Jonas Philanthropies is a left-of-center grantmaking charity founded by retail executive Donald Jonas and his wife Barbara. ¹

It primarily focuses on providing scholarship grants to graduate nurses, funding for research on children’s vision, and education on toxic materials that impact the health of children. ²

Background

Jonas Philanthropies, formerly known as the Barbara and Donald Jonas Family Fund, is a left-leaning grantmaking charity that focuses on health care and scholarships for nurses. It was created in 2006 by Barbara and Donald Jonas. ³

Jonas Philanthropies has multiple arms including Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, Vision Health, Children’s Environmental Health, and Trees for Climate Health. ⁴

The organization’s primary grantmaking targets include university scholarships for graduate nurses, research and treatment for children’s vision, supporting tree-growing organizations, and research and education on toxic materials that impact children’s health. ⁵

Finances

Jonas Philanthropies receives most of its revenue from contributions and grants.

The organization received a total revenue of approximately $1.4 million in 2018, over $1.5 of which came in the form of contributions and grants. Its total expenses amounted to approximately $1.5 million, $1.3 million of which was spent on grants. ⁶

Jonas Philanthropies had less revenue in 2019 with a total of approximately $1.2 million, nearly all of which came from contributions and grants and $13,000 from investment income. The total expenses for that year amounted to just over $1.8 million, slightly less than $1.6 million was spent on grants. ⁷

Funding

Jonas Philanthropies receives a substantial amount of money from foundations.

The Jewish Communal Fund provided Jonas Philanthropies with $64,900 in 2019. The organization also received $100,000 from the May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust in the same year. ^{8 9}

Although no specified amount was noted, Jonas Philanthropies received a grant from the Cornell Douglass Foundation and Hearst Foundations. ^{10 11}

Associated Organizations

Jonas Philanthropies is a member of the Health and Environmental Funders Network, an association of foundations and other funders that make grants on environmental health issues. The Health and Environmental Funders Network is listed as a partner of Virginia Organizing, formerly known as the Virginia Organizing Project, a left-of-center political advocacy organization in the state of Virginia. ^{12 13}

People

Barbara Jonas was a member of the Columbia Presbyterian Health Sciences Advisory Council, and former vice-chair of the Community Services Board of the New York City Department of Mental Health. She was a member of the Institutional Review Board of New York University Medical Center and established the Barbara Jonas Centers for the Study and Treatment of Children at Risk at the Departments of Psychiatry at New York University and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Centers in 1992. ¹⁴

Donald Jonas was the founder and chairman of the Barbara Lynn retail stores and Belscott Retailers, chairman and co-founder of Lechter’s Housewares, and a former board member of Dress Barn. ¹⁵

John Jonas, the son of Barbara and Donald Jonas, is the founder and CEO of the Jonas Group, a an executive recruiting firm for the retail industry. He worked with Donald Jonas at Lechter’s Housewares. ¹⁶

Lendri Purcell, the granddaughter of Donald and Barbara Jonas, headed the Jonas Youth Development Initiative. Purcell had also worked for the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, an arm of Jonas Philanthropies. It was announced in August 2016 that Purcell would become the vice president of Environmental Health and Youth Development Programming at the organization. ¹⁷

Both John Jonas and Lendri Purcell were named as the next co-presidents of Jonas Philanthropies in March 2022. ¹⁸

1. “Our Founders.” Jonas Philanthropies. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/founders-2/.
2. “Home.” Jonas Philanthropies. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/.
3. “Our Founders.” Jonas Philanthropies. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/founders-2/.
4. “Home.” Jonas Philanthropies. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/.
5. “Home.” Jonas Philanthropies. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/.
6. “Jonas Philanthropies – 2019.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/821843824/02_2021_prefixes_81-83%2F821843824_201912_990_2021022217742943.
7. “Jonas Philanthropies – 2019.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/821843824/02_2021_prefixes_81-83%2F821843824_201912_990_2021022217742943.
8. “2019 Annual Report.” Jewish Communal Fund. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jcfny.org/app/uploads/2020/01/JCF-2019-Annual-Report.pdf.
9. Smith Charitable Trust, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019.
10. “Grant Recipients.” Cornell Douglas Foundation. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://cornelldouglas.org/grants/.
11. “Grant Recipients Database.” Hearst Foundations. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://www.hearstfdn.org/grant-recipients-database.
12. “Member Foundations.” Health and Environmental Funders Network. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://www.hefn.org/membership/hefn_member_foundations.
13. “Partners – Page 2.” Virginia Organizing. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://virginia-organizing.org/category/role/partner/page/2/.
14. “Our Founders.” Jonas Philanthropies. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/founders-2/.
15. “Our Founders.” Jonas Philanthropies. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/founders-2/.
16. “John Jonas.” The Jonas Group. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://www.jonasgrp.com/john-jonas.
17. “Lendri S. Purcell.” Jonas Philanthropies. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/lendri-s-purcell/.
18. “Jonas Philanthropies Announces New Co-Presidents.” Jonas Philanthropies. March 1, 2022. Accessed May 16, 2022. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/jonas-philanthropies-announces-new-co-presidents/.