Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund Grant Funds Available for 2023

The Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund (SOS) strengthens the Greater St. Louis community through informed, focused grant-making by educating and inspiring women to engage in significant giving. The group, a component fund of the St. Louis Community Foundation, has over 200 members. Since its founding in 2006, SOS has invested over $3.1 million in the greater St. Louis community through grants.

Click here to learn more about SOS and the organization’s recent grantmaking milestones.

2022–2023 Grant Cycle

Nonprofits seeking funding for the 2022–2023 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 23, 2022. 

To be considered for SOS grant funding, organizations MUST:

• Be recognized as a public charity or private operating foundation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
• 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.

Multi-year grants: In the 2022-2023 granting cycle, SOS will be investing one, renewable, three year accelerator grant for $33,333 a year, totaling $100,000. The application can be for a specific project or general operating support. Organizations that apply for multi-year grants must:

• Demonstrate a history of successful programming and financial stability
• Show collaboration with other agencies
• Exhibit strong leadership in board and organizational management
• Have a clear multi-year plan that is visionary, meets an urgent community need and significantly enhances the applicant organization’s ability to serve their mission into the future
• Demonstrate how having consistent funding will allow your agency to think big and take chances
• Have specific and numerically measurable project goals, objectives/actions and outcomes/impact described for each year
• Include a three year budget

SOS Grant Timeline

• September 1 through September 23, 2022: SOS website is open for organization registration and letters of inquiry here.
• Free Virtual Grant Application Training for Nonprofits:  Available in September for online viewing here.
• November 2022:  Organizations will be notified, if selected, to submit a full grant application. SOS accepts full grant applications BY INVITATION ONLY.
• January 27, 2023: Selected organizations must submit completed full grant applications online by January 27, 2023.
• February/March 2023: Site visits with SOS grant committee members are scheduled during February and March of 2023.

Click here for more information about SOS grants or to register and submit a Letter of Inquiry online.