Donald M James Family Foundation
The Donald M James Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Pensacola, Florida. Its 2025 filing reports 37 grants totaling $1,847,076, with listed recipients including charitable, educational, cultural, and community organizations.
Donald M James Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Donald M James Family Foundation gave $1.8M across 37 grants in 2025 (avg $50K), top state District of Columbia. 3% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,847,076
- +27.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 37
- -11.9% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $49,921
- +44.8% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $19,262,249
- -0.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 3% first-time grantees (1 of 37, 2025)
- Primary geography
- District of Columbia (48% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Donald M James Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 16497 Perdido Key Drive Unit 602, Pensacola, FL 32507
Phone: (205) 492-4420
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Donald M James Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was JGJ Gene Research ($881K). Together the top 10 received $1.8M.
Grant Size Distribution
181 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 163 grants of 181 (90%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, grant dollars went to recipients in Washington, DC (48%), Alabama (44%), California (6%), Virginia (1%), and Florida (1%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 37 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Donald M James Family Foundation open to new grantees?
3%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 1 of 37 grantees (3%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $881K; repeat grants $27K. How we count
Medians: $881K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 97% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 45% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 94% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $430K (2019) to $1.8M (2025). In 2025 it made 37 grants totaling $1.8M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| JGJ Gene Research Washington, DC | Support of programs | $881,000 |
| Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Birmingham, AL | Support of Programs | $446,000 |
| Mountain Brook Schools Foundation Mountain Brook, AL | Support of programs | $105,000 |
| Independent Presbyterian Church Birmingham, AL | Support of programs | $100,100 |
| Rand Corp Santa Monica, CA | Support of programs | $100,000 |
| United Way of Central Alabama Birmingham, AL | Support of programs | $40,000 |
| Birmingham Museum of Art Birmingham, AL | Support of programs | $25,300 |
| University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA | Support of programs | $25,000 |
| United Way of Escambia County Pensacola, FL | Support of programs | $20,000 |
| Birmingham Zoo Birmingham, AL | Support of programs | $12,176 |
Ready to take the next step with Donald M James Family Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $19,262,249 | $1,818,053 | $1,979,033 | $1,847,076 | 37 | $1,848,420 | $1,735,271 | $1,964,250 |
| 2024 | $19,423,229 | $1,716,667 | $1,549,139 | $1,447,685 | 42 | $1,452,559 | $1,743,716 | $1,846,786 |
| 2023 | $19,255,701 | $652,693 | $1,343,593 | $1,266,000 | 37 | $1,268,678 | $577,778 | $1,454,785 |
| 2022 | $19,946,601 | $481,941 | $1,379,527 | $1,275,400 | 35 | $1,278,018 | $392,667 | $1,289,780 |
| 2021 | $20,844,187 | $4,556,892 | $978,207 | $881,750 | 30 | $887,953 | $1,498,851 | $1,260,641 |
| 2020 | $17,265,502 | $2,000,625 | $826,015 | $754,350 | 26 | — | $459,379 | $886,187 |
| 2019 | $16,090,892 | $4,193,269 | $495,564 | $430,050 | 24 | — | $293,876 | $759,677 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Donald M James Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $2.0M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations whose stated work spans several areas. For example, United Way of Central Alabama says its mission is to increase people’s organized capacity to care for one another and improve their community. The Birmingham Zoo says it exhibits animals for education, conducts conservation programs and research, and sponsors educational activities. STAIR of Birmingham says it provides after-school reading assistance to children in Birmingham City Schools.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 37 grants totaling $1,847,076. Grant amounts ranged from $1,000 to $881,000, with a median of $5,000. The largest listed grants were $881,000 to JGJ Gene Research, $446,000 to Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, $105,000 to Mountain Brook Schools Foundation, $100,100 to Independent Presbyterian Church, and $100,000 to Rand Corp. Each was listed for “Support of programs.”
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Donald M James as President/Director and Clarence W James as Secretary/Director.
Donald M James Family Foundation is led by Donald M James, President & Director on every filing since 2019; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Donald M James
President & Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Clarence W. James II
Secretary & Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Donald M James Family Foundation
How much does Donald M James Family Foundation give each year?
Donald M James Family Foundation gave $1.8M across 37 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.4M across 42 grants.
What is Donald M James Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Donald M James Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $49,921, across 37 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Donald M James Family Foundation that year got $881K on average.
Where does Donald M James Family Foundation give grants?
Donald M James Family Foundation's top state is District of Columbia, with 48% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Alabama (44%) and California (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Birmingham, AL (20 grants), Mountain Brook, AL (2 grants), Pensacola, FL (2 grants) and Montgomery, AL (2 grants).
Does Donald M James Family Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 37 grants with a stated purpose on Donald M James Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Support of programs" (37 grants).
Who are Donald M James Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Donald M James Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include JGJ Gene Research ($881,000), Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham ($446,000) and Mountain Brook Schools Foundation ($105,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 78% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Donald M James Family Foundation?
Donald M James Family Foundation reported $19.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.8M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $2.0M (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does Donald M James Family Foundation fund?
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations whose stated work spans several areas. For example, United Way of Central Alabama says its mission is to increase people’s organized capacity to care for one another and improve their community. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Donald M James Family Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Donald M James Family Foundation's EIN?
Donald M James Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-3930067. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Donald M James Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 7, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 23, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Donald M James Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Donald M James Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Donald M James Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/donald-m-james-family-foundation-morg_6daed20d004b4b09b93fbd064f06f215
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_813930067_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Donald M James Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/donald-m-james-family-foundation-morg_6daed20d004b4b09b93fbd064f06f215},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-20. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Donald M James Family Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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