Skip to content

· Private foundation

The William a and Madeline Welder Smith Foundation

Its FY2026 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$822k
Granted FY2026still arriving
40
Grants FY2026still arriving
5
States reached
$55k
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, FY2021 to 2025.

Health$1.4MEducation$1.3MArts & Culture$590kReligion$220kRecreation & Sports$175kHuman Services$75kEnvironment$45kCrime & Legal$45kOther$0
02FY2026 · 40 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2026

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k35 grants · $657k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $155k
$20,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$16M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER$55,000
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY$50,000
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER$50,000
COUNCIL ON RECOVERY$40,000
SEEDS OF HOPE$40,000
BROKEN HALOS$35,000
HOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$30,000
STRAKE JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL$26,985
RETINA RESEARCH FOUNDATION$25,000
CANEY BAPTIST CHURCH$25,000
PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET$25,000
ST THOMAS HIGH SCHOOL$25,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN$25,000
Individual grant recipient$20,000
FORT BEND CHRISTIAN ACADEMY$20,000
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 (FY21–26, $165k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SEEDS OF HOPE: $40k → 11%SEEDS OF HOPE: $25k → 12%HOUSTON'S AMAZING PLACE INC: $10k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $25k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $25k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $10k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $10k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $10k → 16%PATHWAYS FOR LITTLE FEET: $10k → 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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.3M · 46 repeat orgs$495k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 27 still active in FY2026, 19 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2026 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
24

Total granted

$4.3M
$380k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+16%

Still filing today

57%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $115k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24’25’26
Arts & CultureEducationHealthHuman ServicesReligionEnvironmentOther
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

  • BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
    6× · 2021–2026 · $280k · revenue +15%
  • UO
    University of St Thomas
    6× · 2021–2026 · $185k · revenue +46%
  • PD
    Phi Delta Theta Foundation
    6× · 2021–2026 · $178k · revenue +24%

Funded once

  • BC
    BRISCOE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HISTORY - THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
    one grant, 2021 · $40k
  • LC
    LAFAYETTE COLLEGEgraduated
    one grant, 2024 · $25k · revenue +28%
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
William Marsh Rice University

As a leading research university with a distinctive commitment to undergraduate education, Rice University aspires to path breaking research, unsurpassed teaching, and contributions to the betterment of our world. It seeks to fulfill this…

Education
2
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
3
The Methodist Hospital

To provide high quality, cost-effective health care that delivers the best value to the people we serve in a spiritual environment of caring in association with internationally recognized teaching and research.

Health
4
The Hospice at the Texas Medical Center

The Hospice at the Texas Medical Center holds a freestanding 37 bed inpatient facility in the Texas Medical Center that is operated and managed by Houston Hospice.

Human Services
5
Memorial Hermann Health System

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
6
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
7
Baylor All Saints 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
8
Harmonia Stellarum Houston

Harmonia Stellarum is an ensemble of professional vocalists and instrumentalists specialized in historically informed performance practice who seek to inspire, entertain, and enlighten audiences with meaningful, historically informed…

Arts & Culture
9
Houston Botanic Garden

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

Environment
10
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
11
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…

—
12
Scott & White Memorial Hospital

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

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Methodist Hospital Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Alberto Esco 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

