Arts & CultureAnimalsEducationOther
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

  • TM
    THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON
    3× · 2017–2019 · $2.5M · revenue +96%
  • Houston Museum of Natural Science
    3× · 2017–2019 · $1.6M · revenue +33%
  • CM
    CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC
    3× · 2017–2019 · $579k · revenue +89%

Funded once

    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
    American Museum of Natural History

    The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

    Arts & Culture
    2
    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
    3
    Houston Botanic Garden

    To enrich life through discovery, education, and the conservation of plants and the natural environment.

    Environment
    4
    Houston Academy of Medicine

    The mission of the Houston Academy of Medicine is to support the community service, education, scientific, and charitable programs for physicians, their patients, and the community at large in Harris County.

    Education
    5
    Kimbell Art Foundation
    Arts & Culture
    6
    Houston Museum of African American Culture

    To collect, explore, collect and interpret and exhibit the material and intellectual culture in Houston, the Southwest and African Diaspora for current and future generations for all people.

    Arts & Culture
    7
    Houston Museum District Association

    The Houston Museum District Association (HMDA) is dedicated to collaborative efforts that maximize the enjoyment of the artistic, scientific, and educational resources of Houston Museum District institutions by all residents of and…

    Arts & Culture
    8
    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…

    —
    9
    Art Explorium
    —
    10
    Chicago Historical Society

    The Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration, and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, programs, digital resources, and special events, the Museum connects people to Chicago's history…

    Arts & Culture
    11
    Kadist Collection Manager Inc
    Arts & Culture
    12
    The Pierpont Morgan Library

    The Morgan Library & Museum celebrates and shares the history and process of human creativity from antiquity to the present day through the preservation, study, and interpretation of a dynamic and growing collection.

    Education
    How this is measured
    The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Children's Museum 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

    11 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.

    Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

    0
    Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
    2
    Early backer (in before they grew)
    11/11
    Grantees still filing
    7/11
    Grew since first funded

    Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

    THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $2,518,069 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTONHouston Museum of Natural Science: $1,649,383 · Arts & CultureHouston Museum of Natural ScienceMenil Foundation Inc: $1,229,253 · Arts & CultureMenil Foundation IncCHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $579,240 · Arts & CultureCHILDREN'S MUSEUM INCContemporary Arts Museum Houston: $382,153 · Arts & CultureHOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON: $341,430 · Arts & CultureJohn P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science: $341,430 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $181,533 · Arts & CultureHouston Zoo Inc: $341,430 · AnimalsWilliam Marsh Rice University: $181,533 · EducationCG Jung Educational Center of Houston Texas Inc: $181,533 · Other
    Arts & Culture$7,222,491Animals$341,430Education$181,533Other$181,533

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

    25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $2,518,069 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetHouston Museum of Natural Science: $1,649,383 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetMenil Foundation Inc: $1,229,253 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetCHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $579,240 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetContemporary Arts Museum Houston: $382,153 over 3y, 5.3% of budgetHOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON: $341,430 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetHouston Zoo Inc: $341,430 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetJohn P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science: $341,430 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $181,533 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCG Jung Educational Center of Houston Texas Inc: $181,533 over 3y, 7.4% 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.

    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…Shell USA Company Fou…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
    Greater Houston Community FoundationTX13.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

    Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Museum District Association funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Houston Museum District Association. Bigger dots raise more.

    2024
    ’20’21’22’23’24’25
    no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
      no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
      0get no government money at all
      3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
      0rely on government for over half their income
      ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
      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 11 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

      Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2019, the most recent year this funder made grants.

      Source object · view filing

      Play a game based on Houston Museum District Association’s filings →

      More from the funding graph

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