Crawford Taylor Foundation

The Crawford Taylor Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1997 by Jack C. Taylor — founder of Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company — and named after his mother. With $729.6 million in assets (FY2023), it ranks among the 50 largest private foundations in Missouri. Its board is composed entirely of Taylor and Kindle family members, all uncompensated, and it maintains a lean operational footprint with no paid staff listed on public filings. This is a deeply relationship-oriented funder.

The foundation's stated mission — 'enabling and enhancing programs that create legacies within our St. Louis communities' — is not marketing language; it is the actual filter applied to every application. Programs that serve St. Louis but whose impact is diffuse or hard to narrate as a legacy will struggle. Organizations anchored in brick-and-mortar St. Louis institutions (performing arts venues, hospitals, parks, youth centers) have fared best in the grant history.

Despite $729M in assets, the foundation's annual giving fluctuates sharply — from $6.8M in 2020 to $59.7M in 2021 — because distributions are closely tied to net investment income. In strong investment years, mega-grants to flagship grantees like the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra ($30.6M total across 6 grants) and St. Louis Children's Hospital Foundation ($15M in a single grant) absorb most of the giving. In leaner years, the foundation maintains a core portfolio of smaller recurring grants to community organizations.

First-time applicants should aim for the $10,000–$100,000 range, not the headline numbers. The foundation's top-line average ($460,152 per grant in aggregate) is skewed by a small number of mega-grants to anchor institutions with whom the Taylor family has long-standing personal ties. The median grant across a broader sample is approximately $21,250. New entrants rarely receive more than $50,000–$75,000 in their first cycle.

The application process follows a formal LOI-to-invitation sequence, but the foundation is known for being accessible by phone. A pre-LOI call to discuss fit is not merely permitted — it is quietly encouraged and may meaningfully improve your chances of advancing past the LOI stage.

Crawford Taylor Foundation's giving exhibits one of the most dramatic year-to-year swings of any comparably-sized private foundation. Grants paid ranged from $6.8M (FY2020) to $65.3M (FY2019) and $59.7M (FY2021), tracking closely with net investment income. In FY2023, grants paid totaled $22.6M against $30.1M in net investment income — a payout ratio of approximately 75% of NII, consistent with prior years. Total assets stood at $729.6M in FY2023.

Across 267 recorded grants totaling $122.8M in the foundation's history, the average grant is $460,152 — but this figure is severely distorted by a handful of transformational commitments. The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra alone received $30.6M across 6 grants (average: $5.1M per grant). When the top five recipients are removed, the average drops into the $75,000–$250,000 range for established recurring grantees. The foundation's own reported typical grant data shows a median of $21,250, minimum of $3,000, and maximum of $2.8M across a 44-grant sample.

Geographically, Missouri accounts for 84% of all grants (224 of 267), concentrated almost entirely in the St. Louis metro. Washington D.C. receives 6% (16 grants, primarily Friends of the National WWII Memorial). Florida accounts for 2% — entirely the Everglades Foundation at $11.65M across 5 grants, reflecting apparent personal board-level interest in environmental conservation beyond St. Louis.

By program area, arts and culture (led by the Symphony and Municipal Theatre) and children's health (Cardinal Glennon, Children's Hospital) absorb the largest dollar volumes. Community development (Great Rivers Greenway, Forest Park Forever, Gateway Arch Park) receives consistent multi-cycle support. Smaller but steady grants go to human services organizations (St. Louis Area Food Bank: $1.65M across 6 grants; St. Louis Crisis Nursery: $300K across 6 grants; Boys & Girls Club: $8M across 2 grants).

Recurring grantees funded for 6 consecutive cycles include the Symphony, Food Bank, Humane Society of Missouri, Forest Park Forever, Ready Readers, Metro Theater Company, and CASA of St. Louis. This pattern signals that relationship continuity and consistent stewardship reporting — not competitive proposals — drive long-term funding retention.

