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“Mr. Houston,” was arguably the savior of the American economy. In celebration of his 150th birthday, we reflect on Jones’ life, his legacy and the lessons he has left those of us working to solve the problems of Houston today.In recognition of Jesse Jones’ 150th birthday, take a look at the timeline below to learn how Jones became one of the city’s most impactful businessmen and civic leaders, literally helping to put our city on the map.The grant will help support United Way’s Coffee & Quality, an initiative that began in 2019 as a way to help nonprofits understand how to use data evaluation for continuous quality improvement. Melanie Edwards began a two-year term as Chair of the Houston Endowment Board of Directors on January 1, 2024. She has served as a Director since July 2019.Homelessness is one of those topics that leaves Americans despairing, but Houston offers hope. Delegations from around the country now troop to Houston to seek lessons, with the mayors of Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver traipsing through this summer.Inside Philanthropy explores how place-based multisector partnerships are being used to address issue areas.Houston has been leading the way in helping the unhoused community get back on their feet with permanent housing. So, how are they doing it and where can we improve as a city to help even more in the unhoused community?Houston has created a real system to address homelessness, aligning city, county and nonprofit efforts. That innovative program is now under threat, due to changes in leadership and funding.Houston’s work to address homelessness has become a model nationwide – but it didn’t happen overnight. Here’s what we learned in 10 years that can help other communities.