The Greater Houston Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) will honor Benny Agosto, Jr. ’95 and his wife Nichole in November with the 2025 Maurice Hirsch Award — the highest recognition given by the AFP-Greater Houston.
They will be recognized Nov. 12 during the AFP’s 2025 National Philanthropy Day Awards luncheon the Bayou City Event Center. Benny earned his J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law Houston in 1995 and serves on the law school’s board of directors.
South Texas College of Law Houston nominated the Agostos for this prestigious philanthropy award, which recognizes individuals or families with a proven record of exceptional generosity and meaningful impact. Co-nominators were the University of Houston Law Center, Houston Christian University, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The Agostos donated $4 million-plus toestablish South Texas Law’s Agosto Justice Center for Leadership and Empowerment, which is dedicated to expanding diversity and developing leaders in the legal profession. They have challenged the center to be a think tank, a place of community conversation, and a source for transformative action in the legal community. Benny serves on South Texas Law’s board of directors, and the couple remains active with the center. They also created the law school’s Marina and Bernardino Agosto, Sr. Award.
“Benny and Nichole exemplify a generous spirit and an unwavering commitment to community, justice, and education at South Texas Law and throughout the Houston community,” said South Texas Law President and Dean Rey Valencia. “The financial and servant-leadership impact of Benny and Nikki’s combined efforts across Greater Houston is tremendous, and the organizations they choose to support with their time, talent, and treasure are widely diverse — impacting every corner of the Greater Houston region and people from all backgrounds and walks of life.”
As managing partner at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz, and Stogner, Benny is recognized as a leader in the legal community and is known for his commitment to justice. Nichole is a Realtor® with Compass, whose mission is “to help everyone find their place in the world.”
The Agostos often say the overarching theme of their lives is, “We are blessed. We want to be good stewards of those blessings, which includes giving back… doing all we can to enhance and serve our community.” The couple has contributed millions of dollars and many hundreds of hours of service to Houston’s three law schools, six universities, the homeless community, underserved children, emerging Hispanic leaders, undergraduate minority students, the legal community, and a local public library — among other worthy causes.
Benny has focused much of his legal career, his leadership, and his charitable gifts to help change the face of law to become more diverse and to support diversity in all its forms across the community. The impact can be seen in the law firm he leads; in classrooms, law firms, and courtrooms across the city; and in the lives of individuals who have been inspired to fight for justice — or assisted in their fight for justice.
While neither Benny’s nor Nichole’s parents went to college, their parents taught them anything is possible through faith, hard work, and determination. Benny earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from Houston Christian University, took graduate courses at the University of Houston, and earned his J.D. degree from South Texas Law. Nichole earned her bachelor’s degree with honors from UH.
The Agostos give and serve because they are so grateful to their parents and family; to inspire others and shine the light on community needs; and to make a real impact on community and national challenges and in individuals’ lives.
Their generosity extends to many organizations, including South Texas Law, the Greater Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Emerging Leaders Institute, HCU, the UH Law Center, Texas South University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Cy-Hope, United Negro College Fund, Friends of the Aldine Public Library Foundation, Houston Bar Association/HBA Foundation — and at least 26 others.
When Benny and Nikki recognize there are no organizations or services to meet a particular problem, they innovate and create them. For example, serving as president of the Mexican-American Bar Association, Benny recognized the need for a mechanism to raise funds for scholarships. In 2006, he founded the MABA of Texas Foundation. With Benny as president, the foundation has since raised more than $500K for scholarships for Hispanic students attending Houston’s three law schools.
Benny served as president of the Houston National Bar Association and co-founded the HNBA’s Legal Education Fund. The Legal Education Fund is the HNBA’s only 501©(3) charitable organization, raising money to give 100% of its contributions toward minority scholarships. The HNBA is a nonprofit that represents the interests of Hispanic legal professionals. Through the HNBA Foundation, Benny co-founded the HNBA Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy.
“We are touched and humbled to receive this special honor, especially recognizing that Houston is such a generous city full of very philanthropic families,” Benny said. “Nichole and I hope the impact we make will continue well beyond our lifetimes.”
