Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Dimensional Fund Advisors

FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Policy, Arts & Culture, Autism Research

OVERVIEW: Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield established the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation after retiring from their firm, Dimensional Fund Advisors. The foundation aims to improve educational options for low-income families and provide extracurricular programs for elementary and secondary students, operating mainly in Missouri. According to available tax filings, the foundation awarded $3.69 million in grants in 2017.

BACKGROUND: Rex Sinquefield was raised in a Catholic orphanage in St. Louis, Missouri. He earned a business degree from Saint Louis University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He developed some of the nation’s first index funds and cofounded Dimensional Fund Advisors in 1981. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield earned an MBA and a doctorate in demography from the University of Chicago. She oversaw the trading department and served as executive vice president at Dimensional Fund Advisors. Since retiring in 2005, the Sinquefields have established and overseen the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation in Missouri.

ISSUES:

EDUCATION: The Sinquefields’ education funding has prioritized enrichment programs and programs that support special-needs and underprivileged children. The Sinquefields’ founded the Saint Louis Chess Club and run the Sinquefield Invention Lab program in conjunction with the Great Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Another grantee, the Special Learning Center of Jefferson City, Missouri, supports children who have developmental delays and disabilities with early intervention and therapeutic services. Additional past grantees include the Today and Tomorrow Education Foundation, the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri and the St. Vincent Home for Children.

POLICY: Rex Sinquefield is a cofounder and president of the Show Me Institute, a Missouri-based think tank that aims to “advance liberty with individual responsibility by promoting market solutions for Missouri public policy.” The organization conducts research and publishes studies and educational materials concerning economic opportunity and educational reform specific to the state of Missouri.

ARTS & CULTURE: Jeanne Sinquefield is an accomplished musician who plays string bass in two Missouri orchestras. Her passion for music has translated into a philanthropic relationship with the University of Missouri’s School of Music, where the foundation supports several programs, including the Mizzou New Music Initiative, the International Composers Festival, Composer Connection and the Creating Original Music Project. The Sinquefields have also supported the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis and the St. Louis Art Museum

AUTISM RESEARCH: Jeanne Sinquefield has served as president of the Neurofeedback and Applied Neuroscience Foundation, an organization that supports autism research and therapeutic measures for autistic children. The couple also supports neurofeedback research at the University of Missouri.

LOOKING FORWARD: It is likely that the Sinquefields will remain actively involved in education and policy in their home state of Missouri. The Sinquefield Charitable Foundation does not accept applications for funding, but provides an email address for general inquiries.

LINKS:

Sinquefield Charitable Foundation

News

CONTACT:

sinquefieldfoundation@gmail.com