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The Robert A Welch Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Robert A Welch Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$39M
Granted FY2024still arriving
64
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$10M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Science & Tech$131MEducation$43MHealth$6.4M
02FY2024 · 64 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k19 grants · $747k
  • $50k–250k26 grants · $2.7M
  • $250k+19 grants · $36M
$115,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$619M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TEXAS A&M FOUNDATION$10,000,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN$5,325,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER$5,065,000
RICE UNIVERSITY$2,752,740
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY$2,695,000
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON$2,430,000
BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE$2,000,000
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY$1,300,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS$600,000
Individual grant recipient$500,000
TRINITY UNIVERSITY$435,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO$400,000
TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY$400,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SAN ANTONIO$400,000
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY$400,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 80% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%University of Texas at Austin: $2.7M → 10%BAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $1.3M → 16%RICE UNIVERSITY- Welch Institute: $10.3M → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $4.7M → 22%BAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $844k → 16%RICE UNIVERSITY- Welch Institute: $5.0M → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $2.9M → 22%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: $6.7M → 10%Baylor University: $705k → 16%RICE UNIVERSITY: $4.8M → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $2.7M → 22%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: $6.3M → 10%RICE UNIVERSITY: $4.2M → 16%Texas A&M University: $2.7M → 22%University of Texas at Austin: $6.1M → 10%Rice University: $3.4M → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $2.6M → 22%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: $5.3M → 10%RICE UNIVERSITY: $2.9M → 16%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: $3.6M → 10%RICE UNIVERSITY: $2.8M → 16%TEXAS A&M FOUNDATION: $10.0M → 22%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS: $2.2M → 14%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS: $915k → 14%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS: $760k → 14%BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: $2.0M → 16%University of Texas at Dallas: $660k → 14%BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: $1.4M → 16%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS: $600k → 14%Houston Museum of Natural Science: $1.0M → 16%Southern Methodist University: $610k → 14%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT HOUSTON: $880k → 16%SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY: $600k → 14%BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: $837k → 16%TRINITY UNIVERSITY: $435k → 16%University of Texas HSC at Houston: $420k → 16%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER: $10.6M → 14%University of Texas at San Antonio: $465k → 16%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER: $7.3M → 14%University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: $6.7M → 14%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO: $465k → 16%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER: $5.6M → 14%THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER: $5.1M → 14%UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $7.5M → 16%UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $2.4M → 16%University of Houston: $1.6M → 16%UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $1.4M → 16%UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $1.1M → 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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$161M · 64 repeat orgs$19M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +24% since the first grant, against -10% for those funded once.

64 repeat relationships: 60 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

64
10

Total granted

$161M
$8.8M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
-10%

Still filing today

44%
10%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 73% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $11M went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationArts & CultureOther
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

  • WM
    William Marsh Rice University
    5× · 2020–2024 · $18M · revenue +68%
  • BC
    Baylor College of Medicine
    5× · 2020–2024 · $4.8M · revenue +47%
  • BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2020–2024 · $3.3M · revenue +24%

Funded once

  • UO
    University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
    one grant, 2020 · $6.7M
  • Houston Museum of Natural Science
    one grant, 2020 · $1.0M · revenue -10%
  • UO
    University of Texas HSC at San Antonio
    one grant, 2020 · $275k
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
Howard Payne University

Howard payne university is a christ-centered academic community dedicated to excellence by developing and equipping the whole person for intellectual inquiry, personal and professional integrity, and service to god and humanity.

Education
2
Taylor University

The mission of Taylor University is to develop servant-leaders marked with a passion to minister Christ's redemptive love, grace, and truth to a world in need.

Education
3
John Brown University

John brown university (jbu) provides christ-centered education that prepares students to honor god and serve others by developing their intellectual, spiritual, and professional lives. (continued on schedule o)jbu serves traditional…

Education
4
Loyola University

Loyola University New Orleans, a Jesuit and Catholic institution of higher education, welcomes students of diverse backgrounds and prepares them to lead meaningful lives with and for others; to pursue truth, wisdom, and virtue; and to work…

Education
5
California Lutheran University

The mission of the university is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.

