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The Terry Foundation

HOUSTON, TX EIN: 31-1551093 Website

The Terry Foundation is a private foundation and scholarship provider headquartered in Houston, Texas. Established in 1986 by philanthropists Howard and Nancy Terry, the Foundation is the largest private scholarship provider in Texas. The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation with a focus on providing scholarships and developing future leaders through higher education.

Financial Overview

From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$433.1M

+0.5% YoY

Annual Giving

$22.5M

+15.3% YoY

Grant Count

13

-7.1% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$1.7M

+24.1% YoY

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

Mission & Focus Areas

Mission: The Terry Foundation's mission is to develop future leaders of Texas through access to education.

Vision: To create a community of educated leaders who utilize their talents to strengthen the state of Texas and impact the world.

The Foundation identifies Texas high school graduates and transfer students who demonstrate promise of future leadership distinction. Selection criteria include demonstrated history of involvement in activities, outstanding scholastic achievement, demonstrated financial need, and a well-rounded personality marked by a desire to succeed.

Core Pillars: Terry Scholars are challenged to achieve excellence in:

  • Scholarship
  • Leadership
  • Service (to their university, the State of Texas, and the world)
  • Community (building fellowship and mutual respect among scholars)

Grantmaking

The Terry Foundation provides scholarships to students attending 13 Texas public universities. Recent grant activity includes:

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The Foundation focuses exclusively on Texas, providing scholarships to students at public colleges and universities throughout the state.

Grant Distribution by State

1states

States

Cities

ArlingtonAustinCollege StationDentonEl PasoGalvestonHoustonHuntsvilleLubbockRichardsonSan AntonioSan Marcos

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Assets: $431,033,653 to $433,055,126 (2023-2024)

Annual Giving: $19,486,374 (2023)

Total Revenue: $30,403,403 (2024)

Total Expenses: $28,388,044 (2024)

Employees: 13 to 43 staff members

Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$16M$32M$48M$64M20202021202220232024
Metric202420232022
Total Assets$433,055,126$431,033,653$440,209,331
Revenue$30,403,403$17,821,609$23,941,988
Expenses$28,388,044$27,462,893$23,641,625
Qualifying Distributions$26,308,190$23,792,499$19,466,003
Net Investment Income$27,977,716$10,790,855$18,959,804
Distributable Amount$24,164,160$24,626,458$24,502,742

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$6M$11M$17M$22M14 grants202013 grants202114 grants202214 grants202313 grants2024

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2024

Texas AM University$4.1MThe University of Texas …$3.7MThe University of Texas …$2.2MThe University of Houston$2.0MThe University of North …$1.8MThe University of Texas …$1.6MTexas Tech University$1.6MThe University of Texas …$1.6MTexas State University$1.5MTexas Woman's University$1.1M

Grant Size Distribution

68 grants across all recorded years

3<$50K2$50–100K2$100–250K2$250–500K11$500K–1M48$1–5M$5M+

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

No grants recorded for .

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

Key executives include:

  • Rhett Campbell, Chief Executive Officer
  • Uyen-ngoc Le, Executive Director
  • Mattin Rastgar, President
  • Ed Cotham, Chief Investment Officer
  • Kristin Eschbach, Chief Investment Officer
  • Blair Abernathy, Chief Financial Officer

Compensation Overview

From 2024 IRS filing

Kristin K EschbachCIO$423KYvonne R MoodyPresident/CEO/Director$373KBlair AbernathyCFO/VP/Treasurer/Sec$248K

From 2024 filing

NameTitleHoursCompensation
Yvonne R MoodyPresident/CEO/Director40$372,536
Brian G YarbroughChair/Director1
Blair AbernathyCFO/VP/Treasurer/Sec40$247,999
Kristin K EschbachCIO40$423,480
Brian K CarrollDirector0.75
Kathryn E FlowersDirector0.75
Scott A GrassDirector0.75
Brandy C HortonDirector0.75
Dr Elizabeth R KeelerDirector0.75
R Carter Overton IIIDirector0.75
Kim A PekarDirector0.75
Randall B SkilesDirector0.75
Bonnie R SoutherlandDirector0.75
Jeffrey C StichlerDirector0.75

Recent News & Activity

Recent developments and announcements

2025

The Foundation announced the selection of 2025 Terry Scholars, continuing its ongoing commitment to supporting outstanding Texas students pursuing higher education at participating public universities.

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Subject Areas

Focus areas based on grantmaking activity

Related Funders

Similar funders by location and focus area

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

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