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The Frees Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Frees Foundation

Its FY2020 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$4.0M
Granted FY2020
18
Grants FY2020
3
States reached
$2.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its fieldRead
03Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

64% of The Frees Foundation’s FY2020 grant dollars went to Greater Houston Community Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2020 names 13 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

01What it funds
01FY2020 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 18 grants below total $3,880,132, the rows itemized in this filing. The $3,967,932 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $87,800 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $180k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $761k
  • $250k+2 grants · $2.9M
$50,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$2,528,690
CARE USA$402,642
TAHIRIH JUSTICE CENTER$196,000
THE MISSION OF YAHWEH$160,000
SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK$100,000
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON - SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK$100,000
HOUSTON HEIGHTS FOUNDATION$55,000
THE WOMEN'S HOME$50,000
COVENANT HOUSE TEXAS$50,000
INTERFAITH MINISTRIES$50,000
EASTER SEALS OF GREATER HOUSTON$45,000
THE HAY CENTER FOUNDATION$25,000
HOUSTON FOOD BANK$25,000
KIDS MEALS INC$25,000
UNITED WAY OF GREATER HOUSTON$25,000
02Its 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 Habitat for Humanity Inc

Seeking to put God's love into action, Houston Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope to provide a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Housing & Shelter
2
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
3
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.

—
4
Target Hunger Inc

The mission of Target Hunger is to alleviate hunger and its root causes in the Houston neighborhoods we serve. Target Hunger is on the front lines of hunger every day through its food distribution system that includes multiple food…

Human Services
5
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
6
Houston Area Community Services

Our mission is to provide high quality and caring services to promote healthy people and communities.

Health
7
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
8
LifeHouse of Houston Inc

LifeHouse is a Christ-centered ministry ensuring life for unborn children by providing opportunities for housing, help, and hope for young women during their pregnancies and beyond.

—
9
Trees for Houston

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

—
10
Healing Hands Ministries Inc

Hmm health provides quality healthcare to all its neighbors with love, compassion, and respect.

Health
11
Coalition for the Homeless of Houston Harris County

The coalition for the homeless of houston/harris county acts as a catalyst, uniting partners and maximizing resources to move people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing with supportive services.

Housing & Shelter
12
The Beacon of Downtown Houston

To provide essential and next-step services to restore hope and help end homelessness in houston.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Houston Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Sunflower Mission. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
02the grantee network

14 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. 14 of the 18 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
12/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2,528,690 · PhilanthropyGREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION+1 more: $25,000 · PhilanthropyTAHIRIH JUSTICE CENTER: $196,000 · OtherTAHIRIH JUSTICE C…MISSION OF YAHWEH INC: $160,000 · OtherMISSION OF YAHWEH…UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON - SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK: $100,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF HOU…HOUSTON HEIGHTS FOUNDATION: $55,000 · OtherHOUSTON HEIGHTS F…INTERFAITH MINISTRIES: $50,000 · OtherINTERFAITH MINIST…The Houston Food Bank: $25,000 · OtherCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $402,642 · InternationalCOOPERATIVE…+1 more: $7,800 · InternationalTHE WOMEN'S HOME: $50,000 · Human ServicesCOVENANT HOUSE TEXAS: $50,000 · Human ServicesYoung Men's Christian Association of the Greater Houston Area: $25,000 · Human ServicesKIDS' MEALS INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK GREATER NEW ORLEANS AND ACADIANA: $100,000 · Food & NutritionEASTER SEALS OF GREATER HOUSTON INC: $45,000 · HealthHAY Center Foundation: $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentPROUNITAS INC: $10,000 · Youth Development
Philanthropy$2,553,690Other$586,000International$410,442Human Services$150,000Food & Nutrition$100,000Health$45,000Youth Development$35,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2,528,690 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetCOOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $402,642 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMISSION OF YAHWEH INC: $160,000 over 1y, 7.0% of budgetSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK GREATER NEW ORLEANS AND ACADIANA: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE WOMEN'S HOME: $50,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE TEXAS: $50,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetEASTER SEALS OF GREATER HOUSTON INC: $45,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetYoung Men's Christian Association of the Greater Houston Area: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Houston Food Bank: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKIDS' MEALS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUnited Way of Greater Houston: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAY Center Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetPROUNITAS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSUNFLOWER MISSION: $7,800 over 1y, 1.3% 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…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX13.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift 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.
03Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Frees Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Frees 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 18 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Frees’ 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