Funders › Texas

Roger L and Laura D Zeller Charitable Foundation

San Antonio, TX · EIN 74-2610755. Reported 99 grants totalling $1,542,771 to 48 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$1,500median grant
$1,542,771granted, 2021-2025
48recipients, as named on its returns
56%of grantees funded again the next year
$771,017assets, latest filing

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. Roger L and Laura D Zeller Charitable 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.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $1,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $250 and $5,500; the smallest was $50 and the largest $335,850. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
36 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
29 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
11 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
10 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
6 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
2 grants
$100,000 and Up
5 grants

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.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
The University of Texas Health Science CenterSan Antonio, TX$536,474652025
Texas Biomed Research InstituteSan Antonio, TX$385,662552025
St Mary's UniversitySan Antonio, TX$267,050552025
San Antonio Zoological SocietySan Antonio, TX$118,750552025
Saint Mary's HallSan Antonio, TX$37,000552025
San Antonio Museum of ArtSan Antonio, TX$36,500442025
The DoseumSan Antonio, TX$34,720332023
First Presbyterian ChurchSan Antonio, TX$25,500552025
Hemisfair ConservencySan Antonio, TX$25,000112023
Ballet San AntonioSan Antonio, TX$20,000442025
Charity Ball AssociationSan Antonio, TX$18,500442024
Southwest School of ArtSan Antonio, TX$7,000552025
Texas Biomedical ForumSan Antonio, TX$6,770222025
Brisco Western Art MuseumSan Antonio, TX$3,305332025
Majestic Empire FoundationSan Antonio, TX$2,500112024
San Antonio Livestock ExpoSan Antonio, TX$2,000112021
Mcnay Art MuseumSan Antonio, TX$1,667112023
World Affairs CouncilSan Antonio, TX$1,500112021
Briscoe Western Art MuseumSan Antonio, TX$1,215222022
Judicail WatchWashington, DC$1,000112024
Old Saint Joe CemetaryWichita, KS$1,000112024
Texas Lutheran UniversitySeguin, TX$1,000112024
Ut Health Biggs InstituteSan Antonio, TX$1,000112025
Girls IncSan Antonio, TX$833112021
Catholic Association of Latino LeadersLos Angeles, CA$800222023
Manhattan InstituteNew York, NY$750222025
Manhattan Institute for Policy ResearchNew York, NY$750222022
The Land InstituteSalinas, KS$600222023
One Hundred Club of San AntonioSan Antonio, TX$500112021
Our Lady of Refuge Catholic ChurchEagle Pass, TX$500112024
San Antonio Cancer CouncilSan Antonio, TX$500222022
Hillsdale CollegeHillsdale, MI$300222023
Texas Public Policy FoundationAustin, TX$300222022
Cancer Therapy & ResearchSan Antonio, TX$250112021
Tunnel to Towers FoundationStaten Island, NY$250112024
Institute for Humane StudiesCharlotte, NC$200112024
Americans for AmericaAurora, CO$100112022
Bandera Fire & RescueBandera, TX$100112022
Christ Episcopal ChurchSan Antonio, TX$100112022
Friends of the EarthMerrifield, VA$100112024
National Parks ConservationWashington, DC$100112022
Pleasanton Young FarmersPleasanton, TX$100112021
St Judes Childrens HospitalMemphis, TN$100112023
Sul Ross State UniversityAlpine, TX$100112023
The Claremont InstituteClaremont, CA$100112023
Zion Lutheran ChurchOfferle, KS$100112021
Judicial WatchWashington, DC$75112021
MarbleseedSpring Valley, WI$50112022

21 of 48 (44%) 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 56%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 45 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.

Arts & Culture
12 grants
Education
8 grants
Religion
7 grants
Public & Societal Benefit
7 grants
Animal Welfare
5 grants
Science & Technology
2 grants
Environment
2 grants
Public Safety & Disaster Relief
1 grant

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202123$667,233$1,500
202222$211,010$425
202319$323,204$2,625
202421$197,634$1,000
202514$143,690$2,875

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

100% 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.

Texas
$1.5M
New York
$2K
Kansas
$2K
District of Columbia
$1K
California
$900
Michigan
$300
North Carolina
$200
Tennessee
$100

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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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund21 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc17 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc16 shared recipientsAmerican Endowment Foundation14 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust13 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program13 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $1,500. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Texas.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

Foundations funding education in TexasEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Roger L and Laura D Zeller Charitable 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: 111 West Olmos Drive, San Antonio, TX, 78212. 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 74-2610755 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.