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Texas · Private foundation

Saunders 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.

$363k
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
22
Grants FY2024
12
Organizations funded FY2023
8%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2024
$3,000
Largest grant, FY2024
$241,000
Organizations funded a year
12 to 41
FY2017 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024
6
Total assets, FY2024
$8.0M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 8% of the organizations Saunders Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 0% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23
EducationHuman ServicesEnvironmentAnimalsHealthYouth 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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2024still arriving22$363k45%
FY202312$352k8%
FY202234$356k38%
FY202121$335k19%
FY202041$277k73%
FY201937$139k65%
FY201828$58k43%
FY201733$92kn/a
98% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.6MHealth$160kReligion$135kYouth Development$33kHuman Services$27kPhilanthropy$21kCommunity Improvement$16kAnimals$6kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
MI
NY
PA
NJ
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
MD
AZ
TN
SC
DC
TX
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Heritage Ed$1,259,237670%
Hospice Austin$58,14470%
Chi Omega Foundation$54,00070%
Pine Cove Inc$42,5004n/a
Young Life$31,50050%
Lighthouse For The Blind Of Houston Inc$23,20080%
Families Empowered$18,46921%
Prison Entrepreneurship Program Inc$16,00030%
St Francis Episcopal Church$15,5002n/a
Institute for Shipboard Education$10,00010%
Show all 65 grantees
All grantees of Saunders Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Heritage Ed$1,259,237670%
Hospice Austin$58,14470%
Chi Omega Foundation$54,00070%
Pine Cove Inc$42,5004n/a
Young Life$31,50050%
Lighthouse For The Blind Of Houston Inc$23,20080%
Families Empowered$18,46921%
Prison Entrepreneurship Program Inc$16,00030%
St Francis Episcopal Church$15,5002n/a
Institute for Shipboard Education$10,00010%
The Kinkaid School Inc$10,00010%
St Vincents House$10,00010%
Texas Children's Hospital$5,10010%
Pursuit Foundation$4,10030%
Rescued Pets Movement Inc$3,00030%
St Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc$3,00020%
Bethel Church$3,0001n/a
Womens Storybook Project of Texas$2,83311%
Dad's Club Aquatic Center Inc$2,50010%
Teach a Class$2,5001n/a
Side by Side Kids Inc$2,50010%
Mobile Loaves & Fishes Inc$2,20010%
Columbia College$2,10030%
Chi Omega Kaleidoscope$2,00016%
The Center for Pursuit$2,00020%
Bay Area Homeless Services Inc$1,50030%
Goodwill Industries of South Texas Inc$1,10020%
Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas$1,00010%
Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals$1,00020%
Epic Animal Rescue$1,0001n/a
Bravelove Inc$1,00010%
Houston Pregnancy Help Center Inc$1,00010%
Alzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders Association Inc$1,00010%
Kappa Delta Foundation Incorporated$1,00010%
Channelview ISD Education Foundation Inc$1,0001n/a
Colel Chabad$1,0001n/a
Wounded Warriors$1,0001n/a
Ex-Students' Association of Ut$1,00010%
Houston Parks Board$1,00010%
Learning Ally Inc$75010%
St Martins Episcopal Church$6002n/a
Citizens For Animal Protection Inc$50010%
Columbia College$50010%
Veterans of Foreign Wars Robert R Tuck Post 912$50010%
Houston Area Parkinson Society$50010%
Casa de Esperanza$5001n/a
Blue Water Surrender$50010%
Peckerwood Gardens Conservation Foundation Inc$25010%
Depelchin Children's Center$25010%
East Waco Greenwood Cemetery$2002n/a
North Channel Area Foundation$1001n/a
Endless River Ministries$10010%
The Webb School$10010%
Hht Foundation$10010%
The 100 Club Inc$1001n/a
Hillvue Heights Baptist Church$1001n/a
Episcopal Academy$10010%
Hospice of the Valley$10010%
Texas Masonic Charities Foundation$1001n/a
National Parks Conservation Association$10010%
The Danielle House Inc$10010%
Children's Museum Inc$10010%
George West Education Foundation Inc$10010%
Second Baptist Church$1001n/a
Halo House Foundation$10010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 62 recipients with no EIN on record ($367k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Saunders Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 49 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetHeritage Ed: $1,259,237 over 6y, 70% of budgetHospice Austin: $58,144 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetChi Omega Foundation: $54,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetYoung Life: $31,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLighthouse For The Blind Of Houston Inc: $23,200 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetFamilies Empowered: $18,469 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetPrison Entrepreneurship Program Inc: $16,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetInstitute for Shipboard Education: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Kinkaid School Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSt Vincents House: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTexas Children's Hospital: $5,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPursuit Foundation: $4,100 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetRescued Pets Movement Inc: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSt Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWomens Storybook Project of Texas: $2,833 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetDad's Club Aquatic Center Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSide by Side Kids Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMobile Loaves & Fishes Inc: $2,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetColumbia College: $2,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetChi Omega Kaleidoscope: $2,000 over 1y, 6.5% of budgetThe Center for Pursuit: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBay Area Homeless Services Inc: $1,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetGoodwill Industries of South Texas Inc: $1,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetParks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBravelove Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHouston Pregnancy Help Center Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAlzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders Association Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKappa Delta Foundation Incorporated: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEx-Students' Association of Ut: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Parks Board: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLearning Ally Inc: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCitizens For Animal Protection Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetColumbia College: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVeterans of Foreign Wars Robert R Tuck Post 912: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHouston Area Parkinson Society: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBlue Water Surrender: $500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPeckerwood Gardens Conservation Foundation Inc: $250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDepelchin Children's Center: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEndless River Ministries: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Webb School: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHht Foundation: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEpiscopal Academy: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHospice of the Valley: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNational Parks Conservation Association: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Danielle House Inc: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetChildren's Museum Inc: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGeorge West Education Foundation Inc: $100 over 1y, 0.1% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 49.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Greater Houston Community FoundationTX36.2× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · Strake Foundation · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · Baker Hughes Foundation · The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation · Austin Community Foundation Inc · The Jbd Foundation · Midway Foundation · MD Anderson Foundation · 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.

Compare Saunders Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Saunders Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Saunders 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.

About Saunders Foundation

How much does Saunders Foundation give?
Saunders Foundation reported 22 grants totaling $363,433 in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 12 and 41 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2023.
What does Saunders Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2024, its largest causes are Education (79%), Health (8%), Religion (7%).
Who are Saunders Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2024: Heritage Ed ($1.3M), Hospice Austin ($58k), Chi Omega Foundation ($54k).
Does Saunders Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 8% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Saunders Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Saunders Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Greater Houston Community Foundation, Shell USA Company Foundation, The Brown Foundation Inc.
Where is Saunders Foundation based?
Saunders Foundation is based in TX.

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 128 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

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