Houston Endowment makes grants for a wide range of purposes to organizations serving greater Houston.

Houston Endowment has developed seven distinct grant applications. Each includes a unique set of questions specific to the type of grant sought. Most commonly, applications to the foundation are for General Operating Support or toward Project Support for a specific project or onetime event. In the course of funding activity it regularly supports, Houston Endowment also considers grants toward Capital Improvement, Capacity Building, Innovative Approaches, Public Policy and Engagement, and Research. Applying organizations will need to select the application that fits the type of grant they seek from the foundation. A brief description of each application type can be found below. Each has a link to a more detailed description.

• General Operating Support: Grants for organizations that are both strongly aligned with the program goals of Houston Endowment and driven by ambitious, clearly defined strategic priorities.
• Project Support: Grants for programs or projects that have a verifiable record of success clearly leading to measurable results. Existing programs, expanding programs, new programs and onetime projects that contribute to the mission of the applying organization are eligible.
• Capital Improvement: Grants for the acquisition, construction or improvement of a physical asset that will lead over time to demonstrably better results for the people the organization serves.
• Capacity Building: Grants for efforts intended to strengthen an organization by expanding institutional knowledge, skills or abilities that will be maintained over time. This should ultimately lead to demonstrably better results for the people the organization serves.
• Innovative Approaches: Grants for developing and testing new approaches that contribute to the mission of the applying organization and are rooted in a well-researched and reasonable theory of change. These approaches are intended to outperform existing practices, so the project should include an evaluation component that will allow comparisons between the new approach and existing approaches to the same problem or opportunity.

Grants are made less frequently in two additional categories: Public Policy and Engagement, and Research. Potential applicants are asked to submit a brief Pre-Application. Staff will conduct an initial review to determine if the proposed activity is aligned with Houston Endowment's programmatic interests. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the appropriate foundation grant officer to discuss the nature of the proposed project prior to submitting a Pre-Application. A description of each category follows.

• Public Policy and Engagement: Grants for efforts intended to inform public decision-making and improve the public's ability to address a specific issue affecting a clearly defined population. Applications are more likely to succeed when the proposed effort is well researched, is aligned with other work in the field and can clearly lead to benefits for the defined population. Grants may not be used to support lobbying.
• Research: Grants for investigations that provide actionable data on a particular field through objective analysis of a specific system, issue or condition that affects greater Houston. Projects should be rigorously designed and have the potential to make a significant impact on the system, issue or condition being investigated. A highly qualified research team and a detailed dissemination strategy are required. Houston Endowment does not support research unrelated to its programmatic goals, research normally considered eligible for federal and state grant programs, or research whose comparative significance is best evaluated in a peer review. Much of the research supported by the Foundation is for studies to provide information in support of the Foundation's own grantmaking.