Houston leads the nation in citizenship applications 🇺🇸 Plus: Inside the push to build a stronger teacher pipeline

Houston's #1! A coordinated, community driven effort of non-profit partners has helped our region lead the nation in citizenship applications. Learn about this collaborative work in this month's issue of The Channel.
mailchi.mp/houstonendow...

How a historic Black hospital got a second chance YouTube video by Houston Endowment

Riverside Hospital has been part of Third Ward’s history for generations. After its closure left a gap in care and community identity, residents and leaders worked together to bring it back.

At Houston Endowment, we were proud to support this effort alongside community partners and Harris County.

When the artist is the subject: Why a regional survey matters now YouTube video by Houston Endowment

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uszm...

What makes an artist's life sustainable in Houston? Explore the intersections of art, culture, and community with us on our newest episode of Upstream.

Featuring voices from artists, data experts, and arts advocates. Episode link in the comments. #HoustonArtist #ArtCommunity

News | Houston Endowment is first philanthropy headquarters to… In late 2025, Houston Endowment received LEED Platinum Operations and Maintenance (O+M) certification—a distinction reserved for buildings that don’t just…

Learn more about this certification:

We went green and got platinum! Our office was the first philanthropy headquarters recognized with LEED Operations and Management (O+M) platinum certification.

Artists, raise your voice! The @FreshArts Greater Houston Artist Survey wants to know what it's like to live and work as an artist in Houston. Survey goes live Monday, Feb. 2.

Houston Endowment Inc - Program Officer, Education   Houston Endowment Inc. (the “Foundation”) is an organization known for its dynamic culture and team of talented individuals who are deeply committed to the Foundation’s mission of a vibrant region where all have the opportunity to thrive. We seek an experienced and collaborative professional to join our team as an Education Program Officer to help advance the Foundation’s postsecondary education strategy. The Program Officer will be a relationship-driven leader with strong project management skills and a demonstrated ability to achieve results through data-informed strategy and partnerships. They will manage a portfolio of grants and cross-sector initiatives aimed at improving postsecondary outcomes for Greater Houston. Working closely with institutions, nonprofits, workforce partners, and other stakeholders, the Program Officer will strengthen student support, improve transition and completion outcomes, and expand access to credentials of value, ultimately contributing to greater economic mobility across the Houston region. KEY RESPONSIBILITIESStrategy, Grantmaking, and Program Management· Manage a portfolio of postsecondary success grants, leading the full grant cycle, from early exploration and due diligence through monitoring and closeout, in partnership with the Program Director.· Conduct due diligence on potential grantees, including interviews, strategy alignment, and analysis of programmatic and financial information. · Monitor grantee performance; identify barriers to progress, surface actionable insights, and support partners in developing solutions and continuous improvement practices. · Collaborate with local and national philanthropic funders to align strategies, share learning, and identify opportunities for joint or complementary investments. · Prepare high-quality analyses, memos, presentations, and other materials for Foundation leadership and Board review. Partnership and Influence · Build and maintain strong collaborative relationships with institutions, nonprofits, government agencies, workforce partners, and other postsecondary stakeholders across Greater Houston and Texas.· Monitor state and federal policy developments in postsecondary education and workforce alignment, identify strategic opportunities and risks based on emerging research and partner feedback, and support partners in understanding and leveraging those opportunities. · Represent the Foundation at local, state, and national convenings and participate in cross-sector partnerships that advance postsecondary attainment and outcomes.  · Collaborate across Program teams to share insights, align grantmaking strategies, and identify intersections across portfolios. Knowledge and Learning· Stay informed about best practices, innovations, and policy trends related to postsecondary success, including advising, transfer, student support, and workforce alignment. · Synthesize and share insights with colleagues and partners to inform strategy refinement and strengthen collaboration. 

Know someone who’d be a great fit? Tag them in the comments below or reshare!

🚨 We’re Hiring: Program Officer, Education

We seek an experienced and collaborative professional to join our team as an Education Program Officer to help advance the Foundation’s postsecondary education strategy.

