Houston Endowment accepts applications from eligible organizations through five programs: Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Health, and Human Services.

Houston Endowment is primarily interested in the results that the organization expects to achieve and the compatibility of those goals with the foundation's interests. The staff also gauges the organization's capacity to produce measurable, long-term impacts. During an application review, the following organizational characteristics are considered:

• Evidence of effective leadership and governance
• Commitment to the careful definition and tracking of results, and to learning from them
• Evidence of sustainability for ongoing programs
• Evidence that onetime events or projects of short duration are aligned with the organization's core purpose and competencies
• Commitment to sharing of information and results with related organizations that may benefit from them