St. Louis Community Foundation Grants $117 Million to Nonprofits in 2020

With more than $117 million granted to 2,300 nonprofits in St. Louis and around the world, the St. Louis Community Foundation and its donors enjoyed another record year of giving in 2020, St. Louis Community Foundation officials announced today.

“Last year, the St. Louis region again demonstrated why it is consistently ranked one of the nation’s most generous,” said Amelia Bond, President and CEO of the St. Louis Community Foundation. “In the midst of the pandemic, our donors sustained nonprofits when they needed it most, joining with local companies, businesses, family foundations, and other generous individuals to support our pandemic relief efforts through the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund (CCRF) and the Gateway Resilience Fund. Those efforts raised a combined total of $8.8 million.”

For year-end 2019, grants to nonprofits totaled $101.3 million, which ranked 21st in the nation for that year, according to CF Insights’ Columbus Survey Results and its annual ranking of the nation’s top 100 community foundations. By way of comparison, the Community Foundation ranked 39th in 2016.

Community Endowed Funds Boost Pandemic Support Efforts

Community endowed funds, which are held by the St. Louis Community Foundation for the benefit of the St. Louis region, seeded and catalyzed the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund, Bond added.

“The importance of these endowed funds cannot be overstated, as they enable us to meet unforeseen regional challenges — like the pandemic — quickly and efficiently,” Bond said. “These funds helped kickstart fundraising activity for the CCRF, which ultimately generated $6.1 million from corporations, foundations, and individual donors.”

Other 2020 highlights include:

• Total Assets — Remained steady at $502 million.
• Gifts to the Foundation — Donor gifts to the Foundation totaled $75 million, versus $66 million in 2019.
• Give STL Day — It was another record year for the Foundation’s annual day of online giving, which raised $4.5 million dollars — an increase of 50 percent from the prior year.

“Our donors enjoy engaging with each other and exchanging ideas on how they can help secure a bright future for our region and the nonprofits that serve it,” said Bond. “All of us at the Community Foundation value our role helping donors fulfill their charitable intent, while also facilitating community conversations that solve problems and leverage opportunities.”

Three Promoted to Leadership Team

In other developments, the Foundation named three to its leadership team ranks:

• Maurice Brown — Elevated from Accounting Manager to Director of Accounting, Brown joined St. Louis Community Foundation as an accountant in 2001. Current responsibilities include tracking donor gifts, investment account reconciliations, HR administration, bank reconciliations, oversight of the annual audit, and assisting the Community Foundation’s donors.

• Neosha Franklin — Named Director of Communications, Franklin previously served as Marketing and Communications Manager. Franklin joined the Community Foundation in 2015 and oversees all aspects of its marketing and communications portfolio. Her responsibilities include organizational messaging and promotion, media relations, digital strategy, and community engagement. As she has for the last four years, Franklin leads Give STL Day, which will be held this year on Thursday, May 6.

• Katie Knapp — Named Director of Giving Strategies, Knapp joined the Community Foundation in 2020 as a Giving Strategist. In that capacity, Knapp assists local wealth management professionals — which include financial advisors, fiduciaries, accountants, and estate planning attorneys — as they work with their clients to incorporate philanthropy into their clients’ wealth and estate plans and maximize charitable impact.

Brown reports to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Dwight Canning, while Franklin and Knapp report to Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer Amelia Bond.

About the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Efforts

• The COVID-19 Regional Response Fund — Seeded with endowed funds at the St. Louis Community Foundation, this initiative raised a total of $6.1 million to fund outreach efforts for nonprofits serving vulnerable populations like the homeless, the food insecure, children, and the elderly, who are disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
• The Gateway Resilience Fund (GRF) — Initially envisioned and funded by a Community Foundation donor, the effort was bolstered by countless fundraisers held throughout the area. With grant-making administered by the Community Foundation, the fund ultimately raised a total of $2.1 million, which helped provide short-term financial relief to 3,500 restaurant, bar, and small business employees who lost their jobs because of business shutdowns.

About the St. Louis Community Foundation

The St. Louis Community Foundation is a nonprofit foundation with approximately 800 charitable funds with total assets more than $502 million. Each fund represents a unique charitable giving partnership between an individual, family, or business and designated nonprofit recipients. The St. Louis Community Foundation inspires purposeful philanthropy that connects community and donors to build and preserve a more equitable and vibrant region, now and forever.

Over the last 10 years, St. Louis Community Foundation and its donors made nearly $600 million in grants to charitable organizations.

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