Skip to content
Sterling-Turner Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sterling-Turner Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$3.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
106
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$120k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$7.1MEducation$2.9MHuman Services$1.8MHealth$1.7MHousing & Shelter$890kReligion$862kFood & Nutrition$645kYouth Development$565kOther$0
02FY2024 · 106 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k81 grants · $2.0M
  • $50k–250k25 grants · $1.5M
$25,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$14M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Crossway Bible Church$120,000
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston$100,000
Houston Food Bank$100,000
Star of Hope Mission$80,000
Texas Education Works$60,000
Forge for Families$60,000
Open Door Mission$60,000
James Phillips Williams Memorial Foundation$50,000
Hope and Healing Center & Institute$50,000
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts$50,000
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas$50,000
Magnificat Houses Inc$50,000
Small Steps Nurturing Center$50,000
Mercy Gate Ministries Inc$50,000
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston$50,000
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, $1.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 97% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%The Gladney Center for Adoption: $15k → 11%Arms of Hope: $15k → 12%Clayton Dabney Foundation for Kids with Cancer: $25k → 14%East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry: $10k → 8%Hill Country Youth Ranch: $25k → 13%1 Hope for Kids Inc: $50k → 16%East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry: $10k → 8%1HOPE for Kids Inc: $50k → 16%Clayton Dabney for Kids with Cancer: $10k → 14%Hill Country Youth Ranch: $10k → 13%Nehemiah Center Inc: $25k → 16%Christian Community Service Center: $100k → 16%Houston's Amazing Place: $50k → 16%Houston's Amazing Place Inc: $30k → 16%Casa Mateo: $25k → 16%Homemade Hope for Homeless Children: $11k → 16%Covenant House Texas: $75k → 16%Women's Home: $40k → 16%The Women's Home: $30k → 16%Covenant House Texas: $25k → 16%The Women's Home: $20k → 16%Women's Home: $20k → 16%The Women's Home: $10k → 16%Spaulding for Children: $10k → 16%Spaulding for Children: $10k → 16%Spaulding for Children: $10k → 16%Spaulding for Children: $10k → 16%Steel Magnolia Moms: $10k → 16%Spaulding for Children: $10k → 16%Pathways for Little Feet: $15k → 16%Pathways for Little Feet: $10k → 16%Pathways for Little Feet: $10k → 16%Boys and Girls Country of Houston Inc: $25k → 16%Pathways for Little Feet: $10k → 16%Boys and Girls Country of Houston Inc: $15k → 16%Pathways for Little Feet: $10k → 16%Boys & Girls Country of Houston Inc: $15k → 16%Health Care for the Homeless Houston: $25k → 16%Moving Waters: $25k → 16%Moving Waters: $10k → 16%Kids' Meals Inc: $100k → 16%Kids' Meals Inc: $50k → 16%Kids' Meals Inc: $50k → 16%BEAR BE A Resource for CPS Kids: $30k → 16%Kids Meals Inc: $25k → 16%Kids' Meals Inc: $25k → 16%Kids' Meals Inc: $25k → 16%Kids' Meals Inc: $20k → 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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$15M · 96 repeat orgs$3.6M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +41% since the first grant, against +40% for those funded once.

96 repeat relationships: 71 still active in FY2024, 25 since wound down; 28 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

96
68

Total granted

$15M
$2.9M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+40%

Still filing today

86%
69%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 78% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $750k 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
Human ServicesEducationHealthArts & CultureEnvironmentYouth 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.

Backed again, and grew

  • S
    Stages
    6× · 2017–2024 · $2.3M · revenue +8%
  • TM
    THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON
    7× · 2018–2024 · $844k · revenue +54%
  • TK
    The Kinkaid School Inc
    4× · 2017–2023 · $800k · revenue +87%

Funded once

  • RT
    Remember the Alamo Foundation
    one grant, 2023 · $500k · revenue -9%
  • UO
    University of Houston Foundation
    one grant, 2017 · $500k · revenue +20%
  • MO
    Museum of Fine Arts
    one grant, 2017 · $325k
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
Trees for Houston

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

—
2
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
3
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
4
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
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
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
7
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
8
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…

—
9
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.

