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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 FY2024still arriving
22
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$241k
Largest
01What it funds
0198% 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
02FY2024 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k15 grants · $30k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $92k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $241k
$3,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$8.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HERITAGE ED$241,000
CHI OMEGA FOUDNATON$27,000
CHRIST THE KING CHURCH$20,000
PRAGER UNIVERSITY$15,000
ALZHEIMERS ASSOCIATION HOUSTON CHAP$10,000
PINE COVE$10,000
YOUNG LIFE$10,000
HOSPICE AUSTIN$8,500
TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL$5,100
CODY STEPHENS GO BIG OR GO HOME$5,000
NORTH SHORE ROTARY FOUNDATION$3,000
WOMENS STORYBOOK PROJECT OF TEXAS$2,833
HOUSTON ALUMNAE PANHELLENIC FOUNDAT$2,000
LIGHTHOUSE OF HOUSTON$1,000
COLEL CHABAD$1,000
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 (FY17–24, $88k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 27% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%HOSPICE OF THE VALLEY: $100 → 11%HOSPICE AUSTIN: $10k → 10%ST VINCENT'S HOUSE: $10k → 14%HOUSTON PREGNANCY HELP CENTER: $1k → 16%BLUE WATER SURRENDER: $500 → 13%LEARNING ALLY: $750 → 11%HOSPICE AUSTIN: $9k → 10%BRAVELOVE: $1k → 14%HOSPICE AUSTIN: $9k → 10%HOSPICE AUSTIN: $8k → 10%HOSPICE AUSTIN: $8k → 10%HOSPICE AUSTIN: $8k → 10%HOSPICE AUSTIN: $8k → 10%WOMENS STORYBOOK PROJECT OF TEXAS: $3k → 10%SIDE BY SIDE KIDS: $3k → 10%THE CENTER FOUNDATION: $2k → 16%THE CENTER FOUNDATION: $1k → 16%THE CENTER FOUNDATION: $1k → 16%THE CENTER FOR PURSUIT: $1k → 16%THE CENTER FOR PURSUIT: $1k → 16%PRISON ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM: $5k → 16%DELPELCHIN CHILDRENS CENTER: $250 → 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

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

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 41 repeat orgs$148k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

41 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2024, 29 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

41
76

Total granted

$1.8M
$128k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+26%

Still filing today

37%
45%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $21k 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
EducationHuman ServicesHealthAnimalsEnvironmentPhilanthropyOther
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

  • HE
    HERITAGE ED
    6× · 2019–2024 · $1.3M · revenue +414% · 70% of their budget
  • HA
    HOSPICE AUSTIN
    7× · 2017–2024 · $58k · revenue +72%
  • CHI OMEGA FOUNDATION
    7× · 2017–2024 · $54k · revenue +163%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $15k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $11k
  • IO
    INSTITUTE OF SHIPBOARD EDUCATION
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
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 Botanic Garden

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

Environment
2
Presbyterian School

Family, School, and Church united in the education and support of each child - this is the founding premise upon which Presbyterian School nurtures and challenges its students. The school provides an educational program of the highest…

Education
3
Houston Christian University

The mission of houston christian university is to provide a learning experience that instills in students a passion for academic, spiritual, and professional excellence as a result of our central confession, "jesus christ is lord."

—
4
Trees for Houston

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

—
5
Houston Independent School District Foundation

The HISD Foundation is dedicated to mobilizing the local community to support innovative priorities in HISD to improve outcomes for all students in the district. Our mission is to fund projects and programs of merit that fall outside of…

—
6
Hospice of South Texas Inc

Hospice care of terminally ill patients

—
7
South Texas College of Law Houston Inc

South texas college of law houston provides a diverse body of students the opportunity to obtain an exceptional legal education, preparing graduates to serve their community and profession with distinction.

Education
8
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…

—
9
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
10
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
11
Central Houston Inc

See schedule ocentral houston champions a thriving downtown by connecting influential leaders through initiatives that advance the future of business and community for all.

—
12
Dallas International University

As a christian university, we provide education and research opportunities preparing global leaders to partner with local communities.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hospice of the Valley; the most unlike its peers is North Channel Area Foundation. 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

57 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. 57 of the 128 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
55/57
Grantees still filing
40/57
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HERITAGE ED: $1,259,237 · EducationHERITAGE ED+13 more: $69,369 · EducationPRAGER UNIVERSITY: $75,500 · OtherPRAGER UNIVERSITYCHI OMEGA FOUNDATION: $54,000 · OtherCHI OMEGA FOUNDATIONCHRIST THE KING CHURCH: $52,000 · OtherCHRIST THE KING CHURCHCODY STEPHENS GO BIG OR GO HOME: $49,000 · OtherCODY STEPHENS GO BIG OR GO H…PINE COVE INC: $42,500 · OtherPINE COVE INC+83 more: $223,168 · Other+83 moreHOSPICE AUSTIN: $58,144 · Human ServicesPRISON ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM INC: $16,000 · Human ServicesST VINCENTS HOUSE: $10,000 · Human ServicesPURSUIT FOUNDATION: $4,100 · Human Services+9 more: $10,933 · Human ServicesLighthouse For The Blind Of Houston Inc: $23,200 · HealthTexas Children's Hospital: $5,100 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $3,000 · Health+3 more: $1,200 · HealthYOUNG LIFE: $31,500 · Youth DevelopmentRESCUED PETS MOVEMENT INC: $3,000 · AnimalsHOUSTON SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,000 · AnimalsEPIC ANIMAL RESCUE: $1,000 · AnimalsCitizens For Animal Protection Inc: $500 · AnimalsMOBILE LOAVES & FISHES INC: $2,200 · ReligionEndless River Ministries: $100 · Religion
Education$1,328,606Other$496,168Human Services$99,177Health$32,500Youth Development$31,500Animals$5,500Religion$2,300

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 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 budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $22,500 over 3y, 0.0% 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 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 HERITAGE ED ↗
  • Who funds HOSPICE AUSTIN ↗
  • Who funds CHI OMEGA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds Lighthouse For The Blind Of Houston Inc ↗
  • Who funds HILLSDALE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds FAMILIES EMPOWERED ↗
  • Who funds PRISON ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM INC ↗
  • Who funds INSTITUTE FOR SHIPBOARD EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds The Kinkaid School Inc ↗
  • Who funds ST VINCENTS HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds Texas Children's Hospital ↗
  • Who funds PURSUIT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds RESCUED PETS MOVEMENT INC ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗

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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Saunders Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Saunders Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Hht Foundation: 30% of income from government
  • Learning Ally Inc: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
7report 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 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.

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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