Grant Cycle for Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund Open for 2020-2021

The Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund (SOS), a component fund of the St. Louis Community Foundation, strengthens the greater St. Louis community through informed, focused grant-making by educating and inspiring women to engage in significant giving. Since its founding in 2006, SOS has granted over $2.7 million to nonprofits in the greater St. Louis community and has approximately 240 members. 

Nonprofits seeking funding for the 2020-2021 grant cycle are invited to submit a Letter of Inquiry. Interested organizations must register and Letters of Inquiry must be uploaded online between September 1 and September 25, 2020. 

To be considered for SOS grant funding, organizations MUST:

• Be defined as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
  issued to an organization located in the Greater St. Louis Community
• Have an operating budget of less than $1.5 million 
• Be headquartered and provide services within the Greater St. Louis Community which includes the City of St. Louis and/or the following counties: St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin in Missouri or St. Clair, Madison and Monroe in Illinois (Organizations can provide services outside this specific area, but SOS will only fund the services provided to the Greater St. Louis Community) 

Grants are not restricted to issues dealing 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 Grants:  SOS grant amounts range between $5,000 – $25,000.  Organizations receiving SOS grants for two consecutive years must wait one year before applying for additional grant money.  

SOS 2020-2021 Grant Timeline 

• September 1 through September 25, 2020: 
  SOS website is open for organization registration and letters of inquiry at https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=stlgives 
• Free Virtual Grant Application Training for Nonprofits:  
  Available in September for online viewing at http://www.spiritstlwomensfund.org/apply-for-a-grant  
• Grant Eligibility and Process Questions: 
  Go to at http://www.spiritstlwomensfund.org/apply-for-a-grant or contact soswomensfund.grants@gmail.com  
• Technical Assistance Available: 
  For questions on accessing the online application please contact Nikki Martinez, St. Louis Community Foundation Community Investment Manager at nmartinez@stlgives.org 
• November 2020:  
  Organizations will be notified, if selected, to submit a full grant application. SOS accepts full grant applications BY INVITATION ONLY. 
• January 2021:
  Selected organizations must submit completed full grant applications online by January 29, 2021.  

New This Year: 

• SOS grantmaking is supported by the St. Louis Community Foundation. 
• To apply please visit:https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=stlgives 
• Organizations registered with St. Louis Community Foundation can use their existing login. 
• New organizations can register using the Create New Account function. 
• Please contact Nikki Martinez for any technical issues.