Skip to content
The Kevin and Lesley Lilly Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Kevin and Lesley Lilly Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$528k
Granted FY2025still arriving
13
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$330k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Religion$1.2MEducation$657kHuman Services$439kArts & Culture$131kPhilanthropy$54kCommunity Improvement$26kYouth Development$23kPublic Benefit$22kOther$0
02FY2025 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k8 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $150k
  • $250k+1 grant · $330k
$5,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$147k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LIFEHOUSE$330,000
THE STORY CHURCH HOUSTON$100,000
Individual grant recipient$50,000
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF HOUSTON$10,000
MAINSTREET MINISTRIES$10,000
TEXAS WRANGLERS$9,000
PARTNERSHIP FOR RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT$5,000
CREEDE REPERTORY THEATRE$5,000
CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN CENTER$5,000
TREXO$1,500
THE 100 CLUB$1,000
CITY RISE CHURCH$500
PROVERBS 31 MINISTRIES$500
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 (FY18–24, $15k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 66% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%THIRD OPTION FOUNDATION: $5k → 6%NEHEMIAH CENTER: $2k → 16%NEHEMIAH CENTER: $2k → 16%ELIJAH RISING: $3k → 16%ELIJAH RISING: $2k → 16%ELIJAH RISING: $1k → 16%BEARESOURCE: $1k → 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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.7M · 34 repeat orgs$142k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +43% since the first grant, against +4% for those funded once.

34 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 26 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
32

Total granted

$2.7M
$129k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+4%

Still filing today

56%
34%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesPhilanthropyArts & CultureReligionEducationHealthOther
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

  • LH
    Life House
    9× · 2017–2025 · $409k · revenue ×12 · 67% of their budget
  • CS
    CHRIST SCHOOL INC
    3× · 2018–2021 · $88k · revenue +141%
  • MS
    Main Street Ministries Inc
    7× · 2019–2025 · $83k · revenue +29%

Funded once

  • EH
    EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
    one grant, 2017 · $34k
  • SG
    STATE GUARD ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS
    one grant, 2024 · $12k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $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
Center for 20TH Century Texas Studies
—
2
Trees for Houston

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

—
3
Kimbell Art Foundation
Arts & Culture
4
Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation

To recognize the accomplishments and contributions of our outstanding Texas business leaders and to perpetuate and inspire the values of entrepreneurial spirit, personal integrity, and community leadership in all generations of Texans.

Community Improvement
5
San Jacinto Museum and Battlefield Association

To collect and preserve significant historical materials that relate to the early history and culture of Texas and to promote the study of the history of Texas through exhibits, publications, and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
6
The University of TexasTexas a&M Investment Management Company

To generate superior long-term investment returns to support The University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems as they provide world-class teaching, push the boundaries of discovery, and achieve excellence in patient healthcare for…

Education
7
Texas Christian University

Texas christian university is an institution of higher education which includes nine major academic units: liberal arts, science and engineering, business, education, fine arts, communication, honors, nursing and health sciences, and the…

Education
8
Texas Trust Gives
Philanthropy
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
Texas Flying Legends Museum
—
11
Witte Museum

The witte museum inspires people to shape the future of texas through transformative and relevant experiences in nature, science and culture.

Arts & Culture
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The 100 Club Inc; the most unlike its peers is HeartStone Pictures. 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

36 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. 36 of the 73 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)
34/36
Grantees still filing
25/36
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

