About the Foundation

The Texas-based Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation (CGMF), with offices in Austin and The Woodlands, is a grantmaking foundation that seeks innovative, sustainable solutions for human and environmental challenges. The foundation works as an engine of change in both policy and practice in Texas, supporting high-impact projects and practices at the nexus of environmental protection, social equity, and economic vibrancy.

Since its incorporation in 1978, the late George P. Mitchell and Cynthia Woods Mitchell, and the foundation, have distributed or pledged an estimated $900 million in grants to myriad causes, programs, and institutions.

As the foundation has evolved, issues related to sustainability have come to represent the foundation’s true north, with the growing identification of sustainability as both a process and a goal to ensure long-term human and ecosystem well-being.

The Texas-based foundation currently lends its voice to the ongoing dialogue and debate in several sustainability-related grantmaking programs, focused in the state of Texas, including Clean Energy, Galveston, Land Conservation, Mitchell Innovation Lab, Sustainability Education, Subsurface Energy, and Water.

The foundation also operates an almost 6,000-acre ecological preserve, Cook’s Branch Conservancy, and makes grants related to other issues and organizations that reflect the legacy, values, and vision of Cynthia and George Mitchell.

For decades before their passing, Cynthia and George Mitchell planned to leave most of their wealth to charity. When George signed the Giving Pledge sponsored by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates, he made public their long-held private intent that the majority of their wealth would be donated to philanthropic initiatives. The foundation is dutifully and purposely committed to carrying out George and Cynthia’s philanthropic legacy—supporting the issues and organizations that reflect their values and vision. 

Updated information about grantmaking priorities and how to apply for a grant are available on this website.  

Vision, Mission, and Values

Vision: The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation envisions a future in which human societies flourish in harmony with a thriving natural environment.

Mission: The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation seeks innovative solutions for human and environmental challenges. The foundation works as a catalyst for high-impact initiatives at the nexus of environmental protection, social equity, and economic vibrancy.

Values: The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation is guided by the principles of social responsibility, respect for the individual, reverence for the natural environment, and intolerance of prejudice as expressed in the lives of its founders. Their leadership—characterized by innovation, collaboration, creativity, and a passion for knowledge— guides our pursuit to foster a more just and sustainable world.