James S Mcdonnell Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About James S Mcdonnell Foundation
The James S. McDonnell Foundation makes a small number of very large institutional gifts focused on strengthening civic assets, higher education, and science/research capacity in the St. Louis region and nationally. Their grants support capital campaigns and program development for major public institutions (parks, a public university) and fund science and policy research tied to economic mobility. Giving is concentrated and strategic rather than broadly distributed to many small nonprofits.
Focus Areas
Capital campaign support for major urban public spaces (e.g., Forest Park campaign)Engineering education and student support at public universities (UMSL School of Engineering & student aid)Science policy and research institutions focused on economic opportunity (Federation of American Scientists – Economic Mobility Initiative)Large institutional endowments or one-off transformational grants (represented by the single very large 'SEE ATTACHED' award)
Who They Fund
low-income St. Louis residents and neighborhoodsopportunity youth (disconnected youth seeking workforce pathways)
About James S Mcdonnell Foundation
James S Mcdonnell Foundation’s recent giving is marked by a $27.6 million award to See Attached, paired with other multi-million-dollar commitments to major civic, university, and research institutions. That pattern points to a funder that makes a small number of large, strategic grants rather than a broad array of small awards. The foundation’s portfolio includes support for capital campaigns, endowments, program development, and research-linked initiatives, with a strong St. Louis emphasis and national reach for selected science, education, and policy work. In St. Louis, the foundation backed Forest Park Forever Inc for the campaign for Forest Park’s future and the Curators of the University of Missouri-St Louis for engineering education and student support. It also supported the Federation of American Scientists for an Economic Mobility Initiative, showing that its grantmaking extends beyond place-based civic investments into policy and research tied to opportunity. Other grants point to interest in public institutions and long-term capacity, including science center infrastructure, historical exhibits, and university-linked engineering pathways.
What James S Mcdonnell Foundation Funds
A major thread in James S Mcdonnell Foundation’s work is economic mobility. It gave $1,950,000 to St Louis Community Foundation for a proposal on baby bonds in St. Louis, and $227,000 to Goalsetter Foundation for the Ferguson Florissant Financial Empowerment Project. The foundation also supports guaranteed income and related pilot work. In 2025 it awarded $1,000,000 and $966,000 to St Louis Community Foundation for a guaranteed basic income pilot, and another grant to Neighborhood Solidarity Fund for staffing, pilot costs, evaluation, and dissemination of findings. Education and workforce pathways are another visible area. Biostl received $565,297 for the Bioscience Workforce Collaborative and $514,985 for Biogenerator’s BEL Venture Fellows program, while the University of Washington received $503,325 for teacher preparation in dual and multilingual elementary classrooms. Early childhood coordination also appears in the portfolio, including $637,539 to Wepower for a community-centric strategy to coordinate and transform the St. Louis early childhood system.
How James S Mcdonnell Foundation Gives
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$30.1M
Total Assets
$457.5M
Total Revenue
$28.2M
Total Expenses
$40.8M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $6.9M and $20.7M, with a median of $13.8M.
25th Percentile
$6.9M
Median
$13.8M
75th Percentile
$20.7M
Geographic Reach
Regional10 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where James S Mcdonnell Foundation Funds
Top 9 recipient countries by grant volume for James S Mcdonnell Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 149 | $103.5M | 86.1% |
| 2 | Turkey |
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