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Ray C Fish Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ray C Fish Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$965k
Granted FY2025still arriving
37
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$160k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Religion$998kHuman Services$968kEducation$695kYouth Development$490kHealth$340kArts & Culture$325kRecreation & Sports$190kEnvironment$145kOther$0
02FY2025 · 37 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k16 grants · $65k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $340k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $560k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$25M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$160,000
SPRINGSPIRIT$100,000
HIS FATHERS HEART MINISTRIES$100,000
UNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING$100,000
TEXAS HEART INSTITUTE$50,000
MEMORIAL PARK CONSERVANCY INC$50,000
MERCY GATE MINISTRIES$45,000
Z78 MINISTRIES$30,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
BRIDGES TO LIFE$25,000
Individual grant recipient$25,000
PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET$25,000
ARCHWAY ACADEMY$25,000
DEPELCHIN CHILDREN'S CENTER$25,000
CHRIST ROSE FOUNDATION$25,000
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 (FY21–25, $955k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%UNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $100k → 16%UNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $100k → 16%UNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $100k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $100k → 16%UNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $100k → 16%WORK TEXAS TRAINING CENTER: $50k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $50k → 16%PATHWAYS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES: $25k → 16%DEPELCHIN CHILDREN'S CENTER: $25k → 16%HILL COUNTRY YOUTH RANCH: $25k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $25k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $25k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $25k → 16%BROOKWOOD IN GEORGETOWN: $20k → 16%OPEN DOOR MISSION: $20k → 16%ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MEXICAN AMERICANS: $20k → 16%BROOKWOOD IN GEORGETOWN: $20k → 16%PRODIGAL ROAD MINISTRIES: $15k → 16%HARRIS COUNTY DRUG COURT FOUNDATION: $10k → 16%HOMEMADE HOPE: $10k → 16%PATHWAYS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 16%TODAY'S HARBOR FOR CHILDREN: $10k → 16%PATHWAYS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 16%TEEN & FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 16%BROOKWOOD IN GEORGETOWN: $10k → 16%TEEN & FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 16%TEEN & FAMILY SERVICES: $10k → 16%NAVIDAD VALLEY COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: $5k → 16%HOMEMADE HOPE: $5k → 16%CLOTHED BY FAITH: $5k → 16%ELIJAH RISING: $3k → 16%PRODIGAL ROAD MINISTRIES: $3k → 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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.1M · 48 repeat orgs$1.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +9% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

48 repeat relationships: 21 still active in FY2025, 27 since wound down; 16 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

48
47

Total granted

$4.1M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+9%
0%

Still filing today

77%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $195k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationArts & CultureReligionEnvironmentRecreation & 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

  • MG
    MERCY GATE MINISTRIES
    5× · 2021–2025 · $405k · revenue +232%
  • SI
    SpringSpirit Inc
    4× · 2021–2025 · $400k · revenue +64%
  • Pathways for Little Feet
    5× · 2021–2025 · $225k · revenue +32%

Funded once

  • DA
    DUCHESNE ACADEMY
    one grant, 2021 · $150k
  • CU
    CHAPELWOOD UMC FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $100k
  • FC
    Freedom Church Alliance
    one grant, 2022 · $100k · revenue +7% · 27% of their budget
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
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
2
Trees for Houston

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

—
3
Houston Habitat for Humanity Inc

Seeking to put God's love into action, Houston Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope to provide a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Housing & Shelter
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
Rebuilding Together Houston

Rebuilding Together Houston is the only organization in Houston and Harris County providing free home repairs to hundreds of families each year. We employ licensed contractors to restore homes to safe, livable conditions, extending each…

Housing & Shelter
6
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
7
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…

—
8
Houston Botanic Garden

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

Environment
9
Fostering Family

Fostering family dba the riverside project is a 501(c)(3) public charity that on behalf of houston's children and their families, brings together organizations and passionate people working as one to help families heal and children thrive.

Community Improvement
10
Family Service Center of Houston and Harris County

The mission of Family Service Center of Houston and Harris County (Family Houston) is to create a stronger community for tomorrow by helping individuals and families meet the challenges they face today. We help others help themselves.

Human Services
11
West Street Recovery

West Street Recovery's mission is to connect communities to the resources they need to rebuild after climate disasters such as Hurricane Harvey and build resilient, secure, and stronger communities.

Public Safety & Disaster
12
LifeHouse of Houston Inc

LifeHouse is a Christ-centered ministry ensuring life for unborn children by providing opportunities for housing, help, and hope for young women during their pregnancies and beyond.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Houston Community Foundation; 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

