IP Briefing: What's Going on with Philanthropy in the Southwest?

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In a sentence: Philanthropy in the Southwest is dynamic and varied, with oil-rich families, recent transplants, and community foundations all playing their part. 

What’s going on

Philanthropy in the Southwest may not have the established roots of other regions, but the region’s philanthropic landscape is dynamic and varied, with oil-rich families who have been in the Southwest for generations giving alongside corporations that have recently relocated there, community foundations, and others. Our State of American Philanthropy report takes a state-by-state look at giving in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. 

While the Southwest is often defined in the popular imagination by its spectacular landscapes, the region’s physical environment gets little attention from regional philanthropy, which tends to focus on health and education. As in many regions, the biggest grants go to universities and hospitals. 

That said, there are some unique aspects of Southwest regional philanthropy. Rural, isolated, and Native American communities receive more philanthropic attention in the Southwest than in other U.S. regions. In New Mexico, arts organizations receive a substantial share of philanthropic support. 

The Southwest has experienced significant growth in population and business presence in recent decades, with people and companies moving to the region for its lower costs and, in many cases, lower taxes and minimal regulation. It will be interesting to watch how this affects the region’s philanthropy. 

By the numbers

The scale of philanthropy in Texas is vastly bigger than in the other states we looked at in this region. The top five institutional funders in Texas collectively gave about $2.2 billion from 2014 to 2018, according to data from Candid. For Oklahoma, that number was $632.4 million. Arizona, $471 million. And New Mexico, $91.9 million. This partly relates to population—Texas’ population is more than 7 times bigger than Oklahoma’s, and more than 14 times bigger than New Mexico’s. But Arizona has millions more residents than Oklahoma, and receives substantially less funding from institutional grantmakers. 

Key funders

There are some large private grantmakers based in the Southwest that give nationally or internationally, including Arnold Ventures, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation

Leading private foundations that are both based in the region and concentrate their giving in the region include, in Texas, the Kinder Foundation, the Houston Endowment, and the Moody and Brown foundations. Top grantmakers in Arizona include the Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, and the Vitalyst Health Foundation. In New Mexico, the McCune Charitable Foundation and the J.F. Maddox Foundation. And in Oklahoma, the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, William K. Warren Foundation, Mabee Foundation, George Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation

Several community foundations give substantially in the Southwest, including the Greater Houston Community Foundation, the Communities Foundation of Texas, and the Dallas Foundation. The Arizona Community Foundation gave more in the state than any other institutional funder from 2014 to 2018, according to Candid data. In New Mexico, the Santa Fe Community Foundation ranked number two in dollars given in that period. In Oklahoma, the Tulsa Community Foundation and the Oklahoma City Community Foundation are top funders. 

Prominent major donors in the Southwest include Charles Butt, J. Mike Walker, Sue and Lester Smith, Robert and Nancy Carney, Edward Bass, Horace and Ethel Steel, and Robert and Irene Flinn. In Oklahoma, the Green family is a philanthropic force, with a fortune derived from the Hobby Lobby store chain. 

STEM education and workforce development are priorities of corporate philanthropies in the region, such as the ExxonMobil Foundation. 

New and notable:

Food for thought 

“While institutional philanthropy often addresses educational needs in schools in the Southwest’s largest cities, communities in smaller and more remote parts of the Southwest say they have vast educational resource needs that go unmet.” — Alyssa Ochs, here.

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