Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust

Private foundation · Grantmaker Houston, TX EIN: 76-6143209

The Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust is a private foundation based in Houston, Texas. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, all of them in Texas.

Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust at a glance

In short: Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust gave $427K across 22 grants in 2025 (avg $19K), mostly in Texas. 23% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$427,000
+20.3% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
22
+22.2% vs 2024
Average grant
$19,409
-1.6% vs 2024
Median grant
$20,000
Total assets
$7,044,101
+4.5% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
23% first-time grantees (5 of 22, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Texas (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

How to apply to Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.

Contact

Mailing address: 5773 Woodway Dr No 6, Houston, TX 77057
Phone: (713) 961-9395

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Nick Finnegan Counseling Center: $30KNick Finnegan CounselingCenter$30KRe Mind: $30KRe Mind$30KBe Peace - Be Hope: $25KBe Peace - Be Hope$25KBo's Place: $25KBo's Place$25KHope and Healing Center: $25KHope and Healing Center$25KInstitute for Spirituality and Health: $25KInstitute for Spirituality andHealth$25KOpen Door Mission: $25KOpen Door Mission$25KSoleana Stables: $25KSoleana Stables$25KArchway Academy: $20KArchway Academy$20KCounseling Connections for Change: $20KCounseling Connections forChange$20K

The largest 2025 recipient was Nick Finnegan Counseling Center ($30K). Together the top 10 received $250K.

Grant Size Distribution

97 grants across all recorded years

97<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 97 grants of 97 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

All grant dollars reported for 2025 went to recipients in Texas. Listed recipients were based in Houston or Pearland.

Grant Distribution by State

1state

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 22 itemized grants.

States

Cities

HoustonBrookshireLeague CityPearlandBrenhamKerrvilleSpringStafford

Is Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust open to new grantees?

23%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 5 of 22 grantees (23%) were first-time recipients. With only 22 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $16K; repeat grants $20K. How we count

Medians: $15K first-time, $20K repeat.

  • 73% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 30% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 129% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$200K$400K$600K15 grants2019 15 grants2020 19 grants2021 19 grants2022 19 grants2023 18 grants2024 22 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $250K (2019) to $427K (2025). In 2025 it made 22 grants totaling $427K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Nick Finnegan Counseling Center Houston, TXUnrestricted$30,000
Re Mind Houston, TXUnrestricted$30,000
Be Peace - Be Hope Houston, TXUnrestricted$25,000
Bo's Place Houston, TXUnrestricted$25,000
Hope and Healing Center Houston, TXUnrestricted$25,000
Institute for Spirituality and Health Houston, TXUnrestricted$25,000
Open Door Mission Houston, TXUnrestricted$25,000
Soleana Stables Houston, TXUnrestricted$25,000
Archway Academy Houston, TXUnrestricted$20,000
Counseling Connections for Change Pearland, TXUnrestricted$20,000
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment IncomeDistributable Amount
2025$7,044,101$1,205,581$917,638$427,00022$622,664$910,608$484,007
2024$6,743,854$938,545$871,752$355,00018$561,111$562,904$466,436
2023$6,677,061$771,266$746,600$355,00019$511,051$535,717$423,104
2022$6,652,395$1,335,304$678,544$328,00019$467,628$1,124,388$403,352
2021$5,995,636$677,975$663,675$300,00019—$455,506$392,918
2020$5,989,540$1,608,628$714,039$270,00015—$1,341,615$344,339
2019$5,084,639$967,313$686,358$250,00015—$673,121$317,650

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust reported a distributable amount of $484K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

No mission statement for the trust is provided. Its 2025 grants include organizations whose stated missions address mental health counseling, grief support, recovery from substance abuse, education for adolescents in recovery, student well-being, and equine therapy for people with special needs. These are the grantees’ missions, not stated priorities of the trust.

For example, the Nick Finnegan Counseling Center says it provides affordable and accessible mental health counseling; Bo’s Place says it supports people who have experienced the death of a loved one; and Open Door Mission says it provides recovery and rehabilitation services for men in Houston and surrounding communities.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the trust reported 22 grants totaling $427,000. Grants ranged from $7,000 to $30,000, with a median of $20,000. Notable awards included $30,000 each to Nick Finnegan Counseling Center and RE MIND, and $25,000 each to BE PEACE - BE HOPE, Bo’s Place, Hope and Healing Center, Institute for Spirituality and Health, Open Door Mission, and Soleana Stables. The listed grant purposes were unrestricted.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

Bruce C Arendale was listed as trustee on the 2025 filing.

Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust is led by Bruce C. Arendale, Trustee on every filing since 2019 — the only officer listed, and compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Bruce C. Arendale

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    13 hrs/week

    $138K (2019) → $251K (2025)

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

Bruce C Arendale — Trustee: $251KBruce C ArendaleTrustee$251K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $251K, to Bruce C Arendale (Trustee).

Frequently asked questions about Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust

How much does Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust give each year?

Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust gave $427K across 22 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $355K across 18 grants.

What is Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust's typical grant size?

Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust's median grant in 2025 was $20,000, and its average grant was $19,409, across 22 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust that year got $16K on average.

Where does Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust give grants?

Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust gives mostly in Texas: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Houston, TX (15 grants).

Does Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (22 of 22) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust's largest grantees?

Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust's largest 2025 grantees include Nick Finnegan Counseling Center ($30,000), Re Mind ($30,000) and Be Peace - Be Hope ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 20% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust?

Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust reported $7.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $623K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $484K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust fund?

No mission statement for the trust is provided. Its 2025 grants include organizations whose stated missions address mental health counseling, grief support, recovery from substance abuse, education for adolescents in recovery, student well-being, and equine therapy for people with special needs. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust?

The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust's EIN?

Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 76-6143209. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Does Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust accept unsolicited proposals?

No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑

Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

Data update history

(3)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 17, 2020)
  2. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 13, 2026)
  3. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/ruth-jones-macdonald-charitable-trust-morg_0febda4101384d9a9637b196244e08ca

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_766143209_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/ruth-jones-macdonald-charitable-trust-morg_0febda4101384d9a9637b196244e08ca},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-14. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}

The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.

Figures come from Ruth Jones Macdonald Charitable Trust's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.

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