Danforth Foundation
Encyclopedia
Danforth Foundation is one of the largest private non-for profit foundations in the St. Louis Metropolitan region. The foundation has 1.5 billion USD in assets as of 2003. Established in 1927 by Ralston Purina founder William H. Danforth
and his wife, the Danforth Foundation grants funds exclusively to the St. Louis region. In the 1950s and 1960s it funded many projects involving religion and higher education. The Danforth Fellows Program, which supported graduate study in religion for scholars in other fields, was folded into the Society for Values in Higher Education
. In 1973 Methodist minister and theologian Merrimon Cuninggim
resigned as executive director because of a perceived conflict of interest from a $60 million grant to Washington University in St. Louis
authorized by William Henry Danforth, Jr., who was then both chairman of the foundation and chancellor of the university.
William H. Danforth
William H. Danforth founded Nestle Purina in St. Louis, Missouri in 1894. He was a co-founder of the American Youth Foundation and the author of the book, I Dare You!....
and his wife, the Danforth Foundation grants funds exclusively to the St. Louis region. In the 1950s and 1960s it funded many projects involving religion and higher education. The Danforth Fellows Program, which supported graduate study in religion for scholars in other fields, was folded into the Society for Values in Higher Education
Society for Values in Higher Education
The Society for Values in Higher Education is a US-based non-profit membership organization. Founded in 1922 to promote the teaching of religious studies in American colleges and universities, the society’s members are now broadly interested in issues involving education, including pedagogy,...
. In 1973 Methodist minister and theologian Merrimon Cuninggim
Merrimon Cuninggim
Merrimon Cuninggim was a Methodist minister, president of Salem College in North Carolina from 1976 to 1979, thirteen years executive director of the Danforth Foundation before resigning in protest in 1973, and dean of Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University where in 1952 he...
resigned as executive director because of a perceived conflict of interest from a $60 million grant to Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
authorized by William Henry Danforth, Jr., who was then both chairman of the foundation and chancellor of the university.