Houston Independent School District Foundation
The HISD Foundation is dedicated to mobilizing the local community to support innovative priorities in HISD to improve outcomes for all students in the district. Our mission is to fund projects and programs of merit that fall outside of the district's operating budget.
Houston Independent School District Foundation at a glance
In short: Houston Independent School District Foundation gave $820K across 1 grant in 2025 (avg $820K), mostly in Texas. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $819,955
- +83.7% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 1
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $819,955
- +83.7% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $819,955
- Total assets
- $5,896,098
- -19.9% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Texas (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
How to apply to Houston Independent School District Foundation
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from Houston Independent School District Foundation
Who Houston Independent School District Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top recipient in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Houston Independent School District ($820K).
Grant Size Distribution
5 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $1–5M range: 3 grants of 5 (60%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
Share of the 2025 grant dollars on its one itemized grant.
States
Cities
How Houston Independent School District Foundation gives
- Giving fell 49% from 2022 to 2025. Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $446K (2024) to $5.1M (2020). In 2025 it made 1 grant totaling $820K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Independent School District Houston, TX | Program support | $819,955 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $5,896,098 | $1,863,727 | $3,344,686 | $819,955 | 1 | $230,217 |
| 2024 | $7,362,447 | $2,594,267 | $3,425,237 | $446,382 | 1 | $269,367 |
| 2023 | $8,213,741 | $5,792,991 | $3,775,662 | $1,461,750 | 1 | $63,933 |
| 2022 | $6,149,865 | $2,679,133 | $3,958,081 | $1,622,018 | 1 | $1,196 |
| 2021 | $7,123,064 | $5,838,395 | $5,512,665 | $2,954,590 | 1 | $199 |
| 2020 | $6,677,173 | $2,033,828 | $5,727,351 | $5,083,840 | 1 | $17,651 |
| 2019 | $10,245,886 | $1,604,588 | $7,894,986 | $4,952,271 | 1 | $808 |
About Houston Independent School District Foundation
Based on IRS filings
Houston Independent School District Foundation is a public charity, based in Houston, TX. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $5.9M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 1 grant totaling $820K. Net investment income was $230K.
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Houston Independent School District Foundation is led by Katherine Smith, CEO since 2025 (on filings since 2020); 1 of 22 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Katherine Smith
CEO
Executive Director → Chief Executive Officer, 2023
Chief Executive Officer → CEO, 2025
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$117K (2021) → $172K (2025)
Andrea Young
Chair
Director → Chair, 2024
On filings since 2020
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Gerald Merfish
Director
Director → Treasurer, 2020
Treasurer → Director, 2023
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jim Rice
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lina Sabouni
Director
Secretary From → Secretary, 2022
Secretary → Director, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
James Rodriguez
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Matthew Noll
Director
Chair → Secretary, 2024
Secretary → Director, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Frances Dyess
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bridget Wade
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
John Marshall
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robin Phillips
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Juliet Breeze
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ross Margraves
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Wilbur Suggs
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Allen Caudle
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christi Guerrini
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christy Stewart
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jennifer Price
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lauren Pugh
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
John Weatherly
Treasurer
Director → Treasurer, 2024
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Daria Russell
Vice Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2025
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
DeRae Crane
Secretary
Treasurer → Director, 2024
Director → Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (28)
- Former: Freda Lee (2019–2024) — Director
- Former: Jennifer Tweeton (2020–2024) — Associate Director
- Former: Rodrigo Herrera (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Kate Burton (2022–2024) — Director
- Former: Lawson Massey (2022–2024) — Secretary
- Former: Janette Garza-Lindner (2024) — Hisd Board of Govenors
- Former: Kerri Briggs (2024) — Hisd Superintendent Representative
- Former: Andrea Letkeman (2021–2023) — Director
- Former: Millard House (2022–2023) — Hisd Superintendent
- Former: Sue Diegaard (2022–2023) — Hisd Board of Trustees
- Former: Dani Hernandez (2023) — Hisd Board of Trustees
- Former: Ore Owodunni (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Jill Jewett (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Tony Canales (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Judith Cruz (2022) — Director
- Former: Patricia Allen (2022) — Director
- Former: Lori Vetters (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Pamela Baden (2019–2021) — Secretary to
- Former: Robert X Allen (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Jessica Kemp (2021) — Director
- Former: Ann Scott (2019–2020) — Executive Director to Sept
- Former: Grenita Lathan (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Jessica Kemp St Rose (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Sue Deigaard (2020) — Director
- Former: Benjamin Samuels (2019) — Director
- Former: Christina Morales (2019) — Director
- Former: Diana Davila (2019) — Director
- Former: William E King (2019) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $172K, to Katherine Smith (CEO through 4/30/25).
Frequently asked questions about Houston Independent School District Foundation
How much does Houston Independent School District Foundation give each year?
Houston Independent School District Foundation gave $820K across 1 grant in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $446K across 1 grant.
How large is Houston Independent School District Foundation?
Houston Independent School District Foundation reported $5.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.9M.
Where does Houston Independent School District Foundation operate?
Houston Independent School District Foundation has awarded grants in Texas.
What is Houston Independent School District Foundation's EIN?
Houston Independent School District Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 76-0424529. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 5, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS April 28, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 30, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 25, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 30, 2026)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 15, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS April 28, 2021)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Houston Independent School District Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Houston Independent School District Foundation down — hundreds of funders to go?