Skip to content
The Attwell Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Attwell 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.

$60k
Granted FY2024still arriving
30
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$8k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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.

Animals$92kHealth$88kReligion$58kArts & Culture$48kEnvironment$29kEducation$24kSocial Science$12kPublic Benefit$12kOther$0
02FY2024 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,700
Median grant
6
States reached
$692k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CARMEL ART ASSOCIATION$8,000
HARRIS COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT FOUNDATION$7,500
CITY CHURCH INTERNATIONAL$5,000
TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$4,000
HERMANN PARK CONSERVANCY$2,500
GALA HISPANIC THEATER$2,500
HOUSTON SPCA$2,200
TEXAS EQUUSEARCH$2,200
AUSTIN PETS ALIVE$1,800
HABITAT FOR HORSES INC$1,700
THE PLANO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$1,700
THE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE$1,700
SERTOMA BUTTERFLY HOUSE$1,700
OPERATION KINDNESS$1,700
THE CATO INSTITUTE$1,700
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 (FY19–24, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 32% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $1k → 17%INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $400 → 17%THE BARNABAS CONNECTION: $1k → 10%THE BARNABAS CONNECTION: $1k → 10%THE BARNIBUS CONNECTION: $1k → 10%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

ME
WA
NY
SD
PA
CT
CA
CO
VA
MD
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$351k · 39 repeat orgs$54k to everyone else

39 repeat relationships: 26 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

39
19

Total granted

$351k
$42k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+50%
+72%

Still filing today

72%
37%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $12k 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
AnimalsEducationHealthEnvironmentArts & CultureInternationalOther
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

  • HC
    Harris County Hospital District Foundation
    8× · 2017–2024 · $50k · revenue +12%
  • TC
    Texas Children's Hospital
    7× · 2018–2024 · $17k · revenue +83%
  • Hermann Park Conservancy
    8× · 2017–2024 · $15k · revenue +82%

Funded once

  • CP
    CENTRAL PAIN SYNDROME FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $8k
  • CH
    CHARTLEY HOUSE
    one grant, 2018 · $7k
  • D
    DCEC
    one grant, 2021 · $5k
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 Pets Alive

Houston Pets Alive!s (HPA!) mission is to save the lives of at-risk companion cats and dogs and find them loving homes.

Animals
2
Spca of Texas

The spca of texas is dedicated to providing every animal exceptional care and a loving home.

Animals
3
The Humane Society of Austin & Travis County Inc

The austin humane society (ahs) offers comprehensive, humane, life-saving animal services, transforming the lives of animals and those who love them. because we believe homeless animals deserve a chance to thrive in a loving environment,…

Animals
4
Laurels House

Laurel's House strengthens the human animal bond improves public health decreases the number of companion animal euthanasia due to overpopulation and diminishes human impact on native wildlife species by providing unprecedented access to…

—
5
San Antonio Pets Alive Inc

The mission of San Antonio Pets Alive! is to save every adoptable dog and cat in danger of being killed at the City of San Antonio Shelter.

Animals
6
Central Texas Spca

Rescue neglected, unwanted homeless dogs and cats nurture and provide shelter until they are placed with a forever family strive to reduce animal overpopulation prevent cruelty to animals teach responsible pet ownership through an outreach…

Animals
7
Washington Humane Society

The washington humane society protects animals, supports families, and advocates for positive change to create a world where all animals can thrive. we enrich the humanity of our communities by promoting compassion and encouraging people…

Animals
8
Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The primary mission of the humane society is to end animal cruelty, neglect and overpopulation in south carolina.

Animals
9
Houston Zoo Inc

Mission: Connect communities with animals, inspiring action to save wildlife. Vision: Be a leader in the global movement to save wildlife. (Continued on Schedule O) Houston Zoo, Inc. (HZI) strives to be a zoo that practices exemplary…

Animals
10
Citizens for Animal Protection Inc

Citizens for Animal Protection, Inc. (CAP) cares for pets in need through sheltering, adoption, humane education, spay/neuter services, low-cost wellness, and community outreach. CAP fulfills its mission by focusing on enhancing the lives…

Animals
11
Houston Botanic Garden

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

Environment
12
Progressive Animal Welfare Society aka Paws

A champion for animals since 1967, PAWS is a nationally recognized leader - rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife, sheltering and adopting homeless cats and dogs, and educating people to make a better world for animals and people.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Operation Kindness; the most unlike its peers is Carmel Art Association. 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

