JAMES S MCDONNELL FAMILY FOUNDATION
Annual Giving
$15.3M+80% YoY
Grants
33
Median Grant
$90K
Organizations Funded
45
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Foundation Overview
Mission
The James S. McDonnell Foundation envisions a thriving St. Louis region where inclusive growth elevates shared prosperity and quality of life. Our mission is to invest in organizations and initiatives working to improve economic mobility for St. Louisans facing the starkest disparities in four essential areas: workforce, small & midsize businesses, wealth building & wealth protection, and civic infrastructure.
Focus Areas
Grant Types
Funded Initiatives
Recent grants include $824,917 to St. Louis Public Radio for program modeling dialogue across divides (December 2024), $637,000 to WEPOWER and partners for early childhood education research and community development (February 2025), support for Guaranteed Basic Income program providing $500 monthly to 540 households. Other recent recipients: Invest STL, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, North Star Community Partners, Paraquad Inc., St. Louis American Foundation, St. Louis Community Foundation, University of Missouri-St. Louis.
How to Apply
Foundation encourages potential partners to reference background information before submitting proposals. Unable to respond to every message due to high volume. For fastest response regarding electronic applications or program guidelines, send email to help@jsmf.org. Contact: info@jsmf.org, 314-721-1532.
Does Not Fund
Applications must be sponsored by qualifying Section 501(c)(3) institutions. Collaborative awards will not be awarded for large program-project style research proposals. Scholar Awards are one-time support - once received, not eligible for another Scholar Award. Applications failing to meet guidelines will be eliminated from consideration.
Based on publicly available information from the foundation's 990 filings and website.
Giving History
$15.3M
Grants
33
Median
$90K
States
12
$8.5M
Grants
40
Median
$25K
States
13
$8.0M
Grants
40
Median
$20K
States
13
Grant Size Distribution
$90K
Typical Grant (Median)
$10K
Smallest
$20K
25th Pctile
$200K
75th Pctile
$5.8M
Largest
Excludes grants ≤ $5K. Half fall between $20K and $200K.
Largest Recent Grants
$5.8M
2024
STL LIFE SCIENCES PROJECTS
MO · GENERAL SUPPORT
$3.0M
2024
DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER
MO · GENERAL SUPPORT
$2.0M
2024
ST LOUIS TEACHER RESIDENCY
MO · GENERAL SUPPORT
$1.8M
2024
MO BONTANICAL GARDENS
MO · GENERAL SUPPORT
$577K
2024
ST LOUIS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
MO · GENERAL SUPPORT
Geographic Focus
Top states by total grant dollars. Based on IRS filing data.
Financial Overview
Grants paid shown as percentage of total assets
Data sourced from IRS 990 and 990-PF filings and publicly available foundation websites. Grant data, financial figures, and organizational details reflect historical filings and may not represent current operations or funding priorities. Verify directly with the foundation before applying. See an issue? Let us know.