The Brown Foundation is a grantmaking organization headquartered in and focused on Texas. While the majority of its grants are made to charitable and artistic organizations, it also provides large yearly grants to Planned Parenthood at the local and national levels.

History

The Brown Foundation was founded in the 1950s as the charitable fund of the Brown family, who made their money from the Brown and Root government contracting firm. ¹

Activities

The Brown Foundation focuses mostly on activities in Texas, although it has also been active in the broader southeast region, especially Arkansas and Oklahoma, and have even been involved nationally on some issues. ² While most of their activities can be described as philanthropic, with little political focus, the Brown Foundation has been a major donor, both regionally and nationally, for pro-abortion groups, especially Planned Parenthood. ² Between 2015-2017 the Brown foundation has given over $1,000,000 to national and regional Planned Parenthood organizations. ^{3 4 2}

Leaders

The director of the Brown Foundation is Ann Ziker. She formerly served in a number of leadership roles at YES Prep, a prominent Houston charter school. ⁵ Her predecessor as director, Nancy Pittman, received compensation totaling $633,894 in 2017. ² Other key leaders include grants officer Ryan Smith, formerly an executive at IDEA Public Schools, a major American charter school system. ⁶

1. Dingus, Anne. “Herman and George R. Brown.” Texas Monthly. August 01, 2000. Accessed August 01, 2019. https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/herman-and-george-r-brown/.
2. The Brown Foundation, IRS 990, 2017
3. The Brown Foundation, IRS 990, 2015
4. The Brown Foundation, IRS 990, 2016
5. Para, Jen. “Local Foundation Names New Executive Director.” Bizjournals.com. February 23, 2018. Accessed August 01, 2019. https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/02/23/local-foundation-names-new-executive-director.html.
6. Ziker, Ann. “Brown Foundation Staff Transition.” The Brown Foundation. Accessed August 01, 2019. https://mailchi.mp/c5ed249b8f18/brown-foundation-staff-transition.