The George and Mary Jo Sanders
Fort Myers, FL · EIN 59-3189770. Reported 188 grants totalling $1,125,500 to 64 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. The George and Mary Jo Sanders did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $5,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $33,500. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Florida Foundation Inc - Ifas | Gainesville, FL | $111,800 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lee Memorial Health Systems Foundation | Fort Myers, FL | $82,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Community Cooperative Ministries | Fort Myers, FL | $75,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Samaritan's Purse | Boone, NC | $55,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Reliant | Worcester, MA | $47,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hope Hospice | Fort Myers, FL | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation | Staten Island, NY | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Salvation Army | Fort Myers, FL | $35,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Desire Street Ministries | Atlanta, GA | $30,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Gator Boosters Inc | Gainesville, FL | $28,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fort Myers Christian School | Fort Myers, FL | $27,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Heights Foundation | Fort Myers, FL | $21,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Crosspoint Church | Clemson, SC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| CTN10 | Punta Gorda, FL | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Project Dentists Care | Tallahassee, FL | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Thomas Edison & Henry Ford Winter Estates Inc | Fort Myers, FL | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Valerie's House | Fort Myers, FL | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Alliance for the Arts | Fort Myers, FL | $17,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| PATH2FREEDOM Inc | Naples, FL | $17,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Rcma | Immokalee, FL | $17,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center | Fort Myers, FL | $17,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Southwest Fl Christian Academy | Fort Myers, FL | $17,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Tim Tebow Foundation | Jacksonville, FL | $17,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Guadalupe Center Inc | Immokalee, FL | $17,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mcgregor Baptist Church | Fort Myers, FL | $17,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Echo Inc | North Fort Myers, FL | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fort Myers Community Church Inc | Fort Myers, FL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Fort Myers Rescue Mission | Fort Myers, FL | $14,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Babcock Neighborhood School Inc | Babcock Ranch, FL | $13,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Larc | Fort Myers, FL | $13,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| I Will Mentorship Foundation | Fort Myers, FL | $12,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Sw Fl Council Boy Scouts of America | Fort Myers, FL | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Way Fm | Fort Myers, FL | $12,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Artfest Fort Myers Inc | Fort Myers, FL | $12,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fort Myers Fire Department | Fort Myers, FL | $10,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Fort Myers Police Department | Fort Myers, FL | $10,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Lee County Ems | Fort Myers, FL | $10,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lee County Sheriff Department | Fort Myers, FL | $10,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Idols Aside Ministries Inc | Paducah, KY | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Leadership Institute | Arlington, VA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| New Hope Presbyterian Church | Fort Myers, FL | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| St Michaels Lutheran School | Fort Myers, FL | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Harry Chapin Food Bank | Fort Myers, FL | $9,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St Peter Anglican Church | Tallahassee, FL | $8,200 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Light of the World Ministries | Atlantic Beach, FL | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Around the Corner Ministries | Hendersonville, NC | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| K-Love | Omaha, NE | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Southwest Florida Council Boy Scouts | Fort Myers, FL | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Awaken Ministries | Fort Myers, FL | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Fort Myers High School Athletic Booster Club Inc | Fort Myers, FL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Gulf Breeze Church of Christ | Gulf Breeze, FL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lifeline Family Center Inc | Cape Coral, FL | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Blackville Cemetery Co Inc | Blackville, SC | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Thrive | Cape Coral, FL | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Biltmore Church of Christ | Arden, NC | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Canterbury School Inc | Fort Myers, FL | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Jesse Duplantis Ministries | Destrehan, LA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County | Fort Myers, FL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Brevard Fire Department | Brevard, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Brevard Police Department | Brevard, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The New Beginnings of Southwest Florida | East Peoria, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Transylvania County Ems | Brevard, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Transylvania County Sheriff Department | Brevard, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cindy Sheets Endowment - Univ of South Alabama | Mobile, AL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
49 of 64 (77%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 83%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- University of Florida Foundation Inc - Ifas
SUPPORT FOR CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 72 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52 | $284,500 | $5,000 |
| 2022 | 47 | $289,500 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 42 | $278,500 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 47 | $273,000 | $5,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 78% of this one's giving went to organizations in Florida. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
Find more foundations like The George and Mary Jo Sanders
We email you newly filed foundations whose giving matches your state and cause, as the IRS publishes them. Free.
No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.
Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Florida.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The George and Mary Jo Sanders's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 1412 Royal Palm Sq Blvd 102, Fort Myers, FL, 33919. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 59-3189770 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.