stlgives.org

The St. Louis Community Foundation offers several ways to give, with donor-advised funds and donor services as the core vehicles, plus scholarships and community impact funds as additional paths. The foundation, which has operated since 1915, positions itself as a matchmaker between donors and causes—so the practical first step is deciding what you want your giving to accomplish, then choosing the vehicle that fits. For donors who want help thinking it through, the foundation invites you to contact its team directly.

Core Giving Vehicles

Donor-Advised Funds

A donor-advised fund is the foundation's primary giving account structure. You contribute assets to a fund held at the foundation, then recommend grants to nonprofits over time. This suits donors who want to give flexibly across multiple organizations rather than commit to a single cause up front.

Donor Services

Donor services support fundholders through the giving process. The foundation describes this as helping donors "navigate" the St. Louis philanthropic landscape—useful if you know your priorities but not yet which organizations address them.

Additional Giving Paths

What Your Giving Supports

The foundation publishes concrete outcomes that help donors gauge scale. In 2025, the foundation and its donors granted $118 million to nonprofits, scholarship recipients, and employee care recipients, with 81% of grants staying in the St. Louis metro area. Its 2025 Impact Report highlights specific partnerships—the Fathers & Families Support Center, the School District of University City, and St. Paul AME Church's recovery work—as examples of how funds translate into community results.

Choosing Among the Options

• You want ongoing control over which nonprofits receive grants: a donor-advised fund.
• You have a cause area but need help finding organizations: start with donor services and ask the team to help match you.
• You want to fund students: ask about the scholarship path.
• You want the foundation to direct dollars to regional priorities: community impact giving.
• You want to participate in a shared regional moment: Give STL Day.

Getting Started

The foundation's site lists Donor Advised Funds, Donor Services, Community Impact, Nonprofits, Scholarships, and Professional Advisors as quick links, and provides a contact channel for questions. The site does not publish minimum fund sizes, fees, or application requirements, so those details need to come from the team. A practical first message: state your giving goals, the approximate scale you have in mind, and whether you want ongoing grant recommendations or a one-time contribution—then ask which vehicle fits and what the setup process involves.

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.

Give STL Day is a community fundraising event run by the St. Louis Community Foundation, and it has raised $40 million since 2014, according to the foundation's own reporting. The money supports local nonprofits in the St. Louis area and sits within the foundation's broader community impact work, which granted $118 million in 2025 to nonprofits, scholarship, and employee care recipients—with 81% of grants staying in the St. Louis metro area.

What Give STL Day Is

Give STL Day is a recurring, foundation-run giving event rather than a standalone charity. The St. Louis Community Foundation describes itself as helping donors, nonprofits, businesses, and professional advisors "navigate" the region's philanthropic landscape, and Give STL Day is one expression of that mission: a concentrated moment for the community to direct money to local organizations.

Two facts frame its scale:

The $40 million figure is cumulative across all years since 2014, not an annual total. The foundation does not publish a year-by-year breakdown on the page reviewed, so treat the cumulative number as the reliable headline and avoid assuming a per-year average.

How It Fits the Foundation's Community Impact Work

Give STL Day is one channel within a wider portfolio. The foundation's 2025 impact materials group its work under themes such as "Giving With Purpose, Together," "Creating Pathways to Opportunity," "Investing in the Leaders of Tomorrow," and "Supporting Recovery Across St. Louis"—each tied to specific partner organizations and stories.

That context matters for interpretation: the $40 million raised through Give STL Day is part of, not separate from, the $118 million granted in 2025. The foundation frames its role as placing "a renewed emphasis on 'community'" through partnerships with donors, nonprofits, and community leaders.

Who It's For

• Donors who want a time-bound, community-focused way to give locally, alongside ongoing options like Donor Advised Funds.
• Nonprofits seeking a fundraising moment tied to a recognized regional foundation.
• Professional advisors looking for a philanthropic vehicle for clients.
• Businesses interested in community giving partnerships.

If your goal is year-round planned giving or a donor-advised fund, Give STL Day is not the right entry point—the foundation's Donor Services and Donor Advised Funds pages are. If your goal is participating in a collective local giving push, Give STL Day is the relevant program.

What to Verify Before Acting

The foundation's site does not state Give STL Day's 2026 date, eligibility rules for participating nonprofits, or fee structure on the page reviewed. Before committing:

1. Confirm the current event date and registration deadlines directly with the foundation.
2. For nonprofits, check participation requirements and any platform fees.
3. For donors, confirm which organizations are participating in the current cycle.
4. Use the foundation's contact channel for questions—its site explicitly invites donors and community members to reach out.

