OVERVIEW: The Charles Butt Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to education, cultural, and health institutions.
IP TAKE: The foundation has been expanding its grantmaking in recent years, particularly in education. It prioritizes system‑level change, investing in teachers, school leaders, blended and personalized learning, and research‑informed solutions that can be scaled statewide.
Recent charitable disbursements have exceeded $10 million annually, while total assets remain relatively modest, indicating that the foundation operates largely as a pass‑through grantmaker rather than an endowment‑heavy institution.
The most realistic entry point is a referral from an organization already in the foundation’s network. Direct unsolicited applications are unlikely to succeed given this funder’s pre‑selected grantmaking model.
PROFILE: Established in 2001, the Charles Butt Foundation was founded by billionaire Charles Butt. It seeks to pursue “a more equitable and prosperous future for all Texans through education and community partnerships.” Charles Butt is the CEO of the Texas-based HEB chain of grocery stores and a Giving Pledge Signatory. Butt also oversees Charles Butt Philanthropies, a 501c4 he created in 2023. The foundation’s President Cody Huie holds an Ed.L.D. from the Doctor of Education Leadership program at Harvard University.
The Charles Butt Foundation is primarily focused on public education, with a strong emphasis on teachers, school leaders, and student learning outcomes. 990s also show grants to cultural institutions, higher education, mental health policy organizations, and select community institutions, though K-12 education remains the dominant focus.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
The Butt Foundation strongly supports education in the state of Texas.
- Its Statewide Programs include Raising Texas Teachers, Raising Blended Learners, and leadership development for school administrators, all aimed at improving public education statewide.
- Raising School Leaders develops strong Texas public school leaders by sponsoring principals and other educators to attend intensive leadership training at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, followed by ongoing professional development, networking, and a statewide community of practice focused on improving school outcomes.
- Raising Texas Teachers is a long‑term initiative that strengthens the Texas public teacher workforce by recruiting, rigorously preparing, and retaining effective teachers through scholarships, university partnerships, and ongoing professional support.
- Raising Blended Learners is a now concluded program that provided grants, technical assistance, and shared resources to help Texas school districts design, implement, and scale blended and personalized learning models to improve student achievement, particularly in schools facing persistent opportunity gaps.
- The Foundation’s Regional Initiatives invest in birth to career success, data informed community capacity, and solutions to pressing local challenges, including early childhood education and advocating for local, state, and federal initiatives to close the digital divide.
- Charles Butt created the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation to support and scale statewide public‑education initiatives; however, it merged with the Charles Butt Foundation in 2022. Its sister advocacy organization Raise Your Hand Texas continues to advance and advocate for public education statewide.
- Charles Butt committed $100 million to create a nonprofit leadership institute designed to provide training and continuing education to public school leaders in Texas called the Holdsworth Center, named for Butt’s mother, Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth.
- In 2020, Butt donated $1 million to establish the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice at Prairie View A&M University.
- Other past grantees include San Antonio Children’s Museum, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M San Antonio, and Our Lady of the Lake University.
Grants for Mental Health
In mental health, the Butt Foundation supports Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for Texas and The Menninger Clinic.
Grants for Community Development
Butt supports a limited number of community organizations each year, including the Texas Tribune, Texas Public Radio, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, and San Antonio Livestock Exposition.
Important Grant Details
Grants range from $5,000 to over $10 million. Grantmaking exceeds $10 million annually, but the foundation holds far less in assets.
- The Charles Butt Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.
- Direct questions to foundation staff via the Contact page.
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