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· Private foundation

The Ralph H and Ruth J McCullough Foundation

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.

$600k
Granted FY2025still arriving
58
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.

Education$1.2MHealth$1.1MArts & Culture$755kYouth Development$300kReligion$298kRecreation & Sports$240kCrime & Legal$144kAnimals$125kOther$0
02FY2025 · 58 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k26 grants · $123k
  • $10k–50k32 grants · $478k
$10,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
AMAZING PLACE$25,000
MOODY-BRADLEY HOUSE FOUNDATION$25,000
COUNCIL ON RECOVERY$25,000
PHI DELTA THETA FOUNDATION$25,000
OAKBEND MEDICAL CENTER$25,000
TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$25,000
THRIVE LEARNING CENTER$20,000
FORT BEND CHRISTIAN ACADEMY$20,000
SEEDS OF HOPE$20,000
ATASCOCITA METHODIST CHURCH$20,000
YOUNG LIFE$15,000
THE PERIWINKLE FOUNDATION$15,000
GLOBAL KIDS INC$15,000
STUDENT MOBILIZATION$15,000
CHILDREN'S CANCER FUND OF DALLAS INC$15,000
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 (FY18–25, $96k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 84% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE: $5k → 9%DREAM CENTER OF PICKENS COUNTY: $10k → 16%SEEDS OF HOPE: $20k → 11%FISH OF CLARKE COUNTY: $3k → 7%FISH OF CLARKE COUNTY: $3k → 7%FOUNDATION 1025: $3k → 16%FISH OF CLARKE COUNTY: $3k → 7%FISH OF CLARKE COUNTY: $3k → 7%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $5k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $10k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $10k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $5k → 16%NORTHWEST STARS FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED: $3k → 16%NORTHWEST STARS FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED: $3k → 16%NORTHWEST STARS FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED: $3k → 16%NORTHWEST STARS FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED: $3k → 16%NORTHWEST STARS FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED: $3k → 16%NORTHWEST STARS FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED: $3k → 16%NORTHWEST STARS FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED: $3k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
IA
OH
NJ
CA
CO
VA
KS
AR
NC
SC
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.9M · 81 repeat orgs$621k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +13% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

81 repeat relationships: 37 still active in FY2025, 44 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

81
38

Total granted

$3.9M
$376k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+13%
+9%

Still filing today

70%
45%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 59% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $245k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • PD
    Phi Delta Theta Foundation
    8× · 2018–2025 · $318k · revenue +12%
  • HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $145k · revenue +64%
  • HM
    HOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM
    6× · 2019–2024 · $145k · revenue +276%

Funded once

  • CM
    CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $45k · revenue +209%
  • FC
    FREESTONE COUNTY MUSEUM
    one grant, 2023 · $25k
  • HA
    Hope and Healing Center & Institute
    one grant, 2021 · $20k · revenue +9%
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
Scott & White Hospital-College Station

Founded as a Christian ministry of healing, Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH) promotes the well-being of all individuals, families and communities.

Health
2
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
3
St John's School

See Schedule OSt. John's School is an independent, co-educational day school presenting a 13-year sequence of college preparatory training. A non-profit institution, it was founded in 1946 to provide the community with a school of exacting…

—
4
Baylor University Medical Center

Founded as a Christian ministry of healing, Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH) promotes the well-being of all individuals, families and communities.

Health
5
Trees for Houston

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

—
6
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
7
Baylor Scott & White Holdings

Founded as a Christian ministry of healing, Baylor Scott & White Health promotes the well-being of all individuals, families and communities.

Health
8
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
9
The Woodlands Christian Academy

TWCA is an independent, Christ-centered college preparatory school that integrates learning with biblical faith and challenges our students to reach their highest potential - intellectually, creatively, physically, and socially - for the…

—
10
Baylor Scott & White Medical Centers - Greater North Texas

Founded as a Christian ministry of healing, Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH) promotes the well-being of all individuals, families and communities.

