Charles Butt Foundation

Who we are

Our mission

The Charles Butt Foundation is pursuing a more equitable and prosperous future for all Texans through education and community partnerships.

Our vision

All Texas children and families live in vibrant communities supported by a world-class education system.

A growing organization focused on strengthening the future of Texas

The Charles Butt Foundation quietly supported regional community and philanthropic initiatives, particularly in San Antonio, for many years. Charles Butt also founded the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation to support statewide programmatic initiatives and provide grants to help identify, pilot, and scale systemic improvements in public education, and its sister organization, Raise Your Hand Texas, to pursue a public education policy and advocacy mission.

In 2022, the Charles Butt Foundation and the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation merged, bringing their complementary programmatic and grant-making pursuits under the Charles Butt Foundation banner, while Raise Your Hand Texas remains committed to its public education advocacy mission.

We believe …

We believe a well-educated public is critical to an engaged citizenry, vibrant communities, and a strong workforce and economy. That’s why we work at both the statewide level and in close collaboration with regional organizations to pinpoint where opportunities exist to improve or advance their efforts for greater impact.

The Charles Butt Foundation mission and vision are brought to life through:

Statewide Programs

Regional Initiatives

Research

Storytelling

Our Values

The Charles Butt Foundation team operates with a commitment to integrity above all else. All of our work embraces and reflects a spirit of fairness, openness, and transparency. 

We are equity-driven and strive to remove systemic barriers and build just systems for those whom we serve and support. 

Our work, from our statewide programs and regional initiatives to research and storytelling, is dependent on deep collaboration and partnership. Our relationships are defined by working WITH stakeholders, not doing TO. 

Achieving the very best for the children, families, and communities of Texas requires a relentless pursuit of excellence. It requires courage, persistence, and continuous learning and improvement, based in high-caliber research, innovative ideation, and constant creativity.