Search Through Grants for Community Service Projects in Missouri in the U.S.

Background

The Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation is focused on giving back to the people of greater Kansas City.

Through responsive and strategic philanthropy, the Foundation supports a variety of organizations working to improve the quality of life in local communities.

The Foundation is committed to assisting the city’s most vulnerable neighbors and striving to achieve lasting and meaningful change.

Learn more.

Grant Opportunities

The Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation’s grantmaking strategy emphasizes creating excellence and transformational change.

The Foundation’s unique approach combines proactive support that strengthens area nonprofits and responsive community assistance to achieve greater results, with a focus on underserved populations.

Community Impact

The Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation seeks to make strategic and responsive grants that help organizations achieve one or more of the following:

• Support nonprofit excellence and transformational change
• Meaningfully impact systemic issues
• Improve outcomes for low-income, underserved communities
• Expand organizational services

Since inception, the Foundation has invested over $175 million in greater Kansas City nonprofit organizations. Marion and Henry’s legacy of serving others continues to enhance our beloved city.What areas of focus (or cause areas) does the Foundation support? The Foundation’s areas of focus are:

• Education for Poor, Disadvantaged, and Underserved Youth
• Healthcare
• Jewish Community Organizations
• Post-Secondary Business and Entrepreneurship Education
• Social Services
• Visual and Performing Arts

What activities does the Foundation support?

The Foundation supports special programs, capacity building, and capital projects through strategic and responsive grants that help organizations achieve one or more of the following:

• support nonprofit excellence and transformational change;
• strengthen organizations;
• improve services for clients; and/or
• help underserved, low-income individuals.

What is the typical amount and duration of grant awards?

The Foundation does not have fixed minimum or maximum award limits, though grant awards typically fall in the range of $100,000 to $250,000. The Foundation makes both one-year and multi-year grant awards. 

Funding Priorities

We focus our grantmaking in a way that honors our founders’ intent and operates in alignment with our mission, vision, and values – to center our work on ensuring all people experience what is possible.

We understand that improving life for all requires an interconnected approach. Therefore, through our grantmaking we seek to increase economic opportunities of all, with an intentional focus on communities of color, those not earning a livable wage, and families experiencing poverty. Kansas City’s community needs will guide us as we work together to create stronger partnerships with communities, nonprofit partners, and foundation colleagues, in order to increase opportunities for all to succeed.

We believe that as we expand our reach and increase our impact through new, strengthened, and reimagined partnerships within our three impact areas, we will help build a community where an improved quality of life is equitable and enjoyable by all.

What we fund and the impact we seek

To achieve our vision of enabling all people in our community to experience what is possible; to achieve their greatest potential, and to create a bigger impact, our grantmaking will focus on three interconnected impact areas:

KC Spirit: Elevating Kansas City

• To ensure that greater Kansas City’s regional assets, cultural organizations, and sense of community make it a thriving and inclusive place to live.
• Make Kansas City stronger by embracing all in our stories & vision for the city through investments in regional assets, arts & culture, and community wide initiatives.

Prospering Communities: Increasing equity for all

• To support families through organizations and initiatives that take a holistic approach to reducing poverty and increasing equity and well-being.
• Communities prosper when there are equitable opportunities to access education, housing, employment, and health care. We prioritize investments that take systemic and comprehensive approaches to increasing opportunities for all to thrive in their neighborhoods of choice.
• Grantmaking focuses on economic inclusion – livable neighborhoods – healthcare – emergency and safety net services.

Growing Minds: Creating strong educational foundation for life

• We prioritize investments that improve outcomes and access to quality programming for children and their families in education.
• Grantmaking focuses on Pre-K, K-12, post-secondary, and wrap-around support services, in addition to out-of-classroom initiatives that address barriers to education and provide additional academic support.

The Jeffris Family Foundation invites applications for grants from the Jeffris Heartland Fund, to support the development of important historic preservation projects in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.The decision to pursue a grant from the Jeffris Heartland Fund must be made in consultation with a Director of the Foundation to discuss your project and request a Jeffris Heartland Fund application form.Directors can also assist grant-seekers with the application process, provide related technical assistance to guide wise and constructive use of the grant funding, and administer grants once awarded. Applications, once invited, are accepted at any time.  Award notices are issued within approximately 30 days of receipt of the application.Grants will be made in the range of $5,000 to $50,000 to cover 50% the cost of an Historic Structure Report, and must be matched dollar-for-dollar with cash from sources unrelated to the Jeffris Family.

