Greater Houston Community Foundation Announces Recipients of Inaugural High-Impact Grantmaking Initiative

Investing $500,000 in Transformative Community Initiatives to Enhance Economic Mobility

HOUSTON, TX (February 11, 2025) – Greater Houston Community Foundation (Foundation) is proud to announce the recipients of the inaugural High-Impact Grantmaking initiative, a recognition and catalytic investment of $500,000 in grants to elevate organizations that propose innovative and impactful approaches to advancing economic mobility within Harris County. As one of the three pillars of the Foundation’s Community Impact efforts, the investment is made possible through the Foundation’s High-Impact Grantmaking initiative, which underscores the power of collective giving among dedicated donors to make a transformative investment in efforts that will have outsized impact for years to come.

Grant investments were made in Connective ($200,000), Prison Entrepreneurship Program ($200,000), and Grameen America ($100,000). These organizations boast a proven track record of measurable impact and are pioneering innovative solutions to address root causes and systemic issues within our community for even greater effect.

“This is the ideal moment for an investment in these nonprofits, as they stand on the precipice of scaling their impactful work,” shared Steve Maislin, President and CEO. “True transformation occurs when resources are coupled with strategic support and collaboration. The Foundation is committed to adding value beyond the check—by amplifying their efforts, forging valuable connections, and convening essential partners. Together, we can enhance their reach and deepen their impact in the community.”

The selection process for this year’s finalists has been characterized by collaboration, insight, and mission-driven discussions, centered around the Community Grants Advisory Committee—14 diverse and experienced leaders committed to addressing systemic issues in our community. By utilizing data-driven insights, the Committee analyzed community needs and nearly 300 applications from local organizations proposing innovative economic mobility solutions. After thorough reviews and site visits that provided firsthand insights, the Committee narrowed the submissions down to three impressive organizations to recommend to the Foundation’s Board for their innovative strategies to enhancing economic mobility in Harris County.

Connective: Public Benefits Hub 

Connective transforms social services into a more connected, empathetic, and accessible system. With this $200,000 investment, Connective will continue its Public Benefits Hub pilot through 2025, providing a one-stop-shop for low-income families in Harris County to access essential public benefits like food assistance, health coverage, and utility bill aid. By partnering with community-based organizations and leveraging technology, Connective will screen over 2,250 households and support at least 450 households to apply for benefits, track progress, and stay connected to the social service ecosystem. This initiative empowers families to increase their income, reduce poverty, and achieve economic mobility, breaking down silos and creating a sustainable, equitable support system.  

Grameen America: Expansion in Houston

Grameen America helps low-income entrepreneurial women build businesses to enable financial mobility. With this $100,000 investment, Grameen America aims to continue to expand its footprint and impact in Houston as a priority city, providing microloans to low-income women of color in Houston, along with financial literacy, education, and technical assistance for entrepreneurs to build skills and resource connections that help achieve long-term financial goals. In 2025, Grameen America’s second Houston Branch will distribute $30 million, serve 5,200 members, and provide 18,000+ hours of loan counseling, financial literacy, and small business education to assist low-income entrepreneurial women to grow family-supporting incomes through their businesses. 

Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP): Collider Program

PEP unites business executives and incarcerated individuals through entrepreneurial passion and servant leadership to transform lives, restore families, and rebuild communities. With this $200,000 investment, PEP will expand its Collider Program, a dynamic social and economic community center serving Houston’s returning citizens. This expansion will provide comprehensive reentry support, education, employment pathways, mentorship, business incubation, and access to capital – empowering 500 formerly incarcerated individuals and their families (impacting over 1,900 lives) to achieve lasting economic independence and break the cycle of poverty. 

“Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, we’re able to invest in organizations that are not only delivering measurable results but also transforming the systems that perpetuate economic inequities,” said Diana Zarzuelo, Vice President of Community Impact at Greater Houston Community Foundation. “By scaling innovative solutions and fostering collaboration, we can remove barriers to economic mobility and help children and families across Houston realize their full potential. This work is about more than funding—it’s about working collectively to create lasting change for generations to come.”

Sign up for the Foundation’s Insider Update Newsletter to follow the Foundation on this transformative journey, where every voice matters and every contribution makes a difference. By uniting our efforts, we can harness the power of collective action to drive meaningful change.

For more information about the Foundation’s community impact efforts, visit www.ghcf.org/community-impact. Together, we can build a legacy of hope and empowerment for generations to come.

The selection process for the High-Impact Grantmaking initiative incorporated a robust multi-level review process designed to ensure maximum fairness, transparency, and comprehensiveness in evaluating all submissions. The outcome of this process reflects the recommendations made by an independent Community Grants Advisory Committee. The recommendations put forth by the Committee were closely reviewed and approved by the Foundation’s Community Impact Committee and its Governing Board.

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About Greater Houston Community Foundation

For 30 years, Greater Houston Community Foundation (Foundation) has helped Houston amplify giving by convening philanthropic resources and knowledge to drive philanthropy in our community, distributing over $2.7 billion in grants at the direction of its donors since its inception. Through various charitable vehicles, including donor advised funds, the Foundation partners with donors to meet their objectives by supporting grantmaking, including providing programming, advising, and educational opportunities for donors to maximize their philanthropic impact. 

Greater Houston Community Foundation is widely considered to be the go-to partner for high-profile philanthropic partnerships in the greater Houston area, including major disaster relief initiatives through the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance, a philanthropic partnership with United Way of Greater Houston. The Foundation leads collaborations that support the well-being and vitality of Houston including Understanding Houston, a regional indicators partnership with the Kinder Institute for Urban Research that provides key data for philanthropists, business, and nonprofit leaders, to drive decision-making in important areas of investment in Houston including economic opportunity, housing, education, and more. Visit www.ghcf.org to learn more.