Money in the bank

Houston sinks to No. 9 among charitable cities, but is the list accurate?

Houston philanthropists have long kept well-padded the wallets of myriad non-profits, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that The Daily Beast has ranked our hometown at No. 9 in its recently-released list of the "25 Most Charitable Cities."

We beg to differ: With Houston's roster of Fortune 500 companies, robust cultural scene and vibrant socially-minded non-profits, this city ranks much higher when it comes to charitable citizens. And considering that we've triumphed over the recession better than some of those ranked above us (Kansas City, Portland), we can't help but call this slick slideshow into question.

To conduct its study, the Beast probed 2006 to 2008 data from The Foundation Center to determine which city's foundations donate the most dollars per year on average. Tax data from 2004 to 2006 compiled by the National Center for Charitable Statistics was also taken into consideration to determine where households donate the most per year, based on cents-per-dollar earned of adjusted gross income. Lastly, the reporters interpreted which cities have the most yearly volunteers per capita with 2007 to 2009 data provided by VolunteeringInAmerica.gov. The Beast believes this three-prong approach provides an equitable view of how the rich, the middle class and volunteers impact charity.

Not so fast, Beastie: According to non-profit Charity Navigator, Houston has one of the healthiest and most effective charity markets in the country, moving to second place from third last year. That ranking considered levels of expenses, fundraising efficiency, revenue growth, total assets, contributions and privacy policies at the large charities in the 30 biggest cities around the country. Houston ranked second for having above-average standards in almost every category, showing special strength in revenue growth, total contributions, and percentage that administrative expenses take from a charity.

To gain insight on Daily Beast's spin, we spoke with Carrie Moffitt, CEO of Volunteer Houston, the city's largest clearing house for volunteerism. She explains,

We don't do a very good job of telling the rest of the nation just how much charity we do, both volunteering and contributions. Nobody is recording it — instead, everybody has their own circles where they're doing good, so it's hard to get a complete picture of what happens. For that reason, we sometimes get ranked down the road nationally since none of us have our act together."

Indeed, the Daily Beast's set of statistics may not match up to what really goes on in Houston.

"I'm always skeptical about these national statistics," says Moffitt. "They're aggregated facts, and I don't think they're necessarily true. I can tell you that one-quarter of a million visitors use our website each year to locate volunteer opportunities."

She also cites the large number of non-profits and that we have the nation's largest churches, with effective charitable branches.

"It seems that charity is built into the life of everybody here," she adds. "It's expected to do service. Everybody feels the need to contribute."

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protect the prairie

Endangered Houston-area prairie welcomes visitors at new center

The Indiangrass Preserve Welcome Center after renovation

Photo courtesy of the Coastal Prairie Conservancy

The new Indiangrass Preserve Welcome Center offers plenty of chances to learn Texas ecology

Visitors to Waller now have a better venue to learn about the important ecological benefits of the Texas coastal plains thanks to the new Indiangrass Preserve Welcome Center, which opened April 10.

The new welcome center is part of a large-scale expansion of the preserve that recently added 221 acres formerly used by Three Oaks Farm, bringing the total area to 20,000 protected acres. Located at 31975 Hebert Road in Waller, the welcome center will be a programming hub offering information and educational documents and artifacts to view during operating hours. In the future, it will host workshops, prairie walk, tours, and lunch and learns. Part of the renovations includes a new bird blind so that visitors can observe coastal plain birds. A list of upcoming events can be found at the Indiangrass Preserve website.

Previously, the land the building housing the welcome center was used by Dow Chemical as a testing facility for pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer, with the building itself serving as a research office. The Coastal Prairie Conservancy declined to share the overall cost of refurbishing the welcome center, but said the renovation was made possible through the support of "generous donors and partners who believe in expanding access to the Katy Prairie." They acquired the site in 2002.

"The coastal prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America, with less than 1 percent of its original habitat remaining," a spokesperson for the Coastal Prairie Conservancy tells CultureMap. "What exists today is both rare and incredibly valuable. Ecologically, prairies support a remarkable diversity of life, from native grasses and wildflowers to migratory birds along the Central Flyway. Their deep root systems build healthy soils, store carbon, and allow the land to absorb and hold large amounts of water. This natural function helps reduce flooding, filter pollutants, and recharge groundwater.

"For people, these benefits are tangible. Healthy prairies improve water quality, reduce flood risk for surrounding communities, and support working lands like ranching and rice farming."

Preservation of the Texas coastal plains is an increasingly important ecological undertaking. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says that man-made climate change has endangered the coastal plains through rising temperatures and sea levels. They estimate that sea levels could increase 17 inches by 2100, which would convert many coastal plains to open water, destroying them ecologically.

parks openings indiangrass preserve welcome center