Mission:
The Houston Endowment is a private philanthropic foundation that enriches communities by supporting a broad spectrum of charitable organizations. The communities served may be as small as an inner-city neighborhood or as large as the entire state of Texas. The Endowment also supports diverse groups of people who form communities around a common interest or cause.

Purpose of Site:
The Endowment's recently redesigned Web site provides information about its history, board and staff, and grantmaking activities. It also provides instructions to prospective grantseekers about how to apply for funding.

Background:
Houston philanthropists Jesse and Mary Gibbs Jones established the Endowment in 1937 to support the city's growth. During the Endowment's first full year of operation in 1938, it donated $14,687, including $11,285 for schools and colleges. By 1948, the Endowment was contributing more than $200,000 each year to a variety of charitable organizations.

By the mid-1950s, the Endowment owned buildings and businesses in Houston, Fort Worth, and New York City. To meet the requirements of the Tax Reform Act of 1969, it began selling the businesses and buildings and investing the proceeds in securities. The sale of the Houston Chronicle newspaper to the Hearst Corporation in 1987 completed that effort. The Endowment now has assets worth approximately $1.3 billion.

Home Page:
The Endowment's home page greets visitors with a message about its mission. The navigation toolbar across the top of the page directs visitors to Web pages within four main categories — About Us, Grants, Scholarships, and Contact Us. Users can move a mouse over those headings to see links to more specific information.

Outstanding Feature:
The searchable grants database on the Endowment's site is thorough and easy to use. To reach it, users select the Search option from the Grants heading in the main toolbar. Users can search by organization name to see all grants awarded to a specific organization since the Endowment was established in 1937. The search page also allows users to generate lists of organizations that have received grants since 1998 by program area or category. The lists include grant recipient and funding purpose, year approved, total grant amount, and the amount allocated during the year.

Honorable Mention:
The Grants section of the site also includes Grant Profiles for a number of programs funded by the Endowment. The profiles are organized by program area and include project histories, photos, and plans for the future.