How much does Trellis Foundation give?

Trellis Foundation reported 83 grants totaling $16,503,140 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 18 and 46 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2024.

What does Trellis Foundation fund?

By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (56%), Employment (8%), Philanthropy (7%).

Who are Trellis Foundation's largest grantees?

By total granted over FY2020 to FY2025: Breakthrough ($3.3M), New York University ($1.9M), Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for Texas ($1.6M).

Does Trellis Foundation fund new organizations?

In FY2024, 57% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.

Which funders back the same organizations as Trellis Foundation?

Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Greater Texas Foundation, Gates Foundation, Texas Mutual Insurance Company.

Where is Trellis Foundation based?

Trellis Foundation is based in TX.

Foundation Dossiers Mostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

Texas · Public charity

Trellis Foundation

We believe every texas student deserves the opportunity to earn a postsecondary credential or degree that helps them achieve the future they envision for themselves and their families. We invest in the programs, practices, and policies that remove barriers and accelerate the journey.

$17M
Granted FY2025(still arriving): 83
Grants FY2025: 46
Organizations funded FY2024: 57%
First-time grantees FY2024

Read the full brief

Median grant, FY2025: $100,000
Largest grant, FY2025: $3,150,000
Organizations funded a year: 18 to 46; FY2020 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025: 12
Total assets, FY2025: $545M

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 57% of the organizations Trellis Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 44% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 56% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.5M went to new ones.

RenewedFirst-time

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

EducationCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesPhilanthropyEmploymentHealthOther

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.

The numbers by year

Fiscal year	Organizations funded	To those organizations	First-time grantees
FY2025still arriving	63	$15M	41%
FY2024	46	$7.8M	57%
FY2023	41	$3.7M	66%
FY2022	25	$3.8M	68%
FY2021	19	$4.0M	84%
FY2020	18	$3.0M	n/a

100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$23MEmployment$3.1MPhilanthropy$2.7MHuman Services$2.5MPublic Benefit$1.8MHealth$1.8MCommunity Improvement$1.6MCrime & Legal$1.0MOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Grantee	Total granted	Years	Share of their budget
Breakthrough	$3,250,000	2	1%
New York University	$1,861,253	2	0%
Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for Texas	$1,650,000	2	2%
University of Texas	$1,526,387	5	n/a
Foster Angels of Central Texas Foundation	$1,396,486	2	59%
Texas Community College Education Initiative	$1,041,948	4	15%
Citizens for Educational Excellence Inc	$946,644	3	51%
The Aspen Institute Inc	$802,042	4	0%
El Paso Community Action Program Project Bravo Inc	$710,000	2	1%
Center for Public Policy Priorities	$702,654	3	15%

