Skip to content
The Tim and Karen Hixon Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Tim and Karen Hixon Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$474k
Granted FY2024still arriving
33
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$40k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Animals$1.5MEnvironment$1.4MHuman Services$228kHealth$141kPublic Benefit$90kArts & Culture$33kFood & Nutrition$20kEducation$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 33 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k11 grants · $49k
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $426k
$10,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$5.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAN ANTONIO ZOO$40,000
SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST$40,000
PEREGRINE FUND INC$40,000
Austin Hatcher Foundation$30,528
TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION$30,000
CAESAR KLEBURG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE$25,000
Texas Wildlife Association$25,000
NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION$25,000
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY$20,000
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC$20,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF TEXAS$15,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF IDAHO$15,000
Land Trust Alliance$10,000
TEXAS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE$10,000
MITCHELL LAKE AUDUBON CENTER$10,000
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 (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 70% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Texas Wildlife Association: $25k → 7%TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $32k → 14%Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation: $25k → 17%CAESAR KLEBURG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $25k → 27%WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $30k → 14%SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST: $40k → 7%Austin Hatcher Foundation: $31k → 12%SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST: $40k → 10%TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%CAESAR KLEBURG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $25k → 27%SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST: $40k → 7%PEREGRINE FUND INC: $50k → 8%TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%CAESAR KLEBURG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $25k → 27%PEREGRINE FUND INC: $50k → 8%PEREGRINE FUND INC: $40k → 8%PEREGRINE FUND INC: $40k → 8%PEREGRINE FUND INC: $35k → 8%PEREGRINE FUND INC: $35k → 8%PEREGRINE FUND INC: $35k → 8%PEREGRINE FUND INC: $32k → 8%NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $25k → 10%NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $25k → 10%NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $25k → 10%NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $25k → 10%NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%SAN ANTONIO ZOO: $50k → 16%SAN ANTONIO ZOO: $50k → 16%SAN ANTONIO ZOO: $40k → 16%SAN ANTONIO ZOO: $40k → 16%SAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $35k → 16%SAN ANTONIO ZOO: $30k → 16%SAN ANTONIO ZOO: $25k → 16%SAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $25k → 16%Texas Wildlife Association: $25k → 16%Texas Wildlife Association: $25k → 16%Texas Wildlife Association: $25k → 16%Texas Wildlife Association: $25k → 16%Texas Wildlife Association: $25k → 16%Texas Wildlife Association: $25k → 16%Texas Wildlife Association: $25k → 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

ME
ID
IL
NY
OR
NJ
CT
CA
CO
VA
TN
NC
DC
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.3M · 37 repeat orgs$100k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +62% since the first grant, against -24% for those funded once.

37 repeat relationships: 30 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

37
8

Total granted

$3.3M
$80k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+62%
-24%

Still filing today

73%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $20k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentAnimalsPhilanthropyHealthArts & CulturePublic BenefitOther
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

  • TP
    THE PEREGRINE FUND INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $317k · revenue +122%
  • SA
    SAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $295k · revenue +84%
  • NF
    NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $210k · revenue +62%

Funded once

  • RB
    ROB & BESSIE WELDER WILDLIFE FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $25k · revenue +48%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
  • AS
    AUTISM SPEAKS INC
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue -46%
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
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
2
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program Inc

Coastal bend bays & estuaries program is dedicated to protecting and restoring bays and estuaries of the texas coastal bend. coastal bend bays and estuaries remain a vital part of the environmental and economic landscape by preserving and…

Environment
3
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
4
Resource Renewal Institute

The resource renewal institute facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.

Environment
5
National Wildlife Federation

Unite all americans to ensure wildlife thrives in a rapidly changing world.

Animals
6
California Wildlife Foundation

The foundation works with diverse groups representing many interests to acquire and restore critical wildlife habitat and protecting species

Animals
7
Wilderness Conservation Foundation
Environment
8
Nature Collective

Nature collective's mission is to drive a passion for nature for all. we think inclusively and diversely when serving those devoid of nature those who remember nature and want to connect back to it and those who have an affinity with…

Environment
9
Florida Conservation Group Inc

Mission is to seek protection of land and water resources through restoration and conservation; and conducting education and outreach on the ecological and economic importance of natural lands. we protect land from development and protect…

Environment
10
National Audubon Society Inc

We work towards a future where birds thrive across the americas because audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. (continued on schedule o).

Environment
11
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Inc

To guarantee all americans quality places to hunt and fish.

