John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson

Private foundation · Grantmaker Fort Worth, TX EIN: 47-1631698

John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson is a private foundation based in Fort Worth, Texas. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, primarily in Texas, for general support.

Key facts about John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson

In short: John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson gave $4.7M across 18 grants in 2025 (avg $260K), mostly in Texas. 0% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
47-1631698
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$4,675,125
Grants made (2025)
18
Average grant
$259,729
Median grant
$5,000
New grantees (estimate)
0% first-time grantees (0 of 18, 2025; small sample)
Total assets
$111,699,590
Primary geography
Texas (99% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to apply
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$111.7M

+6.3% YoY

Annual Giving

$4.7M

-10.5% YoY

Grant Count

18

-14.3% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$260K

+4.4% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson reported a distributable amount of $5.4M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Is John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson open to new grantees?

0%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 0 of 18 grantees (0%) were first-time recipients. With only 18 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 6 points. How we count

  • 83% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−2%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 87% 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.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for organizations including Cook Children’s Medical Center, whose stated mission is to improve children’s health through prevention and treatment of illness, disease, and injury; the Arizona Humane Society, which says it saves vulnerable animals and enriches the lives of pets and people; and Childhelp, which says it serves abused, neglected, and at-risk children through advocacy, prevention, treatment, and community outreach.

The 2025 filing lists the grants’ purposes as general support.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation reported 18 grants totaling $4,675,125. Grant amounts ranged from $1,000 to $2,460,200, with a median of $5,000. The largest grants included $2,460,200 to Baylor Scott & White All Saints Health Foundation in Dallas and $2,005,000 to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. Other grants included $105,000 to Saving Hope Animal Rescue and $44,145 to the Arizona Humane Society.

How to Apply

The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The 2025 grant dollars were reported as 99% to Texas recipients and 1% to Arizona recipients. The filing also reports less than 1% to recipients in Washington, D.C., Colorado, and Utah.

Grant Distribution by State

8states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 18 itemized grants.

Cities

Fort WorthAspenScottsdalePhoenixArlingtonKanabWashingtonDallasSnowmass VLGNew YorkWestworth VillageRiver OaksWest PointCopperas CoveIrvingLubbockPine BluffRye BrookSnowmass VillageYorktown Heights

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$2M$4M$6M15 grants2019 16 grants2020 22 grants2021 26 grants2022 29 grants2023 21 grants2024 18 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $112K (2021) to $5.2M (2024). In 2025 it made 18 grants totaling $4.7M.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Baylor Scott & White All Saints Health Foundation: $2.5MBaylor Scott & White AllSaints Health Foundation$2.5MCook Childrens Medical Center: $2.0MCook Childrens Medical Center$2.0MSaving Hope Animal Rescue: $105KSaving Hope Animal Rescue$105KArizona Humane Society: $44KArizona Humane Society$44KAmerican Red Cross: $10KAmerican Red Cross$10KChildhelp Inc: $10KChildhelp Inc$10KFort Worth Delta Delta Delta Alumnae Charities: $9KFort Worth Delta Delta DeltaAlumnae Charities$9KAirpower Foundation: $5KAirpower Foundation$5KFort Worth Museum of Science and History: $5KFort Worth Museum of Scienceand History$5KJewel Charity Ball Incorporated: $5KJewel Charity BallIncorporated$5K

The largest 2025 recipient was Baylor Scott & White All Saints Health Foundation ($2.5M). Together the top 10 received $4.7M.

Grant Size Distribution

116 grants across all recorded years

105<$50K2$50–100K2$100–250K$250–500K1$500K–1M6$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 105 grants of 116 (91%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Baylor Scott & White All Saints Health Foundation Dallas, TXGeneral Support$2,460,200
Cook Childrens Medical Center Fort Worth, TXGeneral Support$2,005,000
Saving Hope Animal Rescue Fort Worth, TXGeneral Support$105,000
Arizona Humane Society Phoenix, AZGeneral Support$44,145
American Red Cross Washington, DCGeneral Support$10,000
Childhelp Inc Scottsdale, AZGeneral Support$10,000
Fort Worth Delta Delta Delta Alumnae Charities Fort Worth, TXGeneral Support$9,280
Airpower Foundation Fort Worth, TXGeneral Support$5,000
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Fort Worth, TXGeneral Support$5,000
Jewel Charity Ball Incorporated Fort Worth, TXGeneral Support$5,000

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants Grant count
2025 $111,699,590 $3,869,614 $5,104,934 $4,675,125 18
2024 $105,088,308 -$2,220,399 $5,560,915 $5,226,033 21
2023 $108,738,262 $2,186,641 $4,923,951 $4,310,728 29
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$10M$20M$30M$40M2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$111,699,590$105,088,308$108,738,262
Revenue$3,869,614$-2,220,399$2,186,641
Expenses$5,104,934$5,560,915$4,923,951
Qualifying Distributions$4,676,415$5,226,033$4,310,728
Net Investment Income$3,472,820$1,829,707$1,029,905
Distributable Amount$5,371,560$4,692,542$5,295,423

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS June 23, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 10, 2021)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 14, 2022)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS March 20, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 1, 2025)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 11, 2026)
  7. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 13, 2023)
  8. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists John H Dean III, Shirley Dean, Raymond B Kelly III, and David Neal as directors.

John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson's 2025 filing lists 4 officers; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • David Neal

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • John H. Dean III

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Raymond B. Kelly III

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Shirley Dean

    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.

Contact

Mailing address: 640 Taylor St 2200, Fort Worth, TX 76102
Phone: (817) 336-2400

Frequently asked questions about John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson

How much does John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson give each year?

John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson gave $4.7M across 18 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $5.2M across 21 grants.

What is John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson's typical grant size?

John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $259,729, across 18 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson give grants?

John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson gives mostly in Texas: 99% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Fort Worth, TX (9 grants).

Does John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (18 of 18) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson's largest grantees?

John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson's largest 2025 grantees include Baylor Scott & White All Saints Health Foundation ($2,460,200), Cook Childrens Medical Center ($2,005,000) and Saving Hope Animal Rescue ($105,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 98% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson?

John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson reported $111.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $4.7M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $5.4M (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 John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson fund?

No foundation mission statement is provided. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson?

The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson's EIN?

John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 47-1631698. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Does John Henry Dean III and Shirley Lawson 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.

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