Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
This funder mainly gives to individuals. Around 81% of its grant-making in tax years 2022–2024 went to individuals rather than organisations, so it may not be a good fit for organisational applicants.
Key takeaways
- This is primarily a scholarship foundation that also invests in strategic grant initiatives, and its grantmaking to nonprofits is by invitation only, rarely if ever funding unsolicited proposals, so a cold application is unlikely to work and building a relationship is the realistic route in.
- A modest request fits best: half of its grants to organisations are $10,000 or less, with the overall range running from $250 to $200,000, a median of $10,000 and a largest grant of $1,000,000.
- Local, youth-serving nonprofits working on educational access and achievement could look to the Good Neighbor Grants, sized $10,000 to $35,000, though these exclude general operating support, capital improvements, endowments, lobbying, and activities that exclusively benefit members of sectarian or religious organisations.
- Its priority geographic focus is the United States, Loudoun County Virginia, Northern Virginia, metropolitan Washington D.C. and Maryland.
- Giving is relationship-led and competitive for newcomers, as 80% of its grant dollars went to organisations it had already funded in earlier filings.
Overview
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a US private foundation based in Lansdowne, VA.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The Foundation is primarily a scholarship provider, advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Its direct scholarship programmes serve high-school, undergraduate, community-college transfer and graduate students. Alongside those programmes, it invests in strategic grant initiatives to expand educational opportunities throughout the United States and partners with educational leaders sharing its commitment. Its grants include support for high-quality summer enrichment for high-achieving, low-income students entering grades 6–12 and advanced learning through access to rigorous coursework. In its local grantmaking, it supports youth-serving nonprofit organisations addressing educational access and achievement in Loudoun County, Virginia. It usually makes only a limited number of grants to nonprofits whose work complements its mission and rarely, if ever, funds unsolicited proposals.
Themes
- Scholarships
- Summer enrichment
- Advanced learning
- College access
Geographic Focus
Priority: United States; Loudoun County, Virginia; Northern Virginia; metropolitan Washington, D.C.; Maryland.
What They Don't Fund
- Good Neighbor Grants only: general operating support; capital improvements; endowments; lobbying; activities that exclusively benefit the members of sectarian or religious organizations
How to apply
The Foundation typically makes only a limited number of grants to nonprofit organisations whose efforts complement its mission and rarely, if ever, funds unsolicited proposals.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 80% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 194 grants to organisations were $10,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- The Foundation partners with educational leaders who share its commitment to advancing education for exceptionally promising students with financial need.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 28%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 8%
- The largest single recipient received 8% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 80% of grant dollars went to organisations Jack Kent Cooke Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- 7% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 74 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $10,000 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- From the Top · Support ftt to provide scholarships to young musicians with financial need$515,0002024 tax year
- American Indian Science and Engineering Society · Support the general operations of aises$500,0002024 tax year
- Loudoun Education Foundation · Support lef to provide support to lcps students who have financial need$300,0002024 tax year
- Emerge Fellowship · Support emerge's innovative college success program$200,0002024 tax year
- Matriculate · Support matriculate's general operations$200,0002024 tax year
- Grove Collective Foundation · Support the consortium for college opportunity's general operations$200,0002024 tax year
- Art of Problem Solving Initiative · Support beam's general operations$150,0002024 tax year
- High Jump · Support high jump's general operations$150,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Wanda G Wiser — Director
- Samantha Tweedy — Director
- Sherice Torres — Director
- Howard B Soloway — Director / President
- Mark Pollak — Director
- Ted Mitchell — Director
- Linda J King — Director
- Gregory R Dillon — Director
- John Kent Cooke Sr — Director
- Ricardo Deleon — CFO & Treasurer
- Guiseppe Basili — Executive Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $45,028,935 | $28,723,760 | $827,130,951 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $45,416,521 | $24,367,313 | $890,282,047 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $45,846,358 | $25,128,394 | $940,115,695 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to Jack Kent Cooke Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (800) 941-3300
- grants@jkcf.org
- Lansdowne, VA
- jkcf.org
Applying to Jack Kent Cooke Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (800) 941-3300
- grants@jkcf.org
- Lansdowne, VA
- jkcf.org