Health
11
Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center

Founded as a Christian ministry of healing, Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH) promotes the well-being of all individuals, families and communities.

Health
12
Scott & White Healthcare Foundation

To foster and support the activities and purposes of Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH), to encourage broad-based public support of the healthcare system and its affiliated institutions, and to advance the medical objectives, including…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Texas Children's Hospital; the most unlike its peers is Bach Society Houston. 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

89 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. 89 of the 140 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
88/89
Grantees still filing
52/89
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Phi Delta Theta Foundation: $317,500 · OtherPhi Delta Theta FoundationTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: $146,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTINUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM: $90,000 · OtherATASCOCITA METHODIST CHURCH: $90,000 · OtherBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF ARLINGTON INC: $86,000 · Other+75 more: $1,339,500 · Other+75 moreThe Council on Recovery: $200,000 · HealthThe Council on Reco…Texas Heart Institute: $195,000 · HealthTexas Heart Institu…Children's Cancer Fund of Dallas inc: $95,000 · HealthChildren's Cancer F…THE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $85,000 · HealthTHE METHODIST HOSPI…The Blue Bird Circle: $80,000 · HealthThe Blue Bird Circl…Texas Children's Hospital: $50,000 · HealthTexas Children's Ho…CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $45,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S MEDICAL …+4 more: $45,000 · Health+4 moreNEW KEY SCHOOL INC: $91,500 · EducationNEW KEY SCHOOL…BAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $90,000 · EducationBAYLOR UNIVERS…SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: $60,000 · EducationSOUTHWESTERN U…The Brookwood Community Inc: $52,500 · EducationThe Brookwood …University of St Thomas: $52,500 · EducationUniversity of …J L MANN ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB INC: $50,000 · EducationJ L MANN ATHLE…Fort Bend Christian Academy: $45,000 · EducationFort Bend Chri…Joy Development School: $30,000 · EducationThe Brenda & John H Duncan Rise School of Houston: $25,000 · EducationThe Kinkaid School Inc: $20,000 · Education+6 more: $56,000 · Education+6 moreHOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM: $145,000 · Arts & CultureHOUSTON MARIT…THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $95,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM OF…American Heritage Education Foundation Inc: $60,000 · Arts & CultureAmerican Heri…John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science: $52,500 · Arts & CultureJohn P McGove…FREESTONE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureFREESTONE COU…Broadway Dallas Inc: $30,000 · Arts & CultureBroadway Dall…HUMANITIES TEXAS: $26,000 · Arts & CultureMoody Bradley House Foundation Inc: $25,000 · Arts & CultureDOCFEST INC: $23,000 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $42,500 · Arts & Culture+5 moreHOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INC: $145,000 · Recreation & SportsFriends of the Levitt Pavilion - Arlington: $75,000 · Recreation & SportsSpringSpirit Inc: $37,500 · Recreation & SportsVirginia Youth Ballet Inc: $20,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsCamp For All Foundation: $55,000 · Youth DevelopmentBLUE HAVEN YOUTH CAMP INC: $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentBoy Scouts of America Sam Houston Area Council: $27,500 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY INC: $19,000 · Youth DevelopmentGLOBAL KIDS INC: $15,000 · Youth DevelopmentYOUNG LIFE: $15,000 · Youth DevelopmentPathways for Little Feet: $30,000 · Human ServicesSEEDS OF HOPE INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesNORTHWEST STARS FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED INC: $18,000 · Human ServicesFISH OF CLARKE COUNTY INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesTHE DREAM CENTER OF PICKENS COUNTY: $10,000 · Human ServicesCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesYoung Men's Christian Association of the Greater Houston Area: $5,000 · Human Services+1 more: $2,500 · Human Services
Other$2,069,000Health$795,000Education$572,500Arts & Culture$539,000Recreation & Sports$282,500Youth Development$166,500Human Services$100,500

