Tellepsen Foundation
Tellepsen Foundation is a private foundation based in Houston, Texas. It supports charitable organizations through grants, with 2025 awards going primarily to recipients in Texas and supporting religious, educational, civic, youth, and health activities.
Tellepsen Foundation at a glance
In short: Tellepsen Foundation gave $15K across 13 grants in 2025 (avg $1K), mostly in Texas. 62% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $14,971
- -39.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 13
- +116.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $1,152
- -71.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,000
- Total assets
- $339,388
- +122.5% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 62% first-time grantees (8 of 13, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Texas (92% 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 Tellepsen 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: 4726 Shetland Lane A, Houston, TX 77027-6210
Phone: (713) 306-1823
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Tellepsen Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was St Martins Church ($4K). Together the top 10 received $14K.
Grant Size Distribution
77 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 77 grants of 77 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 grant-dollar distribution was reported as 92% to Texas recipients, 7% to Georgia recipients, and 2% to Kansas recipients. Listed recipients included organizations in Houston and other Texas cities, Atlanta, Georgia, and Lawrence, Kansas.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Tellepsen Foundation open to new grantees?
62%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 13 grantees (62%) were first-time recipients. With only 13 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $1K; repeat grants $944. How we count
Medians: $1K first-time, $771 repeat.
- 31% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving fell 51% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 190% 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
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $15K (2025) to $133K (2020). In 2025 it made 13 grants totaling $15K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| St Martins Church Houston, TX | Religious Activities | $3,500 |
| Kappa Kappa Gamma Fnow Houston, TX | Educational Activities | $2,000 |
| The University of Texas Austin, TX | Educational Activities | $2,000 |
| Lords of Streets Mission (Lots) Houston, TX | Religious Activities | $1,500 |
| Camp Allen Navasota, TX | Civic Activities | $1,450 |
| Ga Tech Scholarship Atlanta, GA | Educational Activities | $1,000 |
| St Thomas the Apostle Houston, TX | Religious Activities | $1,000 |
| Christian Community Service Center Houston, TX | Youth Activities | $771 |
| Norwegan Seamans Church Houston, TX | Religious Activities | $500 |
| Positive Black Male Assoc (Pema) Houston, TX | Civic Activities | $500 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $339,388 | $206,256 | $19,403 | $14,971 | 13 | $14,971 | $5,134 | $7,880 |
| 2024 | $152,535 | $24,500 | $25,822 | $24,600 | 6 | $24,600 | $5,000 | $7,141 |
| 2023 | $153,857 | $37,500 | $57,007 | $55,834 | 20 | $55,834 | $10,000 | $8,055 |
| 2022 | $173,364 | $35,050 | $31,218 | $30,283 | 20 | $30,283 | $30,000 | $7,846 |
| 2021 | $169,532 | $35,000 | $29,077 | $27,635 | 18 | $27,635 | $35,000 | $7,971 |
| 2020 | $163,609 | $47,400 | $133,969 | $133,085 | 21 | — | $44,116 | $8,425 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Tellepsen Foundation reported a distributable amount of $8K 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 supported organizations reporting religious, educational, civic, youth, and health activities. One recipient, Christian Community Service Center Inc, says its mission is to serve poor, hungry, disabled, and otherwise needy people while respecting their religious, ethnic, or cultural differences.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation made 13 grants totaling $14,971. Grants ranged from $250 to $3,500, with a median award of $1,000. The largest listed grants were $3,500 to St Martins Church; $2,000 each to Kappa Kappa Gamma FNOW and The University of Texas; and $1,500 to Lords of Streets Mission (LOTS). Other listed recipients included Camp Allen ($1,450), GA Tech Scholarship ($1,000), St Thomas the Apostle ($1,000), and Christian Community Service Center ($771).
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Karen Tellepsen, Howard T Tellepsen Jr, and Tom Tellepsen II as trustees.
Tellepsen Foundation's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Howard T. Tellepsen Jr.
Trustee Nominal
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Karen Tellepsen
Trustee Nominal
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Tom Tellepsen II
Trustee Nominal
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 Tellepsen Foundation
How much does Tellepsen Foundation give each year?
Tellepsen Foundation gave $15K across 13 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $25K across 6 grants.
What is Tellepsen Foundation's typical grant size?
Tellepsen Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $1,152, across 13 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Tellepsen Foundation that year got $1K on average.
Where does Tellepsen Foundation give grants?
Tellepsen Foundation gives mostly in Texas: 92% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Georgia (7%). The most frequent recipient cities were Houston, TX (9 grants).
Does Tellepsen Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 13 grants with a stated purpose on Tellepsen Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Religious Activities" (6 grants) and "Educational Activities" (3 grants).
Who are Tellepsen Foundation's largest grantees?
Tellepsen Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include St Martins Church ($3,500), Kappa Kappa Gamma Fnow ($2,000) and The University of Texas ($2,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 50% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Tellepsen Foundation?
Tellepsen Foundation reported $339K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $15K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $8K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Tellepsen Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants supported organizations reporting religious, educational, civic, youth, and health activities. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Tellepsen 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 Tellepsen Foundation's EIN?
Tellepsen Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 74-1176983. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Tellepsen 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
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS January 13, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS August 4, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 22, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 10, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 13, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open
Figures come from Tellepsen 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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