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The Marie Bel Fay Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

The Marie Bel Fay Fund

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$78k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0184% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$210kHealth$33kEnvironment$22kReligion$11kHuman Services$11kRecreation & Sports$10kYouth Development$10kArts & Culture$6kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $8k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $70k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$901k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$15,000
Individual grant recipient$15,000
Houston Parks Board$10,000
Garden Club of Houston$10,000
Kickstart Kids$10,000
Alexander Jewish Family Svc$10,000
Galveston Bay Foundation$5,500
The Fay School$2,500
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, $12k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%COVENANT HOUSE: $1k → 17%COVENANT HOUSE TEXAS: $4k → 16%COVENANT HOUSE: $3k → 16%HOUSTON AREA WOMEN'S SHELTER: $4k → 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.

50%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$227k · 6 repeat orgs$231k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +45% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
36

Total granted

$227k
$161k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+25%

Still filing today

83%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 10% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $70k 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
EnvironmentEducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesInternationalHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • TF
    The Fay School
    8× · 2017–2025 · $164k · revenue +69%
  • HA
    Houston Area Parkinson Society
    4× · 2018–2023 · $32k · revenue +45%
  • GB
    Galveston Bay Foundation Inc
    2× · 2018–2025 · $6k · revenue +167%

Funded once

  • CN
    Christine Nguyen
    one grant, 2023 · $15k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2024 · $15k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
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
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
2
Hermann Park Conservancy

Hermann Park Conservancy is a citizens organization dedicated to the stewardship and improvement of Hermann Park - today and for generations to come.

Environment
3
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
4
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
5
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
6
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
7
The Heritage Society

The Heritage Society (THS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1954 whose mission is to tell the stories of the diverse history of Houston and Texas through collections, exhibits, the arts, educational programs, film, video, and other…

—
8
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
9
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston

The museum of fine arts, houston serves as a welcoming and inclusive place for all people, connecting the communities of houston with diverse histories of art spanning 6,000 years and six continents. through our permanent collections,…

Arts & Culture
10
Good Reason Houston Inc

Good Reason Houston strives to grow and sustain great schools while advocating for families and communities.

Education
11
The Awty International School

See Schedule OThe purpose of Awty International School (Awty) is to create an environment where students experience excellence every day to make their mark on the world alongside their community, in a spirit of curiosity, courage and…

—
12
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

CAMH presents extraordinary and thought-provoking arts programming and exhibitions.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Houston Arboretum & Nature Center; the most unlike its peers is National Wildlife Federation. 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

28 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. 28 of the 48 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/28
Grantees still filing
18/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Fay School: $164,000 · OtherThe Fay SchoolHouston Area Parkinson Society: $32,000 · OtherHouston Area Parkinson SocietyChristine Nguyen: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherTHE PARISH SCHOOL: $14,250 · Other+16 more: $30,250 · Other+16 moreGarden Club of Houston: $10,000 · EnvironmentGalveston Bay Foundation Inc: $6,000 · EnvironmentHouston Botanic Garden: $1,000 · EnvironmentBuffalo Bayou Partnership Inc: $1,000 · Environment+2 more: $1,000 · EnvironmentThe Kinkaid School Inc: $5,000 · EducationYELLOWSTONE ACADEMY INC DBA YELLOWSTONE SCHOOLS: $5,000 · EducationTHE BRIARWOOD SCHOOL: $2,500 · EducationWriters in the Schools: $500 · EducationCOVENANT HOUSE TEXAS: $7,000 · Human ServicesHouston Area Women's Center: $3,750 · Human ServicesCOVENANT HOUSE: $1,000 · Human ServicesKick Drugs Out of America Foundation: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentHouston Parks Board: $10,000 · PhilanthropyHOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT: $2,500 · Arts & CultureHouston Grand Opera Association Inc: $500 · Arts & CultureHouston Museum of Natural Science: $500 · Arts & CultureTHE BOARD OF REGENTS OF GUNSTON HALL INCORPORATED: $500 · Arts & Culture
Other$390,500Environment$19,000Education$13,000Human Services$11,750Youth Development$10,000Philanthropy$10,000Arts & Culture$4,000

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 Fay School: $164,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetHouston Area Parkinson Society: $32,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetGarden Club of Houston: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetKick Drugs Out of America Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHouston Parks Board: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE TEXAS: $7,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGalveston Bay Foundation Inc: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Kinkaid School Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYELLOWSTONE ACADEMY INC DBA YELLOWSTONE SCHOOLS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe W Oscar Neuhaus Memorial Foundation: $3,750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Area Women's Center: $3,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BRIARWOOD SCHOOL: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOUSTON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRAFT: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Botanic Garden: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBuffalo Bayou Partnership Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Houston Food Bank: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTAR OF HOPE MISSION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUrban Harvest Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTrees For Houston: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Grand Opera Association Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWriters in the Schools: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHouston Museum of Natural Science: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBAYOU PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BOARD OF REGENTS OF GUNSTON HALL INCORPORATED: $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.

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…Strake FoundationThe Brown Foundation …Shell USA Company Fou…Albert & Ethel Herzst…Centerpoint Energy Fo…The Susan Vaughan Fou…The Elkins FoundationThe Powell FoundationAlvin & Lucy Owsley F…The Tapeats FundVivian L Smith Founda…
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX28.7× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Strake Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · Shell USA Company Foundation · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · Centerpoint Energy Foundation Inc · The Susan Vaughan Foundation Inc · The Elkins Foundation · The Powell Foundation · Alvin & Lucy Owsley Foundation · The Tapeats Fund · Vivian L Smith 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 Marie Bel Fay Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Marie Bel Fay Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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 The Marie Bel Fay Fund?

    Find your warmest path to The Marie Bel Fay 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 48 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 Marie Bel Fay’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