Moody Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Moody Foundation supports physical rehabilitation, historic restoration, children’s issues, environment, social services, and arts education in Texas.
IP TAKE: The Moody Foundation was originally designed to support charitable causes in Galveston but has expanded to consider organizations in Austin, Dallas, and other Texas cities now too.
PROFILE: Established in 1942, the Moody Foundation is the foundation of William Lewis Moody Jr. and his wife, Libby Shearn Moody. With roots in Galveston, Texas, William Moody made his fortune by building newspapers, ranches, hotels and the American National Insurance Company, which formed the basis of the foundation’s assets. The Moody Foundation began operating on a larger scale in 1960 when William’s estate was transferred to the foundation and grantmaking spread throughout Texas. Early grants included disaster relief for the 1947 Texas City chemical explosion, the Galveston Historical Foundation, Shearn Moody Plaza, Galveston Island Musicals, and the Transitional Learning Center. Grantmaking areas of interest include physical rehabilitation, historic restoration, children’s issues, environment, social services, and arts education.
Grants for K-12 Education, Public Health and Access, Science Research, Arts and Culture, and Community Development
The foundation board meets four times per year to consider new grant awards. Most of this funder’s grants are for one-year periods; however, it does occasionally award grants for two or three years of support. Past grantees include the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, Gleanings from the Harvest for Galveston, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, and Hill Country Ride for AIDS. Approximately 41 percent of grants go to community and social causes with 27 percent to education, 20 percent to health and science, and 12 percent to the arts, humanities and religion.
Most Moody grants are approximately $25,000 each. However, some grantees, such as Moody Garden for example, has received multiple grants in the millions of dollars. In 2021, Moody donated $100 million to Rice University to build a new student center, and in 2023, Moody committed $1 billion toward education in Texas. Review the foundation’s recent grants page to learn about past grantees. Grantmaking is limited to Texas, with a primary emphasis on foundation-initiated projects in Galveston. Other geographic areas of focus are Austin, the Greater Dallas Area, Houston, San Antonio, Beaumont, Lubbock, and Abilene.
Important Grant Details
The Moody Foundation accepts unsolicited letters of inquiry at any time of the year from nonprofits. Funding decisions may take up to six months from inquiry submission. To get in touch with either the main Galveston or the Dallas extension office, send an email to info@moodyf.org or complete the online form with general questions. The Galveston office’s phone number is 409-797-1500, and the Dallas office’s phone number is 866-742-1133.
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