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James a Buddy Davidson Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

James a Buddy Davidson Charitable Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$5.0M
Granted FY2024still arriving
72
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$350k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2024.

Education$8.9MHealth$8.1MHuman Services$6.8MAnimals$3.2MFood & Nutrition$2.0MEnvironment$1.9MReligion$1.7MArts & Culture$1.1MOther$0
02FY2024 · 72 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $7k
  • $10k–50k38 grants · $819k
  • $50k–250k28 grants · $2.7M
  • $250k+5 grants · $1.6M
$40,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$117M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
YMCA OF MIDLAND$350,000
TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI FOUNDATION$300,000
UMC FOUNDATION$300,000
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE$300,000
COOK CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER$300,000
BUCKNER CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES$235,000
REFLECTION MINISTRIES OF TEXAS$234,050
BYNUM SCHOOL$225,486
CHRISTIANS IN ACTION$200,000
TEXAS TECH FOUNDATION$140,000
WILDLIFE RESCUE & REHAB INC$121,000
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE$100,000
COOK CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER$100,000
COVENANT HEALTH FOUNDATION$100,000
LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY$100,000
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 (FY17–24, $3.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SENIOR LIFE MIDLAND: $500k → 12%DOWN HOME RANCH INC: $25k → 12%METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME: $100k → 16%SENIOR LIFE MIDLAND: $200k → 12%RIDING UNLIMITED: $15k → 8%BUCKNER CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES: $375k → 14%RIDING UNLIMITED: $10k → 8%BUCKNER CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES: $235k → 14%RIDING UNLIMITED: $10k → 8%SENIOR LIFE MIDLAND: $161k → 12%RIDING UNLIMITED: $10k → 8%MANOR PARK INC: $132k → 12%GUIDE DOGS OF TX INC: $25k → 16%SENIOR LIFE MIDLAND: $120k → 12%GUIDE DOGS OF TEXAS INC: $25k → 16%MANOR PARK: $100k → 12%SHARING HANDS A RESPITE EXPERIENCE: $75k → 14%MANOR PARK INC: $83k → 12%BUCKNER CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES: $75k → 14%MANOR PARK: $67k → 12%MANOR PARK INC: $25k → 12%ADDY'S HOPE ADOPTION AGENCY: $8k → 12%GREATER IDEAL FAMILY LIFE CENTER: $70k → 12%GREATER IDEAL FAMILY LIFE CENTER: $58k → 12%YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOC: $30k → 12%BUCKNER CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES: $80 → 14%GREATER IDEAL FAMILY LIFE CENTER: $20k → 12%YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $15k → 12%HELPING HANDS OF MIDLAND: $100k → 12%HELPING HANDS OF MIDLAND: $100k → 12%HELPING HANDS OF MIDLAND: $84k → 12%HELPING HANDS OF MIDLAND: $79k → 12%HELPING HANDS OF MIDLAND: $75k → 12%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

ID
UT
NE
VA
MD
TN
DC
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$33M · 134 repeat orgs$5.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +51% since the first grant, against +5% for those funded once.

134 repeat relationships: 47 still active in FY2024, 87 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

134
101

Total granted

$33M
$4.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+5%

Still filing today

70%
44%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 79% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.1M 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
AnimalsHealthEducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • Scott & White Healthcare Foundation
    4× · 2017–2020 · $1.9M · revenue +64%
  • CC
    Cook Children's Medical Center
    7× · 2018–2024 · $1.9M · revenue +108%
  • AS
    ANGELO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC
    5× · 2017–2022 · $1.6M · revenue +156%

Funded once

  • TW
    The Way Retreat Center
    one grant, 2018 · $245k · revenue -70%
  • ET
    EAST TX BAPTIST UNIV
    one grant, 2018 · $200k
  • ET
    EAST TEXAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2022 · $200k · revenue -13%
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
Central Texas Animal Sanctuary

Animal rescue and rehabilitation

Animals
2
Central Texas Spca

Rescue neglected, unwanted homeless dogs and cats nurture and provide shelter until they are placed with a forever family strive to reduce animal overpopulation prevent cruelty to animals teach responsible pet ownership through an outreach…

Animals
3
One Tail At a Time West Texas

One tail at a time west texas otat wtx serves the rural communities of west texas by supporting animal shelter operations rescuing and sheltering homeless unwanted companion animals dogs and cats primarily arranging their veterinary care…

Animals
4
Permian Basin Animal Advocates

Permian basin animal advocates strives to educate and help the public with spay and neuter while also rescuing abandoned or unwanted animals and finding them forever homes.

Animals
5
The Humane Society of Austin & Travis County Inc

The austin humane society (ahs) offers comprehensive, humane, life-saving animal services, transforming the lives of animals and those who love them. because we believe homeless animals deserve a chance to thrive in a loving environment,…

Animals
6
Texas Round Up Animal Alliance Inc

Adoption and shelter facility for unwanted, abandoned and neglected animals. provide aid to the community who need help with vetting or care of their animals.