Historic Significance of the Site

• Priority will be given to sites of documented national and then state historic significance. Sites with local significance only will not be eligible for funding.
• Priority will be given to sites associated with prominent figures of national, regional, or statewide importance, or with events of national, regional, or statewide significance.
• Priority will be given to sites with significant architectural merit, including association with designers of national, regional, or statewide importance.
• Priority will be given to sites with strong elements of the decorative arts.
• Priority will be given to projects involving historic resources that are extremely rare and/or unique.
• Priority will be given to projects with a high degree of historic integrity, and to work relating to the restoration of original elements. While work to accommodate contemporary usage is acceptable, all work on the property must conform to The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

Proposed Project and Plan

• Priority will be given to applicants that can best demonstrate that a Historic Structure Report or other detailed planning study for which funding is being requested is critical to the accurate and appropriate restoration of the property.
• Priority will be given to applicants that can best demonstrate their intended use will be financially viable and operationally sustainable over time.
• Priority will be given to applicants that can assure that the project will fully comply with The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties through review and oversight by a local historic preservation commission, state historic preservation office, or preservation consultants thoroughly familiar and experienced with those standards.

 Organizational Excellence

• Priority will be given to applicants who can demonstrate a pattern of programming and services connected to the site and their stated mission (e.g. educational programs, events, hospitality).
• Priority will be given to applicants who demonstrate a broad base of membership and community support.
• Priority will be given to applicants with demonstrated success in past capital fundraising efforts.

Bring touring artists to your state

The Regional Touring Program (RTP) provides support for projects by organizations showcasing the work of artists from elsewhere in the M-AAA region.

• Organizations that book an artist listed on a state touring roster may be awarded up to 50 percent of the artist’s fee.
• Organizations that book an artist that lives in the region, but is not listed on a touring roster, may be awarded up to 25 percent of the artist’s fee.
• Organizations located in rural communities may receive an additional 10 percent of the artist’s fee.

Funding

• This grant will disburse matching funds of up to $5,000.
• Organizations may submit a maximum of three (3) applications and receive awards for up to three (3) different projects in a single fiscal year (July 1–June 30). Each applicant is eligible for an aggregate amount of $15,000 in a single fiscal year; and
• Similarly, an artist, ensemble, or scholar/educator can be the recipient of an aggregate of $15,000 through successful RTP grant applications submitted to M-AAA in a single fiscal year.

Our Purpose

The Foundation was established in 1968 to provide Rupert and Ruth Dunklau a systematic method of gifting to God’s people a portion of the blessings God had given them.

The Foundation exists to glorify God and serve His gracious will, by providing financial resources for the varied ministries related to the Lutheran tradition, especially the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, educational entities of the Lutheran Church and appropriate projects that promote the welfare of mankind

Focus Areas

• Lutheran Higher Education: The Foundation will support processes, efforts, and programs of ministries that engage people in furthering their education and continued learning opportunities, enabling them to become of greater service in meeting the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of people.
• Health & Human Care: The Foundation will support processes, efforts and programs of ministries that take collaborative and results- oriented approaches that address the varied needs of people in His Church and the communities they serve, thus promoting the welfare of mankind.
• Faith Strengthening: The Foundation will support processes, efforts and programs of ministries that strengthen, enhance and embolden participants and their families to share their Christian faith in His Gospel Message, lived as well as spoken.

Since its inception, the Foundation, which is still led by Lester T. Sunderland's descendants, has focused on supporting construction projects, awarding grants to nonprofits in the Kansas City region and other markets traditionally served by the Ash Grove Cement Company. 

 The Foundation prefers to make grants for construction and special interest projects rather than for annual operating expenses. 

Grants for planning, design, construction, renovation, repairs and restoration of facilities are considered. Areas of interest include higher education, youth serving agencies, health facilities, community buildings, museums, civic projects and energy efficient affordable housing projects sponsored by qualified tax-exempt organizations. 

Funding Areas

In recent grant cycles, the Board of Trustees has awarded the majority of grants in four broadly defined areas:

Higher Education

In 2022, the Foundation awarded $49 million to more than 35 educational organizations. Grantees included community colleges, private colleges, and public universities.

Human Services

The Foundation awarded $30 million to human service nonprofits in 2022, and many grants in this area went to groups that provide essential services to youth and families. Grantees included a range of youth-focused groups, including Reconciliation Services, the Nebraska Youth Justice Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska and the Sno-Valley Senior Center in Carnation, Washington. 

Arts and Culture

Arts and culture projects received $23 million in 2022, including grants to the Springfield Art Museum in Springfield, Missouri, the Omaha Zoo and the Seattle Aquarium in Seattle, Washington. Health Care and Hospitals.

Health Care and Hospitals

This is a growing area of need in many communities the Foundation serves. In 2022, $65 million was awarded to hospitals and health-care groups to build and improve their facilities.

