Small? Super. 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.  

Give STL Day 2026 is just two weeks away! Last week we highlighted nonprofits in two of our operating budget categories “Mini” which ranges from $0 – $50,001 and “Micro” which ranges from $50,001 – $250,000. Click the links to learn more about a few of the “Mini” and “Micro” nonprofits in the region.   

Today, we want to showcase a few of the nonprofits in the region who are operating with a  budget of $250,001 – $1,000,000. While this operating budget category is defined as “Small” considering the impact these nonprofits make in the community, they are nothing less than “Super.”

The following organizations are some of the “Small” organizations operating locally. 

Having recently celebrated their 30th anniversary, St. Louis ArtWorks has reached thousands of underserved youth across 40 zip codes. St. Louis ArtWorks bridges economic, racial, and social divisions by pursuing its mission, “to enrich the lives of the region’s youth by providing art education, essential job skill training, and exposure to career opportunities through paid apprenticeships in the arts.”   

St. Louis ArtWorks’ job training is for youth ages 14-19, with programming taking place after school and on weekends during the fall and spring, as well as for six weeks during the summer – which includes a stipend. The current apprenticeship programs offered by St. Louis ArtWorks include, “bloomworks!” – painting of rain barrels, “batik” – a textile technique with wax and colorful dyes, “robotalks” – kinetic robotic art and design, “performative dance” – in which encompasses pop up performances, and “boomerang press/media” – where youth learn about social change through creating their own video documentary.  

St. Louis ArtWorks combines in-depth art instruction with experiential learning through client meetings, open house events, and public sales. An amazing caveat: all apprentice works of art are either commissioned by local companies and organizations, or sold at public sales. A few local organizations St. Louis Artworks has been commissioned by includes the St. Louis Cardinals, the Clark-Fox Family Foundation, and the Missouri Foundation for Health amongst many others. 

Learn more about St. Louis ArtWorks and their impact on youth and the region by visiting their website here. 

Founded in 1950, the 4522 Club – affectionally referred to as the Lindell Club – has been a cornerstone of the St. Louis recovery scene by going beyond offering support groups but fostering a space where people can be seen, heard, and valued for just over seventy-five years. 

By hosting over 50 meetings a week, the 4522 Club ardently pursues its mission, “to provide a safe, sober, and comfortable setting for members and guests to meet and socialize – and to extend the welcoming hand of recovery to all who seek it.” Meetings at the Lindell Club encompass a multitude of needs including, “Narcotics Anonymous”, “11th Step Meditation,” “Sisters Not Saints,” “Sex Addicts Anonymous,” and “Streets to the Seats” with safe spaces for all gender identities.  

For the 4522 Club, addiction is, “a disease of isolation” with the antidote being found in “human connection.” Fiercely independent, the Lindell Club is not officially affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous or any other external group – the course of the club is guided by its members and supported by the generosity of the larger recovery community. The clubs survival depends on meeting rent, membership dues, counter sales, monthly events, and heartfelt donations with each dollar going straight back into operations and ensuring the doors stay open for the next person who needs help.  

Learn more about the 4522 – or Lindell Club – their history, mission, and meetings by visiting their website here.  

From a coffee shop to a community center, Metro Trans Umbrella Group was created by and for the trans community. 

Metro Trans Umbrella Group, “serves, supports, and empowers transgender, nonbinary, intersex, and gender-expansive people in St. Louis and beyond through advocacy, education, direct support services, and community-building.” Offering customizable trainings on topics ranging from trans-inclusive patient care to “Trans 101,” Metro Trans Umbrella Group has reached over 2000 people across 35 organizations in just over two years. Support groups was the very first thing Metro Trans Umbrella Group ever did in 2013, and now, with “GESS – Gender Expansive Support Society,” “TBC – To be Continued… Book Club,” “CoLoR – Community of Loved ones and Recovery,” “Age Against the Machine,” “Mid Rivers Gender Non-conforming Society,” “Gender Cloud,” “Expression Spectrum,” “FemSpec” and “Locker Room,” Metro-Trans Umbrella Group runs 9 peer-led groups across the St. Louis region, in person and online. During their “Open Hours” offered Tuesday and Thursday from 12 PM – 6PM, visitors can grab a hot meal, explore gender-affirming clothing and accessories through “Alix’s Closet”, gather groceries, toiletries, and essentials in their Food Pantry, and apply for Free MetroLink passes. Metro Trans Umbrella Group even publishes its own quarterly magazine, “FACES” available digitally and in-print. Their long-term vision is to go beyond providing services but to organize and change the conditions creating the need in the first place. 

Learn more about Metro-Trans Umbrella Group, Alix’s Closet – soon to be a boutique – and their community 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 plethora of “Small” yet “Super” 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 “Small” nonprofits going above and beyond to catalyze change. Early giving starts this week on April 22nd, 2026 and Give STL Day starts at 12 AM on May 7th, 2026.