The Dennis M. Jones Family Foundation concentrates its philanthropy in St. Louis-area community and education initiatives, favoring direct service nonprofits that address youth opportunity and neighborhood needs. Its largest gifts support local K–12 alternatives and workforce-readiness programs, along with community recovery and emergency response. Grants are few but substantial, often made repeatedly to the same organizations, indicating sustained partnerships with select local providers.
A defining feature of the Dennis M Jones Family Foundation Formerly Dennis & Judith Jones Char Fd T is its repeated support for the same local organizations over multiple years. Connections to Success received $360,000 in both 2023 and 2024, while Lift for Life Academy and The Gathering also appear with large awards in consecutive years. That pattern points to a funder that uses substantial grants to sustain a small set of direct-service partners rather than spreading gifts broadly across many causes. The foundation’s recent giving reaches charter and alternative K–12 education, workforce readiness for underserved youth, neighborhood stabilization, foster care support, food access, and emergency response. Several of the largest awards go to St. Louis-area organizations, including Lift for Life Academy and the Foster Care Coalition. Other recipients show a willingness to back civic and human-services work beyond one narrow program area, with grants to American National Red Cross and International Medical Corps alongside community-based groups. Its grantmaking is large relative to the number of awards listed, and the recipients often operate in direct service roles tied to students, families, and residents in need. The result is a profile centered on concentrated, multi-year support for practical community services.
In education, the foundation gave $310,000 in 2023 and $300,000 in 2024 to Lift for Life Academy, a charter and alternative K–12 school in Saint Louis. That kind of repeated support also fits the foundation’s broader interest in youth opportunity. Workforce readiness is another clear theme. Connections to Success received $360,000 in both 2023 and 2024, indicating sustained backing for career-entry supports serving underserved youth. Neighborhood and human-services grants appear as well. The Gathering received $280,100 in 2023 and $250,000 in 2024, while the Foster Care Coalition and its Greater St Louis successor entity also received sizable awards across the two years. The foundation also funded emergency response, including a $350,000 grant in 2023 and a $232,500 grant in 2024 to American National Red Cross.
$3.8M
$43.8M
$7.2M
$4.6M
Most grants fall between $25K and $125K, with a median of $75K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$75K
75th Percentile
$125K
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Concentrated giving: a small number of large grants, frequently repeat awards to the same local organizations, demonstrating multi-year or ongoing support rather than one-off small grants.
Notable grantees: Connections to Success, Lift for Life Academy, The Gathering / The Gathering Inc, American National Red Cross
Typical awards are substantial: the grant-size distribution shows a 25th percentile of $25,000, a median of $75,000, and a 75th percentile of $125,000. The recent list also includes several larger outliers well above that range. Grantmaking is concentrated rather than diffuse, with repeated awards to the same organizations across 2023 and 2024. The foundation is classified as a regular funder and does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
Grant recipients are overwhelmingly in the United States, with 63 grants and 100.0% of the listed recent awards going to U.S. organizations. The foundation gives most often in Tennessee by grant count, though its grants also cluster heavily in Missouri; 79% of grants go to recipients in Missouri. City-level concentration is visible in St. Louis, along with Bridgeton, Maryland Heights, and Ballwin, and there are also recipients in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, Tyler, and Brooklyn.
Recent grants show support for charter and alternative K–12 schools, workforce readiness programs for underserved youth, neighborhood stabilization and human services, foster care support, food access, and emergency response. Examples in the data include Lift for Life Academy, Connections to Success, The Gathering, and American National Red Cross.
Yes. The recent grants list shows repeat support across 2023 and 2024 for several organizations, including Connections to Success at $360,000 in each year, Lift for Life Academy at $310,000 and $300,000, and The Gathering at $280,100 and $250,000.
The distribution points to medium-to-large grants: p25 is $25,000, median is $75,000, and p75 is $125,000. The recent list also includes awards above that range, including several in the $200,000 to $360,000 range.
The foundation gives most often in Tennessee by grant count, while 79% of grants go to recipients in Missouri. Recent recipient cities include St. Louis, Bridgeton, Maryland Heights, Ballwin, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Tyler, and Brooklyn.