Pettus Foundation

The Pettus Foundation is the philanthropic legacy of Mr. James T. Pettus of International Shoe Company and his son, James T. Pettus, Jr. Core to the Pettus Foundation’s giving is Mr. Pettus’s desire “to enable people who might not have opportunities to have opportunities,” thus the Pettus Foundation prioritizes programs which create self-reliance, independence, and citizen productivity.

The St. Louis Community Foundation has the honor and privilege of working with the Trustees of the Pettus Foundation to continue to ensure that the philanthropic wishes of Mr. Pettus live on in the St. Louis Region.

The Foundation’s giving occurs in three ways:

• Through a competitive grant process in St. Louis, where Mr. Pettus, Jr. was born and went to school
• To pre-selected organizations in Hawaii, where Mr. Pettus Jr. lived in his later years
• Each of the seven children of James T. Pettus Jr. (family advisors) has an allocated amount to give to charities of their choice

Focus Areas

In St. Louis, the Pettus Foundation provides funding to nonprofit organizations working in the following areas:

• Workforce Development
• Direct job, technical, and career training
• Soft skills necessary for success
• Youth Development
• Preparation for the work force including soft skills
• Preparation for life after high school including higher education, technical school, military, or apprenticeship programs
• Education
• Early childhood education
• K – 12 public schools with a focus on the middle school years

Please note the following:

• Understanding how significant a robust early education platform is for putting children on an excellent educational and social trajectory, the Trustees are interested in programs that impact many preschools through teacher training and innovative curriculum design.
• The Trustees believe that there are many paths to job and career success. Funding interests include human services organizations and K-12 schools that are providing direct job training, STEM-related projects, technical training, or “soft skills” development needed to obtain and hold a job.
• The Trustees require evidence of stable, effective governance, solid financials, and multiple funders for programs and projects the Foundation supports.
• The Pettus Foundation typically funds direct services and small capital improvement. The Foundation does not fund advocacy, research programs, or systems-level initiatives.
• The Pettus Foundation does not consider grant applications requesting funds for computer technology.
• The Pettus Foundation’s typical grant range is from $5,000 to $25,000. The trustees particularly favor applications that demonstrate multiple funding partners and match or challenge grant opportunities. The trustees seek to leverage the Foundation’s assets to strengthen Saint Louis non-profits working toward the Foundation’s goals.

Background

AmeriCorps improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. AmeriCorps brings people together to tackle some of the country’s most pressing challenges through national service and volunteerism. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities and those serving. AmeriCorps helps make service a cornerstone of our national culture.

AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations proposing to engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions practices to strengthen communities. An AmeriCorps member is an individual who engages in community service through an approved national service position.

Funding Priorities

AmeriCorps’ priorities for this funding opportunity are:

• Organizations leading service in communities with concentrated poverty, rural communities, tribal communities, and those organizations serving historically underrepresented and underserved individuals, including but not limited to communities of color, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, people who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, people with arrest and/or conviction records, and religious minorities;
• Evidence-based interventions on the AmeriCorps Evidence Exchange that are assessed as having Moderate or Strong evidence.
  • Please note that many of these interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in improving outcomes for individuals living in underserved communities and that the agency has committed resources to supporting grantees seeking to replicate and evaluate these interventions in similar communities;
• Veterans and Military Families, Caregivers, and Survivors – a program model that improves the quality of life of veterans and improves the well-being of military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors;
• Faith-based organizations;
• Programs that provide additional benefits to AmeriCorps members aimed at enhancing member experience and bolstering member recruitment and retention such as paying more than the minimum living allowance, transportation, housing, food, etc.;
• Programs that create workforce pathways for AmeriCorps members, including deliberate training, certifications, and hiring preferences or support;
• Environmental Stewardship, including supporting communities to become more resilient through measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve land and water, increase renewable energy use and improve at-risk ecosystems, especially in underserved households and communities;
• Community-based programs that enhance and expand services to second chance youth and or engage those youth as AmeriCorps members;
• Programs that support civic bridgebuilding programs and projects to reduce polarization and community divisions; and providing training in civic bridgebuilding skills and techniques to AmeriCorps members;
• Programs focused on implementing or expanding access to high-quality early learning and those that prepare AmeriCorps members to enter early learning careers.

In addition to these federal priorities, MCSC will prioritize the investment of national service resources in the following areas:

• Geographic areas of the state that are currently underserved
• Programs focusing on academic improvement in mathematics
• Urban environmental stewardship programming
• Racial justice programming
• Serving people/recruiting people with disabilities
• Returning citizens/incarcerated individuals programming

Our roots run deep.