Beyond the bricks: Building community in Houston Freedmen’s Town On the edge of downtown Houston sits Freedmen’s Town: a historic neighborhood that was once the bustling epicenter of Black community and culture in…

Through education, partnerships with nonprofits, and support from funders like Houston Endowment, HFTC is poised to turn its preservation efforts into something greater, turning the neighborhood’s narrative into a long-term community-centered asset.

Bostic’s story, and that of her family’s, is one of many being preserved by Houston’s Freedmen’s Town Conservancy (HFTC) which works to honor the neighborhood’s past, while creating its vibrant future.

Jacqueline Whiting Bostic recalls her childhood home as “the party house,” but to the public, it’s known as the 1870 Reverend Jack Yates House. Though it now sits in Sam Houston Park, it was once part of the historic Freedmen’s Town neighborhood.

We are also incredibly grateful to Melanie Trent for her leadership as Board Chair from 2024-2025.

We’re pleased to announce Arshad Matin as our new Board Chair, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Matin has served on the Board of Directors since 2018 and will continue to provide oversight, guidance, and leadership to our organization.

Full report:  (more: https://f.mtr.cool/ykahvwchat
(4/4)

EPIC’s report also highlights the need for school districts and educator preparation programs to work together to make high-quality teacher preparation more financially accessible and to improve the quality of preparation through practice-based teaching experiences. (3/4)

By comparison, they are:
1) More effective at supporting students’ math and reading achievement
2) Rated higher by their school principals
3) More likely to stay teaching in Texas.

(2/4)

Research by the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC), illuminated data about teacher candidates who completed a residency program in Texas, compared with those who did not. (1/4)

Houston Endowment announces Elisa Villanueva Beard as Foundation’s… The Board of Directors of Houston Endowment today announced that Elisa Villanueva Beard has been selected as the Foundation’s seventh president and CEO,…

Villanueva Beard, the outgoing CEO of Teach for America (TFA), is a longtime Houstonian and nationally recognized education and nonprofit leader with more than two decades of experience guiding organizational growth and transformation. houstonendowment.org/insights-and...

The Board of Directors of Houston Endowment today announced that Elisa Villanueva Beard has been selected as the Foundation’s seventh president and CEO, succeeding Ann Barnett Stern. She will assume the role on March 30, 2026.

The initiative worked alongside community members to design pilot projects that could clear the way for more citizenship applications, and strengthened the network of participating nonprofits.

Strong partnerships make our work possible. Thanks to the many partners who came together to celebrate the collective successes of the Greater Houston Citizenship Project.

Community Colleges Get a Boost Toward Supporting Workforce Readiness - Houston Press John Spear Jr. had worked for more than 20 years in the transportation industry when he decided he wanted to change careers — a move that would require Houston Endowment recently distributed $5 million in grants to nine community colleges for workforce readiness programs.

These planning grants aim to equip community colleges with the tools, partnerships, and resources they need to ensure more students graduate and earn “credentials of value.” More:

With this vision, Houston Endowment has turned to local community colleges to lead the way, and provided $5 million to nine Gulf Coast schools and the Texas Association of Community Colleges.

“Every student deserves a clear, affordable path to a credential that leads to economic opportunity, August Hamilton, Program Director for Education, recently told the Houston Press.

Do artists have the supports they need to make a career in Houston sustainable? That's what Fresh Arts and
@smudataarts.bsky.social hope to uncover in the Greater Houston Artist Survey and why they've worked with the art community to shape the survey every step of the way.

That's why our partners, Fresh Arts and @smudataarts.bsky.social, sought artists' input about the 2026 Greater Houston Artist Survey during a recent town hall.

What does it take to create a thriving environment where artists can live and work? Collaboration and data.

Between panels and speakers, nonprofit professionals were invited to recharge and connect with others in the Common Good Corner, a lounge hosted by Houston Endowment.