Kinder Foundation

According to its website, the Kinder Foundation claims to focus its grantmaking on “projects and programs that enhance urban green space, education and quality of life in the Houston area.”  ¹ The group has also provided funding to left-of-center groups such as the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. ^{2 3}

Background

The Kinder Foundation was founded in 1997 by businessman Rich Kindler and his wife Nancy to provide funding and grant opportunities to “projects and programs that enhance urban green space, education and quality of life in the Houston area.”  ¹

Rich Kinder, as of June 2026, was chairman of the Kinder Foundation. He was the president and COO of Enron for over a decade before leaving in 1996 to co-found his own pipeline company in the following year. After a series of mergers, the company became Kinder Morgan Inc., of which Rich is the largest shareholder and executive chairman. Nancy, Rich’s wife, is the president and CEO of the Kinder Foundation. As of June 2026, Nancy was the founding chairman of Discovery Green Conservancy, chairman of the Downtown Park Corporation, president of the advisory board of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, a member of the executive committee of the Greater Houston Partnership, and a life member on the board of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Rich and Nancy Kinder have committed to donating 95 percent of their wealth to philanthropic causes.

The Kinder Foundation focuses on “transformational giving” in the Greater Houston Area and “making a significant impact on helping people realize a healthy and rewarding quality of life.”  ⁴

Grant Activities

Green Spaces

The Kinder Foundation financially supports green spaces in Houston, primarily parks, such as Memorial Park and MacGregor Park. In 2013, the Kinder Foundation pledged $50 million to support the City of Houston’s $100 million commitment to the Bayou Greenways project, which built 1.47 acres of green space in the city. ^{5 6}

Education

In 2010, the Kinder Foundation donated $15 million to Rice University’s Institute for Urban Research to form the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, which provides advocacy and research towards starting an “international discussion of emerging urban issues.” ^{5 2 3}

The Kinder Foundation helped finance the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University and the University of Virginia School of Architecture. ⁵

In 2016, the Kinder Foundation donated $7.5 million to the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, a public school, after which the school was renamed to the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. ⁷

In 2024, the Kinder Foundation donated $1 million in grants to Teach for America Houston, a teacher placement and training organization. ⁸

Quality of Life

The Kinder Foundation donates to projects to improve the “quality of life” for residents of Houston; these projects include museums, food banks, hospitals, monuments, and poverty relief services, like the United Way of Greater Houston. ⁵ In September 2021, the Kinder Foundation, along with other left-of-center grantmaking foundations, including the Ford Foundation, contributed $12.4 million to launch the BIPOC Arts Network and Fund to finance ethnic-minority community artists in Houston. ⁹

After Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in August 2017, the Kinder Foundation contributed $3 million to disaster relief efforts. ¹⁰

As of 2023, the Kinder Foundation contributed $54 million to support organizations dedicated to preserving the Third Ward neighborhood in Houston. ¹¹

Leadership

Rich and Nancy Kinder are the co-founders of the Kinder Foundation. Rich is the chairman of the Kinder Foundation as well as the founder and chairman of energy company Kinder Morgan, Inc. His wife Nancy is the president and CEO of the Kinder Foundation. She is also as the founding chairman of the Discovery Green Conservancy, and is chairman of the Downtown Park Corp. as well as the president of the Advisory Board for Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.  ¹