The Ash Grove Charitable Foundation makes grants annually to support the work of public charities with tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in the geographical markets that we serve.

As one of the largest cement companies in the United States and one of the oldest still in operation, Ash Grove plays an important part in the foundation and infrastructure of our country. And with plants from coast to coast, being a good neighbor in the communities in which we live and serve is a priority and part of our DNA.

Ash Grove territory is a lot of ground to cover. We believe in active participation to improve the existing and future quality of life in the communities we serve. This participation includes financial support to charitable activities. We aren’t just focused on building highways and buildings – we are also helping to build better communities.

Ash Grove is one of the largest cement companies in the United States and one of the oldest still in operation. Ash Grove plays a part in the foundation and infrastructure of our country. With plants from coast to coast, being a good neighbor in the communities we live and serve is a priority and part of our DNA.

The Ash Grove Charitable Foundation mission is to support communities today without compromising future needs, where nature is respected, minds challenged, opportunities created, and neighbors gather in the community. We stand together to build better communities. Communities that thrive today and for future generations.

Funding Priorities

The Foundation awards grants to charitable, educational, and scientific organizations, which are public charities.

The Foundation gives primary consideration to capital building and renovation projects for the following funding priorities:

• Nature – Protect or Preserve.
• Education – STEM
• Economic – Trade Skills
• Civic – Gather in Community
• Human Services – Shelter

Funding

The Foundation’s goal is to provide significant support to public charities for capital building and renovation projects. Grants for these projects generally are limited to $25,000. Consideration is also given to program grant requests. Grants for these projects are generally limited to $5,000.

The Menorah Heritage Foundation is guided by the following principles in awarding grants:

• Perpetuate the Jewish Community
• Anticipate and adapt to changing needs
• Invest in transformational change
• Address critical/severe needs
• Support meaningful programs that benefit the Greater Kansas City Community

The Menorah Heritage Foundation seeks to support organizations who:

• Maintain a history of compassion and excellence
• Address the needs and represent the interests and viewpoints of their clients
• Possess the leadership, management, efficiencies and resources necessary to achieve the organizational objectives
• Collaborate with other providers whenever feasible and appropriate
• Establish financial stability and present a sense of awareness regarding the details of operations

Healthy For Life Cycle

Our Healthy for Life Cycle supports strategies that proactively improve health and wellness by fostering transformational change in individual and community behaviors, with a particular focus on disparities in under resourced communities.  The ideal grant in this category would address at least one identified social determinant of health and holistically impact mind, body and spirit. Successful grant applications include programs or projects which remove barriers to self-actualization and often reflect different types of social entrepreneurship.

In this cycle, we provide seed money to early-stage and/or innovative strategies to develop impact and supporting data necessary to draw other philanthropic and/or governmental resources as the strategies mature.  Healthy for Life grants serve as a limited term source of financial support for the creation and initial establishment of such proactive initiatives.  Organizations who are interested in applying in our Healthy for Life Cycle should contact our Program Officer, Kim Lewis, to schedule a preliminary conversation.

The Helen S Boylan Foundation

The mission of the Helen S. Boylan Foundation is to enhance the quality of life in our communities of Carthage, Missouri, the Greater Kansas City Area, and Lindale, Texas. We actively distribute quarterly grants to local non-profit organizations serving arts & education, women & children, health & wellness and the beautification of our communities.

Grant Guidelines

The Helen S. Boylan Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1982 to continue the family tradition of commitment to enhancing the quality of life of the community through grants to qualified charitable organizations. In carrying out its mission, the Foundation considers a wide range of proposals within the following areas: arts, education, health, human services, environment, and public interest.

Health Equity Fund

Partnering with communities to reshape systems and promote better health for all.

The Health Equity Fund supports organizations working to ensure all Missourians have a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest lives by changing systems that create barriers to health. Formerly the Opportunity Fund, the Health Equity Fund, invests in bold, community-driven work that addresses the root causes of health inequities.  

We know that health is more than what happens in a doctor’s office. It’s shaped by the places we live, the air we breathe, and the opportunities we have. Yet, for many communities, essentials like affordable housing, clean water, quality education, and good-paying jobs with benefits remain out of reach, creating obstacles to health and well-being. 

That’s why we partner with organizations tackling the underlying causes of health disparities. From raising the minimum wage and securing paid leave for working people to reforming the foster system to ensure families stay together, we support organizations that go beyond treating symptoms to disrupt the systems the created these challenges in the first place. 

Our partners have made a real impact by creating cross-sector collaborations, advocating for changes in policies and practices, and working with their communities to look at systems with fresh perspectives. We invite you to join us in continuing to build on that momentum and create a future where all Missourians thrive. 

