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Mechia Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Mechia Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$729k
Granted FY2024still arriving
234
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$42k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Health$1.5MEducation$848kArts & Culture$732kHuman Services$595kCivil Rights$423kEnvironment$404kReligion$354kCommunity Improvement$320kOther$0
02FY2024 · 234 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k212 grants · $388k
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $341k
$1,100
Median grant
10
States reached
$1.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ANDERSON CANCER CENTER MD$42,250
SYMPHONY OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS$24,050
HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON$23,700
I HAVE A DREAM PROGRAM$22,500
TEXAS BUSINESS HALL OF FAME$20,350
TEMPLE EMANUEL$20,100
TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY$15,000
HOLDSWORTH CENTER$15,000
IEA$13,851
ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE$13,650
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON LAW CENTER$13,600
BUSH LITERACY FOUNDATION$12,600
ART MUSEUM OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS$12,360
CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF SOUTHEAST$11,650
MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA GREATER$10,500
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, $243k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%NUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $4k → 19%NUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $3k → 19%NUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $3k → 19%NUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $3k → 19%NUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $3k → 19%NUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $3k → 19%NUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $3k → 19%NUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $3k → 19%HOUSTON FURNITURE BANK: $5k → 16%FAMILY SERVICES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS: $8k → 19%FAMILY SERVICES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS: $6k → 19%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $27k → 16%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 16%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 16%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $18k → 16%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $13k → 16%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $7k → 16%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $6k → 16%SOME OTHER PLACE: $3k → 19%SEAFARERS CENTER OF BEAUMONT: $3k → 19%GARTH HOUSE: $3k → 19%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES: $2k → 16%HOUSTON APHASIA RECOVERY CENTER: $2k → 16%HOUSTON APHASIA RECOVERY CENTER: $2k → 16%GARTH HOUSE: $3k → 19%HOUSTON APHASIA RECOVERY CENTER: $2k → 16%SEAFARERS CENTER OF BEAUMONT: $3k → 19%GARTH HOUSE: $2k → 19%HOUSTON APHASIA RECOVERY CENTER: $2k → 16%GARTH HOUSE: $2k → 19%GARTH HOUSE: $2k → 19%GARTH HOUSE: $2k → 19%GARTH HOUSE: $2k → 19%GARTH HOUSE: $2k → 19%FAMILY SERVICES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS: $1k → 19%SOME OTHER PLACE: $1k → 19%SEAFARERS CENTER OF BEAUMONT: $1k → 19%SOME OTHER PLACE: $1k → 19%SOME OTHER PLACE: $1k → 19%SEAFARERS CENTER OF BEAUMONT: $1k → 19%GO 4 THE BELL: $5k → 19%AID TO VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE: $3k → 16%HOUSTON POLICE FOUNDATION: $2k → 16%HOMEMADE HOPE: $3k → 16%DEPELCHIN CHILDREN'S CENTER: $2k → 16%HOMEMADE HOPE: $1k → 16%DEPELCHIN CHILDREN'S CENTER: $1k → 16%WIG OUT: $2k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
IN
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
VA
MD
NM
TN
DC
OK
LA
AL
GA
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.0M · 345 repeat orgs$358k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

345 repeat relationships: 198 still active in FY2024, 147 since wound down; 35 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

345
169

Total granted

$6.0M
$271k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+11%

Still filing today

49%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 88% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $87k 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
HealthArts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationPhilanthropyCrime & LegalOther
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

  • JR
    Julie Rogers Gift of Life Program
    6× · 2017–2024 · $315k · revenue +63%
  • AL
    ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE
    8× · 2017–2024 · $277k · revenue +78%
  • JF
    JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE
    8× · 2017–2024 · $113k · revenue +15%

Funded once

  • AM
    ANDERSON MD CANCER CENTER
    one grant, 2017 · $34k
  • GD
    GREEN DOT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $13k
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 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
2
Trees for Houston

Plant, protect and promote trees all over the greater Houston area.

—
3
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
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
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…

—
6
Memorial Hermann Health System

Memorial hermann health system is a nonprofit, values-driven, community-owned health system dedicated to improving health. our vision is to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come. our values are community,…

Health
7
The Hospice at the Texas Medical Center

The Hospice at the Texas Medical Center holds a freestanding 37 bed inpatient facility in the Texas Medical Center that is operated and managed by Houston Hospice.

Human Services
8
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.

—
9
The Women's Resource of Greater Houston

See Schedule OThe Women's Resource of Greater Houston helps women and girls make choices toward becoming independent, productive, and financially stable. We fulfill our mission by recruiting volunteer instructors to deliver our programs in…

Philanthropy
10
Memorial Hermann Medical Group

Memorial hermann health system is a nonprofit, values-driven, community-owned health system dedicated to improving health. our vision is to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come. our values are community,…

Health
11
Arts Connect Houston

Arts Connect Houston unites with the greater Houston community to ensure access to high-quality arts education in creative writing, dance, music, theater, and the visual arts for every student, beginning with Houston ISD.