The following table compares Crawford Taylor Foundation to four peer foundations of similar asset scale, all classified under Philanthropy & Grantmaking (NTEE T):

Crawford Taylor Foundation stands out among peers for its unusually accessible application process. Most family foundations of this asset size operate exclusively by board invitation, accepting no unsolicited LOIs. Crawford Taylor actively publishes a CyberGrants portal URL and lists specific submission deadlines — a meaningful structural advantage for organizations in the St. Louis region.

The foundation's willingness to fund organizations across a wide size spectrum (from $3,000 community grants to $15M hospital gifts) also differentiates it from peers that typically concentrate giving in six- or seven-figure commitments to pre-selected institutions. For St. Louis nonprofits, Crawford Taylor represents one of the few large private foundations where unsolicited applications from mid-sized organizations can realistically result in funding.

No significant press releases or program announcements specific to the Crawford Taylor Foundation were found for 2025 or early 2026. The foundation maintains a minimal public communications profile consistent with most large family foundations — there is no news section on the website and no social media presence identified in web research.

The most recent publicly available Form 990 data covers FY2023, reflecting $22.6M in grants paid and $24.4M in total giving — a recovery from FY2022's low of $11.2M, which followed the 2022 market downturn. The foundation's net investment income recovered to $30.1M in FY2023, suggesting the FY2024 grants cycle (data not yet publicly available) likely maintained or slightly increased the FY2023 giving level.

In the broader Taylor family philanthropic context, web research identified a $25M gift to propel emergency care and a $20M gift to establish the Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research at Washington University in St. Louis — both from Taylor family members, reflecting the family's continued prioritization of children's health and medical research in St. Louis. While these gifts appear to flow through different vehicles (likely direct gifts or separate DAFs rather than Crawford Taylor Foundation), they signal that health-focused organizations aligned with these themes may find a receptive audience at the foundation's board level.

Leadership has been stable across multiple 990 filing years: Jo Ann Kindle holds the Chairperson/President role; Andrew C. Taylor serves as Vice-President; Carolyn Kindle Betz as Secretary; and Kimberley Johnson as Treasurer. No leadership transitions were identified in recent filings.

Start with the LOI, not the full proposal. The foundation's two-stage process (LOI → invited application) means your initial submission should be concise, mission-aligned, and focused on demonstrating geographic and thematic fit — not comprehensive program detail. Use the LOI to tell a story about legacy, not to dump your organization's full program portfolio.

Mirror the foundation's exact language. Their four priority areas are named specifically: 'Community Development,' 'Women and Health,' 'Animal Welfare,' and 'Environment.' Match your program to one of these buckets explicitly. If your work spans multiple areas, pick the strongest fit rather than claiming all four — unfocused proposals signal unclear programmatic identity.

Apply once per year, plan accordingly. The board reviews on January 1, May 1, and October 1 deadlines only. Missing a cycle means waiting four to five months for the next opportunity. Plan your funding pipeline to align with the October 1 deadline if you need spring funding — decisions come 3-4 weeks after the board meeting.

Call before you submit. Staff at 314-512-4283 are reportedly accessible and can provide informal guidance on whether your organization and program area are currently aligned with board priorities. This pre-submission call is low-risk and potentially high-value — it may surface a signal that a particular program area is saturated or that a board member has specific interest in your sector.

Request a first grant in the $15,000–$75,000 range. The foundation's top-line numbers are dominated by multi-million-dollar gifts to organizations with decade-long board relationships. New entrants who anchor their first request appropriately demonstrate financial literacy and realistic expectations. Overreaching on a first ask can disqualify you from the relationship-building cycle that leads to larger grants.

Emphasize concrete, lasting impact. The word 'legacies' in the mission statement is load-bearing. Proposals that describe enduring physical, programmatic, or community outcomes outperform those focused on process metrics or short-term outputs. If your grant would fund a capital project, a named program, or measurable multi-year community change, say so explicitly.