# Houston Endowment

Houston Endowment is an Endowment / Foundation based in Houston, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Houston, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 3683 Willia Street, Houston, TX 77007, United States
- **Founded:** 1937
- **Assets under management:** 2420 (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** houstonendowment.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/houston-endowment

## About

Houston Endowment was established in 1937 by Jesse H. Jones, a Houston businessman and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and his wife Mary Gibbs Jones. The couple funded the foundation with wealth from real estate and media holdings. It operates as a nonpartisan private foundation with a permanent endowment that supports grantmaking focused on the Greater Houston region. The endowment follows a diversified model with exposure to public equities, fixed income, private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds. Confirmed holdings include TIFF Investment Management, EnCap Energy Capital and Silver Lake Partners. The foundation also maintains direct real estate ownership of its headquarters and an art collection of works by Houston artists. Geographic deployment stays within the United States, centered on Texas. The foundation employs Cambridge Associates as investment advisor and State Street Bank as custodian. It maintains memberships in the Council on Foundations, Philanthropy Southwest, and the Greater Houston Partnership. In October 2024 the foundation attended the Philanthropy Southwest Annual Conference. Leadership transition occurs in March 2026 when Elisa Villanueva Beard succeeds Ann B. Stern as president and CEO. The foundation's architecture ties grantmaking directly to the original Jones family mandate without external limited partners or performance fees. Board oversight by Arshad Matin and a small professional staff enforce geographic and programmatic concentration that distinguishes it from national foundations with broader mandates.

## Sectors

- Education
- Arts and Culture

## People

- Ann B. Stern — President and CEO
- Elisa Villanueva Beard — Incoming President and CEO
- Arshad Matin — Board Chair

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Houston Endowment?

Ann B. Stern served as president and CEO from 2012 through early 2026 with oversight of the endowment portfolio. Cambridge Associates acts as external investment advisor. The board chaired by Arshad Matin approves major allocations.

### How does Houston Endowment source proprietary deal flow?

The foundation commits to external managers including CF Private Equity, EnCap Energy Capital, and Silver Lake Partners rather than originating direct deals. It also holds public equity positions through ETFs such as VTI and SPY.

### Does Houston Endowment participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

The foundation participates in fund commitments through limited partner positions in private equity, venture capital, and energy funds. It also owns its headquarters building directly.

### What investment stages does Houston Endowment typically target?

The endowment model includes growth equity and venture capital exposure through external managers. It does not run its own early-stage or seed program.

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- [Landesverwaltung Fürstentum Liechtenstein](https://altss.com/profile/landesverwaltung-f-rstentum-liechtenstein)
- [Rockefeller University Endowment](https://altss.com/profile/rockefeller-university-endowment)

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

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/houston-endowment

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