Maximize charitable impact for your causes and your community.
The St. Louis Community Foundation is your giving partner—right in your own community—that supports you, your causes, and your region. We simplify giving and provide significant potential tax advantages, helping you give more to the causes that you care deeply about. Based on your giving intentions, we offer a number of convenient ways for you to set up a fund, grow your investment, give, and create a lasting legacy.
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Give
Make a tax-deductible donation of cash, appreciated securities or other assets.
Smart Giving
Strategic giving creates greater impact over unplanned direct cash gifts.
Favorable Tax Benefits
Donor advised funds offer greater tax benefits than private foundations and giving cash. Learn the best assets to give to achieve the greatest benefits.
Simplified Record Keeping
Records of your generosity are in one, easy to access place.
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Grow
Grow your fund through professionally managed investments. Learn More
Invest
Choose from long term, balanced and short term investments that grow tax free.
Give more to charities
Potentially give even more to charities by growing your fund.
Work with your investment advisor
Your trusted advisor can provide customized investments for your giving goals.
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Grant
Grant to your favorite charities when the time is right for you.
Smart timing
Grant to charities when the time is right for your giving plan and for your charities.
Simplified granting
Make grant recommendations on line or collaborate with us. We ensure tax compliance for giving to qualified charities.
Efficient
We send grant checks, keep giving records and history, provide a simple record of giving activity, and provide guidance for greater impact when you need it.
Donor Advised Funds
Giving made simple and convenient.
A donor advised fund (DAF) is a simple, tax efficient investment account for charitable giving.
Donor advised funds are the most popular type of charitable fund. Their ease of set up and use, tax and other benefits make them a great option for individuals and businesses, and offer benefits when paired with a private foundation.
A DAF at the St. Louis Community Foundation offers the additional benefit of your very own local giving experts who know your community, offering personal service and helping you bring your giving inspirations to reality.
Designated and Field of Interest Funds
Support what means the most to you.
Designated dunds allow donors to identify one or more specific charities to receive annual grants for a specified time or in perpetuity. We monitor grant recipients to ensure that they remain focused on their original intended purpose and are achieving results in accordance with the donor’s wishes.
Field of interest dunds allow donors to focus on a particular area of interest, such as the arts, education, health or the environment. Within the chosen area of interest, we seek out the best grant making opportunities and programs that are capable of achieving the donor’s objectives.
Field of interest funds are useful for short or long term special projects, group giving, early steps toward creating your own 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and estate planning.
Legacy Planning and Other Funds
Planning for a legacy of giving.
Most people want to leave a legacy—some proof that our lives made a difference, in the areas great and small that were uniquely important to us.
You can choose to support the causes important to you after your lifetime, through designated, field of interest, and scholarship funds, as well as provide endowment for your charitable funds through your estate plan.
Organizational Support Funds
Support for complex organizations.
Organizational support funds offer the flexibility and convenience of a Donor Advised Fund but provide a more formal giving structure. These independent foundations are legally affiliated with the Foundation, but with their own boards, grantmaking programs, and investment structures. While they typically require substantial charitable assets to start, they benefit from the Foundation’s public charity status and avoid much of the regulation, complexity, and cost associated with a private foundation. They also benefit from the Foundation’s recordkeeping, accounting, grants management, and consultative services.
Scholarship Funds
Ensuring a bright future.
Scholarship funds give donors the opportunity to provide educational support for students at every level of education, from preschool to postgraduate to vocational training. Donors may choose to support a particular field of study, a specific educational institution, or specific eligibility requirements.
Cash
Fast and convenient.
Cash is a popular asset to give because of its simplicity and ease of transfer. Donating cash provides tax benefits, but there may be other assets you can donate with greater tax benefits and ultimately increasing your gift to charity.
Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds
Make a greater impact.
You may be able to make a bigger impact by donating appreciated securities, including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, to your charitable fund. Marketable securities are the most commonly gifted assets because they present distinct tax benefits. Donors are typically eligible for an income tax deduction for the security’s full fair market value. Capital gains taxes are avoided because the contributed asset is eventually sold by the St. Louis Community Foundation, a tax-exempt entity. These benefits lower the out-of-pocket cost of giving, resulting in a greater gift to your chosen charities.
Business Interests, Real Estate and Other Assets
Leveraging complex assets for good.
Complex, less liquid assets such as business interests, real estate, limited partnerships, privately held securities, and artwork can be donated to your charitable fund. In most cases, donors are eligible for an income tax deduction equal to the appraised or market value. Capital gains taxes are avoided because the asset is sold by the St. Louis Community Foundation, a tax-exempt entity.
Retirement Assets
Smart giving with retirement distributions.
Donating retirement assets can result in greater giving to charities. Retirement account distributions are subject to income taxes, but based on current law, donating them may help you avoid income taxes and create a greater impact.
Estate Assets
Generosity for future generations.
Bequests are one of the simplest estate giving options. Donors designate a gift to a specific fund at the Foundation. A fund agreement details the donor’s charitable intentions and the role the Foundation plays in stewarding the request. This option is a great way to transform a donor advised fund used for lifetime giving into a charitable legacy that continues into perpetuity. Or the fund can be created at the time of the bequest.
Donor Services
When you work with the St. Louis Community Foundation, you get personal, trusted service. You're also investing in a community foundation that gives back to the region by making nonprofits and the community stronger. And when you need us, we’re just around the corner.
Learn More >
I couldn't be happier with the support I receive from the Community Foundation when making grants from my donor advised fund. The team is easy to work with and eager to help."
AnonymousSt. Louis Community Foundation Fundholder
I take great pride in my city, and it’s important for me to give back. Opening a fund at the Foundation made sense. Their knowledge of our community and its nonprofits elevates the impact my charitable giving has for the causes I care about: youth sports, women and entrepreneurship
Khalia CollierSt. Louis Surge Owner, Community Leader & Philanthropist
“Each year, scholarships established by these donors help change someone’s life like mine because they help make college attainable."
Justin SaundersScholarship Recipient
While Ferguson put our community at a crossroads, it's how we react that matters. That's why I published "Painting for Peace in Ferguson," a book of photos of the amazing murals that artists painted on boarded-up windows. It captures a remarkable moment when our community came together in a call for a better future. The Community Foundation helped me create a charitable-giving fund, so that book sales benefit nonprofits and social initiatives in the areas affected. The Foundation's local knowledge, charitable-giving stewardship, and expertise are invaluable."
Carol KleinCommunity Foundation Donor
Ready to get started?
Our experts are here to answer your questions and help you find a philanthropic solution that’s right for you.