—
10
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
11
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
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Houston Ballet Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Reining Strength Therapeutic Horsemanship. 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

150 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. 150 of the 192 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)
36
Early backer (in before they grew)
150/150
Grantees still filing
111/150
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

University of Houston: $2,000,000 · OtherUniversity of HoustonHIS FATHERS HEART MINISTRIES: $325,000 · OtherMuseum of Fine Arts: $325,000 · OtherThe Houston Food Bank: $315,000 · Other+94 more: $4,915,900 · Other+94 moreStages: $2,275,000 · Arts & CultureStagesTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $844,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUST…Remember the Alamo Foundation: $500,000 · Arts & CultureRemember the Alamo FoundationSan Angelo Museum of Fine Arts: $300,000 · Arts & CultureSan Angelo Museum of Fine Art…+13 more: $965,000 · Arts & Culture+13 moreThe Kinkaid School Inc: $800,000 · EducationThe Kinkaid Sc…University of Houston Foundation: $500,000 · EducationUniversity of …Joy Development School: $200,000 · EducationJoy Developmen…Small Steps Nurturing Center: $155,000 · EducationSmall Steps Nu…Schreiner University: $100,000 · EducationTEXAS EDUCATION WORKS: $100,000 · EducationSt Edwards University: $100,000 · EducationTHE CENTER FOR HEARING AND SPEECH: $90,000 · Education+14 more: $335,000 · Education+14 moreKIDS' MEALS INC: $295,000 · Human ServicesKIDS' MEA…Open Door Mission: $244,000 · Human ServicesOpen Door…THE WOMEN'S HOME: $120,000 · Human ServicesTHE WOMEN…1HOPE FOR KIDS INC: $100,000 · Human Services1HOPE FOR…Christian Community Service Center Inc: $100,000 · Human ServicesChristian…COVENANT HOUSE TEXAS: $100,000 · Human ServicesCOVENANT …Pathways for Little Feet: $87,500 · Human ServicesPathways …Houston's Amazing Place Inc: $80,000 · Human ServicesMOVING WATERS: $65,000 · Human ServicesBOYS AND GIRLS COUNTRY OF HOUSTON INC: $60,000 · Human ServicesSPAULDING FOR CHILDREN: $60,000 · Human Services+14 more: $306,000 · Human Services+14 moreRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES GREATER HOUSTON INC: $155,000 · HealthMagnificat Houses Inc: $135,000 · HealthHOPE MOMMIES INC: $90,000 · HealthMemorial Hermann Foundation: $85,000 · HealthSANTA MARIA HOSTEL INC: $80,000 · HealthRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF CENTRAL TEXAS INC: $80,000 · HealthTexas Children's Hospital: $65,000 · HealthTAPING FOR THE BLIND INC: $65,000 · HealthNick Finnegan Counseling Center Foundation: $60,000 · HealthSPRING BRANCH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER: $45,000 · HealthThe Council on Recovery: $38,000 · Health+9 more: $205,000 · HealthHouston Botanic Garden: $165,000 · EnvironmentHouston Arboretum & Nature Center: $125,000 · EnvironmentHermann Park Conservancy: $105,000 · EnvironmentMemorial Park Conservancy Inc: $30,000 · EnvironmentNature Discovery Center: $25,000 · EnvironmentBuffalo Bayou Partnership Inc: $20,000 · Environment+1 more: $10,000 · EnvironmentSTAR OF HOPE MISSION: $340,000 · Housing & ShelterHouston Habitat for Humanity Inc: $25,000 · Housing & ShelterTEXAS RAMP PROJECT: $20,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$7,880,900Arts & Culture$4,884,000Education$2,380,000Human Services$1,617,500Health$1,103,000Environment$480,000Housing & Shelter$385,000