Animals
7
Humane Society of Central Texas

As an advocate for the community goal of maintaining its no kill status, the humane society provides adoption, rescue and foster opportunities for the homeless animals at the city of waco animal shelter, as well as community education…

Animals
8
Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

The organization is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing orphaned and injured wildlife in the texas panhandle.

Animals
9
Wildlife Rescue of Central Texas

Wildlife rescue of central texas cares for injured and orphaned wildlife, provides public education programs, and promotes peaceful coexistence with our wild neighbors.

Animals
10
Texas Rescue Inc
Animals
11
Laurels House

Laurel's House strengthens the human animal bond improves public health decreases the number of companion animal euthanasia due to overpopulation and diminishes human impact on native wildlife species by providing unprecedented access to…

—
12
Aggieland Humane Society

To provide humane shelter, care and placement for stray and unwanted animals, and to promote the human-animal bond and responsible pet ownership to enhance the quality of life for the people and animals in our community.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Casa of the South Plains Inc; the most unlike its peers is Friends of the Pecos River. 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

158 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. 158 of the 256 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
47
Early backer (in before they grew)
153/158
Grantees still filing
104/158
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WEST TEXAS FOOD BANK: $1,191,669 · OtherWEST TEXAS FOOD BANKSAFE PLACE OF THE PERMIAN BASIN: $1,152,500 · OtherSAFE PLACE OF THE PERMIAN BASINBORDERLANDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $1,000,000 · OtherBORDERLANDS RESEARCH INSTITUTERanching Heritage Association: $1,000,000 · OtherRanching Heritage AssociationBAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE: $625,000 · OtherPERMIAN BASIN REHAB CENTER: $509,313 · OtherWEST TEXAS BOYS RANCH: $501,977 · OtherMISSION AGAPE: $738,249 · Other+101 more: $8,113,618 · Other+101 moreANGELO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,600,000 · EducationANGELO STATE UNIVERSI…LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $1,375,000 · EducationLUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNI…BYNUM SCHOOL: $803,333 · EducationBYNUM SCHOOLTEXAS TECH FOUNDATION INC: $765,585 · EducationTEXAS TECH FOUNDATION…WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $540,000 · EducationWAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVE…HOWARD PAYNE UNIVERSITY: $528,679 · EducationHOWARD PAYNE UNIVERSI…TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $425,000 · EducationTEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVE…TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI FOUNDATION: $300,000 · EducationMIDLAND COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $247,963 · Education+7 more: $573,242 · Education+7 moreScott & White Healthcare Foundation: $1,899,999 · HealthScott & White Healthc…Cook Children's Medical Center: $1,869,535 · HealthCook Children's Medic…COVENANT HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION: $703,499 · HealthCOVENANT HEALTH SYSTE…MIDLAND CHILDRENS REHABILITATION CENTER INC: $555,100 · HealthMIDLAND CHILDRENS REH…Hendrick Medical Center: $495,321 · HealthHendrick Medical Cent…HIGH SKY CHILDRENS RANCH INC: $485,499 · HealthHIGH SKY CHILDRENS RA…UMC FOUNDATION: $300,000 · Health+9 more: $780,170 · Health+9 moreSENIOR LIFE MIDLAND INC: $980,894 · Human ServicesSENIOR LIFE …BUCKNER CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES INC: $685,080 · Human ServicesBUCKNER CHIL…CHRISTIANS IN ACTION: $575,548 · Human ServicesCHRISTIANS I…Young Men's Christian Association of Midland Texas: $475,000 · Human ServicesYoung Men's …HELPING HANDS OF MIDLAND INC: $438,298 · Human ServicesHELPING HAND…MANOR PARK INC: $406,549 · Human ServicesMANOR PARK I…GREATER IDEAL FAMILY LIFE CENTER: $148,467 · Human Services+6 more: $315,000 · Human Services+6 moreAUSTIN DOG ALLIANCE: $210,611 · AnimalsBorn Free USA united with API: $160,000 · AnimalsGrand Companions Humane Society: $142,500 · AnimalsPETS LOW COST SPAY & NEUTER: $140,000 · AnimalsBORDERLANDS RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $137,342 · AnimalsTHE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: $111,000 · AnimalsMIDLAND HUMANE COALITION INC: $110,000 · AnimalsAUSTIN PETS ALIVE INC: $90,280 · AnimalsRanch Hands Rescue: $90,000 · AnimalsETOSHA RESCUE & ADOPTION CENTER: $85,000 · AnimalsOPERATION KINDNESS: $80,000 · Animals+21 more: $878,855 · AnimalsPARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF TEXAS: $300,000 · EnvironmentWestcave Outdoor Discovery Center: $250,000 · EnvironmentTexas Agricultural Land Trust: $145,900 · EnvironmentKEYSTONE HERITAGE PARK INC: $136,000 · EnvironmentAmerican Forests: $76,867 · EnvironmentThe Frontera Land Alliance: $73,944 · EnvironmentSIBLEY ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER FOUNDATION INC: $59,400 · Environment+3 more: $70,000 · EnvironmentREFLECTION MINISTRIES OF TEXAS INC: $624,050 · Housing & ShelterThe Fields Edge: $294,268 · Housing & ShelterCHRISTMAS IN ACTION INC: $100,000 · Housing & ShelterCHRISTIAN COMMUNITY ACTION: $50,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$14,832,326Education$7,158,802Health$7,089,123Human Services$4,024,836Animals$2,235,588Environment$1,112,111Housing & Shelter$1,068,318

