The Jonathan and Meredith Meeks Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on education, making a small number of large, unrestricted gifts to established educational institutions. Its recent grants favor elite secondary and higher education (including a major independent boarding school and an Ivy League university) and experiential/outdoor learning through a camping education nonprofit. Gifts are general operating in nature, suggesting trust in grantee leadership and a preference for flexible funding.
Highly concentrated: very few, large unrestricted grants to established institutions rather than many small awards; favors one-off or occasional major gifts rather than broad distribution.
The Jonathan and Meredith Meeks Foundation’s recent giving is defined by one very large unrestricted grant: $1,586,150 to St Pauls School in Concord, New Hampshire. That scale sets the tone for a portfolio built around substantial general operating support rather than small, program-specific awards. The foundation’s largest recent gifts also include $400,000 to Yale University and $300,000 to the Camping & Education Foundation, showing a clear interest in established educational institutions and learning tied to student experience outside the classroom. Across the recent grants list, the foundation uses unrestricted support consistently, which points to a preference for giving grantees flexibility in how funds are deployed. Other awards in the portfolio extend that pattern into public policy and community-serving education organizations, with grants to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Tipping Point Community, Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, and Lion of Ct Incorporated. The overall picture is a foundation that favors a small number of sizable gifts to organizations with institutional depth.
Education is the foundation’s central thread, but it appears in several forms. In independent secondary education, they gave $1,586,150 to St Pauls School for general and unrestricted support. In higher education, Yale University received $400,000, also unrestricted. They also supported experiential learning through the $300,000 grant to Camping & Education Foundation, again for general and unrestricted purposes. Beyond education itself, the foundation extended $192,100 to Tipping Point Community and $50,000 to Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, both in California, indicating interest in organizations working with students, youth, or broader community support. A smaller 2025 grant of $20,000 to Lion of Ct Incorporated adds another New Haven-based recipient to the recent record.
The foundation’s typical grant size is large: the 25th percentile is $100,000, the median is $192,100, and the 75th percentile is $400,000. Recent giving is dominated by unrestricted awards, and the recent grant list shows repeat support to American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in two different years, with $200,000 in 2025 and $100,000 in 2024. That pattern suggests some recurrence rather than one-off gifts only. Jonathan and Meredith Meeks Foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
$520K
$14.5M
$8.3M
$778K
Most grants fall between $100K and $400K, with a median of $192K.
25th Percentile
$100K
Median
$192K
75th Percentile
$400K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in CA.
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Notable grantees: St Pauls School, Yale University, Camping & Education Foundation
All recent grants in the dataset went to U.S. recipients. California appears most often by grant count, with awards to San Francisco, Menlo Park, and one of the New Haven grants referencing California recipients in the broader list. New Hampshire appears through Concord and New Haven, Connecticut through two recipients, and Washington, DC through policy funding. The geographic pattern is regional rather than national, with a mix of East Coast and California-based organizations.
The recent record centers on education and related institutions: St Pauls School received $1,586,150, Yale University received $400,000, and Camping & Education Foundation received $300,000. The foundation also funded American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Tipping Point Community, Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, and Lion of Ct Incorporated.
The recent grants are consistently described as general and unrestricted. That includes the $1,586,150 grant to St Pauls School, the $400,000 grant to Yale University, and the $300,000 grant to Camping & Education Foundation.
The grant-size profile is relatively large: the 25th percentile is $100,000, the median is $192,100, and the 75th percentile is $400,000. The recent list also includes a much larger outlier at $1,586,150.
Yes. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research appears twice in the recent grants list, with a $200,000 grant in 2025 and a $100,000 grant in 2024.
The top state by grant count is California. Recent California recipients include Tipping Point Community in San Francisco and Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula in Menlo Park, alongside grants to organizations in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Ohio, and Washington, DC.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAMPING & EDUCATION FOUNDATION | CINCINNATI, OH | $300,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RE | WASHINGTON, DC | $200,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| LION OF CT INCORPORATED | NEW HAVEN, CT | $20,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| ST PAULS SCHOOL | CONCORD, NH | $1,586,150 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| YALE UNIVERSITY | NEW HAVEN, CT | $400,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| TIPPING POINT COMMUNITY | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $192,100 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RE | WASHINGTON, DC | $100,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE PENINSULA | MENLO PARK, CA | $50,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
LION OF CT INCORPORATED
$20,000General & Unrestricted
YALE UNIVERSITY
$400,000General & Unrestricted
General & Unrestricted