Show all 130 grantees

All grantees of Trellis Foundation by total granted
Grantee	Total granted	Years	Share of their budget
Breakthrough	$3,250,000	2	1%
New York University	$1,861,253	2	0%
Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for Texas	$1,650,000	2	2%
University of Texas	$1,526,387	5	n/a
Foster Angels of Central Texas Foundation	$1,396,486	2	59%
Texas Community College Education Initiative	$1,041,948	4	15%
Citizens for Educational Excellence Inc	$946,644	3	51%
The Aspen Institute Inc	$802,042	4	0%
El Paso Community Action Program Project Bravo Inc	$710,000	2	1%
Center for Public Policy Priorities	$702,654	3	15%
Jeremiah Program	$700,000	2	2%
University of Texas at San Antonio	$700,000	2	n/a
Texas Higher Education Foundation	$609,928	3	12%
American Association of Colleges and Universities	$608,335	4	1%
Lone Star Justice Alliance	$600,000	3	5%
Catalyst Education Inc	$525,000	3	7%
Amarillo Junior College District	$444,690	2	n/a
Institute for Evidence-Based Change	$437,952	1	n/a
Lee College Foundation	$434,000	2	16%
Austin Community College	$428,825	2	n/a
Tejano Center for Community Concerns Inc	$425,000	2	1%
University of Texas at Austin	$407,554	2	n/a
Pelotonu Inc	$401,363	4	6%
CollegeCommunityCareer Inc	$400,000	2	65%
National Association of College and University Business Officers	$398,114	2	2%
University of Houston	$397,675	2	n/a
Education Strategy Group LLC	$373,500	2	n/a
Excelencia in Education Inc	$371,765	3	4%
University of Texas at El Paso	$356,194	4	n/a
Intercultural Development Research Association	$349,571	4	3%
Project Arriba	$348,597	3	9%
Foundation Communities Group Return	$347,260	2	1%
San Antonio Education Fund Dba San Antonio Education Partnership	$345,839	2	5%
Meb Alliance for Educator Diversity Inc	$334,426	1	3%
Texas Tribune Inc	$329,742	3	1%
The Education Trust Inc	$325,713	3	0%
Scholarship America Inc	$318,680	1	n/a
Education Service Center Region I of Texas	$300,000	1	n/a
Texas Tech Foundation Inc	$299,914	3	0%
Jobs for the Future Inc	$296,240	1	n/a
Temple College Foundation Inc	$292,503	1	46%
San Jacinto Community College Foundation Inc	$291,550	2	6%
The Institute for Higher Education Policy	$286,458	1	n/a
Young Invincibles	$271,500	2	4%
Association of Community College Trustees	$260,000	2	3%
Blinn College	$250,000	1	n/a
The University of Texas System	$249,939	1	n/a
Greater Houston Partnership Foundation	$248,741	1	6%
Greater Waco Collective Impact Initiative	$247,369	1	16%
West Central Texas Workforce Development Board Inc	$247,077	1	33%
National College Attainment Network	$243,800	4	3%
Unity Partners	$242,908	1	10%
Association of Black Foundation Executives Inc	$225,000	1	2%
Alamo Colleges Foundation Inc	$209,255	2	3%
Texas 2036	$206,800	3	1%
Npower Inc	$200,000	1	1%
Texas A&M University Kingsville	$200,000	1	n/a
Victoria College Foundation Inc	$199,995	1	5%
Sam Houston State University	$199,986	1	n/a
Paul Quinn College	$199,870	1	1%
College Possible Inc	$199,685	2	0%
Project GRAD Houston	$199,541	1	16%
Genesys Works	$199,177	1	3%
E3 Alliance	$197,685	2	3%
Higher Learning Advocates Inc	$196,000	2	14%
Open Campus Media Inc	$170,000	2	4%
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	$155,739	1	n/a
After Violence Project	$150,605	2	2%
Todos Juntos Learning Center	$150,000	1	5%
Alliance of Community Assistance Ministries Inc	$150,000	2	2%
Tejano Center	$150,000	1	n/a
The University of Texas at Dallas Center for Brainhealth	$147,969	1	n/a
Cumberland Youth and Family Services	$145,400	2	4%
Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy Inc	$145,000	1	n/a
Creative Kids Inc	$135,380	2	6%
Collegiate Edu-Nation	$135,000	2	3%
Grayson College	$125,000	1	n/a
Business - Higher Education Forum	$125,000	1	5%
Alliance for Higher Education in Prison	$120,000	2	90%
Angelo State University	$113,292	1	n/a
Houston's Capital Investing in Develop- Ment and Employment of Adults Inc	$110,000	2	4%
Austin Community College Foundation	$105,000	2	2%
Associated Builders and Contractors Merit Shop Training Program Inc	$100,000	1	5%
Bennett College	$100,000	1	1%
Capital Investing in Development and Employment of Adults Inc	$100,000	1	2%
EMERGE Fellowship	$100,000	1	1%
Cameron County Education Initiative	$100,000	1	28%
Grantmakers for Effective Organizations	$100,000	1	n/a
The Institute for Higher Education Policy	$100,000	1	n/a
Genesys Works	$100,000	1	n/a
Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth	$100,000	1	0%
Texas Lyceum Association Inc Dba the Texas Lyceum	$100,000	1	n/a
Council on Regional Economic Exp & Educational Development Foundation	$100,000	1	11%
Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement	$100,000	1	3%
Austin Together Fund	$100,000	1	12%
Project Quest Inc	$100,000	1	1%
Strada Collaborative Inc	$100,000	1	0%
Legacy Institute for Financial Empowerment	$100,000	1	11%
El Paso Pro-Musica	$100,000	1	31%
National Center for Civic Innovation In	$100,000	1	0%
Ufcs	$100,000	1	33%
Restore Education Inc	$100,000	1	1%
Worksource - Greater Austin Area Dba Workforce Solutions - Capital	$100,000	1	0%
Texas A&M Foundation	$99,656	1	0%
Texas Appleseed	$94,000	1	1%
National University Foundation	$90,000	1	22%
Black Professionals Alliance of Aus Tin	$50,000	1	n/a
Austin Black Physicians Association Inc	$50,000	1	38%
America Succeeds	$50,000	1	3%
Children At Risk	$50,000	1	1%
Austin Public Education Foundation	$50,000	1	n/a
University of North Texas	$45,201	1	n/a
Survive and Thrive Education	$40,000	2	25%
The Jed Foundation	$30,000	1	0%
Lee College District	$25,000	1	n/a
Community Partners	$25,000	1	0%
Temple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education	$25,000	1	0%
Hoopers Hero Award	$25,000	1	n/a
American Youthworks	$25,000	1	0%
Lamar State College	$15,000	1	n/a
State Business Executives	$10,000	1	4%
Huston-Tillotson University	$10,000	1	n/a
Council on Foundations Inc	$10,000	1	0%
United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County	$10,000	1	0%
Grantmakers for Education	$9,500	1	n/a
Council for Adult and Experiential Learning Cael Inc	$8,500	1	n/a
Frank Phillips College Development Corporation	$6,250	1	2%
West Texas A&M University	$6,250	1	n/a
Clarendon College Foundation Inc	$6,250	1	11%
The Amarillo College Foundation	$6,250	1	0%

Trellis Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 10 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 93 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured

Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 93.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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 Texas FoundationTX57.2× affinity25 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Texas Foundation · Gates Foundation · Texas Mutual Insurance Company · Ecmc Foundation · Communities Foundation of Texas Inc · Austin Community Foundation Inc · Michael & Susan Dell Foundation · St David's Foundation · Texas Higher Education Foundation · The Moody Foundation · Greater Houston Community Foundation · Ascendium Education Solutions Inc

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.

Compare Trellis Foundation with peer funders

About Trellis Foundation

How much does Trellis Foundation give?: Trellis Foundation reported 83 grants totaling $16,503,140 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 18 and 46 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2024.
What does Trellis Foundation fund?: By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (56%), Employment (8%), Philanthropy (7%).
Who are Trellis Foundation's largest grantees?: By total granted over FY2020 to FY2025: Breakthrough ($3.3M), New York University ($1.9M), Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for Texas ($1.6M).
Does Trellis Foundation fund new organizations?: In FY2024, 57% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Which funders back the same organizations as Trellis Foundation?: Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Greater Texas Foundation, Gates Foundation, Texas Mutual Insurance Company.
Where is Trellis Foundation based?: Trellis Foundation is based in TX.