Arts & Culture
12
Houston Tscpa Foundation

Develop, promote, and present programs of continuing education and professional development interest to cpas in the houston area. the foundation also has fundraising programs for endowments and chartiable causes

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Houston Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Dear John Michael Foundation for Fighting Muscular Dystrophy. 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

251 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. 251 of the 550 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)
52
Early backer (in before they grew)
241/251
Grantees still filing
158/251
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

IEA: $409,532 · OtherIEAANDERSON CANCER CENTER MD: $196,900 · OtherANDERSON CANCER CENTER MD+138 more: $2,993,465 · Other+138 moreJulie Rogers Gift of Life Program: $314,600 · HealthJulie Rogers…SEVEN ACRES JEWISH SENIOR CARE SERVICES INC: $50,900 · HealthSEVEN ACRES …Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas: $42,750 · HealthBaptist Hosp…Mental Health America of Texas: $36,500 · HealthMental Healt…Memorial Hermann Foundation: $26,559 · HealthMental Health America of Greater Houston Inc: $23,000 · Health+10 more: $127,925 · Health+10 moreHOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON: $242,175 · Arts & CultureArt Museum of Southeast Texas: $85,775 · Arts & Culture+13 more: $114,860 · Arts & CultureANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $276,855 · Civil RightsCHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND: $101,450 · Civil RightsAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $26,350 · Civil RightsUniversity of Miami: $75,000 · EducationUniversity of St Thomas: $42,627 · EducationLamar University Foundation Inc: $39,950 · EducationWilliam Marsh Rice University: $32,500 · EducationBAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $25,000 · EducationBaylor College of Medicine: $11,950 · EducationGood Reason Houston Inc: $11,000 · Education+3 more: $20,100 · EducationJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $112,800 · Human ServicesGIRLS' HAVEN INC: $41,800 · Human ServicesNUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $24,790 · Human ServicesGarth House Mickey Mehaffy Childrens Advocacy Program Inc: $17,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY SERVICES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS INC: $15,500 · Human ServicesHouston Aphasia Recovery Center: $10,000 · Human Services+5 more: $33,650 · Human ServicesTexas Business Hall of Fame Foundation: $91,750 · Community ImprovementTexas Appleseed: $35,000 · Community ImprovementJUNIOR LEAGUE OF BEAUMONT INC: $28,150 · Community ImprovementCenter for Houston's Future Inc: $21,000 · Community ImprovementHOUSTON'S CHARITY FOR CHILDREN INC: $16,000 · Community Improvement
Other$3,599,897Health$622,234Arts & Culture$442,810Civil Rights$404,655Education$258,127Human Services$255,540Community Improvement$191,900

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%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetJulie Rogers Gift of Life Program: $314,600 over 6y, 6.7% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $276,855 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetHOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON: $242,175 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $112,800 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetCHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND: $101,450 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTexas Business Hall of Fame Foundation: $91,750 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetArt Museum of Southeast Texas: $85,775 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetSYMPHONY OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS INC: $78,050 over 7y, 2.4% of budgetUniversity of Miami: $75,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBEAUMONT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $52,642 over 8y, 1.7% of budgetSEVEN ACRES JEWISH SENIOR CARE SERVICES INC: $50,900 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetBaptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas: $42,750 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of St Thomas: $42,627 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetASSOCIATION FOR RETARDED CITIZENS TEXAS INC: $42,000 over 6y, 3.4% of budgetGIRLS' HAVEN INC: $41,800 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetTHE HOLDSWORTH CENTER: $41,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLamar University Foundation Inc: $39,950 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetMental Health America of Texas: $36,500 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetI HAVE A DREAM FOUNDATION: $35,525 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetTexas Appleseed: $35,000 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $32,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA - THREE RIVERS COUNCIL: $32,250 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetJUNIOR LEAGUE OF BEAUMONT INC: $28,150 over 8y, 1.8% of budgetMemorial Hermann Foundation: $26,559 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetKIPP Inc dba Knowledge is Power Program Inc: $26,375 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: $26,350 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ROSE: $25,750 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetBAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $25,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNUTRITION AND SERVICES FOR SENIORS: $24,790 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMental Health America of Greater Houston Inc: $23,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetCenter for Public Policy Priorities: $22,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetAnayat House Inc: $22,500 over 8y, 2.5% of budgetMISSION OF YAHWEH INC: $21,950 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Leadership Forum Houston Gulf Coast Chapter: $21,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetCenter for Houston's Future Inc: $21,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $20,500 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetBrighter Bites Inc: $20,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTexas 2036: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $19,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $19,275 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetHOUSTON REVISION: $18,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetGarth House Mickey Mehaffy Childrens Advocacy Program Inc: $17,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF DALLAS: $16,401 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetHOUSTON'S CHARITY FOR CHILDREN INC: $16,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetFAMILY SERVICES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS INC: $15,500 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetHATIKVAH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 6y, 1.5% of budgetTexas Cultural Trust Council: $14,700 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetRiver Oaks Chamber Orchestra: $14,000 over 5y, 0.5% 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 Julie Rogers Gift of Life Program ↗
  • Who funds ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND ↗
  • Who funds Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Art Museum of Southeast Texas ↗
  • Who funds SYMPHONY OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds University of Miami ↗
  • Who funds BEAUMONT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ↗
  • Who funds SEVEN ACRES JEWISH SENIOR CARE SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas ↗
  • Who funds University of St Thomas ↗
  • Who funds ASSOCIATION FOR RETARDED CITIZENS TEXAS INC ↗
  • Who funds GIRLS' HAVEN INC ↗
  • Who funds THE HOLDSWORTH CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Lamar University Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Mental Health America of Texas ↗
  • Who funds I HAVE A DREAM 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.

Albert & Ethel Herzst…Greater Houston Commu…Houston Endowment IncStrake FoundationThe Brown Foundation …The Powell FoundationHarry S & Isabel C Ca…John P McGovern Found…Mamie McFaddin Ward H…The Alkek and William…Marek Family Foundati…The Methodist Hospital
Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable FoundationTX91.1× affinity49 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · Greater Houston Community Foundation · Houston Endowment Inc · Strake Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · The Powell Foundation · Harry S & Isabel C Cameron Foundation Sentinel Trust Company · John P McGovern Foundation · Mamie McFaddin Ward Heritage Foundation · The Alkek and Williams Foundation · Marek Family Foundation · The Methodist Hospital

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • University of Miami: 5% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get 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 Mechia Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Mechia 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 550 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 Mechia’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