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James S. McDonnell Foundation
The JSMF is a private foundation that provides financial support to research in cognitive education and neuroscience.
At-A-Glance
Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Issue Areas: Multi-Issue Advocacy
Website: www.jsmf.org
Location: Saint Louis, MO View on map
Tax ID: 54-2074788
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $647,048,513 Revenue: $28,179,144 Expenses: $40,822,593
The JSMF is a private foundation that provides financial support to research in cognitive education and neuroscience.
Financial Statistics
Total Assets
Total Revenue
Total Expenses
Expenses Detail
Employee Compensation
Highest Earning Employees
| Employee | Title | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Purnell | PRESIDENT | $418,540 |
Grant Activity
All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $245,606
- Number of Grants: 13
- Number of Funders: 6
Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:
| Amount | Year | Funder | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| $18,000 | 2021 | Stlouis Lodge No5 Ioof | CHARITY |
| $16,200 | 2022 | Stlouis Lodge No5 Ioof | CHARITY |
| $11,000 | 2020 | Stlouis Lodge No5 Ioof | CHARITY |
| $406 | 2024 | Marti & Steve Diamond Charitable Foundation | GENERAL OPERATING |
All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $450,188,936
- Number of Grants: 1,498
- Number of Recipients: 398
Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:
| Amount | Year | Funder | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000,000 | 2025 | St. Louis Community Foundation | The Inclusive Prosperity Partnership (IPP) is focused on building a durable and effective structure for cross-sector coordination and action on as many as five issues over the next decade to realize inclusive growth and economic mobility. The group's first focal issue is to codesign and implement a scalable intervention to drive quality job attainment for people with low-to-moderate incomes. JSMF's investment will support the creation of the new civic infrastructure model |
| $7,065,000 | 2022 | Jsm Charitable Tr | CHARITABLE |
| $6,420,000 | 2021 | Jsm Charitable Tr | CHARITABLE |
| $6,060,879 | 2020 | Jsm Charitable Tr | CHARITABLE |
| $5,120,000 | 2024 | Forest Park Forever Inc | IN SUPPORT OF "FOREVER: THE CAMPAIGN FOR FOREST PARK'S FUTURE" |
| $3,574,225 | 2025 | St Louis Community Credit Union | St. Louis Community Credit Union (SLCCU) is a not-for-profit financial cooperative that provides residents of the St. Louis region with affordable and accessible financial services and products. SLCCU is partnering with The FAM (a nonprofit focused on homeownership for Black families), Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis, Rise Community Development (a nonprofit dedicated to affordable housing), Carrollton Bank, and the St. Joseph Housing Initiative (a faith-based nonprofit focused on affordable housing) to expand homebuying opportunities for low- and moderate-income households in the St. Louis area. This initiative aims to facilitate access to mortgage products by piloting a blended 80/20 financing model that will help homebuyers avoid primary mortgage insurance (PMI) and build equity more quickly. JSMF's investment will support the pilot program in helping at least 250 homebuyers make purchases |
| $3,000,000 | 2023 | Invest STL | Neighborhood Solidarity Fund |
| $2,369,948 | 2023 | University of Missouri-St. Louis in Support of the St. Louis Anchor Action Network | St. Louis Anchor Action Network Capacity Building Grant |
| $2,250,000 | 2024 | Federation of American Scientists | IN SUPPORT OF THE ECONOMIC MOBILITY INITIATIVE |
| $2,053,818 | 2023 | St. Louis Community Foundation in Support of the Regional Response Team | Regional Response Team Capacity Building Grant |
| $2,000,000 | 2025 | Brookings Institution | The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and provides evidence-based solutions to complex societal issues. This project aims to enhance the ability of JSMF and its partners to analyze the impact of various investments and initiatives by expanding the capabilities of the "Virtual St. Louis" agent-based modeling (ABM) platform. An agent-based modeling platform is a software environment that creates and runs simulations where virtual representations of individuals (autonomous agents), each with their own behaviors and relationships, interact within a virtual setting to understand what individual and community-level outcomes arise from different behaviors, programs, policies, or events. JSMF's investment will support the development of seven new modules focused on early education; workforce readiness; entrepreneurship; housing; retirement savings; post-secondary training and evaluation; non-financial influences like relationships, community, and societal factors. These modules will enable JSMF and community partners to simulate the effects of various community investments on populations across St. Louis, especially those most affected by economic disparities. The platform will allow JSMF and other community organizations to better estimate the impact of a potential program without needing to run a pilot program and incurring its associated costs |
