What Role Does the St. Louis Community Foundation Play for Professional Advisors?

The St. Louis Community Foundation serves professional advisors as a charitable-giving partner for their clients. The foundation names professional advisors as one of its four core audiences—alongside donors, nonprofits, and businesses—and offers donor-advised funds and donor services as the main tools advisors can use when a client wants to give with more structure or tax awareness. It is a fit for advisors whose clients want a local giving vehicle administered by an established community foundation; it is not a replacement for the advisor's own legal, tax, or financial planning work.

Who the foundation works with

The foundation describes its role as helping people "navigate" the St. Louis philanthropic landscape. Its stated audiences are:

• Donors — individuals and families setting up or adding to giving funds
• Nonprofits — organizations seeking grants and community partnerships
• Businesses — companies structuring corporate giving
• Professional advisors — attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, and estate planners whose clients have charitable goals

For advisors, the practical value is a ready-made charitable channel: the foundation handles fund administration and grantmaking infrastructure, while the advisor keeps the client relationship and the broader planning work.

What advisors can offer clients through the foundation

Donor-advised funds

A donor-advised fund is the most direct tool listed on the site. An advisor can point a client to the foundation to open a fund, recommend grants over time, and keep giving organized under one administrative roof. This suits clients who want ongoing charitable involvement rather than one-off gifts.

Donor services

The foundation lists donor services as a distinct offering, which covers the support side of managing a fund—questions, grant recommendations, and working with the foundation's team.

Community impact and local knowledge

The foundation reports that in 2025 it granted $118 million to nonprofits, scholarships, and employee care recipients, and that 81% of donated funds stay in the St. Louis metro area. For advisors, that local concentration is useful context when a client wants their giving to stay regional. The foundation also publishes an annual impact report with named examples—such as the Fathers & Families Support Center, the School District of University City, and St. Paul AME Church—which advisors can use to show clients what local funding supports.

Scholarships

Scholarships appear among the foundation's quick links, making it a route for clients interested in education-focused giving.

How an advisor typically engages

1. Identify the client's charitable intent — current giving, estate plans, or a liquidity event.
2. Contact the foundation team — the site invites donors and community members to reach out with questions; advisors can use the same contact route to ask about advisor resources.
3. Choose the vehicle — donor-advised fund or another foundation offering that matches the client's goals.
4. Coordinate with the client's other planning — the advisor retains responsibility for the legal, tax, and financial advice around the gift.
5. Support grantmaking over time — the client recommends grants; the foundation administers them.

When this is the right fit—and when it isn't

The site does not publish fee schedules, minimum fund sizes, or advisor-specific program details, so those questions need to go to the foundation's team directly rather than being assumed.

Getting started

Use the foundation's contact option on stlgives.org to ask specifically about professional advisor resources, donor-advised fund requirements, and how the team prefers to be looped into a client conversation. Bring the client's giving goals and timeline to that first conversation so the foundation can point to the right vehicle.