77 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. 77 of the 112 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
20
Early backer (in before they grew)
76/77
Grantees still filing
45/77
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $513,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientHIS FATHERS HEART MINISTRIES: $200,000 · OtherHIS FATHERS HEART MINISTRIESDUCHESNE ACADEMY: $150,000 · OtherDUCHESNE ACADEMYCHAPELWOOD UMC FOUNDATION: $100,000 · OtherHERMAN PARK CONSERVANCY: $100,000 · OtherTexas Heart Institute: $150,000 · OtherTexas Heart Institute+62 more: $1,154,055 · Other+62 moreUNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $400,000 · Human ServicesUNITED AGAINST HUMAN…Pathways for Little Feet: $225,000 · Human ServicesPathways for Little …Work Texas Training Center: $50,000 · Human ServicesBROOKWOOD IN GEORGETOWN VOCATIONAL INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesPATHWAYS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES INC: $45,000 · Human Services+12 more: $185,000 · Human Services+12 moreMERCY GATE MINISTRIES: $405,000 · ReligionMERCY GATE M…Freedom Church Alliance: $100,000 · ReligionFreedom Chur…Hope and Healing Center & Institute: $50,000 · ReligionHope and Hea…+2 more: $15,000 · ReligionTHE ARBOR SCHOOL: $175,000 · EducationTHE ARBOR…William Marsh Rice University: $120,000 · EducationWilliam M…ARCHWAY ACADEMY: $50,000 · EducationARCHWAY A…Small Steps Nurturing Center: $35,000 · EducationSmall Ste…The Gateway Academy Inc: $35,000 · EducationThe Gatew…Joy Development School: $25,000 · EducationJoy Devel…+2 more: $15,000 · EducationSpringSpirit Inc: $400,000 · Recreation & SportsSpringSpi…Z78 MINISTRIES DBA DEER CREEK CAMP: $30,000 · Recreation & SportsZ78 MINIS…INGRAM LITTLE LEAGUE INC: $15,000 · Recreation & SportsMemorial Park Conservancy Inc: $155,000 · EnvironmentBuffalo Bayou Partnership Inc: $65,000 · EnvironmentSCENIC HOUSTON INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentCoastal Prairie Conservancy: $20,000 · EnvironmentTHE COMING KING FOUNDATION: $82,000 · Arts & CultureHouston Museum of Natural Science: $64,300 · Arts & CultureLone Star Flight Museum: $45,000 · Arts & CultureHOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM: $30,000 · Arts & CultureALLEY THEATRE: $20,000 · Arts & CultureHOUSTON FIRE MUSEUM INC: $15,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $7,500 · Arts & Culture
Other$2,367,055Human Services$955,000Religion$570,000Education$455,000Recreation & Sports$445,000Environment$290,000Arts & Culture$263,800

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 budgetMERCY GATE MINISTRIES: $405,000 over 5y, 18% of budgetUNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING: $400,000 over 4y, 5.9% of budgetSpringSpirit Inc: $400,000 over 4y, 4.5% of budgetPathways for Little Feet: $225,000 over 5y, 17% of budgetTHE ARBOR SCHOOL: $175,000 over 3y, 4.2% of budgetMemorial Park Conservancy Inc: $155,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTexas Heart Institute: $150,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $120,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFreedom Church Alliance: $100,000 over 1y, 27% of budgetTHE COMING KING FOUNDATION: $82,000 over 2y, 17% of budgetBuffalo Bayou Partnership Inc: $65,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetHouston Museum of Natural Science: $64,300 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMalachi Destiny & Purpose: $55,000 over 3y, 25% of budgetWork Texas Training Center: $50,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetBRIDGES TO LIFE: $50,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetHope and Healing Center & Institute: $50,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetARCHWAY ACADEMY: $50,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetSCENIC HOUSTON INC: $50,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetBROOKWOOD IN GEORGETOWN VOCATIONAL INC: $50,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetPATHWAYS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES INC: $45,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetADULT READING CENTER INC: $45,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetLone Star Flight Museum: $45,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetUndies for Everyone: $40,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetThe Heritage Society: $35,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetSmall Steps Nurturing Center: $35,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetThe Gateway Academy Inc: $35,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetAssistance League of Houston: $30,000 over 3y, 16% of budgetHOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM: $30,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetTeen & Family Services: $30,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHILL COUNTRY YOUTH RANCH: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJoy Development School: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCore House Ministries Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetNO STRINGS ATTACHED DBA UNTETHERED MINISTRIES: $25,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetOpen Door Mission: $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHouston Area Parkinson Society: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MEXICAN AMERICANS: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKERR COUNTY CHRISTIAN ACTION COUNCIL: $20,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetCASA DE ESPERANZA DE LOS NINOS INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMOUNT HOREB HOUSE: $20,000 over 2y, 96% of budgetALLEY THEATRE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCoastal Prairie Conservancy: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMEDINA VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT INC: $20,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetPRODIGAL ROAD MINISTRIES INC: $17,500 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetINGRAM LITTLE LEAGUE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 6.6% of budgetHomemade Hope for Homeless Children: $15,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetHOUSTON FIRE MUSEUM INC: $15,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetCHILDRENS TRANSPLANT INITIATIVE: $12,500 over 2y, 1.4% 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.

Albert & Ethel Herzst…Greater Houston Commu…Strake FoundationSterling-Turner Found…The Brown Foundation …Shell USA Company Fou…Harry S & Isabel C Ca…Houston Endowment IncThe Elkins FoundationBaxter Trust Co Priva…The Medallion Foundat…Vivian L Smith Founda…
Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable FoundationTX72.9× affinity34 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 · Strake Foundation · Sterling-Turner Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · Shell USA Company Foundation · Harry S & Isabel C Cameron Foundation Sentinel Trust Company · Houston Endowment Inc · The Elkins Foundation · Baxter Trust Co Private Foundation Services · The Medallion Foundation Inc · Vivian L Smith 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 Ray C Fish Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ray C Fish Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 112 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Ray C Fish’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