History

Founded by Congress in 1971, Missouri Humanities is one of the fifty-six state and territorial humanities councils that receives support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

For nearly 50 years we’ve been dedicated to helping Missourians explore the people, places, and ideas that shape our society. Our focus for the future remains the same; for a more thoughtful, informed, and civil society. 

Major Grant

MHC’s goals for its grant program are to help Missourians have opportunities to interact with humanities scholars and experts, to experience the connection between the open exchange and exploration of ideas and active participation in community life, and to expand understanding of ourselves and the world beyond our boundaries.  

MHC may grant full or partial funding as it deems appropriate.

Major grants are reviewed twice a year. Applications for grants over $2,501 must be submitted by the first work day of the months of February and August.

Mission

The mission of the Foundation is to benefit the welfare of children and families and to support public safety in specific communities.

Vision

• Children and families receive the help they need to overcome abuse, addiction and poverty so they can have a brighter future.
• Public safety providers have the skills and equipment needed to protect and save lives.
• Families are provided a solid foundation through faith based programs.

Geographic Focus

• Barry County, Missouri
• Cabell County, West Virginia
• Jackson & Josephine Counties, Oregon

To support the Mission and Vision of the Robert & Frances Chaney Family Foundation grants are awarded in the areas of human services, public safety and faith based programs.

Supporting Historic Sacred Places

A program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Fund for Sacred Places provides financial and technical support for community-serving historic houses of worship across America.

What We Offer

The National Fund for Sacred Places provides matching grants of $50,000 to $250,000 to congregations undertaking significant capital projects at historic houses of worship, along with wraparound services including training, technical assistance, and planning support.

What We’re Looking For

The National Fund for Sacred Places assesses applicant eligibility according to the core criteria shown below, while also striving to build a diverse participant pool that reflects a broad range of geographic, cultural, and religious identities.

Historic, Cultural, or Architectural Significance

We are looking for buildings that have historic, cultural, or architectural significance—and sites that have important and relevant stories to tell. Many of our participants are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the state register, or the local register. Your building does not have to be on one of these lists, but eligibility for one or more of these lists is a good benchmark for National Fund eligibility.

As part of the National Trust’s commitment to telling the full American story, we particularly encourage congregations to apply that illuminate a unique or overlooked aspect of American history and that expand our understanding of our shared national heritage. We encourage submissions related to historic sacred places of importance to historically and contemporaneously underrepresented communities including, but not limited to, women, immigrants, Asian Americans, Black Americans, Latinx Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and LGBTQIA communities.

Successful applicants are able to demonstrate their place in history by answering questions such as:

• Does the building tell a story relevant to our history—either cultural or religious?
• Does the history highlight previously underrecognized communities, stories, or locations?
• How has the building served the community over time? Does the building have a great physical presence in its community due to its location or programming?
• Is the building the work of a notable architect? If so, is it a high-quality example of their body of work?
• Is the building an exceptional example of its architectural style or building technology?
• Does the building embody the congregation’s resilience over time?

Community-Serving Congregations

We are looking for congregations that are engaged in their communities and that are serving others. Engaged congregations operate and host programming that serves vulnerable, at-risk, and diverse populations; share space with non-affiliated groups and organizations (often at subsidized rates); work with other congregations, faith-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and/or municipalities; and have a widespread reputation for being a welcoming center of community life.

Project Scope and Need

We fund historic preservation projects addressing urgent repair needs and/or life safety. We also fund projects that increase congregations’ ability to open their buildings to new populations or to serve greater numbers of people. All projects must adhere to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which is a universally accepted framework for doing work to older and historic properties.

We prioritize congregations/projects where there is a demonstrated need (meaning that the congregation cannot raise the funds alone) or where it is clear that our grant will have a catalytic effect (meaning that our grant is likely to lead to additional monies being contributed to the project).

Readiness

Once-in-a-generation capital projects require a great deal of planning. We are looking for applicants that understand their buildings’ needs and that are ready to undertake a capital campaign. National Fund congregations typically have a history of successful capital campaigns, which demonstrate an ability to raise significant funds and complete a project.

Successful congregations come to us with a realistic fundraising goal, which has been generated with the help of qualified preservation professionals and is not too far beyond the congregation’s fundraising capacity.

Healthy Congregations

The National Fund prioritizes healthy, stable congregations so that our investment is truly impactful and lasting. We look for the following, although this is not an exhaustive list of characteristics that indicate healthy congregations: tenured, well-respected clergy; capable lay leadership; stable or growing membership; financial strength and stability; support of the judicatory or governing body, if applicable; and a history of weathering any congregational conflict or trauma with resilience.