No. The foundation is marked as not funding individuals, and it is classified as a regular funder.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS | WASHINGTON, DC | $500,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION | ST LOUIS, MO | $500,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CONNECTIONS TO SUCCESS | ST CHARLES, MO | $360,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SAMARITANS PURSE | BOONE, NC | $200,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PETER AND PAUL COMMUNITY SERVICES | ST LOUIS, MO | $200,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL | MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO | $200,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE COVERING HOUSE | ST LOUIS, MO | $200,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE | NEW YORK, NY | $200,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC FOUNDATION OF EASTERN MISSOURI | ST LOUIS, MO | $120,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LIFT FOR LIFE ACADEMY | ST LOUIS, MO | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ST PATRICK CENTER | ST LOUIS, MO | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FOCUS MARINES FOUNDATION | BALLWIN, MO | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FOSTER CARE COALITION | ST LOUIS, MO | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| NPOWER INC | BROOKLYN, NY | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| VARIETY CHILDREN'S CHARITY | ST LOUIS, MO | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| GIRLS IN THE KNOW | ST LOUIS, MO | $80,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| RANKEN TECHNICAL COLLEGE | ST LOUIS, MO | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ST LOUIS AREA FOOD BANK | BRIDGETON, MO | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| OPERATION FOOD SEARCH | ST LOUIS, MO | $75,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN ACADEMY | CHESTERFIELD, MO | $50,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF GREATER ST LOUIS | CHESTERFIELD, MO | $50,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE GATHERING INC | TYLER, TX | $50,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JOSHUA CHAMBERLINE SOCIETY | ST LOUIS, MO | $35,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ST LOUIS POLICE FOUNDATION | ST LOUIS, MO | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| DUO DOGS | ST LOUIS, MO | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN | ST LOUIS, MO | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SHOWME AQUATICS | ST CHARLES, MO | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| DRAFT DBA SEGS4VET | ST LOUIS, MO | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION | ST LOUIS, MO | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| OUR LADY'S INN | ST LOUIS, MO | $25,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE MUNICIPAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF ST LOUIS | ST LOUIS, MO | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FRIENDS OF FORGOTTEN | OMAHA, NE | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FOREST PARK FOREVER | ST LOUIS, MO | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| TEN8 PROJECT | PACIFIC, MO | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ST ANDREWS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION | ST LOUIS, MO | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| AMERICAN LEGION POST 9 | DES MOINES, IA | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| VETERENS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES | KANSAS CITY, MO | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MARSHALL CEMETERY ASSOCIATION | MARSHALL, IL | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| READY READERS | ST LOUIS, MO | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION | ST LOUIS, MO | $500,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CONNECTIONS TO SUCCESS | ST CHARLES, MO | $360,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS | WASHINGTON, DC | $300,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF GREATER ST LOUIS | CHESTERFIELD, MO | $250,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE GATHERING INC | TYLER, TX | $250,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL | MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO | $225,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ROMAN CATHOLIC FOUNDATION OF EASTERN MISSOURI | ST LOUIS, MO | $200,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FOSTER CARE COALITION | ST LOUIS, MO | $120,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FOCUS MARINES FOUNDATION | BALLWIN, MO | $110,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PETER AND PAUL COMMUNITY SERVICES | ST LOUIS, MO | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ST PATRICK CENTER | ST LOUIS, MO | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL
$200,000GENERAL SUPPORT
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
$200,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FOSTER CARE COALITION
$100,000GENERAL SUPPORT
VARIETY CHILDREN'S CHARITY
$100,000GENERAL SUPPORT
GIRLS IN THE KNOW
$80,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
$50,000GENERAL SUPPORT
THE GATHERING INC
$50,000GENERAL SUPPORT
JOSHUA CHAMBERLINE SOCIETY
$35,000GENERAL SUPPORT
DUO DOGS
$25,000GENERAL SUPPORT
SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN
$25,000GENERAL SUPPORT
SHOWME AQUATICS
$25,000GENERAL SUPPORT
THE LITTLE BIT FOUNDATION
$25,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FRIENDS OF FORGOTTEN
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FOREST PARK FOREVER
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
TEN8 PROJECT
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
AMERICAN LEGION POST 9
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
VETERENS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
MARSHALL CEMETERY ASSOCIATION
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF GREATER ST LOUIS
$250,000GENERAL SUPPORT
THE GATHERING INC
$250,000GENERAL SUPPORT
SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL
$225,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FOSTER CARE COALITION
$120,000GENERAL SUPPORT