Thomas Phillips and Jane Moore Johnson Foundation
ActiveMutual & Membership Benefit
About Thomas Phillips and Jane Moore Johnson Foundation
The Thomas Phillips and Jane Moore Johnson Foundation makes a small number of very large, unrestricted grants focused on supporting place-based community philanthropy and general charitable needs. Most giving is directed to community foundations and broad-purpose charitable entities, with a single dominant grant accounting for the majority of dollars. Their pattern suggests a preference for flexible, general operating support rather than program-restricted funding, and for supporting local/regional community infrastructure.
Focus Areas
Unrestricted/general operating support to community foundationsPlace-based philanthropy in Telluride/ColoradoSupport for Vermont community initiatives via statewide community foundationLarge one-off institutional grants to charitable institutions
Who They Fund
general public / community at-large
Giving Approach
Highly concentrated: very few grants overall with one exceptionally large award accounting for ~80% of total giving; favors unrestricted/general charitable support to community foundations and regional nonprofits.
Funding Style
About Thomas Phillips and Jane Moore Johnson Foundation
A $3,576,448 general-charitable grant to See Attached in Saratoga Springs, New York, is the clearest marker of how The Thomas Phillips and Jane Moore Johnson Foundation operates: a small number of very large, flexible awards, often routed to community infrastructure and broad civic or charitable purposes. The foundation’s recent giving also includes sizeable support for the Vermont Community Foundation in Middlebury, the Telluride Foundation in Telluride, and Centerlink in Fort Lauderdale, showing a mix of place-based and issue-oriented philanthropy. Its grant list is not built around many small awards; instead, the pattern is dominated by larger unrestricted gifts, with many recipients receiving general charitable support rather than program-specific funding. That approach aligns with the foundation’s stated emphasis on healthy, vibrant, and just communities and with its support for organizations working across environment, equality and social progress, education, and youth. Recipients range from local institutions in Colorado and Vermont to national advocacy and intermediary organizations, suggesting that the foundation uses flexible grants to back both community-level infrastructure and broader public-interest work.
What Thomas Phillips and Jane Moore Johnson Foundation Funds
In place-based philanthropy, the foundation supported the Vermont Community Foundation in Middlebury with $426,035 and the Telluride Foundation in Telluride with $350,000, both listed as general charitable grants. It also gave $119,000 to Telluride Mountain School Inc in Telluride, which points to continued attention to local institutions in its Colorado home region. Beyond community foundations and schools, the foundation funded issue-focused intermediaries and advocacy groups, including $100,000 to Proteus Fund in Amherst and $75,000 to Common Cause in Washington, DC. Its portfolio also includes LGBTQ-related and civil-rights organizations such as $75,000 to North Star Fund Inc in New York and $55,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation in New York, alongside education and youth support like $50,000 to Rollins College in Orlando.
How Thomas Phillips and Jane Moore Johnson Foundation Gives
Typical grant size is $5,000 at the 25th percentile, $20,000 at the median, and $25,500 at the 75th percentile, but the recent record also includes a very large outlier grant of $3,576,448. The foundation is a regular funder rather than a donor-advised fund and does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. The recent grants suggest repeat general-charitable support rather than tightly standardized program awards, with many gifts described as unrestricted or general charitable. The foundation’s public grantmaking programs indicate that it does not accept unsolicited requests for several of its general grantmaking portfolios, while its Johnson Justice Fellowship is a separate two-year program with a listed grant size of $70,000–$80,000.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3.6M
Total Assets
$55.3M
Total Revenue
$1.9M
Total Expenses
$5.6M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $5K and $26K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$26K
Geographic Reach
National23 states funded
About 20% of grants go to recipients in NY.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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