About the Foundation
Who We Are
The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation exists to steward in perpetuity the vision and values of its founders who believed: “from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected” (Luke 12:48).
Buoyed by their Christian faith, the McNairs believed their gifts were meant to be shared. So they worked to bless others with the opportunities that shaped their own lives: a good education, a strong community to raise a family, access to vibrant cultural arts, the promise of new and better medical treatments, and a hand up when you’ve been knocked down. These were fundamental to their own prosperity and they relished passing these gifts on to others.
The Foundation embraces the example of Christian stewardship modeled by its founders – through its giving, the management of its assets, and the values it seeks to promote.
Janice and Bob McNair
Like most proud Houstonians, Bob and Janice McNair weren’t born here. They arrived in 1960 with two babies and $700 to their name. The city was teeming with big ideas and industrious newcomers. Houston's first professional football team, the artificial heart pump and the space station would arrive in short order. For a young family ready to plant roots, Houston augured a good life.
The story of Bob and Janice began just a few years earlier, at a freshman orientation dance on the Columbia College campus. Bob was a freshman at the nearby University of South Carolina where he played basketball and would later become student body president. Janice was Miss Columbia College, an official distinction bestowed upon student leaders. The couple married their junior year and moved to Houston three years later. By 1964 they had four children and an auto leasing business.
Civic leadership, as it turned out, was a habit of character for them both. Bob coached the church league's youth football and Janice served as Brownie troop leader. Together, Janice and Bob were the inaugural PTA co-presidents of the newly opened Stratford High School in the Spring Branch Independent School District. From the outset their lives were rooted in faith, family, philanthropy and football.
Bob started several businesses during these years, though none produced enough capital to survive. On the verge of bankruptcy in the early 1980s, Bob started an energy cogeneration company. His entrepreneurial persistence paid off. By the time he sold it in 1999, Cogen Technologies was the largest privately held cogeneration company in the world.
As the McNairs' success grew, so did their investment in the community. Their wish for Houston was that it would "continue to grow and prosper, creating education and economic opportunity for all," as Bob stated in one of many public appearances. Their other wish for Houston was a professional football team (the original team having left after the 1996 season).
On the latter, Bob applied his signature entrepreneurial determination. Poised to award the 32nd NFL franchise to Los Angeles, the league had to pivot when Bob brought to the table $700 million and a commitment from Harris County to build a new stadium. In 2002, the Houston Texans took the field.
The McNairs' commitment to making Houston a world-class city expanded far beyond the gridiron. Philanthropic investments in medical scientists bolstered the city's human capital. Contributions to universities, museums, parks and theaters ensured access to education, art, music and connective experiences. Support of youth development and neighborhood renewal programs invigorated communities. Funding for human services spoke to their heart for neighbors who needed a hand up.
Landmarks throughout Houston and the Carolinas pay homage to the couple's investment in their communities: McNair Campus at Baylor College of Medicine, McNair Hall at Rice University’s Jesse Jones Graduate School of Business, McNair Asian Elephant Habitat at the Houston Zoo, United Way’s 2-1-1 Center, McNair Gallery and McNair Education Court at the Museum Fine Arts Houston, the Houston Texans YMCA, McNair Hall and McNair Plaza at Houston Christian University, the McNair Foundation Jogging Trail at Discovery Green, McNair Urban Farm at Pro-Vision Academy, the McNair Institute for Entrepreneurism and Free Enterprise at the University of South Carolina and McNair Field in Forest City, North Carolina - to name a few.
Despite prolific evidence to the contrary, much of the McNairs' giving occurred without permanent recognition. When Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area in 2017, the McNairs immediately committed $3 million to relief and restoration efforts. When a gunman attacked the Mother Emanuel church during a Sunday service in Charleston, SC, the McNairs quietly paid for the funeral arrangements of all nine victims. In total, the McNairs gave more than $500 million to philanthropic endeavors during their lifetimes.
Their giving tells the story of a couple who believed in the value of education, who embodied Houston's can-do character and who ascribed to its mantra of resilience in the face of hardship: we take care of each other. Through The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation (1988), The Robert and Janice McNair Educational Foundation in North Carolina (1989), and the Houston Texans Foundation (2001), the story of Bob and Janice lives on.