Animals
12
Washington Forest Law Center

Dedicated to protecting the world's natural environment on behalf of the public by serving as a public interest law firm. refer to schedule o, part iii, line 4a, for list of litigated cases or advocacy work.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Rob & Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation. 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

37 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. 37 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
36/37
Grantees still filing
24/37
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE PEREGRINE FUND INC: $316,621 · OtherTHE PEREGRINE FUND INCTexas Wildlife Association: $200,000 · OtherTexas Wildlife AssociationBAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $165,612 · OtherBAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONALCAESAR KLEBURG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $165,000 · OtherCAESAR KLEBURG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTETHE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF TEXAS: $120,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF TEXASMITCHELL LAKE AUDUBON CENTER: $110,000 · OtherMITCHELL LAKE AUDUBON CENTERTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF IDAHO: $75,000 · Other+13 more: $335,195 · Other+13 moreSAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $295,431 · AnimalsSAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIET…NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $210,000 · AnimalsNATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FO…Wildlife Conservation Society: $130,000 · AnimalsWildlife Conservation SocietyBONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INC: $100,000 · AnimalsBONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INCAFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 · AnimalsAFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION I…LAST CHANCE FOREVER: $35,000 · Animals+2 more: $50,000 · Animals+2 moreWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $155,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND…THE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC: $95,000 · EnvironmentTHE EVERGLADES FOUN…PARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF TEXAS: $92,376 · EnvironmentPARKS AND WILDLIFE …WESTERN RIVERS CONSERVANCY: $65,000 · EnvironmentWESTERN RIVERS CONS…Hill Country Alliance: $40,000 · EnvironmentHill Country Allian…THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $40,000 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR PUBLI…DEVILS RIVER CONSERVANCY: $30,000 · EnvironmentTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $25,000 · Environment+4 more: $47,000 · Environment+4 moreTHE SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST: $167,809 · PhilanthropyAUSTIN HATCHER FOUNDATION FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER: $50,528 · Philanthropy+1 more: $2,500 · PhilanthropySOUND OFF: $90,000 · Public BenefitTEXAS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $80,000 · HealthAUTISM SPEAKS INC: $10,000 · HealthINTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION INC: $27,500 · Arts & CultureSan Antonio Report: $5,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$1,487,428Animals$900,431Environment$589,376Philanthropy$220,837Public Benefit$90,000Health$90,000Arts & Culture$32,500

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 budgetTHE PEREGRINE FUND INC: $316,621 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetSAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $295,431 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $210,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST: $167,809 over 7y, 1.0% of budgetBAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $165,612 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $155,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $130,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INC: $100,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetTHE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC: $95,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetPARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF TEXAS: $92,376 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSOUND OFF: $90,000 over 7y, 3.5% of budgetAFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTEXAS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $80,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetWESTERN RIVERS CONSERVANCY: $65,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetAUSTIN HATCHER FOUNDATION FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER: $50,528 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWILD OCEANS INC: $42,500 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetHill Country Alliance: $40,000 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $40,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetLAST CHANCE FOREVER: $35,000 over 7y, 1.8% of budgetECOTRUST: $30,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetDEVILS RIVER CONSERVANCY: $30,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $30,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION INC: $27,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetROB & BESSIE WELDER WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetOPERATION COMFORT: $15,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetGREATER EDWARDS AQUIFER ALLIANCE: $15,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetSAN ANTONIO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY INC: $12,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAUTISM SPEAKS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLAND TRUST ALLIANCE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetArboretum San Antonio: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHeadwaters at Incarnate Word Inc: $7,500 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetSan Antonio Report: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetLand Conservation Assistance Network: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% 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 THE PEREGRINE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds SAN ANTONIO ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST ↗
  • Who funds BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL ↗
  • Who funds WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds Wildlife Conservation Society ↗
  • Who funds BONEFISH & TARPON TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds THE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds PARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF TEXAS ↗
  • Who funds SOUND OFF ↗
  • Who funds AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN RIVERS CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds AUSTIN HATCHER FOUNDATION FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds WILD OCEANS INC ↗
  • Who funds Hill Country Alliance ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND ↗
  • Who funds LAST CHANCE FOREVER ↗
  • Who funds ECOTRUST ↗
  • Who funds DEVILS RIVER CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds TROUT UNLIMITED INC ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ROB & BESSIE WELDER WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds Atlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION COMFORT ↗
  • Who funds GREATER EDWARDS AQUIFER ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds SAN ANTONIO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY 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.

Hixon Family Foundati…The Brown Foundation …John & Florence Newma…Elizabeth Huth Coates…Shield-Ayres Foundati…Alice Kleberg Reynold…San Antonio Area Foun…Austin Community Foun…National Philanthropi…American Endowment Fo…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…
Hixon Family FoundationTX15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hixon Family Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · John & Florence Newman Foundation · Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation of 1992 · Shield-Ayres Foundation · Alice Kleberg Reynolds Meyer Foundat A0479800 · San Antonio Area Foundation · Austin Community Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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 Tim and Karen Hixon Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Tim and Karen Hixon Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Ecotrust: 14% of income from government
  • International Game Fish Association Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Western Rivers Conservancy: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get 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
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 Tim and Karen Hixon Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Tim and Karen Hixon 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 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Tim and Karen Hixon’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