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetPhi Delta Theta Foundation: $317,500 over 8y, 1.8% of budgetThe Council on Recovery: $200,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetTexas Heart Institute: $195,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetHOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INC: $145,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetHOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM: $145,000 over 6y, 11% of budgetChildren's Cancer Fund of Dallas inc: $95,000 over 8y, 2.1% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $95,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNEW KEY SCHOOL INC: $91,500 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetBAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $90,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF ARLINGTON INC: $86,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetTHE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetThe Blue Bird Circle: $80,000 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetFriends of the Levitt Pavilion - Arlington: $75,000 over 6y, 1.9% of budgetEMANCIPET INC: $64,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetSOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: $60,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heritage Education Foundation Inc: $60,000 over 8y, 7.1% of budgetCamp For All Foundation: $55,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetJohn P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science: $52,500 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetThe Brookwood Community Inc: $52,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of St Thomas: $52,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetJ L MANN ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB INC: $50,000 over 5y, 9.9% of budgetTexas Children's Hospital: $50,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFort Bend Christian Academy: $45,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBRIDGES TO LIFE: $42,500 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetTraffick911: $40,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetFREESTONE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INC: $40,000 over 3y, 9.8% of budgetSpringSpirit Inc: $37,500 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetRESCUED PETS MOVEMENT INC: $35,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetBLUE HAVEN YOUTH CAMP INC: $35,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetNerys Promise: $35,000 over 4y, 5.0% of budgetCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $35,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFt Bend County Child Advocates Inc: $35,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetBroadway Dallas Inc: $30,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJoy Development School: $30,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPathways for Little Feet: $30,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetTHE AMARILLO COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetBoy Scouts of America Sam Houston Area Council: $27,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHUMANITIES TEXAS: $26,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetMoody Bradley House Foundation Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetThe Brenda & John H Duncan Rise School of Houston: $25,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetBAYOU LAND CONSERVANCY: $25,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetDOCFEST INC: $23,000 over 5y, 5.9% of budgetUNITED METHODIST OPEN DOOR: $23,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetVirginia Youth Ballet Inc: $20,000 over 8y, 4.0% of budgetHope and Healing Center & Institute: $20,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSEEDS OF HOPE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetThe Kinkaid School Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 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 Phi Delta Theta Foundation ↗
  • Who funds The Council on Recovery ↗
  • Who funds Texas Heart Institute ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INC ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds Children's Cancer Fund of Dallas inc ↗
  • Who funds THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds NEW KEY SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds BAYLOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF ARLINGTON INC ↗
  • Who funds THE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Blue Bird Circle ↗
  • Who funds Friends of the Levitt Pavilion - Arlington ↗
  • Who funds EMANCIPET INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds American Heritage Education Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Camp For All Foundation ↗
  • Who funds John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science ↗
  • Who funds The Brookwood Community Inc ↗
  • Who funds University of St Thomas ↗
  • Who funds J L MANN ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB INC ↗
  • Who funds Texas Children's Hospital ↗
  • Who funds Fort Bend Christian Academy ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BRIDGES TO LIFE ↗
  • Who funds Traffick911 ↗
  • Who funds FREESTONE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SpringSpirit Inc ↗
  • Who funds RESCUED PETS MOVEMENT INC ↗
  • Who funds BLUE HAVEN YOUTH CAMP INC ↗
  • Who funds Nerys Promise ↗
  • Who funds CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA ↗
  • Who funds Ft Bend County Child Advocates Inc ↗

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.

The William a and Madeline Welder Smith Foundation Attn Kay ParkerTX51.6× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The William a and Madeline Welder Smith Foundation Attn Kay Parker · Greater Houston Community Foundation · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · Strake Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · The Moody Foundation · Houston Endowment Inc · The John M O'Quinn Foundation · Sterling-Turner Foundation · MD Anderson Foundation · 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 Ralph H and Ruth J McCullough Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Ralph H and Ruth J McCullough Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    21report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 Ralph H and Ruth J McCullough Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Ralph H and Ruth J McCullough 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 140 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 Ralph H and Ruth J McCullough’s filings →

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