Mary Louise Dobson Foundation
Wharton, TX · EIN 76-0690889. Reported 105 grants totalling $3,424,813 to 74 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. 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. Mary Louise Dobson 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 $15,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $6,500 and $25,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $375,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys & Girls Club-Greater Houston | Houston, TX | $649,360 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Greater Housto | Houston, TX | $375,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston | Houston, TX | $369,089 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Gh | Houston, TX | $368,250 | 2 | 1 | 2023 |
| Oakbend Medical Center | Richmond, TX | $191,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Wharton High School | Wharton, TX | $128,470 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wharton Isd | Wharton, TX | $122,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Just Do It Now Inc | Wharton, TX | $108,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Boys & Girls Club of El Campo | El Campo, TX | $74,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Team Wharton Inc | Wharton, TX | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Wharton County Junior College | Wharton, TX | $48,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Hesed House of Wharton | Wharton, TX | $47,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Gulf Coast CASA Inc | Wharton, TX | $40,900 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Stop Inc | Freeport, TX | $37,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Matagorda Episcopal Health Outreach | Bay City, TX | $37,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Boling District Improvement | Boling, TX | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls of Bay City & Matagorda County | Bay City, TX | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Matagorda County Crisis Center | Bay City, TX | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wharton Isd-Roar | Wharton, TX | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| St Philip the Apostle Catholic School | El Campo, TX | $27,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wharton Chamber of Commerce | Wharton, TX | $27,070 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Recovery in Jesus Recovery Center | Wharton, TX | $26,210 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Arc of Wharton | Wharton, TX | $26,028 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Texas Hearing Institute | Houston, TX | $25,422 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Billie H Jones Leadership Academy | Wharton, TX | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wharton Isd-Cis | Wharton, TX | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wcjc | Wharton, TX | $24,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Restoration City Inc | Hungerford, TX | $22,400 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northside Center in Ec | El Campo, TX | $20,650 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wharton Police Officer Association | Wharton, TX | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Wharton Lions Club | Wharton, TX | $17,981 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Caney Creek Conservation Foundation | Wharton, TX | $17,565 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wharton Isd-Advisor | Wharton, TX | $17,157 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Blessing Cup Storehouse | El Campo, TX | $15,350 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| 20TH Century Technology Museum | Wharton, TX | $15,141 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Ec | El Campo, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Matagorda County Birding Nature Conservation | Bay City, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Philip the Apostle Catholic Sch | El Campo, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wharton Citizens Police Academy Alu | Wharton, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wharton County JR College | Wharton, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wharton Youth Soccer Association | Wharton, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wharton Police Officer Academy | Wharton, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wharton Police Officer Assoc | Boling, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Girl Scouts of San Jacinto | Houston, TX | $13,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Scholarships for Wharton Ag Students | Wharton, TX | $10,700 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Palacios | El Campo, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boys Scouts 326 | Wharton, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Club-Palacios | Palacios, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Swag | Wharton, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Scholarships for Wharton Ag Students (swag) | Wharton, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wharton Babe Ruth Baseball | Wharton, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Faith Christian Academy | Wharton, TX | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Louise Isd | Louise, TX | $6,650 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Firl Scouts of San Jacinto Council | Houston, TX | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Girl Scout of San Jacinto Council | Houston, TX | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council | Houston, TX | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Heart Association | Houston, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Fumc-Small Blessings | Wharton, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pioneer County Store-Wcjc | Wharton, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pioneer Country Store | Wharton, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| St James Missionary Baptist Church | Wharton, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Scholarships for Wharton Ag | Wharton, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wcjc-Pioneer Country Store | Wharton, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wharton Rotary Charity | Wharton, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wharton Lion's Club | Wharton, TX | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Houston Brass Band | Houston, TX | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Plaza Theatre Inc | Wharton, TX | $2,920 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Friends of Wharton Texas Animal Control | Wharton, TX | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wharton Ag Department | Wharton, TX | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wharton Co Stray Pet Outreach Team | Wharton, TX | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Institute for Civility in Government | Houston, TX | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| 1ST United Methodist Church-Wharton | Wharton, TX | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Oak Bend Medical Center | Richmond, TX | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wharton Chamber of Commercece | Wharton, TX | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
18 of 74 (24%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 27%, across 4 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.
- Boys & Girls Club of Greater Housto
OPERATING EXPENSE/RENOVATIONS - Boys & Girls Club-Greater Houston
General Operating-Wharton Campus - Oakbend Medical Center
Wharton Campus elevatorqq - Wharton High School
ROAR Academy,Counselor position - Wharton Isd
Support for Community in schools counselors - Matagorda County Crisis Center
New location construction
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 40 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 | 12 | $646,491 | $17,995 |
| 2022 | 23 | $678,525 | $15,000 |
| 2023 | 26 | $789,727 | $18,990 |
| 2024 | 22 | $735,882 | $15,000 |
| 2025 | 22 | $574,188 | $12,850 |
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
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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 $15,000. 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 Mary Louise Dobson Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). 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 588, Wharton, TX, 77488. 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 76-0690889 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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