The Houston We Hope For: 2026 Community Impact Showcase
On January 30, we gathered to celebrate the progress Greater Houston Community Foundation has made through its Community Impact work and to highlight the potential we can accomplish together. At the Community Foundation, we meet donors where they are on their philanthropic journey and desired impact. And, we will always remain a donor-centric community foundation focused on making an impact in Houston. The Community Impact Showcase is the Community Foundation’s way of leveraging its platform to work in deep partnership with donors to amplify their generosity and move the needle on important issues facing Houston, including advancing economic mobility.
Table of Contents
- Three Pillars of Community Impact
- Community Impact Champions
- Economic Mobility in Houston
- Year Two High-Impact Grantmaking Finalists
- Investment with Us
- Tackling the Challenge Together
Three Pillars of Community Impact
At the Community Foundation, we believe that strategic philanthropy, collaborative leadership, and collective action are vital to keeping Houston a place of opportunity for generations to come. As a Community Foundation, our role is to support meaningful progress on essential issues in Houston. As we explored how to strengthen our impact, our community’s response and insights were clear: “What we heard is that there is no single institution or organization, no single leader, no single sector that can drive the kind of progress we hope to see in Houston. It requires all of us,” shared Steve Maislin, President and CEO of the Community Foundation.
With that in mind, a little over six years ago, the Community Foundation’s Board decided to expand how we show up for Houston through the three pillars of our Community Impact work.
Understanding Houston
The Community Foundation began its Community Impact journey by launching Understanding Houston in 2019. Understanding Houston is a data indicator project created in partnership with Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, helping our donors, nonprofit partners, and other community leaders understand the strengths and opportunities in quality-of-life issues impacting Houston’s most populous counties: Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery.
With more than 4,000 people briefed and 300,000 website users since its launch, Understanding Houston has informed funding decisions, philanthropic giving, nonprofit strategy, and more. 95% of survey respondents report directly applying our data and analysis in their work. Understanding Houston has also informed the Community Foundation’s transition from deeper understanding to action. First in disaster recovery and resilience, and most recently, in collaborative efforts to advance economic mobility.
Click here to learn more about how Understanding Houston measures what matters to do what matters.
Greater Houston Disaster Alliance
In 2023, the Community Foundation launched the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance, a strategic partnership with United Way of Greater Houston, building on over 45 combined years of servant leadership in local disaster philanthropy. JPMorgan Chase and Texas Mutual Insurance Company are the newest sponsors of the Disaster Alliance. Along with Phase 1 support from our Founding Sponsors Enbridge and Phillips 66, these additional gifts will allow the Disaster Alliance to continue and expand the work to accelerate disaster recovery, strengthen preparedness, and build resilience in the Houston region.
The Disaster Alliance also partners with City and County leaders and more than 100 nonprofit partners to accelerate disaster recovery, secure resources, and build resilience year-round between disasters. In 2024, our region faced two back-to-back disasters, and the Disaster Alliance raised over $9M from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals to support 35 nonprofit partners assisting more than 4,100 families on the path to recovery through financial assistance and home repairs. In addition, the Community Foundation shared that it is proud to be newly partnering with other leading community foundations across the Gulf Coast and the Gulf Research Program to build disaster recovery and resilience capacity across the broader region through a peer-to-peer network.
High-Impact Grantmaking
High-Impact Grantmaking is the newest pillar of the Community Foundation’s Community Impact work and was the primary focus of the Showcase. Our High-Impact Grantmaking initiative sources, invests in, and uplifts the most promising solutions and approaches that help Houstonians achieve upward mobility.
In 2024, our Governing Board approved $500,000 in grants to three incredible organizations driving meaningful progress in economic mobility across Houston. The Community Grants Advisory Committee, comprised of 11 community leaders, recommended our three inaugural grantees: Connective, Grameen America, and Prison Entrepreneurship Program. The Community Foundation has continued to support its inaugural grant partners beyond the initial check, resulting in an additional investment of almost $600,000 through introductions to peer funders, progress updates, and other promotional efforts.
And in 2026, thanks to the generosity of our Community Impact Fund donors, the Community Foundation will make a second $500,000 investment in one or two of its second-round finalists that were selected to present at the Showcase.