39 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. 39 of the 62 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)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
37/39
Grantees still filing
31/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CCI DALLAS INC: $33,760 · OtherCCI DALLAS INCSOZO CHURCH INC: $18,000 · OtherSOZO CHURCH INCTHE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE: $11,600 · OtherTHE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTESERTOMA BUTTERFLY HOUSE: $11,350 · OtherSERTOMA BUTTERFLY HOUSETHE NATURE CONSERVANCE OF TEXAS: $10,250 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCE OF TEXASCENTRAL PAIN SYNDROME FOUNDATION: $8,229 · OtherCHARTLEY HOUSE: $7,400 · OtherCHERRY CHILDRENS MUSIC OUTREACH: $7,000 · OtherTHE SHEPHERD SOCIETY: $6,000 · Other+26 more: $52,175 · Other+26 moreHABITAT FOR HORSES INC: $11,900 · AnimalsHABITAT FOR HORSES …OPERATION KINDNESS: $11,900 · AnimalsOPERATION KINDNESSPOPLAR SPRING ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $8,000 · AnimalsPOPLAR SPRING ANIMA…K-9 ANGELS RESCUE: $7,700 · AnimalsK-9 ANGELS RESCUEFRIENDS OF HOMELESS ANIMALS: $7,500 · AnimalsFRIENDS OF HOMELESS…AUSTIN PETS ALIVE INC: $7,160 · AnimalsAUSTIN PETS ALIVE I…WIMBERLEY ADOPTION GROUP AND RESCUE CORPORATION: $6,700 · AnimalsWIMBERLEY ADOPTION …SECOND CHANCE WILDLIFE CENTER INC: $3,000 · AnimalsHOUSTON SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $2,400 · Animals+2 more: $4,000 · Animals+2 moreHarris County Hospital District Foundation: $49,716 · HealthHarris County Hospi…Texas Children's Hospital: $17,250 · HealthTexas Children's Ho…THE HUB HOUSTON INC: $3,000 · Health+1 more: $200 · HealthPLANO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $11,450 · Arts & CultureGALA INC GRUPO DE ARTISTAS LATINO AMERICANOS: $11,000 · Arts & CultureCarmel Art Association: $8,000 · Arts & CultureHermann Park Conservancy: $14,750 · EnvironmentSCENIC HOUSTON INC: $10,050 · EnvironmentRock Creek Conservancy Inc: $4,000 · EnvironmentINSTITUTE FOR SHIPBOARD EDUCATION: $10,000 · EducationCity Wildlife Inc: $8,860 · EducationCONCORDIA UNIVERSITY TEXAS: $4,900 · EducationROLLINS COLLEGE: $4,000 · EducationWashington and Lee University: $1,000 · EducationCATO INSTITUTE: $11,600 · Public Benefit
Other$165,764Animals$70,260Health$70,166Arts & Culture$30,450Environment$28,800Education$28,760Public Benefit$11,600

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 budgetHarris County Hospital District Foundation: $49,716 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetTexas Children's Hospital: $17,250 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetHermann Park Conservancy: $14,750 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HORSES INC: $11,900 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetOPERATION KINDNESS: $11,900 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE: $11,600 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCATO INSTITUTE: $11,600 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetPLANO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $11,450 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetGALA INC GRUPO DE ARTISTAS LATINO AMERICANOS: $11,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetSCENIC HOUSTON INC: $10,050 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR SHIPBOARD EDUCATION: $10,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCity Wildlife Inc: $8,860 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetCarmel Art Association: $8,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPOPLAR SPRING ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $8,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetK-9 ANGELS RESCUE: $7,700 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF HOMELESS ANIMALS: $7,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetAUSTIN PETS ALIVE INC: $7,160 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWIMBERLEY ADOPTION GROUP AND RESCUE CORPORATION: $6,700 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetCONCORDIA UNIVERSITY TEXAS: $4,900 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetRock Creek Conservancy Inc: $4,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetROLLINS COLLEGE: $4,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBREAD FOR THE CITY INC: $3,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCrisis Breadbasket: $3,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSECOND CHANCE WILDLIFE CENTER INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE BARNABAS CONNECTION: $3,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetTHE HUB HOUSTON INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHOUSTON SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $2,400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE REFUGE FOR DMST: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSocial Motion Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDefenders of Wildlife: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPets Bring Joy: $2,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $1,400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWashington and Lee University: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKIDSAVE INTERNATIONAL INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLIGHT FROM LIGHT INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWashington Studio School: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION: $400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHalo House Foundation: $200 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 Harris County Hospital District Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Texas Children's Hospital ↗
  • Who funds Hermann Park Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HORSES INC ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION KINDNESS ↗
  • Who funds THE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds CATO INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds PLANO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds GALA INC GRUPO DE ARTISTAS LATINO AMERICANOS ↗
  • Who funds SCENIC HOUSTON INC ↗
  • Who funds INSTITUTE FOR SHIPBOARD EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds City Wildlife Inc ↗
  • Who funds Carmel Art Association ↗
  • Who funds POPLAR SPRING ANIMAL SANCTUARY ↗
  • Who funds K-9 ANGELS RESCUE ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF HOMELESS ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds AUSTIN PETS ALIVE INC ↗
  • Who funds WIMBERLEY ADOPTION GROUP AND RESCUE CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY TEXAS ↗
  • Who funds Rock Creek Conservancy Inc ↗
  • Who funds ROLLINS COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds BREAD FOR THE CITY INC ↗
  • Who funds Crisis Breadbasket ↗
  • Who funds SECOND CHANCE WILDLIFE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE BARNABAS CONNECTION ↗
  • Who funds THE HUB HOUSTON INC ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ↗

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.

Shell USA Company Fou…Greater Houston Commu…Strake FoundationUnited Way of the Nat…Austin Community Foun…Greater Washington Co…Morgan Stanley Global…Network for GoodNational Philanthropi…Verizon FoundationRaymond James Charita…The Blackbaud Giving …
Shell USA Company FoundationTX21.5× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Shell USA Company Foundation · Greater Houston Community Foundation · Strake Foundation · United Way of the National Capital Area · Austin Community Foundation Inc · Greater Washington Community Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · Verizon Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · The Blackbaud Giving Fund

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Rock Creek Conservancy Inc: 60% of income from government
  • Sandy Hook Promise Foundation: 0% of income from government
  • Rollins College: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 62 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 Attwell’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