Background

The Allen P. and Josephine B. Green Foundation is a private foundation with approximately $11 million in assets. The mission of the Foundation can be summed up as “Improving the quality of life in Missouri”. The Foundation accepts grant applications from publicly and privately supported, non-profit [501(c)(3)] organizations whose objectives and programs generally fit within the mission of the Foundation. The Foundation’s Board of Directors consists of eleven members who meet twice a year to award grants and conduct other business essential to the Foundation.

In 2011 the Foundation partnered with the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation in order to provide a more efficient and streamlined process for eligible organizations to submit requests and reports to the Green Foundation.

Areas of Interest

• To support qualified organizations operating within the state of Missouri that relieve human misery, want and suffering regardless of age, race, religion or economic status
• To support both independent and institutional educational programs that develop and empower individuals of all ages to become more productive members of their communities
• To establish, maintain, and support student scholarships that further the educational opportunities for and objectives of highly qualified candidates
• To contribute to regularly organized religious institutions, and the establishment, preservation and rehabilitation of historically significant places, assets, programs and that make a meaningful and positive impact in their communities
• To support organizations and programs that seek to improve the health, wellness, longevity and happiness of members of their communities
• The programs hereby referred to may be open to any qualified group which, in the discretion of the Board of Directors, falls within the purposes of the Foundation

Grant Range

The Foundation’s goal is to provide significant support to relatively few organizations. In general, grants range from $1,000 to $50,000 per year, and the Foundation will make one-year grants. 

What Kinds of Proposals Does the Community Grants Program Fund?

Applications to the Community Grants program must address one or more of the following issues:

• Arts, Culture, and Historic Preservation.
• Adult or Non-Traditional Education (not Children's Education).
• Community Betterment (improving neighborhoods, youth development and leadership, programs for seniors, transportation, violence prevention, racial equity, etc.);
• Health and Human Services.
• Click here for Wildlife Conservation in Missouri

Association for Women Geoscientists Osage Chapter

Recipients of the service scholarships are AWG Osage chapter members who exemplify AWG's mission to encourage, exchange, and enhance by participating in outreach events aimed at educating and promoting women in geosciences. This project provides funding for female or make undergraduate and graduate students to cover academic expenses.

The goal of this scholarship is to encourage and support students who are interested in the AWG mission of increasing participation of underrepresented groups in the geosciences through service to the community. We invite applications from geoscience students for merit-based scholarships of $500 to be used for research, tuition, or books. Scholarships are made possible by AWG Osage and AWG Foundation. This scholarship is funded in honor of Sean S. Thomson of Lawrence, Kansas for his invaluable support of the Osage Chapter.

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About Cigna

Our Mission

To improve the health and vitality of those we serve.

Our Vision

A better future built on the vitality of every individual and every community.

Youth Mental Health Grant

The Cigna Group Foundation is committing $9 million over three years to improve the mental health of youth (ages five to 18) as it relates to post-pandemic stress and distress. This commitment includes support for their parents, caregivers, and youth service professionals like educators and therapists.

We seek to collaborate with and support nonprofits that leverage evidence-informed programs and services to serve local youth experiencing the most need.

During the first year of our three-year commitment, we will focus on investing in solutions that address mental health concerns early, and strategically offer programming, intervention, and access to care in schools and related settings in underserved communities. We look forward to partnering with nonprofit organizations that align to at least one of these grant program goals:

• Increase reach of programming that fosters social-emotional skills and well-being.
• Increase the number of parents, caregivers, and youth service professionals who feel equipped to support.
• Increase pathways to mental health intervention and access to care.

Grant Range and Term

• $100,000 – $150,000
• One-year term

The Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund (SOS) strengthens the Greater St. Louis community through informed, focused grant-making by educating and inspiring women to engage in significant giving.

SOS Commitment To Diversity, Equity And Inclusion

SOS is committed to equity, diversity, collaboration, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability because all people deserve to live full and abundant lives free of prejudice, discrimination and oppression.

We will prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in our philanthropy.

means full participation of all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, gender orientation, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, ability, citizenship status, language, religion, geographic location, and national origin, among other identities.

is the condition that would be achieved if one’s identity no longer predicted how one fared in life.

creates a culture and environment for diverse individuals to bring their authentic and full selves. Inclusion results when underrepresented people are seen as fully belonging in a community.

Focus Areas

Grants are not restricted to issues dealing exclusively with women, but are made to organizations focusing on at least one of the following areas:

• Arts and Culture
• Education
• Environment
• Health
• Social Services

Single-year Eligibility

Single-year grants of $5,000 – $25,000 are awarded to nonprofit organizations in the Greater St. Louis community. Applicants are encouraged to submit Letters of Inquiry for general operating support, project/program support, and capacity building. Capacity building strengthens the development of an organization’s core skills and capabilities, such as leadership, management, finance/fund-raising, programs, and evaluation, in order to build the organization’s effectiveness and sustainability.