Community Impact Champions
These efforts would not be possible without the Community Impact Fund Founders Circle, the leading donors and early investors who helped the Community Foundation move in this strategic direction. This early investment in the Community Foundation provides a critical path to sustainability for the innovative work we are doing for Houston.
Additionally, thank you to our Community Impact Fund Growth Committee for their insights, guidance, and encouragement. The Growth Committee is a remarkable team that has championed these efforts for the Community Foundation, helping us to emerge among the leading community foundations across the country.
Our High-Impact Grantmaking initiative leveraged a Community Grants Advisory Committee across both cycles. Both groups have brought deep expertise across sectors and issue areas, providing invaluable thought partnership.
2025 Community Grants Advisory Committee
Steven Dow, Retired Nonprofit Executive
Oriana Durbin, Organized Decisions, LLC
Kate Dearing Fowler, The Jerry C. Dearing Family Foundation & Community Foundation Board Member
Adrienne Holloway, AMNY Consulting
Mark Martin, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston
Patrick Moreno-Covington, Rockwell Fund
Randi Sonenshein, Anti-Defamation League
Robert Thomas, Olivet Missionary Baptist Church & Olevia CDC
Don Titcombe, The Hackett Center for Mental Health at Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
Patty Williams-Downs, BreakingBounds
Diana Zarzuelo, Greater Houston Community Foundation
Click here to learn more about our inaugural Community Grants Advisory Committee.
Economic Mobility in Houston
Despite being one of the wealthiest, fastest-growing, and most diverse cities in the United States, Houston has been named the most impoverished major city in the nation. According to Understanding Houston, one in four children in Harris County lives in poverty, and nationally, one in three children born into poverty will remain there as adults.
Diana Zarzuelo, Vice President of Community Impact at the Community Foundation, reflected on her story about her upward mobility. Her path to Penn, Harvard, The White House, and now the Community Foundation consisted of more than just great instincts; it was a combination of hard work, philanthropy, relationships, and place. “Much of what we offer to people in poverty is one thing at a time, like education, financial assistance, emergency housing, or food. But that is not how upward mobility actually works,” Diana expressed. While many factors contribute to upward mobility, one truth is unmistakable: upward mobility requires conditions and resources that work together, not in isolation.
“In my own life, it wasn’t just a scholarship. It wasn’t just my parents’ grit. It was the combination of good schools, stable housing, strong peers, supportive adults, career exposure, and a community where those things came together early and compounded over time. That’s what we mean when we say place matters.”
Diana Zarzuelo, Vice President of Community Impact
Upward mobility doesn’t happen in pieces. It requires a holistic, comprehensive, and wraparound approach that provides stability, removes barriers, and aligns with the support families need to thrive.
Each of the four finalists at the Showcase have outcome-driven programs for upward mobility. All offering high-impact pathways to economic mobility in Houston through unique combinations of the following, coupled with holistic support:
- High-Quality Post-Secondary Education: High-quality schooling and opportunities for post-secondary credentials all correlate with higher earnings and improved lifetime outcomes.
- Place-Based Investments: Revitalizing low-income areas by transforming them into high-opportunity areas with mixed-income housing as a key cornerstone. Neighborhood attributes heavily influence upward mobility and opportunity levels.
- Workforce Training Opportunities: Connecting students to high-quality training that leads to high-growth, high-demand career solutions.
- Social Capital: Through intentional design, strengthening relationships across economic divides that support knowledge sharing, mindset shifts, and opening doors for people who might otherwise be overlooked in the workplace.
Year Two High-Impact Grantmaking Finalists
Each organization represents an evidence-aligned pathway to mobility, whether through high-quality workforce opportunities, holistic place-based approaches, or more seamless access to higher education. Collectively, they represent the kind of ambition Houston embodies.
BridgeYear & Good Reason Houston
BridgeYear is collaborating with Good Reason Houston. BridgeYear connects young people from low-income communities to higher-earning pathways that do not require a four-year college degree. Good Reason Houston is a collective action, cradle-to-career backbone organization that exists to accelerate progress within school districts and improve the quality of Houston’s public schools.
Mobility Pathway: Workforce training opportunities with holistic support.
Project: In collaboration with employers, BridgeYear is expanding its Career Cohort program to help recent high school graduates complete short-term certifications and gain employment with wraparound and peer support. The program connects young adults to high-growth, in-demand roles during the formative years of their career journey. Good Reason Houston will track program outcomes to build data that strengthen the region’s workforce ecosystem and attract additional philanthropic investment to Houston.
