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Joan and Herb Kelleher Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Joan and Herb Kelleher Charitable Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2.3M
Granted FY2023
35
Grants FY2023
5
States reached
$600k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its granteesRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Health$2.1MPhilanthropy$1.5MArts & Culture$955kEducation$663kRecreation & Sports$483kEnvironment$422kReligion$190kHuman Services$60kOther$0
02FY2023 · 35 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 35 grants below total $2,198,500, the rows itemized in this filing. The $2,329,500 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $131,000 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 · FY2023

  • Under $10k9 grants · $44k
  • $10k–50k13 grants · $130k
  • $50k–250k9 grants · $675k
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.4M
$10,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$86M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
REMEMBER THE ALAMO FOUNDATION$600,000
I GIFT FBO THE LISA & MIKE KELLEHER FUND$250,000
I GIFT - RUTH & JOHN AGATHER FUND$250,000
I GIFT FBO THE KATHY & DAVID KELLEHER FUND$250,000
TEXAS AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST$100,000
MAGIK THEATRE$100,000
TRINITY UNIVERSITY$100,000
GRAND TETONS NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION$100,000
RENO AIR RACING FOUNDATION$75,000
ALAMO HEIGHTS SCHOOL FOUNDATION$50,000
EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF WEST TEXAS$50,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY OF TEXAS$50,000
EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF WEST TEXAS$50,000
MITCHELL LAKE AUDUBON CENTER$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO$10,000
02Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.4M · 33 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

33 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2023, 15 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

33
13

Total granted

$5.4M
$208k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+35%
+75%

Still filing today

48%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 62% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $845k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesHealthEnvironmentRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • TU
    Trinity University
    4× · 2020–2023 · $418k · revenue +62%
  • MC
    MAGIK CHILDRENS THEATRE OF SAN ANTONIO DBA THE MAGIK THEATRE
    3× · 2020–2023 · $205k · revenue +38%
  • PT
    Pathways to Aviation
    4× · 2020–2023 · $185k · revenue +95% · 78% of their budget

Funded once

  • GT
    GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
  • MC
    META CHURCH INC
    one grant, 2021 · $40k
  • AH
    ANTONIAN HIGH SCHOOL
    one grant, 2020 · $25k
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.

03Its 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
The University of TexasTexas a&M Investment Management Company

To generate superior long-term investment returns to support The University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems as they provide world-class teaching, push the boundaries of discovery, and achieve excellence in patient healthcare for…

Education
2
Uatx

Uatx is a nonprofit dedicated to building a liberal arts university committed to freedom of inquiry, freedom of conscience, and civil discourse. to maintain these principles, the university will be fiercely independent financially,…

Education
3
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
4
Texas a&M Research Foundation

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

Education
5
Texas Academy of Medicine Engineering Science and Technology

To provide broader recognition of the state's top achievers in medicine, engineering and science, and to build a stronger identity for texas as an important destination and center of achievement in these fields.

Health
6
San Antonio Medical Foundation

The mission of the san antonio medical foundation is to improvehealth care, advance biomedical science, and enhance communitywell-being by providing leadership & active stewardship of our landand other assets.

Health
7
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts

The mission of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts shall be to establish and maintain a museum in order to house and exhibit a permanent collection of art as well as to provide space for traveling exhibitions, for the purpose of the…

Arts & Culture
8
Texas Medical Association

The texas medical association (tma), the nation's largest and one of the oldest state medical societies, represents over 59,000 physicians and medical students dedicated to enhancing the health of all texans. in collaboration with 110…

—
9
San Jacinto Museum and Battlefield Association

To collect and preserve significant historical materials that relate to the early history and culture of Texas and to promote the study of the history of Texas through exhibits, publications, and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
10
University of Texas At San Antonio Alumni Association

To engage our alumni in activities that will advance utsa as a top-tier institution. our focus is to deliver value-added services and events where our alumni can connect with each other, with current students and/or with the university. we…

—
11
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
12
The Association of Former Students of Texas a&M University

To strengthen the association of former students, promote the interests and welfare of texas a&m university, perpetuate ties of affection and esteem formed in university or college days, and serve the student body.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Unicorn Centers Inc; the most unlike its peers is Pathways to Aviation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

