Eldorado Ballroom

In March 2023, the historic Eldorado Ballroom reopened to the community following an extensive rehabilitation and renovation led by Project Row Houses. Kinder Foundation provided a transformational gift of over $4 million to help restore this cultural treasure and social center so that it can continue to have a meaningful impact on the neighborhood and its residents.

MacGregor Park

For nearly a century, the 65-acre MacGregor Park along Brays Bayou in southeast Houston has served as a gathering and recreational space for many Houstonians. In December 2023, Kinder Foundation provided a $27 million catalyst gift to Houston Parks Board that will help restore, enhance and redevelop the park while maintaining its rich history and cultural significance.

Photo: Anthony Rathbun, courtesy of Houston Parks Board

Emancipation Park

The Foundation provided early funding for the renovation of Emancipation Park, one of Houston’s most historically significant parks, and in 2016, affirmed its commitment to quality greenspace for all Houstonians by granting the Emancipation Park Conservancy funding to further park programming and operations. Read about the rededication of Emancipation Park in June 2017 and more about Kinder Foundation’s grants to improve the park here.

Young Mothers Residential Program/Project Row Houses

A 2016 grant from the Foundation to the Young Mothers Residential Program at Project Row Houses affords young, single mothers with support to pursue their education and fulfill their career ambitions. The program provides a culturally rich environment in which residents develop healthy, holistic living practices and cultivate a sense of positive energy and self-worth.

Lawson Academy and Yellowstone Academy

Lawson Academy/WALIPP Preparatory Academy, a charter school encouraging the continued quality education of young students in the Third Ward, uses a creative academic curriculum focused on middle school students—growing a strong community, one scholar at a time. In 2016, Kinder Foundation committed a $1 million matching grant toward the capital campaign for the construction of the academy.

The Foundation also contributed a grant in 2017 to Yellowstone Academy, the premier Christian private school in the Third Ward serving pre-K3 through 8th grade students, to close its campaign and support the school’s overall efforts to offer its educational model to even more families. Read more about Yellowstone Academy.

Emancipation Economic Development Council

With $2.25 million in support from Kinder Foundation in 2016, the Emancipation Community Development Partnership has studied affordable housing, equitable economic development and ongoing community planning and set the stage for new investments and initiatives. The Foundation went on to commit funding in 2017 toward the Emancipation Economic Development Council’s (EEDC) seven “early impact projects” which include programs encouraging sustainable employment for local residents, feasibility of and reception to small affordable housing units, and other neighborhood improvement initiatives. In 2018, $500,000 of this grant was directed to the EEDC for first-year operating support as the organization begins work on several of the initiatives that were studied over the past two years, including the Emancipation Avenue Main Street program, a small business assistance program and an “anchor institutions” initiative that works with nearby universities and hospitals to hire Third Ward residents and small contractors.

PRH Preservation, Inc.

With initial funding of $2 million from the Foundation in 2018, Project Row Houses formed PRH Preservation, Inc. whose mission is to maintain and enhance existing buildings in Houston’s northern Third Ward to ensure long-term, safe, and affordable housing for its residents.

The Law Harrington Senior Living Center

In July 2019, Kinder Foundation announced a $1.5 million grant to the Law Harrington Senior Living Center to establish an affordable independent living center for LGBTQ-affirming seniors at 2222 Cleburne Street. The center, which offers 112 one-and two-bedroom apartments for low income seniors in the Third Ward, held its grand opening in 2021.

Blue Triangle

In 2018, Kinder Foundation awarded $100,000 to the Blue Triangle Multi-Cultural Association to help restore John Biggers’ 1953 mural “Contribution of Negro Women to American Life and Education,” which suffered damage during Hurricane Harvey. In December 2022, the Foundation granted $300,000 for renovations to the Blue Triangle Community Center, a registered Texas Historical Landmark and a symbol of community, service, and legacy in Third Ward.

University Village Pocket Park

In late 2021, Kinder Foundation granted $550,000 to Houston Parks Board in support of the University Village Pocket Park renovation. Designed from input from Third Ward community members, the 5,000 square-foot pocket park provides a play experience area including a rope swing, hopscotch court, and foursquare, and offers features like a walking trail and picnic tables. Other site enhancements include sidewalk improvements, fencing and lighting. The park was completed in summer 2024.

Other

Kinder Foundation has also provided financial support to Workshop Houston, Urban Harvest, and Lucille’s 1913.