Harry E Bovay JR Foundation
Houston, TX · EIN 76-0343221. Reported 104 grants totalling $8,209,570 to 62 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. Harry E Bovay JR Foundation 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 $10,002. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,525 and $50,000; the smallest was $984 and the largest $1,169,910. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bovay Scout Ranchshac | Navasota, TX | $2,799,792 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Philmont Scout Ranch | Cimarron, NM | $1,353,021 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Comm and Economic Development | Jackson, MS | $1,281,097 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Bevill State Community College | Fayette, AL | $678,980 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| University of Texas Foundation | Austin, TX | $300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Texas A&m Foundation | College Station, TX | $222,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Retina Research Foundation | Houston, TX | $210,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Jude Children's Research Hospital | Memphis, TN | $202,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Educator Grants | Jackson, MS | $157,301 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Joseph F Weldy Home for Children Inc | Winfield, AL | $114,300 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kansas Vouchers | Lawrence, KS | $103,979 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Directors Charitable Gifts | Topeka, KS | $61,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Washburn University | Topeka, KS | $46,467 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Northwest Georgia Council | Rome, GA | $42,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Emporia State University | Emporia, KS | $40,776 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Girl Scouts of San Antonio | San Antonio, TX | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Jayhawk Area Council | Topeka, KS | $38,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Chickasaw Council | Memphis, TN | $35,815 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Allen Community College | Iola, KS | $27,228 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Itawamba Community College | Belden, MS | $25,335 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Samaritan's Purse | Boone, NC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Westminster College | Fulton, MO | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sante Fe Trail Usd 434 | Burlingame Scranton, KS | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kansas State University | Manhattan, KS | $24,043 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wichita State Unversity | Wichita, KS | $23,587 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Black Warrior Council | Tuscaloosa, AL | $23,525 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Tunnel to Towers Foundation | Staten Island, NY | $23,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Kansas | Lawrence, KS | $21,416 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Girl Scouts of Jacinto | Houston, TX | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Girl Scouts of San Jacinto | Houston, TX | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Fort Hays State University | Hays, KS | $19,319 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Fndation | Staten Island, NY | $17,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation | Staten Island, NY | $16,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| West Alabama Children's Advocacy Center | Vernon, AL | $12,646 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Houlka Attendance Center | Houlka, MS | $10,115 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Christar International Inc | Richardson, TX | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Delta State University | Cleveland, MS | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Flint Hills Technical College | Emporia, LA | $9,639 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of West Alabama | Livingston, AL | $8,731 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| South Lamar Chamber of Commerce | Millport, AL | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Propst Memorial United Methodist Church | Houston, TX | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Christar International Inc | Richardson, TN | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| West Alabama Children's Advocay Center | Vernon, AL | $5,945 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of North Alabama | Florence, AL | $5,680 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Children - Central Oregon | Bend, OR | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mississippi State University | Mississippi State, MS | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Onramp | College Station, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sos Ministries | Bryan, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St Jude | Memphis, TN | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Salvation Army | Alexandria, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | Birmingham, AL | $4,900 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pleasant Hill Baptist Church | Houston, TX | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Ashcraft Trust Fund Two | Tuscaloosa, AL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| National Breast Cancer Foundation | Frisco, TX | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Washburn Technology | Topeka, KS | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Grand Canyon University | Phoenix, AZ | $1,949 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| American Majority Inc | Purcellville, VA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Center for American Liberty | Ashburn, VA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Alzheimer's Association | Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Heart Association | Memphis, TN | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mississippi Methodist Senior Services | Tupelo, MS | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Athens State University | Athens, AL | $984 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
25 of 62 (40%) 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 49%, 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.
- Comm and Economic Development
Grant - to support the mission of the organization - Philmont Scout Ranch
Grant- to support the mission of the organzation - Texas A&m Foundation
Grant - Harry E Bovay Jr. Foundation Symposium in Chemical Biology Endowment - St Jude Children's Research Hospital
Grant - Division of Cancer Survivorship - Bevill State Community College
Tuition Guarantee Program and textbooks in Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 - Retina Research Foundation
Grant - to support the mission of the organzation
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 42 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 | 13 | $1,227,197 | $56,904 |
| 2022 | 22 | $2,476,207 | $8,000 |
| 2023 | 39 | $2,236,430 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 30 | $2,269,736 | $11,002 |
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
44% 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.
Get funders for your state and cause by email
We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.
Unsubscribe in one click from any email. We never sell or share your address. To match on your organization and typical grant size too, keep a private profile.
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 $10,002. 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 Harry E Bovay JR Foundation'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: Po Box 1471, Houston, TX, 77251. 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 76-0343221 · 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.