The Doerr Foundation prioritizes support for orchestral and performing arts—both locally in Jacksonville and at the national field level—while making occasional gifts to university programs and nutrition-related initiatives. Their giving is focused and targeted: a majority of funding goes to orchestras and orchestral infrastructure, with repeat grants to a small set of organizations. The foundation appears interested in sustaining live music institutions and the professional ecosystem that supports them.
Concentrated giving: a small number of relatively large grants, often repeated to the same recipients, with a strong emphasis on orchestral arts and occasional targeted gifts to universities and nutrition nonprofits.
The Doerr Foundation Inc. is marked by repeated support for orchestral institutions, especially the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, which received $25,000 in both 2023 and 2024 for general support. That pattern points to a funder that favors sustained operating help rather than one-off project grants. Its giving also reaches beyond Jacksonville to the national orchestral field, with general support for the League of American Orchestras in New York and university music programming at Washington University in St. Louis. Alongside arts funding, the foundation has made smaller grants to nutrition and food-access organizations, including Edesia and local human-services groups. The recent record shows a compact grantmaker with a clear preference for flexible support: most awards are modest, many are renewals, and the same organizations reappear across multiple years. The foundation’s portfolio suggests interest in preserving live-music institutions, supporting the broader infrastructure around orchestras, and maintaining a few community-focused partnerships outside the arts.
Orchestral support is the clearest theme in the foundation’s recent giving. The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra received $25,000 for general support in both 2023 and 2024, showing a consistent commitment to a local performing-arts institution. At the field level, the League of American Orchestras received $10,000 in each of those same years for general support, linking the foundation’s arts giving to national orchestral infrastructure. The foundation also backs music education and university-based arts activity. Washington University received $10,000 in 2023 and $5,000 in 2024, both as general support, indicating a continued relationship with a university recipient. Outside the arts, the foundation made general-support grants to Edesia in 2023 and 2024, along with smaller gifts to local food and human-services groups such as Christ's Cupboard Food Bank and the Salvation Army.
Typical grants are small to mid-sized: the median recent grant is $1,000, with a first quartile of $500 and a third quartile of $5,000. The pattern is concentrated rather than broad, with repeated awards to the same organizations across 2023 and 2024. That includes multiple renewals rather than a wide spread of one-time beneficiaries. The foundation appears to operate as a private grantmaker making general-support awards; the recent grants are primarily unrestricted or core support, with no program-related investments reported. The recent record does not show an application process.
$1M
$0
$53K
$1M
Most grants fall between $500 and $5K, with a median of $1K.
25th Percentile
$500
Median
$1K
75th Percentile
$5K
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Notable grantees: Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, League of American Orchestras, Washington University, EdEisa
Most grants land in Florida, and the recipient list includes several Jacksonville-area organizations such as the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Goodwill, Sulzbacher Center, WJCT, and the San Marco Chamber Music Society. Beyond Florida, the foundation gives in Missouri through Washington University in St. Louis, in New York through the League of American Orchestras, and in Rhode Island through Edesia. Every recent grant listed is to a U.S. recipient.
Its recent grants are led by orchestral and performing-arts organizations, especially the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and the League of American Orchestras. The foundation also gives to university music programming and a smaller set of nutrition and human-services organizations.
The recent grants are labeled mainly as general support or general fund. Examples include general support for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the League of American Orchestras, Washington University, and Edesia, which suggests a preference for flexible support.
Yes. The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra received $25,000 in both 2023 and 2024, the League of American Orchestras received $10,000 in both years, and Edesia received grants in both 2023 and 2024 as well.
The median recent grant is $1,000. The lower quartile is $500 and the upper quartile is $5,000, showing that most awards are modest even though a few larger grants anchor the portfolio.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOERR FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND | INDIANAPOLIS, IN | $895,210 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $125,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY | ST LOUIS, MO | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $30,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| EDESIA | NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY | ST LOUIS, MO | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN | ANN ARBOR, MI | $750 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY | ST LOUIS, MO | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| EDESIA | NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| GOODWILL | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $1,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| CHRIST'S CUPBOARD FOOD BANK | ST JOHNS, FL | $1,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SALVATION ARMY | Atlanta, GA | $1,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN | ANN ARBOR, MI | $750 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WJCT | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $500 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ST AUGUSTINE MUSIC FESTIVAL | ST AUGUSTINE, FL | $350 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SAN MARCO CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $250 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS | NEW YORK, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY | ST LOUIS, MO | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| EDESIA | NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI | $4,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CHRIST'S CUPBOARD FOOD BANK | ST JOHNS, FL | $1,500 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SULZBACHER CENTER | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SALVATION ARMY | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $1,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MS51 SCHOOL PARENT ASSOCIATION BROOKLYN NY | BROOKLYN, NY | $500 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MISSION HOUSE | JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL | $500 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN | ANN ARBOR, MI | $500 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WJCT | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $500 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| ST AUGUSTINE MUSIC FESTIVAL | ST AUGUSTINE, FL | $350 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SAN MARCO CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY | JACKSONVILLE, FL | $250 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
DOERR FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND
$895,210GENERAL SUPPORT
JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
$125,000GENERAL SUPPORT
LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
$30,000GENERAL SUPPORT
LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
EDESIA
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
$750GENERAL SUPPORT
JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
$25,000GENERAL SUPPORT
LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
EDESIA
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
GOODWILL
$1,000GENERAL FUND
CHRIST'S CUPBOARD FOOD BANK
$1,000GENERAL SUPPORT
SALVATION ARMY
$1,000GENERAL SUPPORT
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
$750GENERAL SUPPORT
WJCT
$500GENERAL SUPPORT
ST AUGUSTINE MUSIC FESTIVAL
$350GENERAL SUPPORT
SAN MARCO CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY
$250GENERAL SUPPORT
JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
$25,000GENERAL SUPPORT
LEAGUE OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
EDESIA
$4,000GENERAL SUPPORT
CHRIST'S CUPBOARD FOOD BANK
$1,500GENERAL SUPPORT
SULZBACHER CENTER
$1,000GENERAL SUPPORT
SALVATION ARMY
$1,000GENERAL SUPPORT
MS51 SCHOOL PARENT ASSOCIATION BROOKLYN NY
$500GENERAL SUPPORT
MISSION HOUSE
$500GENERAL SUPPORT
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
$500GENERAL SUPPORT
WJCT
$500GENERAL SUPPORT
ST AUGUSTINE MUSIC FESTIVAL
$350GENERAL SUPPORT
SAN MARCO CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY
$250GENERAL SUPPORT