39 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. 39 of the 76 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
38/39
Grantees still filing
31/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER: $745,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTERTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN: $290,000 · OtherTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTINPhi Delta Theta Foundation: $177,500 · OtherPhi Delta Theta FoundationST THOMAS HIGH SCHOOL: $140,145 · OtherCANEY BAPTIST CHURCH: $120,000 · OtherSTRAKE JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL: $104,135 · Other+40 more: $1,141,000 · Other+40 moreTexas Heart Institute: $190,000 · HealthTexas Heart Ins…The Council on Recovery: $150,000 · HealthThe Council on …THE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $135,000 · HealthTHE METHODIST H…RETINA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $85,000 · HealthRETINA RESEARCH…The Blue Bird Circle: $60,000 · HealthThe Blue Bird C…Texas Children's Hospital: $25,000 · Health+1 more: $20,000 · HealthBAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $280,000 · EducationBAYLOR UNIVE…University of St Thomas: $185,000 · EducationUniversity o…Joy Development School: $25,000 · EducationLAFAYETTE COLLEGE: $25,000 · EducationFort Bend Christian Academy: $20,000 · Education+2 more: $12,500 · EducationHOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM: $95,000 · Arts & CultureHOUSTON MA…ALLEY THEATRE: $85,000 · Arts & CultureALLEY THEA…THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $65,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM…John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science: $50,000 · Arts & CultureJohn P McG…GLENWOOD CEMETERY HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureGLENWOOD C…DOCFEST INC: $45,000 · Arts & CultureDOCFEST IN…Bach Society Houston: $25,000 · Arts & CultureBach Socie…ORPHEUM PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE LTD: $15,000 · Arts & CultureFREESTONE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INC: $15,000 · Arts & CulturePathways for Little Feet: $90,000 · Human ServicesSEEDS OF HOPE INC: $65,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER NEW BRAUNFELS: $15,000 · Human ServicesHouston's Amazing Place Inc: $10,000 · Human ServicesHOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INC: $175,000 · Recreation & SportsNerys Promise: $50,000 · ReligionMUY GRANDE MINISTRIES: $5,000 · Religion
Other$2,717,780Health$665,000Education$547,500Arts & Culture$445,000Human Services$180,000Recreation & Sports$175,000Religion$55,000

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 budgetBAYLOR UNIVERSITY: $280,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTexas Heart Institute: $190,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetUniversity of St Thomas: $185,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetPhi Delta Theta Foundation: $177,500 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetHOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INC: $175,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetThe Council on Recovery: $150,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetTHE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $135,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM: $95,000 over 4y, 6.5% of budgetPathways for Little Feet: $90,000 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetALLEY THEATRE: $85,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetRETINA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetSEEDS OF HOPE INC: $65,000 over 2y, 6.4% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $65,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe Blue Bird Circle: $60,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetJohn P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science: $50,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetGLENWOOD CEMETERY HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetNerys Promise: $50,000 over 5y, 4.8% of budgetDOCFEST INC: $45,000 over 6y, 27% of budgetBAYOU LAND CONSERVANCY: $45,000 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetJoy Development School: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLAFAYETTE COLLEGE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTexas Children's Hospital: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBach Society Houston: $25,000 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetRESCUED PETS MOVEMENT INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetMagnificat Houses Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER NEW BRAUNFELS: $15,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetFREESTONE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM ASSOCIATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHouston's Amazing Place Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSouthern Oaks Volunteer Fire Department: $10,000 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetEMANCIPET INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROUND TOP LIBRARY ASSOCIATION INC: $7,500 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetKappa Kappa Gamma Charitable Foundation of Houston: $5,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetALBERTO ESCO FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 46% of budgetMUY GRANDE MINISTRIES: $5,000 over 1y, 2.1% 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 BAYLOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Texas Heart Institute ↗
  • Who funds University of St Thomas ↗
  • Who funds Phi Delta Theta Foundation ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO INC ↗
  • Who funds The Council on Recovery ↗
  • Who funds THE METHODIST HOSPITAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HOUSTON MARITIME MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds Pathways for Little Feet ↗
  • Who funds ALLEY THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds RETINA RESEARCH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SEEDS OF HOPE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON ↗
  • Who funds The Blue Bird Circle ↗
  • Who funds John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science ↗
  • Who funds GLENWOOD CEMETERY HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Nerys Promise ↗
  • Who funds DOCFEST INC ↗
  • Who funds BAYOU LAND CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds Joy Development School ↗
  • Who funds LAFAYETTE COLLEGE ↗

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 Ralph H and Ruth J McCullough FoundationTX51.6× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Ralph H and Ruth J McCullough Foundation · Greater Houston Community Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · Strake Foundation · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · The Brown Foundation Inc · MD Anderson Foundation · Sterling-Turner Foundation · Vivian L Smith Foundation · Harry S & Isabel C Cameron Foundation Sentinel Trust Company · The Elkins Foundation · The William Stamps Farish Fund

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 William a and Madeline Welder Smith Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The William a and Madeline Welder Smith Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    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 William a and Madeline Welder Smith Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The William a and Madeline Welder Smith 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 76 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 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on William a and Madeline Welder Smith’s filings →

    More from the funding graph