Linda Houston Foundation
The organization is a private foundation focused on supporting various causes, primarily in the fields of education, arts, and community welfare. Its mission includes advancing the art of quilting, supporting academic departments at educational institutions, and enhancing cultural experiences through performances, such as those by symphonies and ballets. The foundation also demonstrates a commitment to community service by funding programs for youth in foster care and domestic violence education. It serves a diverse range of recipients, including educational institutions, arts organizations, and religious entities, reflecting a broad commitment to cultural and educational advancement.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
Mid-sized or local arts and education organizations, academic departments, quilting arts institutions, or community cultural groups that align with the foundation’s history of supporting performances, academic departments, and quilting-related work.
Good Fit
- • Projects tied to arts and culture (symphony, ballet, quilting) or academic department support.
- • Visible regional presence in the foundation’s recipient states (Midwest focus including MO and KS).
- • Organizational or program reputation that would surface the applicant to a preselection process.
- • Request sizes in the small-to-mid grant range (under ~$25K).
Geography
The latest year shows grants to organizations in five states (MO, MN, KY, CA, KS) with a multi-state footprint and a majority of dollars going out of the foundation’s home state.
Recipient Variety
The observed giving supports multiple independent recipients each year (11 distinct in 2022, 4 in 2023, 7 in 2024) with no strong evidence of an affiliated captive recipient set, even though dollars are concentrated among a few larger grants.
New Applicants
Behaviorally the foundation funded many new organizations (all seven grantees in 2024 were new and 50% were new in 2023), but the funder explicitly restricts awards to preselected recipients and provides no public application or contact route, so direct access for unfamiliar applicants is plausible but not openly available.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
