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Ken & Ruth Melber Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Ken & Ruth Melber Foundation Inc

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$59k
Granted FY2019
4
Grants FY2019
1
States reached
$49k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

International$73kEducation$21kHuman Services$17kRecreation & Sports$9kReligion$2kAnimals$1kYouth Development$400Environment$250Other$0
02FY2019 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k3 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $49k
$5,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FAMILY LEGACY$48,840
THE CONNECTION SCHOOL$5,000
THE WOODLANDS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY$5,000
YES TO YOUTH$400
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 (FY17–17, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%HUNT WITH HEART: $1k → 10%HOPES PATH: $1k → 9%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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$100k · 3 repeat orgs$24k to everyone else

3 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2019, 1 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
12

Total granted

$100k
$19k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+93%
+134%

Still filing today

67%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2019, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k 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
Recreation & SportsInternationalHuman ServicesEducationHealthEnvironmentOther
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

  • FL
    Family Legacy Missions International
    3× · 2017–2019 · $70k · revenue -49%
  • TW
    The Woodlands Christian Academy
    3× · 2017–2019 · $15k · revenue +93%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    2× · 2017–2018 · $15k

Funded once

  • HG
    Houston Golf Association Inc
    one grant, 2017 · $7k · revenue -20%
  • HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $2k · revenue +84%
  • 7D
    7 DAY HEROgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $2k · revenue +28%
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
The Awty International School

See Schedule OThe purpose of Awty International School (Awty) is to create an environment where students experience excellence every day to make their mark on the world alongside their community, in a spirit of curiosity, courage and…

—
2
St John's School

See Schedule OSt. John's School is an independent, co-educational day school presenting a 13-year sequence of college preparatory training. A non-profit institution, it was founded in 1946 to provide the community with a school of exacting…

—
3
Veritas Christian Acadamy of Houston

Veritas is an independent Christian school in the classical tradition that prepares students for lives of service and learning through academic excellence character development biblical literacy and intentional engagement opportunities.

Education
4
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.

—
5
The Fay School

See Schedule O. The Fay School ("the School") is a nonsectarian, not-for-profit, co-educational school in which children of diverse talents and backgrounds with strong academic abilities are offered a high-quality education in a secure,…

—
6
Halo House Foundation

Halo House's mission is to help save the lives of cancer patients battling leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma by providing them with low-cost, fully furnished temporary housing while undergoing active cancer treatment at the Texas Medical…

Health
7
Oconee Christian Academy

Oconee Christian Academy exists to glorify God by nurturing students and equipping them to fulfill God's unique purpose for their lives.

Education
8
Doug Holliday Ministries Inc

Doug Holliday Ministries exists to ignite the Body of Christ with Great Commandment-Great Commission priorities by inspiring, instructing, and involving the next generation of missional leaders worldwide. Programs include: Inspiring:…

Religion
9
Lutheran Education Association of Houston

The mission of the Lutheran Education Association of Houston (LEAH) is to operate and champion exemplary Lutheran schools in the Houston area to expand Christ's Kingdom.

—
10
Great Hearts America-Texas

The primary goal of Great Hearts America-Texas is to graduate thoughtful leaders of character who will contribute to a more philosophical, humane, and just society.

Environment
11
Fort Bend Christian Academy

Fort Bend Christian Academy exists to glorify God through excellence in college preparatory Christian education. FBCA strives to equip students with the ability to thrive spiritually, academically, socially, and physically.

Education
12
The Greatest School in West Houston

Christian pre-school from age 3-months to school-age, and school from

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Folds of Honor Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc. 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

12 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. 12 of the 17 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
8/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Family Legacy Missions International: $70,290 · OtherFamily Legacy Missions InternationalThe Woodlands Christian Academy: $15,000 · OtherThe Woodlands Christian AcademyIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTHE CONNECTION SCHOOL: $5,000 · Other+3 more: $3,310 · OtherHouston Golf Association Inc: $7,000 · Recreation & SportsHOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INC: $2,250 · Recreation & Sports7 DAY HERO: $2,000 · InternationalINT'L TREASURE HOUSE MINISTRIES: $1,000 · InternationalHOPES PATH: $1,000 · Human ServicesHUNT WITH HEART INCORPORATED: $1,000 · Human ServicesFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $1,000 · EducationKING'S ACADEMY: $100 · EducationGalveston Bay Foundation Inc: $250 · EnvironmentDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $100 · Health
Other$108,600Recreation & Sports$9,250International$3,000Human Services$2,000Education$1,100Environment$250Health$100

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 budgetFamily Legacy Missions International: $70,290 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetThe Woodlands Christian Academy: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INC: $2,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budget7 DAY HERO: $2,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetHOPES PATH: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHUNT WITH HEART INCORPORATED: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINT'L TREASURE HOUSE MINISTRIES: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetGalveston Bay Foundation Inc: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $100 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Shell USA Company Fou…Natl Christian Charit…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Shell USA Company FoundationTX15.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Shell USA Company Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · 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 Ken & Ruth Melber Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ken & Ruth Melber Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get 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 · 0–20%
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 Ken & Ruth Melber Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Ken & Ruth Melber Foundation Inc 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 17 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2023) 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

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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