Galveston

Our Mission

The Ippolito Charitable Foundation of Galveston is a primarily place-based foundation providing non-profit grants, funding and investment to improve the quality of life for people in Galveston, Texas focused on entrepreneurial and economic development, conservation, and historical preservation. In collaboration with other funders, the community and VisionGalveston, we seek to continue transforming Galveston into an exceptional place to live, work, raise a family, and visit for all socioeconomic groups and demographics, young and old.

Our Work

The Ippolito Charitable Foundation of Galveston is a primarily place-based foundation providing non-profit grants, funding and investment to improve the quality of life for people in Galveston, Texas focused on entrepreneurial and economic development, conservation, and historical preservation. In collaboration with other funders, the community and VisionGalveston, we seek to continue transforming Galveston into an exceptional place to live, work, raise a family, and visit for all socioeconomic groups and demographics, young and old.

Our Work

Here are a few of the organizations we support with this mission:

• Artist Boat
  
• Ball High School
  
• Better Parks for Galveston
  
• Boys & Girls Club of Galveston
  
• Catholic Charities of Galveston
  
• Children's Center
  
• CASA - Court Appointed Special Advocates
  
• Family Service Center of Galveston
  
• Galveston Arts Center
  
• Galveston Bay Foundation
  
• Galveston Chamber - Lemonade Day
  
• Galveston Children's Museum
  
• Galveston Community Orchestra
  
• Galveston County Food Bank
  
• Galveston Diaper Bank
  
• Galveston Historical Foundation
  
• Galveston Independent School District - various programs
  
• Galveston Humane Society
  
• Galveston Island Meals on Wheels
  
• Galveston Lifeguard Association
  
• Galveston Urban Ministries
  
• Galveston Immigrant Representation Project
  
• Galveston’s Own Farmers Market
  
• Grace Episcopal Church - Bell Tower Restoration
  
• Grand 1894 Opera House
  
• Holy Family Parish
  
• IWRITE
  
• Jesse Tree
  
• Justice Forward
  
• Little Red Box Grocery Store
  
• Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for Texas MDRT in Galveston County
  
• Moody Early Childhood Center
  
• NAMI Gulf Coast
  
• Nia Cultural Center
  
• Resource and Crisis Center of Galveston
  
• Rosenberg Library
  
• SER Jobs
  
• Smart Family Literacy
  
• St. Vincent’s House
  
• Sunshine Center
  
• Teen Health Center
  
• Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network
  
• Salvation Army of Galveston
  
• Trinity Episcopal Church - Eaton Hall Restoration
  
• Ronald McDonald House of Galveston
  
• Turtle Island Restoration Network
  
• United Way of Galveston
  
• Upward Hope Academy
  

IPPOLITO CHARITABLE FOUNDATION OF GALVESTON

Leadership

John C. Ippolito

John is the son of the Founder, Carlos Ippolito and assisted him in various aspects of running the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company in Galveston until the business was sold in 1993. Since then, John has been involved in numerous successful business ventures, and has continued to be involved in various organizations in Galveston. Currently, John serves on the board of directors for Moody Gardens and chairs that board’s investment committee.

Pepper Ippolito Ammann

Pepper is BOI (Born On the Island) and spent her childhood in Galveston. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Ippolito Charitable Foundation, and she is passionate about finding creative and innovative ways to invest and fund organizations that strengthen Galveston’s economy, community and non-profit sector. Additionally she is on the qualitative research team at a global investment firm based out of New York. In that role, Pepper identifies and engages industry professionals to assist with the firm’s fundamental due diligence efforts, working in conjunction with the firm’s public equity and private equity investment professionals to support investment idea generation and research. Pepper is also the founder and advisor for Texas-based digital media and events company, Tidbits Media Group.

Lee Ippolito Jurewitz

Lee is one of Carlos Ippolito’s granddaughters and worked as an attorney in California for more than 20 years prior to devoting her time to the work of the Ippolito Charitable Foundation. In addition to keeping track of the many administrative and legal issues involved in operating the Foundation, Lee is focused on serving as the Ippolito Charitable Foundation’s representative with respect to various collaborative efforts with other local foundations in Galveston. For several years, Lee has served on the board of the Galveston County Recovery Fund and the planning committee for the Galveston Roundtable of Foundations. Additionally, Lee was part of the group who founded VISION Galveston, in close collaboration with several other family foundations in Galveston, and currently serves on VISION Galveston’s Board of Directors.

