Searing Brown Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Houston, TX EIN: 72-1522030

Searing Brown Foundation is a private foundation based in Houston, Texas. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, with all grant dollars that year going to recipients in Texas.

Searing Brown Foundation at a glance

In short: Searing Brown Foundation gave $54K across 26 grants in 2025 (avg $2K), mostly in Texas. 62% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$54,250
+8.5% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
26
+36.8% vs 2024
Average grant
$2,087
-20.7% vs 2024
Median grant
$1,000
Total assets
$798,138
-1.7% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
62% first-time grantees (16 of 26, 2025)
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 Searing Brown Foundation

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: 14507 Tivoli Dr, Houston, TX 77077
Phone: (713) 464-1862

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

Who Searing Brown Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

African Mission Healthcare Foundation: $11KAfrican Mission HealthcareFoundation$11KSamaritan's Purse Haiti Relief: $9KSamaritan's Purse Haiti Relief$9KFamily Research Council: $4KFamily Research Council$4KFirst Baptist Church of Marble Falls: $4KFirst Baptist Church of MarbleFalls$4KHouston Food Bank: $3KHouston Food Bank$3KWorld Central Kitchen: $3KWorld Central Kitchen$3KAlliance Defending Freedom: $2KAlliance Defending Freedom$2KJoshua Fund: $2KJoshua Fund$2KOceana: $2KOceana$2KSouth Texas Children's Home: $2KSouth Texas Children's Home$2K

The largest 2025 recipient was African Mission Healthcare Foundation ($11K). Together the top 10 received $41K.

Grant Size Distribution

102 grants across all recorded years

102<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 102 grants of 102 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

All grant dollars in 2025 went to recipients in Texas.

Grant Distribution by State

1state

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 26 itemized grants.

States

Cities

Houston

Is Searing Brown Foundation open to new grantees?

62%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 16 of 26 grantees (62%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $2K. How we count

Medians: $1K first-time, $2K repeat.

  • 27% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+18%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 103% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). 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$20K$40K$60K16 grants2020 26 grants2021 17 grants2022 14 grants2023 19 grants2024 26 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $44K (2023) to $54K (2025). In 2025 it made 26 grants totaling $54K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
African Mission Healthcare Foundation Houston, TXGeneral Donation$11,000
Samaritan's Purse Haiti Relief Houston, TXGeneral Donation$8,500
Family Research Council Houston, TXGeneral Donation$4,000
First Baptist Church of Marble Falls Houston, TXGeneral Donation$4,000
Houston Food Bank Houston, TXGeneral Donation$2,500
World Central Kitchen Houston, TXGeneral Donation$2,500
Alliance Defending Freedom Houston, TXGeneral Donation$2,000
Joshua Fund Houston, TXGeneral Donation$2,000
Oceana Houston, TXGeneral Donation$2,000
South Texas Children's Home Houston, TXGeneral Donation$2,000
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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$798,138$49,710$62,840$54,25026$54,250$41,120$52,826
2024$811,626$61,843$57,384$50,00019$50,000$54,459$50,138
2023$807,489$31,807$50,927$44,06314$44,063$24,943$46,010
2022$827,024$24,894$52,878$45,99917$45,999$13,015$47,891
2021$861,887$61,770$56,643$49,50026$49,500$50,627$52,666
2020$857,415$26,789$56,077$48,00016—$18,712$45,814

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Searing Brown Foundation reported a distributable amount of $53K 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 foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Sodzo International says it advances the well-being of vulnerable children; Houston Humane Society says it works to prevent cruelty to living creatures, relieve animal suffering, and educate the public about animal welfare; and Friends for Life says it helps seniors and people with disabilities live as independently as possible.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation reported 26 grants totaling $54,250. Grants ranged from $500 to $11,000, with a median of $1,000. The largest listed grants were $11,000 to African Mission Healthcare Foundation and $8,500 to Samaritan's Purse Haiti Relief. Other notable grants included $4,000 each to Family Research Council and First Baptist Church of Marble Falls, and $2,500 each to Houston Food Bank and World Central Kitchen. The listed grants were designated as general donations.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Scott S. Brown as president, Markell B. Rowe as treasurer, and Melanie C. Dauphin as secretary.

Searing Brown Foundation is led by Scott S. Brown, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Scott S. Brown

    President

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Markell B. Rowe

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Melanie C. Dauphin

    Secretary

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Frequently asked questions about Searing Brown Foundation

How much does Searing Brown Foundation give each year?

Searing Brown Foundation gave $54K across 26 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $50K across 19 grants.

What is Searing Brown Foundation's typical grant size?

Searing Brown Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $2,087, across 26 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Searing Brown Foundation that year got $2K on average.

Where does Searing Brown Foundation give grants?

Searing Brown Foundation 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 (26 grants).

Does Searing Brown Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Searing Brown Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (26 of 26) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Searing Brown Foundation's largest grantees?

Searing Brown Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include African Mission Healthcare Foundation ($11,000), Samaritan's Purse Haiti Relief ($8,500) and Family Research Council ($4,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 43% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Searing Brown Foundation?

Searing Brown Foundation reported $798K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $54K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $53K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Searing Brown Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations with varied missions. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Searing Brown Foundation?

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 Searing Brown Foundation's EIN?

Searing Brown Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 72-1522030. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does Searing Brown Foundation 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

(6)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS September 29, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS August 30, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 30, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 17, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 20, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 7, 2026)

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Searing Brown Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/searing-brown-foundation-morg_110e4b5031bc4948ae8e50ec9c5a54cc

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_721522030_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Searing Brown Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/searing-brown-foundation-morg_110e4b5031bc4948ae8e50ec9c5a54cc},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-13. 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 Searing Brown Foundation'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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