How Houston’s charities stack up
Houston has always been a giving place. But last year, when Hurricane Harvey swamped the Bayou City, devastating property and personal lives, the city and nation outdid themselves in terms of giving. For example: In the year ending Dec. 31, 2017, the Greater Houston Community Foundation took in $367 million in donations, after people far and wide opened up their checkbooks for the organization, which served as the administrator for the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, created by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett in the storm’s immediate aftermath.
The foundation easily raised more funds than any other charity in the area, according to the Better Business Bureau, with its income in 2017 totaling the same amount as the sum of the second- and third- biggest fundraisers. As a result, the foundation’s total assets ballooned to $757 million in 2017, up 18 percent from the previous year.
But you won’t find it on Charity Navigator’s Top 10 list of highest-ranked charities in Houston. That’s because while the BBB uses paperwork obtained directly from the charities, Charity Navigator waits for data from the IRS for its analyses, and it has not yet received information about the foundation for 2017. That, plus the fact that the organization wasn’t eligible to be rated in previous years, when the income streams were much smaller, and the foundation didn’t meet the threshold to earn a rating.
“Obviously that data has changed now,” said Sara Nason, head of consumer innovation and engagement at Charity Navigator. This means there will likely be a score available next year. But there’s no way to tell yet whether it would crack the Top 10 list, shown here, which includes charities with the highest share of income going directly to programs and services.
Charity Navigator did not conduct its annual survey of most generous cities — in which Houston has landed in either the top or No. 2 spot for the last three years. In light of the amount of charitable giving directed at Hurricane Harvey recovery, the non-profit evaluator conducted a study on hurricane recovery that can be found at charitynavigator.org.