MJ Ippolito Alvarado

MJ is BOI (Born On The Island) and granddaughter of Carlos Ippolito. Prior to her time with the Ippolito Charitable Foundation, MJ was an interior designer in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area. As the Grants Director for the Foundation, MJ oversees all aspects of the grants management process. She is focused on building strong working relationships with Galveston non-profits while executing grantmaking strategies that advance the Foundation’s mission. She is also actively involved in finding and researching potential new non-profits in Galveston that align with the mission of the Foundation. Additionally, MJ is a founding board member and serves as Vice-Chair of GLSEN Gulf Coast, an American education organization working to end discrimination and promote inclusion in K-12 schools.

Crys Ippolito

Crys joins her brother on the Board of Directors to continue her father’s legacy in Galveston. She enjoys learning new things about organizations helping the residents of Galveston. Crys is committed to helping her family work to impact the community where she has resided her entire life.

Grant Proposal Application Information

Our Story

The Ippolito Charitable Foundation is focused on benefitting the residents of Galveston and Galveston County, thanks to the charitable legacy of Carlos Ippolito.

The Ippolito Charitable Foundation is focused on benefitting the residents of Galveston and Galveston County, thanks to the charitable legacy of Carlos Ippolito.

Born in Beaumont, Texas in 1923, Carlos Ippolito (or “Ippy” as he was commonly known, and later “Big Ippy”), lived the majority of his life in Galveston and was a prominent member of the community. At the age of 19, he joined the United States Army and was eventually promoted to the rank of Captain. He earned numerous medals, including several Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart Medal, and the prestigious French “diplome” awarded by the Republic of France, for his participation in several important battles throughout the European and African Middle East Campaigns, including the liberation of Normandy.

After his service in World War II, Ippy returned to Galveston to work at the family business, the Galveston Dr. Pepper – 7 Up Bottling Company. In 1963, at the age of 39, Ippy assumed ownership of the business. Under his leadership, the business thrived and expanded its service area to include most of south Texas, and grew the company’s fleet of trucks to thirty. With the help of his wife, Dorothy (“Dotsy”) Thigpen Ippolito, and his son, he built a hugely successful, multi-million dollar business. He sold the company in 1993 and retired.

Ippy believed in giving back to the community that treated his family and his business so well over the years and served on various community and nonprofit boards until his death, including the Board of Directors for Moody National Bank (for twenty-two years), the Moody Endowment Board of Directors, the Shearn Moody Plaza Board of Directors, Board of Directors of the Transitional Learning Center, and the Colonel Museum (as President), among many other organizations. He was a member of several local fraternal organizations and supported several local churches during his lifetime.

Carlos Ippolito founded the Ippolito Charitable Foundation of Galveston in 2000 in order to continue his legacy of community service to the town he loved. Following his death in 2012, Ippy’s family members have continued to give back to the community of Galveston and the state of Texas through their involvement with the Ippolito Charitable Foundation of Galveston. Ippy’s son, John Ippolito, is now the President of the Foundation, while his granddaughters, Lee Jurewitz, MJ Alvarado and Pepper Ammann serve as the Foundation’s officers and sit on the Board of Directors. Ippy’s daughter, Crys Ippolito, also serves on the Board of Directors.

For the past 10 years, the Ippolito family has been focused on helping numerous non-profit organizations better serve the Galveston community through their robust grant program and participation in several capital campaigns and collaborative projects with other local foundations. In recent years, the Foundation has sought to expand the family’s community impact through project related investments and other innovative grant opportunities, as well as participation in collaborative organizations such as VISION Galveston and the Galveston County Recovery Fund. The Ippolito Charitable Foundation of Galveston continues to focus on important and impactful projects and programs in Galveston, and plans to continue these efforts for many years.