Danforth Foundation Pledges Large Gift

The Danforth Foundation in St. Louis has pledged $100-million to nearby Washington University.

The gift of Ralston Purina Company stock will be made over the next five years and will be used to endow programs in biology, biomedicine, and the social sciences.

It is the largest gift that the foundation has made since its trustees decided last May to confine its grant making to the St. Louis metropolitan area. They also broadened its focus to include issues other than education.

The foundation has not drafted guidelines for making future grants and is not accepting unsolicited proposals.

Last year the foundation paid out $11.7-million in grants, of which almost $4-million went to projects in the St. Louis region. The foundation is one of the country’s 100 largest, with assets of $438-million. Through 2002, it will honor its long-term commitments — totaling about $39-million — made to grantees in the area of precollegiate education.

The gift to Washington University is the second of that size that the foundation has made to the university in the past 11 years.

For more information, contact Kay P. Dusenbery, Grants and Programs Manager, Danforth Foundation, One Metropolitan Square, St. Louis 63102; (314) 588-1900.