For the past 10 years, the Jefferson Foundation has been the gift that keeps on giving.
During that time, the foundation has distributed $80,163,422 in funding to groups and organizations that help to improve the health and well-being of those who live in Jefferson County.
The foundation was formed in 2013 and began awarding grants the next year.
“When we started the foundation, nobody really had any experience and didn’t know what to expect. We think it has gone well,” said Jeffrey Draves, chairman of the foundation’s Board of Directors.
Jefferson Foundation president and CEO Michael Ravenscraft, left, and chairman of the foundation’s Board of Directors Jeffrey Draves.
When the Jefferson Foundation began on Jan. 31, 2013, it was called the Jefferson Memorial Community Foundation and was funded with more than $150 million in proceeds from the sale of Jefferson Regional Medical Center (originally Jefferson Memorial Hospital) to the Mercy health system. As of Dec. 5, the foundation’s asset base had grown to $203,761,529, executive vice president Missy Endres said.
“We started with around $150 million; we gave away $80 million and we have more than $200 million,” Endres said. “Those are great numbers for the county.”
Michael Ravenscraft, who has been the foundation’s president and CEO since 2022, said part of the reason the Jefferson Foundation has been successful over the last decade is because of the stability of its leadership and staff.
Ravenscraft is the third person to serve as president and CEO. He replaced Jeff Buck, who was the first president and CEO and served in that role for a second time after Juan A. Figueroa led the foundation from December 2017 to April 2019.
Buck is now a member of the board, which has mostly retained the same members since forming.
Charter board members still serving the foundation include Draves, Ron Ravenscraft, Lindell Carter, Ben Albano, Jim Muehlhauser, Tim Patterson and Stokely Wischmeier.
One of the other original board members, Martha Reed, died in November 2018.
One of the board members must be a Mercy Hospital representative and has changed three times, with Mercy Hospital Jefferson President Dan Eckenfels currently serving in the role that previously was occupied by former Mercy health system executive Donn Sorensen and former Mercy Hospital Jefferson President Eric Ammons before him.
The foundation’s staff has remained primarily the same since the start, too, with only the CEO and president changing over the past 10 years. Endres, Jennifer Bieser, the program associate and financial coordinator, and Jan Miller, the office coordinator, have been part of the foundation since it was formed.
“There hasn’t been an excessive amount of change,” Ravenscraft said. “The stability and predictability has led to a straightforward process to make it easier to benefit from working with the foundation.”
Endres said the foundation also keeps its overhead costs low with minimal staff and modest office space on the second floor of the First State Community Bank building, 1450 Parkway West, in Festus.
According to the foundation’s 2023 tax form, Ravenscraft was paid an annual salary of $192,241; Endres was paid $159,568; Miller was paid $84,164; and Bieser was paid $76,850.
“The focus of the foundation is on the mission, not on high overhead,” Endres said. “The staff and board look at data every year to see how we compare to other foundations with similar assets. When we look at that, we are always at the lower end of staff. We also are on the low end of operating expenses and investment fees. It is a high priority that we remain efficient in that way.”
Grants
Endres said the foundation has awarded 2,008 grants in the last 10 years with most grants funding either mental health counseling; assistance with basic needs or health needs; or health-related education. She said 681 grants to help with basic needs have been awarded, the largest number of all the categories.
The foundation has awarded two types of grants – responsive grants, which are now given out twice a year, and proactive grants, which were awarded once, in 2016.
The foundation first awarded responsive grants once a year, but in 2019 it started awarding them twice a year, with agencies notified about the grants they won in May and November and the money arriving in June and December.
The responsive grants are intended to help advance the health and well-being of people in Jefferson County.
The proactive grants awarded in 2016 were larger sums doled out over a three-year period. Those grants went to Catholic Family Services, which received $1,169,787 to provide mental health services for children; Mercy Hospital Jefferson, which received $2,720,008 for mental health services for children; and the Jefferson County Health Department, which received $3 million to provide dental services for adults.
This year, the foundation awarded 273 grants, setting a record for the number of grants it awarded in a single year. The previous record was 209, set in 2022.
Endres said she was surprised by how many grants the foundation awarded in 2024, adding that the number may have been higher than usual because many of them were for $10,000 or less and went to smaller sized organizations to help people with basic needs, like supplying those in need with food, assistance paying utilities bills or getting school supplies.
“I think there has been an increase in the number of requests for basic needs,” Endres said.
Receiving
The top two beneficiaries of the foundation’s annual responsive grants are Upward Smiles and the Jefferson County Community Partnership (JCCP).
Upward Smiles, which provides dental services for uninsured and underinsured children and families, has received a total of $3,062,822.92 in grants.
Upward Smiles has used the funds to build a sedation center at its Festus office, 660 N. Creek Drive and has purchased a mobile dental van. The organization will use its most recent grant of $98,567.05 to buy equipment needed to scan and produce permanent crowns for patients at its facility.
Sherry Cauley, Upward Smiles founder and CEO, said she remembers when she first met with Buck and talked about her vision.
“We only had a quarter of the building and just moved into Festus,” said Cauley, whose organization also has a location in Farmington. “My vision was to help people here. We have continued to grow and do what we can. Now, we have the whole building, the sedation station and the mobile van. In 10 years, I feel like we are doing a great job of looking for upgrades and the best we can do for our patients.
“The foundation makes us want to do better and make them proud.”
The JCCP has received $2,148,191.37 in grant funding from the foundation over the past decade. The funds are used to support the organization’s Hammers of Hope and The Parenting Network programs, along with other endeavors to help the county.
Hammers of Hope provides home repairs at no cost to low-income homeowners, with a focus on accessibility and safety issues. The Parenting Network assists families with children up to 8 years old in a variety of ways.
“(The foundation’s) generosity has been what helps us run a really solid organization,” JCCP executive director Tracy Smith said. “When we have gaps in our budget, they help us seam that together. I have nothing but good things to say about the foundation.”
Ravenscraft said the foundation plans to continue helping organizations make Jefferson County better for another decade and beyond.
“We will continue to be good stewards of the investments so we can support the organizations throughout Jefferson County and help to improve people’s lives,” he said. “The bottom line is we are here to support the grantees who serve the people of Jefferson County and improve the standard of living for the people of Jefferson County.”