Multi-year Eligibility

In the 2022-2023 granting cycle, SOS will be investing in one, renewable, three year accelerator grant for $33,333 a year, totaling $100,000. The application can be for a specific project or for general operating support.

Organizations that apply for multi-year grants must:

• Demonstrate a history of successful programming and financial stability
• Show collaboration with other agencies
• Exhibit strong leadership in board and organizational management
• Have a clear multi-year plan that is visionary, meets an urgent community need and significantly enhances the applicant organization’s ability to serve their mission into the future
• Demonstrate how having consistent funding will allow your agency to think big and take chances
• Have specific and numerically measurable project goals, objectives/actions and outcomes/impact described for each year
• Include a three year budget:
  • If applying for a project include a separate project budget for each year
  • If applying for general operating support, submit the organization’s budget for the current year and two subsequent years
  • Have the option to include up to 2 additional supporting documents such as an Annual Report or Strategic Plan
• Organizations that have received single-year SOS grants for the past two consecutive years CAN apply for a multi-year grant. However, organizations applying for a multi-year grant CANNOT apply for an SOS single-year grant in the same grant cycle.

Sisters' Circle Fund - Greater Kansas City

Established in 2016, the Sisters’ Circle's mission is to increase charitable giving within African American communities to benefit African American communities in the Greater Kansas City area. Annually, the Sister’s Circle Fund provides grants to nonprofit organizations who work with intention to improve the quality of life, or provide services of significant value to the Kansas City region’s African American communities.

Mission

The mission of the Community Foundation of Central Missouri is to improve lives in our communities by promoting private giving for public good. Since its beginning in 2010, the Community Foundation of Central Missouri (CFCM) has become an expert in listening and responding to community needs by providing creative charitable solutions and resources.

CFCM has prioritized funding to address many community needs. While the CFCM’s numerous donor and/or organization funds have their own mission and granting goals, the Community Granting Fund is the name of CFCM’s unrestricted fund, from which the Community Foundation board of directors distributes to chosen nonprofit agencies in central Missouri (Adair, Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Cole, Cooper, Howard, Macon, Moniteau, and Randolph counties).

Impact Grant

Impact Grants allow the Community Foundation of Central Missouri (CFCM) to have a greater effect in the mid-Missouri area with a more significant allocation, specifically, one $5,000 award.

• The Impact Grant partners CFCM with an agency to address an issue in a significant way.
• The Impact Grant award will center on one of the two following CFCM priority areas:
• human capacity development, especially for disadvantaged persons,
• or the arts.
• Projects proposed might focus on equal opportunity, poverty reduction, education and literacy, affordable housing, workforce training, diversity training, and other similar efforts.
• Projects proposed for the arts might focus on education in theater, dance, music or visual arts, or other.
• Projects proposed for senior services might focus on transportation, delivery, health/respite care, home care, etc
• In the future, the area of focus for the Impact Grant may change.

Mission

The Community Foundation of Central Missouri (CFCM) seeks to improve lives in our communities by promoting private giving for public good. Since its beginning in 2010, the Community Foundation of Central Missouri has become an expert in listening and responding to community needs by providing creative charitable solutions and resources.

CFCM has prioritized funding to address many community needs. While the Community Foundation’s numerous donor-advised and/or organization funds have their own mission and granting goals, the Community Granting Fund is the name of CFCM’s fund from which the Community Foundation board of directors distributes to chosen nonprofit agencies in central Missouri (Adair, Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Cole, Cooper, Howard, Macon, Moniteau, and Randolph counties).

Funding Priorities

The Community Foundation of Central Missouri wishes to partner with nonprofits that share our vision and passion for improving lives of central Missouri residents. We consider our grants to be community investments and look for an “improved lives” return on the investments we make.

To receive a Community Support Grant (if your organization did not receive one last year), the organization must consistently pursue work that falls into at least one of the following four CFCM priority funding areas. This means that the organization’s mission, or much of its programming, as well as the proposed application project, falls within of one of the following areas:

Animals

• projects focused on benefiting animals

Arts & Culture

• projects involving the arts, museums, historic preservation, libraries, public media

 Community

• projects focused on general community improvement such as beautification, conservation, land trusts, neighborhoods, parks/trails/environment, recreation

Education

• projects focused on supporting education for all ages

Health

• projects focused on improving or supporting health (including mental/behavioral, disease awareness/prevention/research, therapy

Human Services

• projects supporting basic human needs such as aging and disability, food, domestic violence, housing, independent living, job readiness, literacy, marginalized groups, poverty reduction, transportation, veterans

Youth

• non-school-based projects benefiting children and teens such as camps, mentoring, co-curricular education, foster care/adoption

About Cigna

Our Mission

To improve the health and vitality of those we serve.

