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John S and Jody J Ross Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

John S and Jody J Ross Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$197k
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$175k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0178% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Environment$325kHealth$318kArts & Culture$29kReligion$12kEducation$10kPhilanthropy$6kHuman Services$2kRecreation & Sports$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $8k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $14k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $175k
$5,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$526k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN$175,000
ST LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$13,500
JOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL$5,000
Individual grant recipient$2,500
REV THOMAS O MULVIHILL JR$500
COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE MISSOURI WING$100
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%VILLA DUCHESNE: $3k → 11%MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN: $175k → 21%JOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL: $5k → 11%ST LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $14k → 21%REV THOMAS O MULVIHILL JR: $500 → 11%SEE STATEMENT B: $316k → 11%SEE STMT B: $313k → 11%SEE ATTACHED: $244k → 11%SEE ATTACHED: $243k → 11%SEE ATTACHED: $235k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
The Saint Louis Zoo Association

The saint louis zoo association was established to support and enhance the saint louis zoo by providing facilities, funds, and advice. the association provides direct financial support to the zoo for renovations, new facilities, programs,…

Animals
2
St Louis Science Center Foundation

Support the st. louis science center and its comprehensive array of educational outreach programs to the community in order to increase interest, understanding and enthusiasm for stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Science & Tech
3
St Louis Community Foundation

To promote the possibilities of charitable giving, helping charitable citizens understand how they can effectively provide for the community they love and the causes they care deeply about.

Philanthropy
4
Missouri Western State University Foundation Inc

The missouri western state university foundation is a not-for-profit charitable organization that functions solely to support the mission of missouri western state university, as stated in the university's mission statement. the foundation…

—
5
Municipal Theatre Association of St Louis

The muny is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to enrich lives by producing exceptional musical theatre accessible to all, continuing its remarkable tradition in forest park.

Arts & Culture
6
Jewish Federation of St Louis

Jewish federation of st. louis mobilizes the jewish community and its human and financial resources to preserve and enhance jewish life in st. louis, in israel and around the world.

Philanthropy
7
Missouri Delta Medical Center Foundation

Fundraising for capital improvements, scholarships, and other healthcare programs for missouri delta medical center.

—
8
Columbia College

Columbia college improves lives by providing quality education to both traditional and nontraditional students, helping them achieve their true potential.

Education
9
Greater St Louis Inc

Greater st. louis, inc. brings together business and civic leaders to create jobs, drive inclusive economic growth, and increase the st. louis metro area's global competitiveness. we speak with a unified voice, lead with a bold agenda, and…

Community Improvement
10
The Greater St Louis Arts and Education Council

See schedule o.the greater st. louis arts and education council (the arts and education council or the council) was the st. louis region's only united arts fund that pooled together donations from individuals, foundations and corporations…

—
11
University of Minnesota Foundation Investment Advisors

To provide the highest level of stewardship for university donors through professional management and oversight of the university of minnesota foundation's assets by creating a focused investment environment with clarity of purpose,…

Education
12
St Marys Healthcare System for Children Inc

To serve as the sole member of the various health care and supporting organizations that comprise st. mary's healthcare system for children

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is St Louis Art Museum Foundation; the most unlike its peers is The Michael D and Margaret Ann Latta Charitable Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

11 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 11 of the 20 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
6/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SEE STMT B: $313,300 · OtherSEE STMT B+9 more: $19,350 · Other+9 moreMISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES: $325,000 · EnvironmentMISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEESSAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $13,500 · Arts & CultureST LOUIS ART MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Arts & CultureMISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $5,000 · Arts & CultureJOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL: $10,000 · EducationUNITED WAY OF GREATER ST LOUIS INC: $5,000 · PhilanthropyALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $1,000 · HealthDelta Gamma Center for Children with Vis: $250 · HealthGATEWAY ARCH PARK FOUNDATION: $1,000 · Recreation & SportsYOUTHBRIDGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $500 · Human Services
Other$332,650Environment$325,000Arts & Culture$28,500Education$10,000Philanthropy$5,000Health$1,250Recreation & Sports$1,000Human Services$500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES: $325,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $13,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJOHN BURROUGHS SCHOOL: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetST LOUIS ART MUSEUM FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER ST LOUIS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGATEWAY ARCH PARK FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYOUTHBRIDGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDelta Gamma Center for Children with Vis: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

St Louis Community Fo…Edward Jones Foundati…Elberth R & Gladys F …Ross Family FoundationSt Louis Community Fo…The Blackbaud Giving …Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
St Louis Community FoundationMO15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: St Louis Community Foundation · Edward Jones Foundation · Elberth R & Gladys F Grant Char · Ross Family Foundation · St Louis Community Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization John S and Jody J Ross Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from John S and Jody J Ross Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 20 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home