Moody Foundation

Moody Foundation

The Moody Foundation was established in 1942 by William Lewis Moody Jr. and Libbie Rice Shearn Moody. Their wealth originated in finance and insurance through Moody National Bank and related entities. Descendants continue to serve as trustees and officers, preserving family oversight of the endowment. Grant activity targets education, health, and social services inside Texas. The foundation maintains a 5.2 percent allocation to private equity and owns real assets including Moody Gardens valued at $300 million and Shearn Moody Plaza. It also holds minority interests in Gal-Tex Hotel Corporation properties such as the Menger Hotel. Geographic reach stays concentrated in Texas with selected support for institutions such as the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin. The organization employs 18 professionals at its Galveston headquarters. It maintains separate but related vehicles including the Mary Moody Northen Endowment and the Moody Endowment. In October 2024 the foundation sponsored the Philanthropy Southwest Annual Conference. Stakes in Moody National Bank and Moody Medical Research Institute remain under direct foundation ownership. Family trustees occupy the principal governance seats, with Frances Moody-Dahlberg serving as chairman and CEO. This structure separates philanthropic decision-making from operating businesses such as the 2022 sale of American National Insurance Company to Brookfield Reinsurance. Legal counsel has been provided by Greer, Herz & Adams LLP for decades.