Houston Endowment makes grants to organizations and projects serving greater Houston, defined for our purposes as Harris County and its contiguous counties (Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller Counties). The foundation also supports projects throughout the state that are central to Texas history.

Grants are made to nonprofit organizations recognized as public charities by the Internal Revenue Service .

Houston Endowment does not fund religious activities, lobbying efforts, fundraising events, galas or individual memorials. Because of the foundation's commitment to the Jesse H. Jones and Mary Gibbs Jones Scholars Program, it does not fund other college scholarship programs.

Houston Endowment is affiliated with a variety of professional associations and organizations that support philanthropy. These organizations should contact Houston Endowment's Vice President and Grant Director to renew the foundation's membership.

Organizations that receive a grant must provide Houston Endowment with scheduled progress reports in a format provided by the foundation. The staff and board of directors will review subsequent applications from an organization only if reporting is up-to-date.

An organization should contact Houston Endowment to discuss any material changes that occur in a project during the application review period or after a grant is received.

Houston Endowment prefers to receive new applications from an organization only after all payments of any existing grants have been made. Also, the foundation prefers to consider applications from an organization no more often than once every 12 months whether a previous application was approved or denied. Further, the foundation prefers not to consider additional requests for a capital project for which a grant was previously made.

If your organization has never received a grant from Houston Endowment or if you are unable to determine your organization’s eligibility, please submit a Pre-Application or contact our office.