STORY CHURCH HOUSTON: $755,500 · OtherSTORY CHURCH HOUSTONTEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY: $373,000 · OtherTEXAS STATE UNIVERSITYIndividual grant recipient: $225,783 · OtherIndividual grant recipientFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $225,132 · OtherFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHHOUSTON METHODIST: $100,000 · OtherANTONIAN COLLEGE PREP SCHOOL: $75,000 · Other+43 more: $345,530 · Other+43 moreLife House: $408,750 · Human ServicesLife House+4 more: $14,750 · Human ServicesCHRIST SCHOOL INC: $87,766 · EducationSOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: $45,000 · Education+2 more: $4,500 · EducationMain Street Ministries Inc: $82,500 · Housing & ShelterTHE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureHouston Museum of Natural Science: $15,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL WESTERN ART FOUNDATION BRISCOE WESTERN ART MUSEUM: $10,000 · Arts & CultureCREEDE REPERTORY THEATRE: $5,000 · Arts & CultureAUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $15,500 · PhilanthropyTEXAS WRANGLERS: $13,067 · PhilanthropyASTROS FOUNDATION: $7,450 · PhilanthropySouth Texas Charity Weekend Inc: $5,000 · PhilanthropyTEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $5,000 · PhilanthropyGREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $3,000 · PhilanthropyTHE A PARTNERS DBA THE ANTIOCH PARTNERS: $20,000 · ReligionPARTNERSHIP FOR RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INC: $10,000 · ReligionPROVERBS 31 MINISTRY INC: $2,500 · Religion+1 more: $1,000 · Religion
Other$2,099,945Human Services$423,500Education$137,266Housing & Shelter$82,500Arts & Culture$70,000Philanthropy$49,017Religion$33,500

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 budgetLife House: $408,750 over 9y, 67% of budgetCHRIST SCHOOL INC: $87,766 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMain Street Ministries Inc: $82,500 over 7y, 8.7% of budgetSOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: $45,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Junior League of Houston Inc: $22,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMICAH PROJECT INC: $22,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetTHE A PARTNERS DBA THE ANTIOCH PARTNERS: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetHouston Botanic Garden: $18,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMemorial Hermann Foundation: $17,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $15,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Museum of Natural Science: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTEXAS WRANGLERS: $13,067 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetNATIONAL WESTERN ART FOUNDATION BRISCOE WESTERN ART MUSEUM: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetASTROS FOUNDATION: $7,450 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetElijah Rising: $5,750 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSouth Texas Charity Weekend Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHIRD OPTION FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CHURCHILL CENTRE: $5,000 over 1y, 23% of budgetTEXAS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $4,400 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNehemiah Center Inc: $3,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAgape Development Ministries: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPROVERBS 31 MINISTRY INC: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetYELLOWSTONE ACADEMY INC DBA YELLOWSTONE SCHOOLS: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTEXAS RANGER ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMemorial Park Conservancy Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHeartStone Pictures: $1,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetTHE 100 CLUB INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSpringSpirit Inc: $500 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 Life House ↗
  • Who funds CHRIST SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds Main Street Ministries Inc ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds The Junior League of Houston Inc ↗
  • Who funds MICAH PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds THE A PARTNERS DBA THE ANTIOCH PARTNERS ↗
  • Who funds Houston Botanic Garden ↗
  • Who funds Memorial Hermann Foundation ↗
  • Who funds AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Houston Museum of Natural Science ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS WRANGLERS ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL WESTERN ART FOUNDATION BRISCOE WESTERN ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds PARTNERSHIP FOR RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INC ↗
  • Who funds ASTROS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Elijah Rising ↗
  • Who funds South Texas Charity Weekend Inc ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THIRD OPTION FOUNDATION ↗

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…The Brown Foundation …The Holthouse Foundat…Jack H & William M Li…ESB3 FoundationStrake FoundationShell USA Company Fou…Texas Instruments Fou…The Elkins FoundationBaxter Trust Co Priva…Stoller FoundationBaker Hughes Foundati…
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX28.8× affinity15 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · The Holthouse Foundation for Kids · Jack H & William M Light Charitable Trust · ESB3 Foundation · Strake Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · Texas Instruments Foundation · The Elkins Foundation · Baxter Trust Co Private Foundation Services · Stoller Foundation · Baker Hughes 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 The Kevin and Lesley Lilly Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Kevin and Lesley Lilly Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 73 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 Kevin and Lesley Lilly’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