John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation
ActiveMutual & Membership Benefit
About John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation
The John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation concentrates its giving in the Washington, D.C./Maryland area, funding a small number of nonprofit education and community-building organizations. It favors unrestricted general operating support to institutions that serve girls and young children and to groups focused on cross-community neighborhood revitalization. Grants are large and targeted rather than broad-based, with multiple repeat awards to the same organizations.
Focus Areas
Girls’ education and leadership (Washington School for Girls)Early childhood and cooperative nursery education (Glenbrook Cooperative Nursery School)Cross-community reconciliation and neighborhood capacity building (Building Bridges Across the River)Unrestricted general operating support for local nonprofits
Who They Fund
nonprofit organizations (organizational-level support)not specified/unspecified populations
Giving Approach
Concentrated, high-dollar giving to a very small number of grantees; multiple repeat grants and emphasis on general operating support rather than many small or one-off project grants.
About John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation
The John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation repeatedly makes large, unrestricted awards to a small set of Washington, D.C.-area nonprofits, with Building Bridges Across the River receiving $325,000 in both 2023 and 2024. That repeat pattern is a clear sign of how the foundation works: it backs organizations over time rather than spreading funds across many one-off recipients. Recent grants also show multi-year support for Washington School for Girls, which received $250,000 in 2023 and $290,000 in 2024, alongside continued support for early-childhood and community-serving groups such as Glenbrook Cooperative Nursery School and DC Central Kitchen. The foundation’s giving centers on direct service and neighborhood-based organizations serving underserved and at-risk people in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In the recent grants list, its awards range from six-figure operating support to smaller general grants, but the common thread is core support for institutions with established local roles. Several recipients appear across multiple years, indicating a pattern of sustained funding for organizations already in the portfolio.
What John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation Funds
A central thread in the foundation’s grantmaking is girls’ education and leadership. Washington School for Girls received $250,000 in 2023 and $290,000 in 2024 for general operating support, placing it among the foundation’s largest recurring awards. Early childhood is another visible area: Glenbrook Cooperative Nursery School in Bethesda received $300,000 in 2025 for general operating support. The foundation also supports cross-community neighborhood work, including $325,000 in both 2023 and 2024 to Building Bridges Across the River for general operating support. Beyond these recurring relationships, the recent grant list includes support for job-oriented and service organizations such as Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, DC Central Kitchen, and So What Else, showing a focus on local institutions that combine direct service with community capacity.
How John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation Gives
The typical grant size is $20,000 at the 25th percentile, $30,000 at the median, and $43,750 at the 75th percentile, although the recent grants list also includes much larger awards. The pattern is heavily relationship-based: several recipients appear in multiple years, including Building Bridges Across the River, Washington School for Girls, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington, So What Else, Wesley Housing Corporation of Northern Virginia, Housing Unlimited, and DC Central Kitchen. Grants are mainly general operating support, with some project or capital-purpose awards for prior grantees. The foundation runs active annual and general grantmaking programs, and some programs accept unsolicited applications.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.7M
Total Assets
$66.1M
Total Revenue
$3.8M
Total Expenses
$3.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $20K and $44K, with a median of $30K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$30K
75th Percentile
$44K
Geographic Reach
National5 states funded
About 24% of grants go to recipients in DC.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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