Earl C Sams Foundation Inc
Corpus Christi, TX · EIN 74-1463151. Reported 187 grants totalling $2,970,089 to 110 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Earl C Sams Foundation Inc did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $15,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $170,500. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Zoological Society Gladys Porter Zoo | Brownsville, TX | $442,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Texas State Aquarium | Corpus Christi, TX | $400,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Driscoll Children's Hospital Development Foundation | Corpus Christi, TX | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Texas Foundation | Austin, TX | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Coastal Bend Community Fund | Corpus Christi, TX | $80,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Warrior's Weekend | Corpus Christi, TX | $80,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hill Country Daily Bread Ministry | Boerne, TX | $70,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hidden Forest PTA | San Antonio, TX | $63,800 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Corpus Christi Metro Ministries | Corpus Christi, TX | $62,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Band Parents Winston Churchill High School | San Antonio, TX | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Corpus Christi Pregnancy Center | Corpus Christi, TX | $47,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fryderyk Chopin Society of Texas | Corpus Christi, TX | $42,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| 1 Hope for Kids | San Antonio, TX | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Agape Ranch | Corpus Christi, TX | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Messiah Ministries Inc | Fredericksburg, TX | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Mission of Mercy Inc | Corpus Christi, TX | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Univ Tx Rio Grande Valley Foundation | Mcallen, TX | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bonton Farms | Dallas, TX | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Camille Players Inc | Brownsville, TX | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Corpus Christi Hope House | Corpus Christi, TX | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| New Life Refuge Ministries | Corpus Christi, TX | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| American Cancer Soceity Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi, TX | $29,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Corpus Christi Literacy Council | Corpus Christi, TX | $27,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Charity League Inc | Corpus Christi, TX | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Foster Angels of Sotuh Texas' | Corpus Christi, TX | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind | Corpus Christi, TX | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Timons Ministries | Corpus Christi, TX | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| South Texas Botanical Gardens Nature Center | Corpus Christi, TX | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Ecf Community Center | Corpus Christi, TX | $23,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Art Museum of South Texas | Corpus Christi, TX | $22,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Veterans Assisitance Dogs of Texas | Kerrville, TX | $22,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Friends of the Port O'connor Library | Port Oconnor, TX | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Majesty Outdoors | Corpus Christi, TX | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Peewees Pet Adoption World | Corpus Christi, TX | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Port Oconnor Comm Center Assoc | Port Oconnor, TX | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sea Turtle | South Padre Island, TX | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Special Olympics Texas Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi, TX | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Moody Clinic | Brownsville, TX | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Winston Churchhill High School Charger Band | San Antonio, TX | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Meeker Classic Sheep Dog Championship | Meeker, CO | $17,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Sabinal Alumni | Austin, TX | $16,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Ut MD Anderson Cancer Center | Houston, TX | $16,289 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Triple Me Mac Equine Sanctuary | Bulverde, TX | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| American Heart Association Inc | Austin, TX | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas | Corpus Christi, TX | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Childrens Museum of Brownsville | Brownsville, TX | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Christus Spohn Health System Dev Fndn | Corpus Christi, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Citizens for Educational Excellence | Corpus Christi, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra | Corpus Christi, TX | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Discovery Camps Inc | San Antonio, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Foster Angels of South Texas Foundation | Corpus Christi, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Friends of the Ark Inc | Port Aransas, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Port O'connor Community Service Club | Port Oconnor, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Young Life in Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi, TX | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Grow Local South Texas | Corpus Christi, TX | $14,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Texas A&m-Cc Foundation | Corpus Christi, TX | $13,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Aransas Pass for Youth Inc | Aransas Pass, TX | $11,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Agape Harbor | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Billy T Cattan Recovery Outreach | Victoria, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Broken Chains | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Children's Coalition of Aransas County | Rockport, TX | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Communities in School Coastal Bend | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Corpus Christi Education Foundation | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Corpus Christi Symphony Society | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cross Roads United Methodist Church | Houston, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Daily Bread Ministries | San Antonio, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Family Upreach Dba New Life Ministries | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Galveston Bay Foundation | Kemah, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Headwaters at Incarnate Word | San Antonio, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mission 911 | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Open Hands Community Charitable Services | Donna, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Peewee's Pet Adoption World and Sanctuary | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Region III Education Services | Victoria, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| South Texas Literacy Coalition | Edinburg, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tennis Success Inc | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation | Dallas, TX | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Timon's Ministries | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Youth Odyssey | Corpus Christi, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| CASA of the Coastal Bend | Corpus Christi, TX | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi, TX | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Environment Texas Research & Policy | Austin, TX | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Gloria Hicks Elementary School | Corpus Christi, TX | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Nature Conservancy | San Antonio, TX | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Texas Diaper Bank | San Antonio, TX | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| International Crane Foundation | Baraboo, WI | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Joe Joe Bear Foundation | Katy, TX | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Art Center of Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Asian Cultures Museum of Texas | Corpus Christi, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Asian Cultutres Museum of Texas | Corpus Christi, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cc International Seamans Center | Corpus Christi, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chosen Care | New Braunfels, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cibolo Center for Conservation | Boerne, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Coastal Bend Wellness Foundation | Corpus Christi, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Comal County Conservation Alliance | Canyon Lake, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Family Counseling Center | Corpus Christi, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Gladney Center for Adoption | Fort Worth, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | Lake Jackson, TX | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Rockport Art Association | Rockport, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| San Antonio Bay Partnership | Victoria, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Texas State Museum of Asian Culture | Corpus Christi, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Moonlight Fund | Bandera, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| West Side Helping Hand | Corpus Christi, TX | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of the History Center | Fulton, TX | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Gladys Porter Band Boosters | Brownsville, TX | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Laredo Life Center | Laredo, TX | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Nueces County Juvenile Justice Volunteers Inc | Corpus Christi, TX | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nueces County Medical Society Alliance | Corpus Christi, TX | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Humane Society of Aransas County | Fulton, TX | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Incarnate Word Convent | Corpus Christi, TX | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
49 of 110 (45%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 47%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Valley Zoological Society Gladys Porter Zoo
ZOOFARI 2024 & GENERAL SUPPORT - Texas State Aquarium
CAPITAL FUND WILDLIFE RESCUE - Driscoll Children's Hospital Development Foundation
SAVING CHILDREN AND HEART DISEASE - University of Texas Foundation
GRANT FOR DR NAMBIAN PF RESEARCH - Corpus Christi Metro Ministries
FIVE INTERRELATED PROGRAMS - Warrior's Weekend
WARRIOR'S WEEKEND FISHING TOURNAMENT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 98 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | $619,500 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 45 | $832,000 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 49 | $742,000 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 49 | $776,589 | $10,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
99% of its giving went to organizations in Texas. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $10,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Texas.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Earl C Sams Foundation Inc's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 101 N Shoreline Blvd 500, Corpus Christi, TX, 78401. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 74-1463151 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.