My Connect Community
My Connect Community (MCC) is a Houston-based nonprofit working to end intergenerational poverty in the Gulfton/Sharpstown neighborhood through place-based investments. As a member of the Purpose Built Communities network, MCC delivers integrated initiatives in education, health, economic development, and housing.
Mobility Pathway: Place-based investment that provides stable housing and holistic support.
Project: Connect Highstar + Workforce is transforming Gulfton/Sharpstown with housing, entrepreneurship, and workforce pathways for immigrant families. Anchored by a new mixed-income housing development, MCC offers Earn-to-Learn ESL and industrial sewing programs to help newcomer families overcome barriers and build long-term economic mobility.
NPower
NPower empowers young adults and military-connected individuals to thrive in the digital economy through transformative IT training, creating pathways to economic prosperity.
Mobility Pathway: Workforce training opportunities with holistic support.
Project: NPower’s Tech Fundamentals program turns untapped talent into Houston’s next generation of IT professionals. The program arms Houstonians with in-demand digital skills and industry certifications, unlocking access to high-wage tech careers. The 20-week tuition-free training prepares un/underemployed adults, women, and military-connected individuals for entry-level tech roles and apprenticeships with clear pathways for growth. NPower supports students with case management, professional development, networking, and career placement, and wraparound services to facilitate their success. Graduates receive life-long alum network support and opportunities to continue their training.
San Jacinto College Foundation
San Jacinto College Foundation lightens students’ financial burdens, providing scholarships and grants that change lives. Every dollar invested in the San Jacinto College Foundation helps students succeed and offers economic prosperity for local families and communities.
Mobility Pathway: Access to high-quality education with holistic support.
Project: The Promise at San Jacinto Scholarship administered through the San Jacinto College Foundation provides eligible high school graduates who live within San Jacinto College’s taxing district the opportunity to pursue higher education with tuition, books, and required supplies covered for up to three years. The program is designed to remove financial barriers and support student success. Students also receive access to advising, tutoring, mental health resources, and emergency assistance to strengthen persistence and completion. To remain eligible, Promise Scholars must enroll full-time, maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA, and meet all program deadlines.
Investment with Us
Attendees learned about four organizations doing transformational work to strengthen Houston’s youth and families—boosting income and well-being through access to higher education, hands-on training, game-changing relationships that open doors, and comprehensive, wraparound support. Everyone in the room was encouraged to support the organizations that presented.
“We know that each of the organizations we heard from tonight could use the full half-million available to great effect. However, currently we’ve pooled enough resources to invest $500,000 in just one or two of these organizations. For this reason, I want to invite you all to consider giving to one or more—or all—of the finalists you heard from tonight.”
Bob Harvey, Board Chair of the Community Foundation
Donor advised fundholders at the Community Foundation were encouraged to recommend grants for any of these finalist organizations through their funds, allowing the Community Foundation to capture data on the collective support these finalists receive.
Last year, with our inaugural grantees, the Community Foundation helped secure nearly $600,000 in additional investments from our fundholders and peer funders! The opportunity to secure additional investments is one more way the Community Foundation is offering individuals the chance to affiliate their generosity with aligned giving, allowing us to have greater impact together than we can alone.
Tackling the Challenges Together
The Community Foundation’s Community Impact work is, at its core, about people—donors, neighbors, and partners—uniting to tackle the challenges that demand shared commitment, innovation, and persistence. The Community Impact Fund donors make this work possible: powering our team, fueling high‑impact grantmaking, strengthening partnerships focused on economic mobility, and advancing critical initiatives like Understanding Houston and the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance.
As we look ahead, the Community Foundation will continue to serve as a catalytic force—connecting donors, nonprofits, and community leaders to create lasting change. With strategic, flexible giving tools such as recoverable grants, philanthropic loans through donor advised funds, and collaborative grantmaking opportunities—supported by robust education and due diligence—the Community Foundation helps Houston donors make meaningful progress on the issues that matter most to our region. Together, we are building a stronger, more resilient Houston for all.
To learn more about these initiatives—or explore how you can support this work—please contact us by calling us at 713-333-2200 or reach out directly. Together, we can expand opportunities and strengthen Houston’s future.
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