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 budgetStages: $2,275,000 over 6y, 11% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $844,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetThe Kinkaid School Inc: $800,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetRemember the Alamo Foundation: $500,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetUniversity of Houston Foundation: $500,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetSTAR OF HOPE MISSION: $340,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetThe Houston Food Bank: $315,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSan Angelo Museum of Fine Arts: $300,000 over 6y, 5.1% of budgetKIDS' MEALS INC: $295,000 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetDiscovery Green Conservancy: $250,000 over 8y, 1.5% of budgetOpen Door Mission: $244,000 over 8y, 2.5% of budgetCASA DE ESPERANZA DE LOS NINOS INC: $210,000 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetJoy Development School: $200,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetTHE FORGE FOR FAMILIES: $195,000 over 7y, 3.6% of budgetHouston Botanic Garden: $165,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetHope and Healing Center & Institute: $160,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetHouston Museum of Natural Science: $155,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES GREATER HOUSTON INC: $155,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetSeal Legacy Foundation Inc: $155,000 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetSmall Steps Nurturing Center: $155,000 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetHouston Ballet Foundation: $145,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetMERCY GATE MINISTRIES: $140,000 over 5y, 19% of budgetMagnificat Houses Inc: $135,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetHouston Arboretum & Nature Center: $125,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetTHE WOMEN'S HOME: $120,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetHILL COUNTRY CASA INC: $115,000 over 7y, 4.0% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS LONE STAR: $110,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetGRAPE CREEK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT INC: $110,000 over 4y, 9.7% of budgetBRIDGES TO LIFE: $105,000 over 7y, 1.6% of budgetHermann Park Conservancy: $105,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budget1HOPE FOR KIDS INC: $100,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetNATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetChristian Community Service Center Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetSchreiner University: $100,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCamp For All Foundation: $100,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTEXAS EDUCATION WORKS: $100,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetSt Edwards University: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE TEXAS: $100,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetHouston Zoo Inc: $100,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Symphony Society: $95,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHouston Grand Opera Association Inc: $95,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHOPE MOMMIES INC: $90,000 over 4y, 6.5% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR HEARING AND SPEECH: $90,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetREMIND: $90,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetPathways for Little Feet: $87,500 over 8y, 2.8% of budgetALLEY THEATRE: $85,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMemorial Hermann Foundation: $85,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHouston's Amazing Place Inc: $80,000 over 2y, 0.6% 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 Stages ↗
  • Who funds THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds The Kinkaid School Inc ↗
  • Who funds Remember the Alamo Foundation ↗
  • Who funds University of Houston Foundation ↗
  • Who funds STAR OF HOPE MISSION ↗
  • Who funds The Houston Food Bank ↗
  • Who funds San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts ↗
  • Who funds KIDS' MEALS INC ↗
  • Who funds Discovery Green Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds Open Door Mission ↗
  • Who funds CASA DE ESPERANZA DE LOS NINOS INC ↗
  • Who funds Joy Development School ↗
  • Who funds THE FORGE FOR FAMILIES ↗
  • Who funds Houston Botanic Garden ↗
  • Who funds Hope and Healing Center & Institute ↗
  • Who funds Houston Museum of Natural Science ↗
  • Who funds RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES GREATER HOUSTON INC ↗
  • Who funds Seal Legacy Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Small Steps Nurturing Center ↗
  • Who funds Houston Ballet Foundation ↗
  • Who funds MERCY GATE MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds Magnificat Houses Inc ↗
  • Who funds Houston Arboretum & Nature Center ↗
  • Who funds THE WOMEN'S HOME ↗
  • Who funds HILL COUNTRY CASA INC ↗
  • Who funds BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS LONE STAR ↗
  • Who funds GRAPE CREEK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT INC ↗
  • Who funds BRIDGES TO LIFE ↗
  • Who funds Hermann Park Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds 1HOPE FOR KIDS INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Christian Community Service Center 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.

Albert & Ethel Herzst…Strake FoundationHarry S & Isabel C Ca…The Brown Foundation …Greater Houston Commu…The Elkins FoundationVivian L Smith Founda…The William Stamps Fa…Shell USA Company Fou…Marek Family Foundati…The Powell FoundationMD Anderson Foundation
Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable FoundationTX106.3× affinity53 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · Strake Foundation · Harry S & Isabel C Cameron Foundation Sentinel Trust Company · The Brown Foundation Inc · Greater Houston Community Foundation · The Elkins Foundation · Vivian L Smith Foundation · The William Stamps Farish Fund · Shell USA Company Foundation · Marek Family Foundation · The Powell Foundation · MD Anderson 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 Sterling-Turner Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sterling-Turner 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%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    43report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    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 Sterling-Turner Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Sterling-Turner 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 192 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 Sterling-Turner’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