The foundation has operated since 1915, so its institutional track record is long; the specific mechanics of any given Give STL Day cycle are what you need to confirm fresh each year.

The St. Louis Community Foundation works with nonprofits and community leaders through grantmaking, donor-advised fund partnerships, and community impact programs. If your organization serves the St. Louis area, the practical starting point is to contact the foundation directly to explore alignment with its current focus areas and funding cycles. The foundation reports granting $118 million in 2025 to nonprofits, scholarships, and employee care recipients, with 81% of those funds staying in the St. Louis metro area.

What the Foundation Does With Nonprofits

The foundation describes itself as a connector between donors and causes, partnering with donors, nonprofits, and community leaders. Its published impact areas show where nonprofit work fits:

• Creating Pathways to Opportunity — highlighted through the Fathers & Families Support Center
• Investing in the Leaders of Tomorrow — highlighted through the School District of University City
• Supporting Recovery Across St. Louis — highlighted through St. Paul AME Church

These examples indicate the kinds of organizations the foundation features in its community impact work, but they are illustrations rather than a complete list of eligible causes.

Ways Organizations Engage

Steps to Explore a Partnership

1. Review the foundation's impact priorities — read the current impact report and community impact pages to see whether your mission fits the featured areas.
2. Prepare a short organizational summary — mission, service area, population served, and measurable outcomes.
3. Contact the foundation — the site invites donors and community members to reach out with questions; use the contact option to ask about nonprofit partnership and grant inquiry processes.
4. Ask specific questions — current funding cycles, application requirements, and whether your work aligns with donor-advised fund interests.
5. Track follow-up — confirm any deadlines or materials requested, and note whether the foundation refers you to Give STL Day or another entry point.

Common Sticking Points

• Assuming open applications exist. The site does not publish a general grant application process; confirm requirements directly rather than preparing a full proposal first.
• Mismatched focus. If your work falls outside the featured impact areas, donor-advised fund relationships or Give STL Day may be more realistic routes.
• Skipping the contact step. The foundation positions itself as a navigator of the philanthropic landscape; a conversation can clarify which pathway fits.

Bottom Line

Nonprofits should treat the foundation as both a potential grantmaker and a connector to donors. Start with the published impact areas, then contact the foundation to confirm fit, timing, and the right engagement pathway before investing in a formal application.

The St. Louis Community Foundation (stlgives.org) is a philanthropic organization founded in 1915 that connects donors with causes in the St. Louis region. It serves donors, nonprofits, businesses, and professional advisors, and manages donor-advised funds, scholarships, and community impact grantmaking. According to its 2025 Impact Report, the Foundation and its donors granted $118 million in 2025, with 81% of those funds staying in the St. Louis metro area.

Who It Serves

The Foundation describes its role as helping four groups navigate the St. Louis philanthropic landscape:

• Donors — individuals and families who want to give with purpose
• Nonprofits — organizations seeking funding and community partnership
• Businesses — companies structuring their charitable giving
• Professional advisors — advisors helping clients plan philanthropy

What It Does

Donor-Advised Funds and Donor Services

Donor-advised funds are the first quick link on the Foundation's site, paired with donor services. These vehicles let donors recommend grants over time while the Foundation handles administration.

Community Impact Grantmaking

The Foundation frames its work around partnerships with donors, nonprofits, and community leaders, with a stated renewed emphasis on "community." Its 2025 report highlights specific impact areas:

Scholarships

Scholarships appear as a distinct program area alongside donor services and nonprofit support, indicating the Foundation administers scholarship funds in addition to general grantmaking.

Give STL Day

Give STL Day, the Foundation's community giving event, has raised $40 million since 2014.

By the Numbers (2025)

• $118M granted by the Foundation and its donors in 2025, to nonprofits, scholarship recipients, and employee care recipients
• 81% of grants stay in the St. Louis metro area
• $40M raised through Give STL Day since 2014
• Since 1915 serving St. Louis philanthropy

When to Engage With the Foundation

• If you want to give strategically over time — a donor-advised fund keeps grantmaking local while the Foundation handles administration.
• If you run a St. Louis nonprofit — the community impact and nonprofit pages are the entry points for funding relationships.
• If you advise clients on charitable giving — the professional advisors track addresses planned giving structures.
• If you're a student seeking scholarship funding — scholarships are a listed program area.
• If you want to support many local nonprofits at once — Give STL Day is the Foundation's mass-giving event.

The Foundation invites questions directly through its contact page; the site does not publish fee schedules or eligibility details for specific funds, so confirm those with a team member before committing.