| $1,950,000 | 2024 | St. Louis Community Foundation | BUILDING A FRAMEWORK FOR LASTING WEALTH: A PROPOSAL FOR BABY BONDS IN ST. LOUIS |
| $1,919,356 | 2025 | Small Business Empowerment Center | The Small Business Empowerment Center (SBEC) uplifts entrepreneurs in their journeys to impactful business ownership. The nonprofit is expanding its capacity to support minority-owned small businesses, which often face significant barriers to accessing financial capital and technical assistance. JSMF's investment will allow SBEC to grow its staff and establish a revolving loan fund to provide working capital to minority entrepreneurs |
| $1,912,178 | 2023 | North Star Community Partners | North Star Community Partners Capacity Building Grant |
| $1,188,008 | 2025 | Show-Me School-Based Health | The Show-Me School-Based Health Alliance of Missouri (Alliance) is a volunteer-led organization dedicated to improving children's health and educational outcomes by supporting school-based health care programs statewide. The Alliance aims to pilot a collaborative model for providing school-based health services to underserved students that will bolster wraparound supports to help students succeed. JSMF's investment will enable the establishment of a school-based health center in the School District of University City |
| $1,160,000 | 2024 | Davis & Elkins College | ENDOWMENT F/T SECURE THE FUTURE CAMPAIGN, PHASE II |
| $1,000,000 | 2025 | Neighborhood Solidarity Fund | Invest STL advances community-led transformation by increasing trust-based investments, driving systemic policy solutions, and reframing narratives in predominantly Black neighborhoods. The organization is developing a direct cash assistance program for individuals and families most affected by the May 2025 tornado. JSMF's investment will mitigate loss of income and provide immediate support that can bolster long-term financial stability for more than 300 households |
| $1,000,000 | 2025 | Upward Mentoring | Upward Mentoring is a transformative program intended to address systemic inequities affecting boys from marginalized communities in the St. Louis region through relationship-based mentoring. Youth in the program will be paired with two mentors – a paid primary mentor who provides daily support and a respected professional who serves as a volunteer mentor, offering career exposure and skill development – to help bridge social and professional gaps. JSMF's investment will provide stipends for volunteer mentors and support program evaluation, mentor training, and mentee activities for 100 students |
| $1,000,000 | 2024 | Small Business Empowerment Center | ST. LOUIS LOW-INCOME INVESTMENT FUND AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (ST. LOUIS LIFT) |
| $1,000,000 | 2024 | St. Louis Community Foundation | GUARANTEED BASIC INCOME PILOT |
| $966,000 | 2024 | St. Louis Community Foundation | GUARANTEED BASIC INCOME PILOT |
| $903,750 | 2025 | St. Louis Magazine | St. Louis Magazine is a premier lifestyle publication that highlights the people, culture, food, health, and events shaping the St. Louis region. The magazine is developing a project to enhance public understanding and dialogue about economic mobility in the St. Louis region. JSMF's investment will support the hiring of two full-time journalists for the initiative, the development of multimedia production to deliver content across video and audio platforms, the creation of a comprehensive calendar of public events to foster civic dialogue, and the management of strategic audience growth efforts to ensure the journalism reaches and resonates with regional decision-makers and the communities JSMF aims to serve |
| $900,000 | 2025 | Arch Grants | Arch Grants catalyzes economic growth by awarding non-dilutive funding to help early-stage startups grow and scale. The Arch Grants Community Capital Fund (CCF) is a revolving loan fund designed to increase access to capital for underrepresented entrepreneurs who have completed the one-year Arch Grants program. The fund addresses a critical gap in financing that forces some successful entrepreneurs to leave St. Louis in search of funding opportunities. JSMF's investment will serve two purposes: guaranteeing loans to encourage mainstream financial institutions to lend to underrepresented entrepreneurs and offsetting potential loan losses |
| $900,000 | 2025 | Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis | Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally through homebuilding projects where homebuyers are active participants. The nonprofit organization aims to expand its homeownership program by offering up to 10:1 matching funds for families to advance wealth-building after securing homeownership. JSMF's investment will support enrolling at least 75 homeowners in the matched savings program, with a minimum of 50 participants successfully meeting their initial savings goals and receiving matching funds, as well as making funds for critical home repairs available to at least 20 homeowners |
| $900,000 | 2024 | Habitat for Humanity International Inc | BUILDING OUR FINANCIAL FUTURE |
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Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.