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%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetScott & White Healthcare Foundation: $1,899,999 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetCook Children's Medical Center: $1,869,535 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetANGELO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $1,600,000 over 5y, 8.7% of budgetLUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $1,375,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetWEST TEXAS FOOD BANK: $1,191,669 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetSAFE PLACE OF THE PERMIAN BASIN: $1,152,500 over 3y, 8.3% of budgetRanching Heritage Association: $1,000,000 over 4y, 23% of budgetSENIOR LIFE MIDLAND INC: $980,894 over 3y, 12% of budgetBYNUM SCHOOL: $803,333 over 4y, 11% of budgetTEXAS TECH FOUNDATION INC: $765,585 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetMISSION AGAPE: $738,249 over 8y, 23% of budgetCOVENANT HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION: $703,499 over 6y, 4.3% of budgetBUCKNER CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES INC: $685,080 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetREFLECTION MINISTRIES OF TEXAS INC: $624,050 over 3y, 16% of budgetCHRISTIANS IN ACTION: $575,548 over 3y, 50% of budgetMIDLAND CHILDRENS REHABILITATION CENTER INC: $555,100 over 6y, 9.1% of budgetWAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $540,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetHOWARD PAYNE UNIVERSITY: $528,679 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetWEST TEXAS BOYS RANCH: $501,977 over 3y, 13% of budgetHendrick Medical Center: $495,321 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHIGH SKY CHILDRENS RANCH INC: $485,499 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetYoung Men's Christian Association of Midland Texas: $475,000 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetHELPING HANDS OF MIDLAND INC: $438,298 over 5y, 6.0% of budgetTEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $425,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMANOR PARK INC: $406,549 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetPARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF TEXAS: $300,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetTEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI FOUNDATION: $300,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetUMC FOUNDATION: $300,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetThe Fields Edge: $294,268 over 2y, 10% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOUNDATION INC: $254,548 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetWestcave Outdoor Discovery Center: $250,000 over 3y, 15% of budgetMIDLAND COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $247,963 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetThe Way Retreat Center: $245,170 over 1y, 19% of budgetTHE PEREGRINE FUND INC: $231,100 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetROCK THE DESERT MINISTRIES INC: $215,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetAUSTIN DOG ALLIANCE: $210,611 over 3y, 17% of budgetTEXAS LIONS CAMP INC: $204,112 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetEAST TEXAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $200,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBorn Free USA united with API: $160,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetMISSION HEALTH CARE INC: $160,000 over 1y, 23% of budgetHOSPICE OF MIDLAND INC: $154,437 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetCASA OF WEST TEXAS: $149,400 over 2y, 6.2% of budgetGREATER IDEAL FAMILY LIFE CENTER: $148,467 over 3y, 12% of budgetTURN CENTER: $148,040 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetCIRCLE SIX RANCH BAPTIST CAMP INC: $147,005 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetTexas Agricultural Land Trust: $145,900 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetGrand Companions Humane Society: $142,500 over 4y, 3.4% of budgetUNLOCK MINISTRIES INC DBA OPPORTUNITY TRIBE: $142,000 over 8y, 3.1% 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.

Abell-Hanger Foundati…Permian Basin Area Fo…Helen Greathouse Char…Pevehouse Family Foun…Scharbauer Foundation…The Henry FoundationWayne & Jo Ann Moore …Beal FoundationWarren Charitable Fou…Yarborough FoundationThe Fasken FoundationKen W Davis Foundation
Abell-Hanger FoundationTX102× affinity49 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Abell-Hanger Foundation · Permian Basin Area Foundation · Helen Greathouse Charitable Trust · Pevehouse Family Foundation · Scharbauer Foundation Inc · The Henry Foundation · Wayne & Jo Ann Moore Charitable Foundation · Beal Foundation · Warren Charitable Foundation · Yarborough Foundation · The Fasken Foundation · Ken W Davis 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 James a Buddy Davidson Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from James a Buddy Davidson Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%4%15%34%60%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
    1get no government money at all
    45report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to James a Buddy Davidson Charitable Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to James a Buddy Davidson Charitable Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    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 256 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on James a Buddy Davidson’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