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The Duncan Fund at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Private foundation

The Duncan Fund

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.7M
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$1.7M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its granteesRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0188% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$3.6MPhilanthropy$2.6MHealth$636kEnvironment$105kAnimals$45kRecreation & Sports$40kEducation$30kHuman Services$20kOther$0
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,719,565
Median grant
1
States reached
$17M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SEE DETAILS ON STATEMENT 3$1,719,565
02Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.7M · 13 repeat orgs$155k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +52% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
11

Total granted

$8.7M
$155k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+20%

Still filing today

46%
91%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’21’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’23’24’25
EnvironmentArts & CultureHealthCommunity ImprovementEducationHuman ServicesOther
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

  • TM
    THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON
    2× · 2021–2023 · $3.0M · revenue +56%
  • TM
    THE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
    2× · 2021–2023 · $600k · revenue +52%
  • IG
    INTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION INC
    2× · 2021–2023 · $45k · revenue +59%

Funded once

  • TA
    Texas Agricultural Land Trust
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue +1%
  • BC
    Baylor College of Medicinegraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $20k · revenue +32%
  • GB
    Galveston Bay Foundation Inc
    one grant, 2021 · $15k · revenue -5%
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.

03Its 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
Houston Museum of Natural Science

The mission of the Houston Museum of Natural Science shall be to preserve and advance the general knowledge of natural science; to enhance in individuals the knowledge of and delight in natural science and related subjects; and to maintain…

Arts & Culture
3
The Houston Audubon Society

To advance the conservation of birds and their habitats in the Greater Houston Gulf Coast region by acquiring and maintaining critical habitat as bird sanctuaries, providing education programs and nature experiences, and advocating policy…

Environment
4
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
5
Houston Parks Board

The Houston Parks Board mission is to expand, improve, and protect parks and greenspace in the Houston region.

Philanthropy
6
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…

—
7
Houston Geological Society Foundation
—
8
John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science

The Health Museum is an innovative science center that provides an interactive and entertaining experience for all ages, promotes understanding and appreciation of the human body, mind, and spirit, and inspires a lifelong commitment to…

Arts & Culture
9
Texas Heart Medical Group

To provide cutting-edge cardiac care to diagnose, treat, and prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Health
10
Houston Freedmen's Town Conservancy Inc

To completely restore Houston Freedmen's Town as a heritage district that provides America with its only Freedmen's Town.

Community Improvement
11
Mhs Physicians of Texas

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
12
The Houston Parks Board Foundation

The Houston Parks Board Foundation provides the Houston Parks Board with financial assistance to support operations and park projects.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Methodist Hospital Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Astros Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

16 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. 16 of the 24 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
12/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SEE DETAILS ON STATEMENT 3: $4,296,123 · OtherSEE DETAILS ON STATEMENT 3BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST: $620,000 · OtherBUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST+9 more: $112,165 · OtherTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $3,000,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON+2 more: $50,000 · Arts & CultureTHE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $600,000 · Health+1 more: $6,000 · HealthTexas Agricultural Land Trust: $50,000 · EnvironmentGalveston Bay Foundation Inc: $15,000 · EnvironmentHouston Botanic Garden: $10,000 · EnvironmentWESTERN LANDOWNERS ALLIANCE: $10,000 · EnvironmentBaylor College of Medicine: $20,000 · EducationYoung Men's Christian Association of the Greater Houston Area: $20,000 · Human ServicesRIVER OAKS FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Community ImprovementCENTRAL HOUSTON CIVIC IMPROVEMENT INC: $10,000 · Community Improvement
Other$5,028,288Arts & Culture$3,050,000Health$606,000Environment$85,000Education$20,000Human Services$20,000Community Improvement$20,000

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 budgetTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $3,000,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetTHE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $600,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTexas Agricultural Land Trust: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetINTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetBaylor College of Medicine: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYoung Men's Christian Association of the Greater Houston Area: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGalveston Bay Foundation Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHope and Healing Center & Institute: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetRIVER OAKS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetHouston Botanic Garden: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCENTRAL HOUSTON CIVIC IMPROVEMENT INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetWESTERN LANDOWNERS ALLIANCE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPlanned Parenthood Gulf Coast Inc: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetASTROS FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGLENWOOD CEMETERY HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMedical Bridges Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Greater Houston Commu…Hobby Family Foundati…Vivian L Smith Founda…The Brown Foundation …National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX16.5× affinity6 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Hobby Family Foundation · Vivian L Smith Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Duncan Fund?

Find your warmest path to The Duncan Fund 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 24 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 Duncan’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