When you enter the impressive offices of the Ferring Family Foundation, it becomes readily apparent why the generosity of John and Alison Ferring is often associated with arts and culture.
Located on the second floor of the Ferring Jazz Bistro (home to Jazz St. Louis), the beautiful space is lined with a caliber of art shown in world-class museums. It includes stunning works by renowned Black artists Romare Bearden, Nick Cave and Oliver Lee Jackson, as well as some younger St. Louis-based Black artists such as Jerald Iaens and Kahlil Robert Irving.
However, their philanthropic footprint stretches across multiple sectors and includes groundbreaking medical research, education and entrepreneurship in addition to better-known funding of arts, culture and arts education initiatives.
“[The Ferring’s] generosity and personal involvement with worthy causes in our region would be difficult to quantify and impossible to overstate, as they are willing to get engaged and travel roads that are often risky and less traveled.” – Donald M. Suggs, president of the St. Louis American Foundation
“When we were first in the position to share some of the money we made and contribute, we were more arts oriented because we collected art, so it was kind of natural,” John said. “But it has really evolved.”
Alison, an artist, quickly chimed in to agree.
“I want people to know that the arts are important in terms of inspiration,” she added. “But that’s what I like to call, ‘the icing on the cake.’ And we need to bake the cake.”
The generous couple will be honored with the inaugural Excellence in Community Impact Award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 21st Annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards Luncheon on February 16th at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. As they sat down to discuss their commitment to giving, the modest couple stayed focused on their why – and what’s next.
John and Alison are strongly motivated by a love-hate relationship with St. Louis, but not in the typical sense of the expression. They love the city, but hate the systemic barriers that keep St. Louis from reaching its full potential with a passion. So – out of love – they have vowed to continue investing in the work of remediating some of the challenges that keep St. Louis getting in its own way.
“What has particularly energized us in the last five to ten years is this group of 30-40 something year-old millennials who are really doing incredible work for systemic change, and policy change,” Alison said, “The stuff that is messy and hard.” She named State Representative Rasheen Aldridge, WEPOWER founder and CEO Charli Cooksey and ArchCity Defenders Executive Director Blake Strode as examples. “What inspires us is finding super-talented people,” John added. “We love to invest in people and their ideas.”
On the dividing line
One of the most stubborn barriers to the elevation of St. Louis when they arrived was what they referred to as “the divide.”
“We have always lived on divides,” John said. “The divide was 18th Street in Lafayette Square. Then we moved to Kingsbury Place, which is a few blocks from the ‘Delmar Divide.’”
Granted the neighborhoods where the couple raised their three sons were advantaged. But the family could not go anywhere without the difference in the reality between the haves and the have nots staring them in the face.
“You couldn’t insulate yourself,” Alison said. “Which was a good thing.”
When they moved to St. Louis from Boston in the late 1970s, they landed in Lafayette Square. They purchased a home in the neighborhood for $5000 and began what became a seven-year renovation project – and the first steps towards their path of purpose-driven, unifying philanthropic work.
“Two blocks east you had Darst-Webbe and The Peabody – and a lot of kids,” John said.
Some of the young people would come across the So. 18th street dividing line and offer to do odd jobs. The young couple’s home became a gathering place.
“The more we came to know these children, we learned about their lives,” John said. “We were literally like 450 yards apart, and it was like two different worlds.”
As their new neighbors educated them regarding the fault lines of race, access and opportunity, Alison became schooled in the ABCs of philanthropy. She was charged with helping raise $2500,00 for an outdoor concert series at an area park. She called the late Leon Strauss and apologetically requested $1500,00.
“He told me, ‘Never start with an apology – and I will give you $750,00 here lies the first lesson. If you need $1500,00 ask for $3000,00’” Alison said.
They credit those teachable moments to helping them rise through the ranks of charitable giving.
“The thing that is really wonderful about St. Louis is that way before we could give any money, we could get involved,” John said. “I got on a board when I was 31. I didn’t have money, but I could work on their finance committee – and I felt great about that. St. Louis is still the same way. If you show an interest and you are willing to work – even if you don’t have any money – boards will want you.”
Opportunity equalizers
The couple has come a long way since Alison secured her three-figure gift from Strauss and John exchanged sweat equity for a board seat. Both as individuals and as a couple, they have led capital campaigns that have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of improvements to some of the area’s most beloved cultural institutions: The Gateway Arch, St. Louis Public Library and Forest Park. John led the first endowment campaign for the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis – Alison joined him as co-chair for the second campaign several years later.
They were co-chairs of the Center of Creative Arts (COCA’s) $50 million capital campaign, which was held from 2017-2020.
“When you go to COCA and you see all of those kids on stage and they are from everywhere – from a city school to John Burroughs – that’s what community impact looks like,” Alison said.
In 2010, they established the Ferring Annual Award for Philanthropy at COCA. “That stage is the level playing field,” Alison said. “Those kids are with each other twenty hours a week. They are building connections with each other that could not have been established otherwise.”
The Ferring Family Chair for Pediatric Cancers and Related Disorders at St. Louis Children’s Hospital was established in 2009. The Ferring Family Foundation Endowed Executive Director Chair at CAM was created in 2018. In 2021, The Ferring Foundation agreed to fund the Arch Grants Donald M. Suggs Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards of $100,000, equity-free, for African-American entrepreneurs for the next five years.
There is simply not enough space for a complete list of those who have benefited from the generosity of the Ferrings. They have already won several awards for their service –most recently the Washington University’s 2022 Jane and Whitney Harris St. Louis Community Service Award.
“To know John and Alison is to understand their commitment to seeing St. Louis live up to its potential as a top-tier city with world-class institutions and services that benefit every zip code,” said Donald M. Suggs, president of the St. Louis American Foundation. “Their generosity and personal involvement with worthy causes in our region would be difficult to quantify and impossible to overstate, as they are willing to get engaged and travel roads that are often risky and less traveled.”
An eye for ECE
As their giving focus continues to evolve, Alison has developed a keen interest in early childhood education through her work with centers like Flance Early Learning Center (she chairs the Development arm of their Board) and Urban Sprouts Childhood Development Center.
Through Urban Sprouts’ founder and Executive Director Ellicia Lanier, the Ferrings continue their practice of sowing into the transformative efforts of leaders who happen to be young, gifted and Black.
“She doesn’t just want to take care of a 100 kids – she wants to take care of 500 kids, have a campus and teach people,” John said of Lanier. “That’s inspiring! And from our standpoint, this is somebody that can make stuff happen and make a huge difference long term.”
In Lanier’s opinion, The Ferrings are an institution in their own right and provide an invaluable philanthropic blueprint for others to follow.
“What is unique about John and Alison is that they have this desire to see dreamers actually fulfill their vision for uplifting communities,” Lanier said. “They are truly a dynamic duo. When you are blessed to be in their company, they have a wealth of information because of the life that they’ve lived, the businesses they have run and the campaigns they have spearheaded.”
The degree of hope John and Alison have for the community – and how far they are willing to extend themselves on behalf of initiatives and people they support– has been a source of inspiration for Lanier.
“In them you have philanthropists that really want to spend time with you, see you grow and invest not just in the work you do, but you personally. I think that really sets them apart,” Lanier said. “Philanthropy can be highly socialized, and very exclusive. But John and Alison are extremely reachable – and the fact that they want people to have that level of access to them is a gift to St. Louis.”
The St. Louis American Foundation’s 21st Annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards Luncheon will take place at 12 noon (11 a.m. networking reception) on Thursday, February 16th at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis (100 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton MO 63105). For tickets and/or additional information, call (314) 533-8000 or visit www.stlamerican.com.
