Medium? We’d say Monumental. Highlighting Local Nonprofits for Give STL Day 2026.
Give STL Day is the St. Louis Community Foundation’s annual 24-hour signature community giving event, raising money and awareness for over one thousand local nonprofits serving the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan area year after year.
There are exactly two weeks until Give STL Day 2026! Our most recent blog post shed some light on a few nonprofits in the region who operate with a “Small” budget, and are “Super” in every sense of the word. Click the link here to read more.
Today, we want to feature a few of the “Medium” nonprofits in the region who are operating with a budget of $1,000,001 – $2,000,000 and are “Monumental” in their impact.
The following organizations are some of the “Medium” organizations operating locally.
Empower Missouri believes that poverty in Missouri can be eradicated. As the offspring of a late 19th century social movement, Empower Missouri, “works to secure basic human needs and equal justice for every person in our state through coalition-building and advocacy.”
Dedicated to working with politicians from “every inch” of the political spectrum to build awareness of issues of poverty, Empower Missouri is passionate about building the will to create a more equitable society through policy reform. The core of Empower Missouri’s work centers around their three statewide coalitions: Affordable Housing, Criminal Justice Reform, and Food Security, with an ongoing focus on other Anti-Poverty Related Policy such as voting rights and expanded access to healthcare to encompass the complexity and far-reaching nature of poverty.
Providing key statistics on the impacts of poverty on Missourians alongside long-term proposals to address their priority issues, is one of the many ways Empower Missouri works to educate and empower legislators and local citizens alike. Empower Missouri also provides written testimony in support of bills in the Missouri House of Representatives, in addition to their weekly podcast “Under the Dome” designed to catch listeners up on anti-poverty actions happening in the Missouri state legislature. Events and opportunities to get involved with Empower Missouri range from a “Day” and “Week” of action to coalition meetings, calls, accelerators, trainings, book clubs, and webinars.
What started as a group of 41 Missourians in 1901 has now been over 125 years of advocating for justice. Learn more about Empower Missouri, their history, mission, and vision by visitng their website here.
Five Acres Animal Shelter’s mission is straightforward and multifaceted: “to end pet homelessness, promote responsible pet ownership, and advocate for animal welfare.”
Five Acres Animal Shelter exists to serve the community – not just by reducing the number of pets in need by finding homes, but by also supporting the community’s pet owners. Furthermore, Five Acres also values lasting relationships whether through adoption, volunteering, fostering, donating, or spreading the word. Regardless of how it manifests, Five Acres loves creating relationships in the community, especially between humans and their pet companions. Safety and well-being of the animals in their care also makes the top of the list, ensuring all animals are safe, clean, enriched, and relaxed. Through their affordable spay & neuter services, they provide vaccines, microchips, surgeries and more, having served 169 cats and dogs at their clinic last weekend. Five Acres truly believes that pets are better off with people, and that people are better off with pets – and it shows.
Through their robust foster program, AniMeals food pantry, affordable veterinary care, impactful volunteer opportunities, and community events, Five Acres Animal Shelter aims to enrich the lives of pets and people. With 99% of the more than 1,600 cats and dogs who come into their care every year finding their forever family, Five Acres Animal shelter is changing lives for one pet at a time.
Learn more about Five Acres “small but mighty” team, their pets, and their mission by visiting their website here.
In 2001, 400 neighbors showed up to take care of the “Big Muddy” and 25 years later Missouri River Relief is still going strong.
Through three interconnected approaches: River Cleanups, Missouri River Education, River Races & Events, Missouri River Relief aims to fulfill its mission to, “safely engage individuals and communities along the Missouri River in the exploration, enjoyment, restoration, and care of the river through hands-on river cleanups, education programs, and recreation.” Educational and safety guidelines cover books and stories that deepen one’s understanding of the river, how to read National Weather Service data, educational resources for the classroom, cleanup resources for the river, and everything else in between. From programs like “trash mobs” providing resources for individual action, to river days, speaker series, and boat rides, Missouri River Relief provides dual learning and engagement opportunities for all those who care about the river and the land surrounding it. Moreover, Missouri River Relief hosts two races: their MR340 “longest non-stop river race” and their “Race to the Dome” which is on its 17th year.
Both races, and all their programs, create ample opportunity for education, stewardship, recreation, and the cultivation of lifelong friendship. With 26 educator workshops, 231 river cleanups, 1,089 tons of trash, 6,374 paddlers, 35,118 cleanup volunteers, and 42,819 students and teachers, Missouri River Relief has created thousands of moments when someone’s relationship with the Missouri River changed forever.
Learn more about Missouri River Relief, their mission, programs, and love for the “Big Muddy” by visiting their website here.
Find More Organizations
Give STL Day’s website hosts a directory of nonprofits in the Greater St. Louis region who have registered for the philanthropic day of giving. If you’re curious about the multitude of “Monumental” and “Medium” nonprofits in the area, visit the website at www.givestlday.org or click here to be taken to the site.
This Give STL Day, consider donating to support the “Medium” nonprofits shepherding monumental change. Early giving opened April 22nd, 2026 and Give STL Day starts at 12 AM on May 7th, 2026.
