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The Spirit Golf Association at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

The Spirit Golf Association

We promote amateur sports through our international amateur golf championship, provide facilities and support for other amateur golf events, and support amateur athletes for golf competitions, all as a qualified amateur sports organization under section 501(j)(2).

$16k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Public Safety & Disaster$350kHealth$232kRecreation & Sports$150kInternational$100kHousing & Shelter$50kPhilanthropy$25kReligion$23kArts & Culture$7k
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $6k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$14M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
The Immunization Partnership$10,000
Grammy's Cookie Convoy$6,000
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 (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 81% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%College Golf Fellowship: $50k → 6%Baylor College of Medicine: $50k → 9%Texas Golf Hall of Fame: $100k → 16%Yellowstone Academy: $50k → 16%Itawamba Crossroads Ranch: $50k → 13%Grammy's Cookie Convoy: $9k → 9%KIPP Inc: $50k → 16%Grammy's Cookie Convoy: $8k → 9%Baylor College of Medicine: $50k → 16%Grammy's Cookie Convoy: $8k → 9%The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation: $6k → 16%Grammys Cookie Convoy: $7k → 9%Houston Food Bank: $100k → 16%Grammy's Cookie Convoy: $6k → 9%Houston Food Bank: $50k → 16%Medical Bridges: $50k → 16%United Way of Gtr Houston: $100k → 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.

47%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$448k · 5 repeat orgs$504k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
9

Total granted

$448k
$504k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+13%

Still filing today

100%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
EducationPhilanthropyInternationalArts & CultureHealthReligionOther
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

  • The Houston Food Bank
    2× · 2017–2020 · $150k · revenue +107%
  • BC
    Baylor College of Medicine
    2× · 2017–2024 · $100k · revenue +67%
  • MB
    Medical Bridges Inc
    2× · 2017–2024 · $100k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • TG
    TEXAS GOLF HALL OF FAME & MUSEUMgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +95%
  • United Way of Greater Houston
    one grant, 2017 · $100k · revenue +5%
  • UA
    UTMD ANDERSON
    one grant, 2021 · $76k
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
Houston Botanic Garden

To enrich life through discovery, education, and the conservation of plants and the natural environment.

Environment
2
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
3
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
4
Trees for Houston

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

—
5
Houston Municipal Golf Association Inc

The mission of the Houston Municipal Golf Association is to help the City of Houston create long-term cost savings and facility upgrades by managing and improving the city's golf courses. The organization is contracted to operate F.M Law…

Recreation & Sports
6
Houston Golf Association Youth Program Inc dba First Tee of Greater Houston

First Tee Greater Houston's (FTGH) mission since 2004 is to impact the lives of young people in the Greater Houston area by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values, and promote healthy choices…

Recreation & Sports
7
Houston Golf Association Inc

Houston Golf Association exists to make a difference in the Houston community and its youth through golf and charity.

Recreation & Sports
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 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
10
Memorial Hermann Medical Group

Memorial hermann health system is a nonprofit, values-driven, community-owned health system dedicated to improving health. our vision is to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come. our values are community,…

Health
11
Harris County Medical Society

Our mission is to be the leading advocate for our member physicians, their patients and our community, in promoting the highest standards of ethical medical practice, access to quality medical care, medical education, research, and…

—
12
Heb Tournament of Champions Charitable Trust
Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Yellowstone Academy Inc Dba Yellowstone Schools; the most unlike its peers is Jan Stephenson's Crossroads Foundation Inc. 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

13 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. 13 of the 14 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)
12/13
Grantees still filing
9/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Houston Food Bank: $150,000 · OtherThe Houston Food BankUTMD ANDERSON: $76,125 · OtherUTMD ANDERSONKIPP Inc dba Knowledge is Power Program Inc: $50,000 · OtherKIPP Inc dba Knowledge is Power Program In…ITAWAMBA CROSSROADS RANCH: $50,000 · OtherITAWAMBA CROSSROADS RANCHJAN STEPHENSON'S CROSSROADS FOUNDATION INC: $22,500 · OtherJAN STEPHENSON'S CROSSROADS FOUNDATION INC+1 more: $5,802 · OtherBaylor College of Medicine: $100,000 · EducationBaylor College of…YELLOWSTONE ACADEMY INC DBA YELLOWSTONE SCHOOLS: $50,000 · EducationYELLOWSTONE ACADE…United Way of Greater Houston: $100,000 · PhilanthropyUnited Way of Gr…GRAMMY'S COOKIE CONVOY INC: $38,480 · PhilanthropyGRAMMY'S COOKIE …TEXAS GOLF HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM (AUDIT): $100,000 · Arts & CultureTEXAS GOLF …Medical Bridges Inc: $100,000 · InternationalMedical Bri…THE IMMUNIZATION PARTNERSHIP: $60,000 · HealthCollege Golf Fellowship: $50,000 · Religion
Other$354,427Education$150,000Philanthropy$138,480Arts & Culture$100,000International$100,000Health$60,000Religion$50,000

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 Houston Food Bank: $150,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTEXAS GOLF HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM (AUDIT): $100,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetBaylor College of Medicine: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUnited Way of Greater Houston: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMedical Bridges Inc: $100,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE IMMUNIZATION PARTNERSHIP: $60,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetKIPP Inc dba Knowledge is Power Program Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCollege Golf Fellowship: $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetYELLOWSTONE ACADEMY INC DBA YELLOWSTONE SCHOOLS: $50,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetGRAMMY'S COOKIE CONVOY INC: $38,480 over 5y, 3.5% of budgetJAN STEPHENSON'S CROSSROADS FOUNDATION INC: $22,500 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetTHE WILL ERWIN HEADACHE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $5,802 over 1y, 1.0% 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…Natl Christian Charit…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX12.6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Spirit Golf Association funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Spirit Golf Association. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 14 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 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 Spirit Golf Association’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