Education
6
Southwestern Christian University

Scu is a christ-centered liberal arts institution equipping students for a life of learning, leadership, and service; integrating faith, learning, and living; and empowering graduates to excel and to positively impact their world for jesus…

Education
7
University of the South

The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to the development of the whole person through a liberal arts education of the highest quality. The School of Theology educates women and men to serve the broad whole of the Episcopal Church in…

Education
8
Southern Wesleyan University

Southern wesleyan university is a christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for christ.

Education
9
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
10
Whitworth University

Since 1890, whitworth has held fast to its founding mission of providing "an education of mind and heart" through rigorous intellectual inquiry guided by dedicated christian scholars.

Education
11
University of the Southwest

University of the southwest is a christ-centered educational community dedicated to developing men and women for a lifetime of servant leadership by emphasizing faith, responsibility, and initiative.

Education
12
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hardin-Simmons University; the most unlike its peers is Houston Museum of Natural Science. 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

31 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. 31 of the 78 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/31
Grantees still filing
25/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: $30,666,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTINTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER: $28,487,500 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTERTEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $15,517,500 · OtherTEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYRICE UNIVERSITY- Welch Institute: $15,353,173 · OtherRICE UNIVERSITY- Welch InstituteUNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $13,990,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF HOUSTONUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: $6,720,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS: $5,155,000 · Other+46 more: $18,884,750 · Other+46 moreWilliam Marsh Rice University: $18,075,409 · EducationWilliam Marsh Rice Universit…Texas A&M Foundation: $10,000,000 · EducationTexas A&M FoundationBaylor College of Medicine: $4,842,143 · EducationBaylor College of MedicineBAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $3,309,194 · EducationBAYLOR UNIVERSITYSouthern Methodist University: $1,590,000 · EducationTrinity University: $1,550,000 · Education+18 more: $5,537,250 · Education+18 moreHouston Museum of Natural Science: $1,000,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$134,773,923Education$44,903,996Arts & Culture$1,000,000

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 budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $18,075,409 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetTexas A&M Foundation: $10,000,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetBaylor College of Medicine: $4,842,143 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $3,309,194 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSouthern Methodist University: $1,590,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTrinity University: $1,550,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHouston Museum of Natural Science: $1,000,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetTexas Interscholastic League Foundation: $943,750 over 4y, 21% of budgetTEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $880,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of the Incarnate Word: $315,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $310,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: $310,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of St Thomas: $310,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSt Mary's University: $285,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Dallas: $258,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetLUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $254,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR: $253,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $244,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetMCMURRY UNIVERSITY: $239,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetWAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $239,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetHARDIN-SIMMONS UNIVERSITY: $229,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetAUSTIN COLLEGE: $225,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetEAST TEXAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $210,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetJarvis Christian University: $201,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetHOUSTON CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: $200,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSt Edwards University: $200,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY: $186,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHUSTON-TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY: $177,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetSchreiner University: $147,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetLeTourneau University: $146,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetOUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY OF SAN ANTONIO: $134,000 over 5y, 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 William Marsh Rice University ↗
  • Who funds Texas A&M Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Baylor College of Medicine ↗
  • Who funds BAYLOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Southern Methodist University ↗
  • Who funds Trinity University ↗
  • Who funds Houston Museum of Natural Science ↗
  • Who funds Texas Interscholastic League Foundation ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds University of the Incarnate Word ↗
  • Who funds ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds University of St Thomas ↗
  • Who funds St Mary's University ↗

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.

Tulsa Community Found…Folds of Honor Founda…San Antonio Livestock…Michael & Susan Dell …Rc Caffarelli Educati…Richard Wallrath Educ…Council of Independen…Je and le Mabee Found…National Collegiate A…Shell USA Company Fou…Communities Foundatio…The Dallas Foundation
Tulsa Community FoundationOK27.4× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Tulsa Community Foundation · Folds of Honor Foundation · San Antonio Livestock Exposition Educational Fund Inc · Michael & Susan Dell Foundation · Rc Caffarelli Educational Fund Frost Bank Trustee · Richard Wallrath Educational Foundation · Council of Independent Colleges · Je and le Mabee Foundation Inc · National Collegiate Athletic Association · Shell USA Company Foundation · Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · The Dallas 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 Robert A Welch Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Robert A Welch Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The Robert A Welch Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Robert A Welch 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 78 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Robert A Welch’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