Our Vision

A better future built on the vitality of every individual and every community.

Improving Veteran Mental Health

Across the United States, veterans face an elevated risk of homelessness relative to the general population. On any given night, an estimated 40,000 veterans go without shelter, and another 1.5 million veterans are considered at-risk of homelessness.1 Research shows that veterans experiencing housing instability are at an increased risk of mental distress disorders.

We seek to collaborate with and support nonprofit organizations that leverage evidence-informed programs and services to help local veterans feel stable where they live and ultimately create positive impact on their mental health. Nonprofit partners must align to at least one of these grant program goals:

• Increase permanent housing available for veterans.
• Improve affordability for housing for veterans through rental or mortgage assistance.
• Enhance the offering of wraparound services for veterans transitioning from shelters.

Mission

Since 2001, we have been able to provide over $25 million to support organizations across the KC Metro, including more than $8 million since 2021. We prioritize organizations that align with our three pillars: Literacy and Education, Healthy and Active Communities, and Military and Veteran Support. 

Literacy and Education

• $1 Million given in scholarships to first generation and underrepresented students since 2012​
• 500+ students impacted through Royals Literacy League​ since 2023
• 9,000 students participated in Royals Scholastic Victory program in 2023
• Over 100 schools supported in 2023

Healthy and Active Communities

• The Kansas City Urban Youth Academy has welcomed over 60,000 youth and families since 2018
• Over 43,000 students participated in the Crown Schools Program since 2021​
• 1,000 youth participated in softball and baseball in 2023
• $176,000 provided in grants to improve baseball and softball fields throughout the Midwest in 2023 through Royalty Fields presented by Price Chopper

Military and Veterans

• Veteran and active-duty military members have been recognized at each home game with the Salute to Service seat presented by Miller Lite since 2017
• Completed military focused activations to support area veterans such as writing and delivering appreciation letters written by players, fans, alumni, and staff
• Provided support to organizations such as the KCVA, Veterans Community Project, American Patriot Foundation, Horses for Heroes, Wounded Warrior, and many more

Preserve Route 66 Grant Fund

The most enduring highway in our public consciousness, Route 66 represents a unique moment in history that continues to define the nation’s identity: the rise of the automobile and its implications of freedom, mobility, and a quintessential American story. Grants from this fund will help preserve and enhance historic places on or connected to Route 66 for future generations.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preserve Route 66 Grant Fund provides financial support to public agencies, tribal governments or nonprofit organizations to preserve and interpret historic places along the Route 66 corridor. The National Trust has a special interest in illuminating the narratives of communities whose places and stories have been historically underrepresented, which may include communities and neighborhoods along the Route 66 corridor associated with People of Color (including but not limited to indigenous peoples, Latinx, Black Americans and others), women, immigrants, LGBTQIA communities, veterans, and economically distressed communities.

Grants made from the Preserve Route 66 Fund will generally range from $2,500 to $10,000.

Purpose

To provide assistance to community-based organizations that enables them to implement community or neighborhood projects in the areas of community service, education, crime prevention, job training and physical revitalization.

General Information

Administered by the Department of Economic Development (the DED), NAP is a tax credit for contribution program created to help improve endangered communities through a public-private partnership. To administer a project, eligible nonprofits or business organizations/projects must be approved by the DED through the NAP application process.

An approved applicant is granted assistance in the form of state tax credits to help attract eligible donors who would be able to, in effect, redirect their Missouri tax dollars to an approved community development project. Under NAP, a tax credit is equal to 50% or 70% of eligible contributions. The tax credit is used to offset an eligible donor’s income tax liability and is claimed when the donor files their Missouri tax return. The credit may be used against taxes owed for the year of the donation plus five additional tax periods. This form of assistance is not a grant and does not include the transfer of tax dollars from NAP to approved organizations. Through fundraising efforts, approved organizations assume full responsibility for securing the financial support necessary to implement the NAP project. The State’s role is to approve projects, provide project oversight, and issue tax credits to eligible donors that contribute to NAP projects.

The total amount of NAP tax credits available for distribution is $16 million, consisting of an allocation of $10 million in 50% credits and $6 million in 70% credits. Seventy percent (70%) credits are reserved for projects located in a city, town or village with populations less than 15,000 or in unincorporated areas (with the exception of Clay, Jackson, St. Charles and St. Louis counties).

The maximum initial per project award is $500,000 ($350,000 in 70% credits or $250,000 in 50% credits).