33 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. 33 of the 60 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
30/33
Grantees still filing
26/33
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER: $2,000,000 · OtherMD ANDERSON CANCER CENTERI GIFT FBO THE KATHY & DAVID KELLEHER FUND: $500,000 · OtherI GIFT FBO THE KATHY & DAVID KELLEHER FUNDI GIFT - RUTH & JOHN AGATHER FUND: $500,000 · OtherI GIFT - RUTH & JOHN AGATHER FUNDI GIFT FBO THE LISA & MIKE KELLEHER FUND: $500,000 · OtherI GIFT FBO THE LISA & MIKE KELLEHER FUNDNATURE CONSERVANCY OF TEXAS: $172,000 · Other+31 more: $832,500 · Other+31 moreRemember the Alamo Foundation: $600,000 · Arts & CultureRemember the Alamo …MAGIK CHILDRENS THEATRE OF SAN ANTONIO DBA THE MAGIK THEATRE: $205,000 · Arts & CultureMAGIK CHILDRENS THE…Pathways to Aviation: $185,000 · Arts & CulturePathways to Aviatio…Musical Bridges Around the World Inc: $40,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $65,000 · Arts & Culture+5 moreTrinity University: $418,000 · EducationTrinity Un…Texas A&M Foundation: $50,000 · EducationTexas A&M …ALAMO HEIGHTS SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EducationALAMO HEIG…UNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $20,000 · EducationSouthern Methodist University: $20,000 · Education+1 more: $15,000 · EducationTexas Agricultural Land Trust: $145,000 · EnvironmentTHE BLOOD & TISSUE CENTER FOUNDATION: $50,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S ASSOC FOR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL (: $15,000 · HealthAUGUSTHEART: $2,500 · HealthSAN ANTONIO LIVESTOCK EXPOSITION INC: $38,000 · Recreation & SportsLOW VISION RESOURCE CENTER INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesGuide Dogs of Texas Inc: $10,000 · Human ServicesTHE CHILDREN'S SHELTER: $5,000 · Human ServicesMISSION ROAD DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER: $5,000 · Human Services
Other$4,504,500Arts & Culture$1,095,000Education$573,000Environment$145,000Health$67,500Recreation & Sports$38,000Human Services$30,000

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 budgetRemember the Alamo Foundation: $600,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetTrinity University: $418,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMAGIK CHILDRENS THEATRE OF SAN ANTONIO DBA THE MAGIK THEATRE: $205,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetPathways to Aviation: $185,000 over 4y, 78% of budgetTexas Agricultural Land Trust: $145,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTexas A&M Foundation: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALAMO HEIGHTS SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetTHE BLOOD & TISSUE CENTER FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetMusical Bridges Around the World Inc: $40,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetSAN ANTONIO LIVESTOCK EXPOSITION INC: $38,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHWEST SCHOOL OF ART: $35,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DENVER: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSouthern Methodist University: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRONALD McDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF GREATER NORTH TEXAS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetWitte Museum: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetVanderbilt University: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S ASSOC FOR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL (: $15,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetALAMO PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL DOING BUSINESS AS KLRN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLOW VISION RESOURCE CENTER INC: $10,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetOPERATION COMFORT: $10,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetLOS COMPADRES DE SAN ANTONIO: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMCNAY ART MUSEUM: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL DIOCESAN COUNCIL OF AUSTIN: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGuide Dogs of Texas Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetMISSION ROAD MINISTRIES: $9,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetADMIRAL NIMITZ FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetYOUTH ORCHESTRAS OF SAN ANTONIO: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S SHELTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMISSION ROAD DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAUGUSTHEART: $2,500 over 1y, 1.1% 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.

  • Who funds Remember the Alamo Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Trinity University ↗
  • Who funds MAGIK CHILDRENS THEATRE OF SAN ANTONIO DBA THE MAGIK THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds Pathways to Aviation ↗
  • Who funds Texas Agricultural Land Trust ↗
  • Who funds Texas A&M Foundation ↗
  • Who funds ALAMO HEIGHTS SCHOOL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE BLOOD & TISSUE CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Musical Bridges Around the World Inc ↗
  • Who funds SAN ANTONIO LIVESTOCK EXPOSITION INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHWEST SCHOOL OF ART ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL COWGIRL MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF DENVER ↗
  • Who funds Southern Methodist University ↗
  • Who funds RONALD McDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF GREATER NORTH TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds Witte Museum ↗
  • Who funds Vanderbilt University ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S ASSOC FOR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL ( ↗
  • Who funds ALAMO PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL DOING BUSINESS AS KLRN ↗
  • Who funds LOW VISION RESOURCE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION COMFORT ↗
  • Who funds LOS COMPADRES DE SAN ANTONIO ↗

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.

San Antonio Area Foun…Elizabeth Huth Coates…Betty Stieren Kelso F…Faye L & William L Co…Nancy Smith Hurd Foun…McCombs Foundation IncAmy Shelton McNutt Ch…Marcia & Otto Koehler…Mays Family FoundationThe Texas Cavaliers C…Alfred S Gage Foundat…John L Santikos Chari…
San Antonio Area FoundationTX37.3× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: San Antonio Area Foundation · Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation of 1992 · Betty Stieren Kelso Foundation · Faye L & William L Cowden Charitable Foundation · Nancy Smith Hurd Foundation · McCombs Foundation Inc · Amy Shelton McNutt Charitable Trust · Marcia & Otto Koehler Foundation · Mays Family Foundation · The Texas Cavaliers Charitable Foundation · Alfred S Gage Foundation · John L Santikos Charitable 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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Joan and Herb Kelleher Charitable Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Joan and Herb Kelleher 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 60 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $3.2M of grant expense with no grantee named in the published copy. A private foundation itemizes every grant it makes, so a return carrying none has filed its list as an attachment that the public copy does not include. The figures above are therefore from FY2023, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Joan and Herb Kelleher’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