# H. E. Butt Foundation

H. E. Butt Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Kerrville, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Kerrville, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Kerrville, Texas, United States
- **Founded:** 1933
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** hebfdn.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/h.e.-butt-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The H. E. Butt Foundation was established in 1933 by Howard Butt Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth, whose grocery business ultimately became the Texas powerhouse H-E-B. The foundation is deeply interwoven with the Butt family: current leadership includes President and CEO David Rogers, his wife Deborah Butt Rogers as trustee, and H-E-B CEO Howard Butt III among the trustees. The foundation blends its faith-based operating mission with an investment program that targets venture capital opportunities. The foundation's strategy centers on venture capital, with its investment committee drawing direct family involvement from Jeffery Butt and Patrick Crawford. While its portfolio composition remains private, the structural posture—a charitably focused foundation running an independent VC allocation alongside a large operating mission—echoes the hybrid model of a family office more than a conventional endowment. Its geographic focus stays tethered to Texas through both mission-driven programs and its real asset holdings. The investment committee marries family continuity with operational assets across Texas. The foundation maintains separate offices in Kerrville and San Antonio alongside its vast Frio River Canyon property, with programmatic arms including Laity Lodge Foundation and The Congregational Collective extending its footprint into community programming. The foundation's archives and the Cody Center Collection further anchor its institutional presence in the state. The foundation's structural differentiator lies in its dual identity: it is simultaneously a charitable operating entity serving vulnerable communities across San Antonio and the Hill Country and an investment vehicle allocating to venture capital. The governance architecture—family-run, with H-E-B leadership embedded at the trustee level and investment committee—creates a tight loop between the grocery fortune's ongoing operations and the foundation's long-term deployment decisions.

## Sectors

- Venture Capital

## People

- David Rogers — President and CEO
- Deborah Butt Rogers — Trustee, VP/Secretary Treasurer
- Howard Butt III — Trustee; CEO of H-E-B
- Stephen Butt — Trustee; President of Central Market
- Patrick Crawford — Member of the Investment Committee
- Jeffery Butt — Member of the Investment Committee

## Questions

### Who sits on the investment committee at the H. E. Butt Foundation?

The investment committee includes Patrick Crawford, son-in-law of David and Deborah Rogers, and Jeffery Butt, son of trustee and H-E-B CEO Howard Butt III. This structure embeds both generational family governance and direct H-E-B leadership into the foundation's allocation decisions.

### How is the H. E. Butt Foundation different from the H-E-B Grocery Company?

The foundation is legally distinct from H-E-B Grocery Company but shares deep historical and family ties. Trustee Howard Butt III serves as H-E-B's CEO, and trustee Stephen Butt runs its Central Market division, creating a governance overlap that does not constitute legal entanglement.

### Does the H. E. Butt Foundation allocate solely to venture capital, or does it have a broader investment mandate?

The foundation's current known investment strategy is concentrated in venture capital, though its full allocation is not publicly disclosed. Its dual identity as an operating foundation—running camps, retreats, and community programs—means its asset base must also support substantial ongoing charitable operations.

### Where does the H. E. Butt Foundation operate its charitable programs?

The foundation runs five primary programs—including camps and an outdoor school—on 1,900 acres in the Frio River Canyon near Leakey, Texas. It also maintains a convening complex in San Antonio and engages communities in the Texas Hill Country through affiliated entities like Laity Lodge Foundation.

## Related profiles

- [H-E-B Investment and Retirement Plan Trust](https://altss.com/profile/h-e-b-investment-and-retirement-plan-trust)
- [H.F.I.A.W. Local No. 32 - Pension Trust Fund](https://altss.com/profile/h-f-i-a-w-local-no-32-pension-trust-fund)

---

Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/h-e-butt-foundation

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology