Search Through Quality of Life Grants in Missouri in the U.S.

About Us

Academy Sports + Outdoors is one of the nation's largest sporting goods and outdoor stores. With 301 stores across 21 states, we offer a broad assortment of quality hunting, fishing, and camping equipment and gear, along with sports and leisure products, footwear, apparel and much more.

Community Relations

By providing members of our communities with the right gear and knowledge while also promoting safety and responsibility, we empower people with the confidence to simply get active, have fun together, and enjoy life.

Our Pillars

• Empower
  • Academy Sports + Outdoors encourages safety so that everyone can feel confident and comfortable doing what they love. We help people gear up properly for sports and outdoor activities, and we promote ways to be smart and stay safe. We’ve got your back… and the rest of you too.
• Encourage
  • Academy Sports + Outdoors makes it possible for people to enjoy more sports and outdoors activities. We believe being active is an essential part of life. Starting with our assortment, we motivate people to try new things and give them opportunities to enjoy a variety of fun activities. We’re always game.
• Connect
  • Academy Sports + Outdoors creates ways for members of the community to connect and have fun with each other. We build connections within the community by supporting events, programs, and organizations that make a positive impact. Let’s get together.

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. 

Charitable Contributions

Our goal with financial contributions from BOK Financial and the BOKF Foundation is to enhance the quality of life and economic wellbeing in the communities where BOK Financial operates and where our employees work and live including Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Our charitable contributions are focused on four pillars of giving: United Way, economic development, education and basic needs

Our long-term strategic plan guides all contributions to assure maximum impact in the community and to develop mutually beneficial relationships with our nonprofit partner agencies. BOK financial contributions are budgeted on an annual calendar basis. We accept online charitable contribution/grant applications throughout the year.

Pillars of giving

Basic Needs

We provide volunteer and financial support to organizations serving the most vulnerable members of our community. Our efforts largely focus on organizations providing direct services addressing such issues as poverty, hunger, healthcare, housing and safety.

Education

An equitable, robust educational system drives long-term community growth. We support local nonprofits whose primary mission is promoting basic education, including public school foundations, early childhood education, financial literacy, and institutions of higher education.

Economic Development

Actions that raise the standard of living and economic health of our communities make them better places to live and work. We provide support to local chambers of commerce; nonprofits focused on workforce development, job training, etc.; and public/private partnerships investing in our communities.

United Way

Our focus on strategically investing in the community aligns perfectly with United Way’s approach to achieving its mission of mobilizing the caring power of communities to advance the common good.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services accepts applications for the use of Civil Money Penalty (CMP) funds.

About Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Funds

A CMP is a monetary penalty the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may impose against nursing homes for either the number of days or for each instance a nursing home is not in substantial compliance with one or more Medicare and Medicaid participation requirements for long-term care facilities. A portion of CMPs collected from nursing homes are returned to the states in which CMPs are imposed. State CMP funds may be reinvested to support activities that benefit nursing home residents and that protect or improve their quality of care or quality of life.

What CMP Funds Can Be Used For

CMP funds may be used for (but not limited to) the following:

The following examples of allowable uses of CMP funds are not all-inclusive. Please see the Allowable and Non-Allowable Uses of CMP Funds download for more information. CMP funds may be used for:

• Assistance to support and protect residents of a facility that closes or is decertified
• Time-limited expenses incurred in the process of relocating residents to home and community-based settings or another facility when a facility is closed or downsized pursuant to an agreement with the state Medicaid agency
• Projects that support resident and family councils and other consumer involvement in assuring quality care in facilities
• Facility improvement initiatives, such as joint training of facility staff and surveyors, or technical assistance for facilities implementing quality assurance and performance improvement programs

As part of its continued commitment to the nation’s most vulnerable populations, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched the Civil Money Penalty Reinvestment Program (CMPRP) to improve quality of life by equipping nursing home staff, administrators and stakeholders with technical tools and assistance to enhance resident care. CMPRP is one of several initiatives CMS has underway to strengthen safety and health outcomes for nursing home residents

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.

Missouri American Water

Building strong communities is hard work and one of the most important things we do. We're dedicated to helping our communities be more vibrant places to live, work, and play, and hope to earn their support by being involved and concerned corporate citizens.

Our community involvement draws on the unique talents of our employees as well as the resources of our business. Through community giving, in-kind donations, partnerships and volunteering, we demonstrate our commitment to programs that address community-specific needs.

As a company, we work with a number of community-based partners throughout our service areas to positively impact the overall quality of life where our employees and neighbors live and work. It takes more than a one-time grant or volunteer effort to make a lasting difference, so we seek out and support organizations that understand how to best meet the needs of the community.

Firefighter Grant Program

Missouri American Water is committed to strengthening the partnerships we have in place with our local fire departments and districts. Our firefighter grant program is designed to provide financial assistance to fire and emergency organizations serving communities in our service area.

The maximum grant amount is $1,200.

The mission of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation is to improve the quality of life in Greater Kansas City by increasing charitable giving, educating and connecting donors to community needs they care about, and leading on critical community issues.

Fund Description

The Eastland Giving Circle (EGC) is a group of philanthropic and civic-minded individuals dedicated to making a substantive impact to the eastern Jackson County, Missouri area through a yearly donation. The primary grant focus in 2024 is on organizations that provide mental health resources for children and youth in Eastern Jackson County.

One organization will be awarded a grant by EGC through this annual application process. An organization may receive this grant once in a three-year period. Grant recipients will be announced in early November.

Whitaker Foundation Grant

The Whitaker Foundation was established in 1975 by Mrs. Mae Meissner Whitaker in memory of her husband Lyndon.

The Whitaker Foundation is a private, independent foundation that supports charitable and public purpose projects in the limited geographic area of St. Louis, Missouri.

Arts Grants -Enriching Lives Through the Arts

By supporting excellence in the Arts, the Whitaker Foundation promotes art forms and institutions that challenge, entertain and contribute to the overall quality of life in the community. 

Parks Grants - Encouraging the Preservation & Use of Parks

By funding Parks, the Whitaker Foundation provides St. Louisans with an oasis where they can experience relaxation, tranquility, and share the company of others. With Park support, the Foundation helps to create moments of joy, beauty, and neighborhood celebrations that bind us together as a community.

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. 

Eichacker + Lofton Grant Fund

The Keokuk Area Community Foundation invests in local nonprofit organizations that contribute to improving the quality of life in ourcommunity.

One of George Eichacker’s and Richard Lofton’s proudest achievements was being the founding fathers of the Keokuk Area Community Foundation. George and Richard established the Keokuk Area Community Foundation Grant Fund to support Keokuk Area organizations in arts and culture, community betterment, education, health, and human services.

To honor George and Richard's legacies, the Keokuk Area Community Foundation Board of Directors renamed the Keokuk Area Community Foundation Grant Fund to the Eichacker/Lofton Grant Fund in 2024. 

Focus of Support

The Keokuk Area Community Foundation primary geographic focus for support encompasses Hancock County - Illinois, Clark County - Missouri, and Lee County - Iowa. Successful grant applications typically address problems to be solved or opportunities to be seized in Tri-State Area. Grant application requests are considered in the fields of arts and culture, community betterment, education, health, and human services.

Priority Funding

• Seed Grants to initiate promising new projects and programs so that those projects and programs are able to demonstrate their usefulness to the community.
• Projects that will enable non-profit and charitable agencies to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and move toward self-sufficiency.
• Projects that address and help resolve important existing or emerging community issues and needs.
• Projects that facilitate cooperation and collaboration among organizations and communities in our area.
• Projects that identify, enhance, and expand leadership in the community through the support of charitable activities that empower individuals.
• Capital expenditures, such as construction, remodeling additions to existing buildings, and equipment purchases.
• Projects for which other grants have been approved but require matching funds for completion.

Funding

Up to US $5,000

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.

Who We Are

Your Community Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created by and for the people who live here. We build bridges between donors with a charitable vision and the nonprofits who make our region a great place to live, work, and play.

What We Do

The Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois & Northeast Missouri connects people who care with causes that matter for here, for good, forever. 

We work with donors, nonprofits, and community leaders to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve. We accomplish this by building permanent charitable funds that benefit our communities today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

Samantha Otte Youth Opportunity Fund

Samantha Otte lived a short but significant life in 10 years.  Those who knew and loved her were touched by her spirit and spark. Those who did not have that privilege have witnessed how Samantha’s indelible imprint spurs family and friends to honor her life by helping others.  Advisors make grant recommendations with the fund’s primary purpose in mind which includes, but is not limited to, support for organizations which maintain and enhance community betterment and artistic, leadership, and humanitarian opportunities for youth. Grants awarded from the Samantha Otte Youth Opportunity Fund celebrate her life and touch hundreds of area children.

 Grants are generally awarded in January. While funding is not dependent upon submitting a request, the request form serves as a means to make the Community Foundation aware of organizations and programs.

Our Vision

We envision a senior population, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, who are respected as a vital segment of the community. 

Our Mission

To enhance and improve the quality of life for older adults by funding unmet basic needs in the Greater Kansas City area.

George H. Nettleton Foundation GrantNew or existing programs are considered; they may be service-related or for capital improvements. Average amount of annual grant per agency is typically less than $100,000. Maximum duration of funding is two years.

Program Areas

We believe an auto company can also be a vehicle for change. That’s why Toyota is proud to partner with nonprofit organizations in the dozens of communities where we operate. Investing in and creating better opportunities for our communities and its citizens improves their quality of life, builds lasting relationships and helps enrich society. 

Let’s make an impact – together. We work collaboratively to address some of society’s most pressing challenges – and fund programs tied to our strategic priorities.

About Our Program

Toyota seeks to expand access to opportunities that improve people’s lives and create a culture of inclusion—strengthening the communities where we live, work and play. To have meaningful, sustainable impact, we take a holistic approach to investing in our communities. Our efforts go beyond monetary support, amplifying our impact by engaging our team members as volunteers and sharing our Toyota know-how.

What We Fund

Nationally, Toyota focuses on:

• STEM Education
• Workforce Readiness

Regionally, Toyota makes contributions to help support the specific needs of local communities. Please note that Toyota entities based in Plano, Texas (Toyota Motor North America, Toyota Financial Services and Toyota USA Foundation) as well as Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center (PEMC) have moved to an invite-only grant application process.

Fund Description

The Northland Community Foundation (NCF), an affiliate of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, seeks to improve the quality of life in the Northland by increasing charitable giving, connecting donors to community needs they care about and providing leadership on critical community issues. By using an RFP approach, NCF aims to solicit the best thinking of nonprofit organizations, public sector agencies, research institutions, and other entities serving Clay and Platte counties.

Grant Focus

NCF released a Community Needs Assessment in March 2023. Following a rigorous research process in partnership with several organizations and entities in the Northland, the completed Community Needs Assessment pinpoints gaps in the community ecosystem, and identifies opportunities where investments of philanthropic dollars will have the greatest potential to make measurable differences in the community which are: 

• Mental and behavioral health.
• Growing needs of a rapidly expanding senior population.
• Limited availability of childcare/early childhood education.
• Limited transportation access/infrastructure.

NCF continues to build on the opportunities identified in its 2023 Community Needs Assessment to invest philanthropic dollars in the community’s areas of greatest need. The RFP will focus on sustaining current programs that focus on the well-being of children in Clay and Platte Counties.

What is Impact 100?

The Impact 100 represents organizations working to meet the most critical health and human service needs facing our region today. Each nonprofit must meet a high bar of organizational accountability in terms of finances, governance and community impact. Selected organizations are diverse in human service domains, geographic reach, and populations served.

United Way of Greater Kansas City is seeking proposals from area nonprofit organizations that are part the community’s health and human service ecosystem for inclusion in the 2025 United Way Impact 100, a network of high-impact health and human service providers supported by United Way of Greater Kansas City.

Impact 100 Funding Opportunity

Organizations selected for the Impact 100 receive a one-year, unrestricted grant in support of the organization’s mission. In addition, grantee organizations become part of United Way’s network, gaining exposure to United Way’s community of donors and corporate partners. In weighing whether to apply for this opportunity, organizations should consider their alignment with areas of investment across the three pillars of Health, Education and Financial Stability, as described in United Way’s Community Needs Index as well as selection criteria and related goals established by United Way to ensure the greatest impact across the region.

United Way Areas of Community Investment and Program Demographic Reporting

United Way awards a single, unrestricted grant to organizations that are selected for the Impact 100. To ensure that United Way leaders understand and communicate effectively about the impact of that investment, United Way also collects a limited amount of programmatic data from applicant organizations. Specifically, you are asked to complete a program demographic form for your organization’s top three programs (or 1 or 2, if you have fewer than three) and provide participant demographic data for each. In this form, you are asked to provide a brief description of the program and select up to two program categories with which the program aligns. The categories appear in a drop-down menu in the program demographic form:

• Access to Healthcare and Supportive Services
• Aging and Senior Support Services
• Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Intervention & Treatment
• Child Welfare
• Community and Family Violence Prevention and Intervention
• Early Childhood Education and Development
• Financial Stability and Employment
• Food and Nutrition Security
• Housing Security
• Services for Individuals with Disabilities
• Supports for People with Involvement in the Justice System
• Youth Development, K-12 Academic Supports and Postsecondary Pathways

Overall Portfolio Criteria

In addition to the above criteria for assessing individual applicants, United Way’s selection of Impact 100 grantees will also be guided by the following goals in ensuring a broad-based and inclusive portfolio of grantees that, together, improve the quality of life for all people across the region.

• United Way strives to invest in a wide variety of strategies and approaches to improving community conditions, including programming that responds to immediate critical needs and preventative strategies to prevent critical needs from emerging, as well as both direct-service programming and systems-level approaches.
• United Way is committed to investing in a wide range of health and human service domains, addressing community needs across the three pillars of Health, Education and Financial Stability. 
• United Way supports a wide range of organizations, in terms of scope and scale—including multicounty organizations and those with a narrow geographic focus; those with large budgets, as well as small- and medium-sized budgets; and those that provide a single service as well as those with a multi-faceted set of services.
• United Way is committed to maximizing the impact of its investments.
  • This means reaching as many lives as possible through those investments.
  • We also consider the depth of impact and recognize that some organizations serve a small number of people but make a deep and lasting impact.
  • We strive to strike a balance between these considerations when selecting Impact 100 grantees.

Not every organization that aligns with United Way’s interest areas and effectively meets selection criteria will be able to receive funding. Organizations that are not selected for the Impact 100 will be eligible for donor-directed giving and, as such, will have the opportunity for inclusion in United Way’s broader network of community partners.

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

Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis Grants

Strategic Priorities

• Vision
  • Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis sees the Church brought into the lives of hurting people and people included in the healing life of the Church.
• Mission
  • To the honor of Christ Jesus, Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis seeks the improved care of people in the greater St. Louis metropolitan region.
• Strategic Goal
  • In order to engage the Church in and measurably improve the lives of hurting people, Lutheran Foundation provides financial and non-financial support to strengthen the capacities of organizations and to support quality, impactful programs.

Focus Areas

Building on our rich heritage of partnering with Christian churches and organizations, the Board of Directors has implemented a strategic funding plan to guide our efforts over seven years (2020 – 2026). The plan focuses our philanthropy in six areas that address clearly demonstrated, measurable community needs and allow us to better understand and determine our community impact.

Lutheran Foundation funds within the following Strategic Funding Priorities:

• Christian Faith in Action
• Congregation Community Engagement
• Lutheran Schools and Organizations
• Foreign-Born Populations
• Justice-Involved Individuals and Their Families
• Older Adults Maintaining Independence

Successful grant applicants will need to demonstrate how their request addresses one or more of these funding focus areas, as well as shows measurable impact on the lives of hurting people.

About Us

Upward Momentum is a philanthropic fund and collaborative for philanthropists and community members who are investing in bold, transformative interventions and partnerships that aim to address systemic inequities and improve opportunity for greater economic mobility for all.

What is Economic Mobility?

At Upward Momentum, we consider economic mobility to be more than just economic success or income and wealth. Economic mobility is the freedom to achieve economic success, power and autonomy, and belonging regardless of race, gender, geography, or background. We want to help people build momentum to move themselves and their families upward by breaking cycles and creating more opportunity.

Barriers to achieving economic mobility have been entrenched for decades and are growing in the Midwest, especially in Missouri. Philanthropic capital with a willingness to take strategic risks, form partnerships across organizations and communities, and make long-term investments, can enable initiatives that focus on fundamental change over generations.

Our Approach

We take a partnership-based approach to our work, with community members with lived expertise, experts in economic mobility, and our investors making decisions together to develop a strategy and identify investment opportunities.

Collaboration drives transformation. This core belief is what shapes our structure in which everyone – staff, founding partners, core partners, and community advisory panels – learn from each other. We work together to shape a powerful approach to systems change that will help everyone.

Each strategy and solution we explore will be shaped by three dimensions of action to build momentum for generational mobility.

• When to Act
  • Identify the moments in a life’s course that matter
• What to Do
  • Find what actions work to break through the systemic barriers in those moments
• How to Achieve it
  • Discover and apply the levers and methods available to achieve scalable impact

Our Work

We are starting in Missouri not only because it’s our home, but because Missouri represents the diversity of our country like no other state. We aim to find and share successful solutions here that could be scalable and replicated in other states. Missouri spans from urban innovation districts to rural communities where traditions run deep. It is a unique place where East and West, and North and South meet.

Upward Momentum focuses on three pillars of investment for economic mobility.

• Caring for Our Families:
  • Re-center and re-imagine what it means to “care” for families and their economic well-being.
• Navigating Work:
  • Navigational and wrap-around supports that improve the odds of people successfully accessing and interacting with key systems in the labor market.
• Bridging Divides:
  • Help leaders and institutions understand common issues, align resources and efforts, and collectively tackle issues at scale.

Open Call

Upward Momentum is looking for community organizations to work together to advance economic mobility in Missouri.

This open call aims to support initiatives that are looking to grow or expand promising work that can help leaders and institutions collectively drive catalytic change and sustainable impact.

Proposals should aim to bridge across rural and urban communities through solutions that are effective in both environments.

Ten organizations from across the state will be selected based on the published criteria.

We have allocated $2 million for this first open call, with each selected organization receiving a $200,000 grant to support and amplify their efforts to create lasting, transformative change in Missouri communities.

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.

The Neighborhood Empowerment Grant program empowers neighborhoods by investing in projects that make Kansas City a more vibrant place to live.

"This program remains a cornerstone for building stronger communities. By supporting public safety strategies, neighborhood identity, and quality-of-life improvements, we continue to prioritize the needs of Kansas City’s residents,” said sponsor Ryana Parks Shaw.

The Neighborhood Empowerment Grant program remains constant in its support to bolster community engagement, enhance neighborhood identity, and promote public safety strategies within Kansas City.

Grant Focus Areas

The Neighborhood Empowerment Grant awards Neighborhood Association projects that prioritize improving neighborhoods and residents lives in the following areas:

• Community Engagement:
  • Promoting active participation and involvement of residents in neighborhood initiatives and activities.
• Enhancing Neighborhood Identity:
  • Supporting placemaking and public art projects that celebrate each neighborhood's unique identity and culture.
• Public Safety:
  • Funding projects and community action programs to enhance community safety.
• Quality of Life Enhancements:
  • Facilitating necessary repairs and upgrades to infrastructure that will improve residents' safety and well-being.
• Neighborhood Development:
  • Strengthening development of neighborhood infrastructure and encouraging capacity building.
• Code Violation Remediation:
  • Implementing repairs and other measures that will reduce code violations.
• Youth Programs:
  • Programming focused on leadership, education, and engagement, helping youth stay active, build confidence, and achieve their full potential.

Who We Are

Your Community Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created by and for the people who live here. We build bridges between donors with a charitable vision and the nonprofits who make our region a great place to live, work, and play.

Gather

We work with individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits to create tailor-made funds that help them make their charitable visions a reality. Donors can trust that the Community Foundation will act as a steward of those funds, ensuring funds are used according to their intent and vision.

Grow

Together with a team of trusted, local advisors, we invest funds to build endowments so they are available to support ever-changing needs and opportunities in the 12 counties we serve.

Grant

Based on our donors’ intentions and goals, we invest in our region to make our communities great places to live, work, and play.

What We Do

The Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois & Northeast Missouri connects people who care with causes that matter for here, for good, forever. 

We work with donors, nonprofits, and community leaders to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve. We accomplish this by building permanent charitable funds that benefit our communities today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

Community Grants

The Community Foundation annually awards grants through its Community Grant process to meet needs and advance opportunities in its 12-county region. Through the Community Grant program, the Community Foundation seeks to strengthen nonprofit services to enhance the quality of life throughout the region that we serve. Due to the broad scope of this program, it is a competitive process and requests are evaluated by a volunteer committee based on the annual program budget and fund restrictions.

Focus Areas

 Grants in the areas of

• arts & culture,
• community betterment,
• education,
• health,
• human services. 

Priorities:

Through the Community Grant program, the Community Foundation seeks to award grants that will enhance the quality of life in West Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri by:

• Helping organizations better respond to defined needs or opportunities within the community they serve;
• Encouraging community collaborations and partnerships to maximize the impact on the community and population served;
• Reaching a significant number of community members or specific groups of underserved community members throughout its 12-county service area; 
• Supporting nonprofit organizations which are physically located in or have demonstrated, active services that directly benefit residents within the Community Foundation’s service area.
• and  making a significant impact on the success of the overall request (consider the size of the grant in relation to the total budget).

Our Mission & Vision

The mission of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is to enhance the quality of life in our region through resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration, and public leadership.

We are committed to excellence through exceptional service, built on the following core values:

• Integrity: Stewardship you can trust
• Respect: Relationships matter
• Leadership: Collaboration creates solutions
• Vision: Our focus is forever

Lennie Cloud Fund for the Hearing Impaired Grant

The Lennie Cloud Fund for the Hearing Impaired supports a nonprofit agency located in the CFO service area which provides programming to assist individuals in the Ozarks who are hearing impaired. Equipment, programming, or training to assist hearing impaired individuals are eligible for application.

This program will award one $500.00 grant.

Our Mission & Vision

The mission of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is to enhance the quality of life in our region through resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration, and public leadership.

We are committed to excellence through exceptional service, built on the following core values:

• Integrity: Stewardship you can trust.
• Respect: Relationships matter.
• Leadership: Collaboration creates solutions.
• Vision: Our focus is forever.

The Generosity Collective Grantmaking Program

As a giving circle dedicated to Springfield, the Generosity Collective brings like-minded individuals together by pooling their donations, learning about high-priority community issues, then collectively determining grant recipients. Through this process, the Generosity Collective plays an active role in confronting pressing local issues.

Grantmaking Categories

The Generosity Collective seeks to fund projects that impact the four grantmaking categories listed below.

• Economic Disparities Impacting Early Childhood Development
  • The Springfield Community Focus Report 2023 Update - Early Childhood indicates ongoing economic disparities as a significant concern, while the Mayor's Commission for Children's Kindergarten Readiness Survey for 2022 highlights the importance of preschool and pre-K programs, particularly for low-income students, in preparing children for kindergarten.
• Child Abuse and Neglect
  • The 2022 Child Abuse & Neglect - Annual Statistical Report from the Greene County Juvenile Office reveals that 448 child abuse and neglect referrals were recorded, with July seeing the highest peak, and highlights the concerning trend that one of every two children referred in Greene County were under four years old, potentially affecting their development and sense of safety and security at home.
• Mental Health and Substance-Use Problems
  • In Springfield, mental health and substance abuse represent significant concerns, with suicide mortality, though slightly decreased since 2020, still exceeding state and national rates, and overdose mortality steadily rising, at 25% higher than the national rate.
• Shortage of Safe, Affordable Housing
  • Housing issues persist as significant concerns in Springfield, with high construction costs limiting affordable housing development, a shortage of 114,609 rental homes for extremely low-income renters across the state, less than one in three people having access to affordable housing in Springfield, and various challenges including expiring affordable housing, rental rates surpassing federal assistance, decreased support for home repairs, and a lack of comprehensive rental inspection programs for ensuring housing safety.

Funding

A total of $120,000 is available in this grant round. One agency will be selected in each of the four categories to receive $30,000.

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.

Ameren Missouri Grant Program

Ameren has a long history of giving back to the communities we serve in Missouri and Illinois. We support local organizations and events that power the quality of life for our customers and community.

Grant Opportunities

Ameren offers support to community programs.

• Grant amounts vary in sizes. 
• Our grant cycle typiclly runs mid-year (Q2/Q3) annually and last 30 days in duration.

Who We Are

A unique nonprofit partnership has formed to continue and strengthen the impact of the arts in the St. Louis region. Arts and Education Council, (A&E), which has a 60+ year legacy of supporting arts organizations across the St. Louis region, has merged with Network for Strong Communities.

A&E, a united arts fund supported by corporations, foundations, and individuals, has been a catalyst in supporting new arts nonprofits, signature arts organizations and art educators across the St. Louis region with over $100m of grants through the decades. A&E remains an important partner to the arts ecosystem across the St. Louis region and art educators at a time when dollars for school-based arts programs are diminishing.

Arts and Healing Initiative

Grants will provide funds to arts, social service and/or health organizations to bring in arts-based wellness programs that aid in the healing process and improve the quality of life for individuals and their families.