Our grants support the accelerated change in conditions through policy, advocacy, and/or organizing efforts building and wielding power to transform systems to respond to the will of the people. Deaconess, through trusted relationships and grant funding, expects impact in abolishing racial and structural inequities that are felt in the day-to-day lives of all people across the Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois footprint. To this end, the mantle is placed on Deaconess’ funded partners with us to play a key and critical role in the movement laying the groundwork for liberation and community well-being.
RESULTS
Deaconess provides flexible funding to nonprofit organizations in support of coalition and base building, grassroots advocacy, community organizing, public policy development/change, and advocacy efforts that pursue positive systemic change for the improved health and wellness of all people in Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois. We expect efforts supported through these grants to propel our work and the movement for community well-being in alignment with our strategy to achieve liberation in seven generations.
Health Care
All children of the St. Louis region should have universal access to comprehensive mental, physical and dental care, supported by a trauma informed care approach, a network of school-based health centers and the benefits of Medicaid expansion.
Economic Mobility
Families in the St. Louis region should be able to achieve economic stability within one generation in an environment marked by fair chance employment practices, family-supporting wages and asset-building supports.
Justice and Equity
All children of the St. Louis region should receive just treatment under the law, with specific emphasis on contact with the state’s systems for juvenile justice and foster and adoptive care.
Early Childhood Education
All children of the St. Louis region should enjoy full access to quality early childhood care and education from birth to Pre-Kindergarten.
Cycle 4 of the Seeding the Future Grants will open
October 6, 2025.
Funding Opportunities
Grant OPPORTUNITIES
Description
Seeding the Future Grants are general operating funds awarded for one year to organizations with proposals that align with Deaconess’ intended impact. Funding supports organizational and civic infrastructure expansion, advancement of public policies, and/or efforts impacting systems transformation through an intergenerational approach for the improved health and wellness of people in Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois. This grant is designed to cultivate a partnership pipeline for the Movement Transformation Cohort.
As part of trust-based philanthropy practices, Deaconess uses guided and ongoing discussions with our partners to identify progress and areas of support in lieu of a reporting process for this grant.
Request for Proposals Opening & Closing Dates
The online portal will be open during the cycle dates listed below. To be considered for a cycle's review, requests for proposals must be submitted by 11:59 pm on the closing dates.
Cycle 1
Request for proposals opens February 3, 2025.
Request for proposals closes March 7, 2025.
Cycle 2
Request for proposals opens May 5, 2025.
Request for proposals closes June 9, 2025.
Cycle 3
Request for proposals opens August 4, 2025.
Request for proposals closes August 29, 2025.
Cycle 4
Request for proposals opens October 6, 2025.
Request for proposals closes October 30, 2025.
Award
- General operating awards are $20,000 annually per awarded organization.
- Grants will be awarded for one year and are non-renewable.
Description
Deaconess Foundation’s strategy calls for creating conditions where liberation is the lived reality for seven generations and orienting its resources in pursuit of that goal.
As part of this strategy, Deaconess will use a portion of its investment portfolio to catalyze a local regenerative economy by providing below-market rate loan(s) to nonprofit organizations. The Foundation recognizes that access to financial capital can be a barrier for many nonprofit organizations. In response, Deaconess created an initiative to expand community access to financial capital in the hopes of building local capacity to achieve positive health outcomes.
The Foundation is inviting organization(s) who might need a loan up to $450,000 to apply for financing that will strengthen their programs and further their mission. Unlike a grant, these funds are a loan that will be repaid with interest.
Eligibility Criteria
- An organization must be a non-profit organization that aims to improve conditions for community level well-being.
- Prospective partners may include, but are not limited to, nonprofits pursuing change through coalition and base-building, grassroots advocacy, community organizing or public policy development, community development including community development financial institutions or community development corporations, intermediaries, and non-profits with revolving loan funds.
- Project must impact the Eastern Region of Missouri (St. Louis City, St. Louis, St. Charles, Franklin, and Jefferson Counties) and Southern Illinois (St. Clair, Madison, and Monroe Counties).
In the past, Deaconess has considered requests for
- revolving loan funds in which money will be re-distributed either to businesses or nonprofits;
- bridge loans so that nonprofits can begin a project while waiting for cash or additional funding; or
- money that will provide a stable amount of cash to meet ongoing operations during times of variable cash flows.
Selection Principles
- A need for a loan and not a grant or a forgivable loan;
- Evidence of how funds would be leveraged to provide both a financial and a social return;
- An identified source of income or asset base for repaying the loan;
- A business plan and assessment of the viability of the program or project;
- Consistency with the Foundation’s values of faith, healing, liberation, and justice
- Diversity in leadership, governance, and a range of stakeholders;
In addition to these concepts, Deaconess Foundation may evaluate applications with a view toward building a loan portfolio that reflects:
- Geographic diversity in the region;
- Diversification of social impact;
- Diversification of investee type.
Request for Proposals
Request for proposals is closed.
Description
Movement Transformation Grants will be awarded to organizations that will be invited to be in partnership with Deaconess Foundation. Recipients will receive annual grants over a three-year period for general operating support. These grants provide a stable source of flexible funding for organizational and civic infrastructure expansion, advancement of issue-specific public policies, and/or efforts impacting systems transformation for the improved health and wellness of people in Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois.
As part of trust-based philanthropy practices, Deaconess uses guided and ongoing discussions with our partners to identify progress and areas of support in lieu of an application and reporting process for this grant.
The inaugural cohort was selected in 2023. The next cohort will be selected in 2026.
Award
The total distribution amount that will be awarded ranges from $20,000 to $30,000 per year for general operating funds.
Description
Policy Campaign Grants offer up to $100,000 in general operating funding to support timely and urgent issue-based campaigns to advance public policy through grassroots advocacy, civic engagement and community organizing aligned with our desired impacts.
Policy Campaign Grants are designed to support expanded capacity to movement infrastructure. This strategy propels our work and the movement of community health and well-being and achieving liberation in seven generations.
Grants may support:
- Efforts which advance coordinated local or state public policy advocacy and organizing campaigns driving meaningful, systemic change;
- Development of research and analysis, convenings and community campaigns that generate innovative approaches to solving policy challenges; and/or
- Opportunistic or innovative initiatives that are well-positioned to advance policy change (i.e. Ballot initiatives, collective impact efforts, etc.).
Grants will be awarded for one year and may be awarded to collaborative efforts (multiple organizations applying under one application).
As part of trust-based philanthropy practices, Deaconess uses guided and ongoing discussions with our partners to identify progress and areas of support in lieu of a reporting process for this grant.
Request for Proposals
- Request for proposals is closed.
Award
- The total distribution amount that will be awarded is $100,000 for general operating funds.
- Grants will be awarded for one year and are non-renewable.
The Deaconess Nursing Scholarship Program honors the nursing heritage of the Deaconess mission by supporting local students with demonstrated financial need. These grants are administered through a partnership with the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis and the St. Louis American Foundation.
Community-Stewarded Funds
The NextGen Grantmakers Initiative, powered by Vision for Children at Risk, is a youth-led grantmaking opportunity that places funding decisions directly in the hands of young changemakers to support projects that strengthen youth leadership, safety, mental well-being, and professional development. Nonprofit organizations serving youth ages 10–24 in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, and Franklin County in Missouri, as well as St. Clair, Madison, and Monroe Counties in Illinois, are eligible to apply.
The fund will award 5–10 grants of $10,000–$20,000 for projects lasting up to 12 months. Priority will be given to proposals that advance youth safety programs, address mental health and emotional intelligence, cultivate leadership and personal growth, and bridge the transition between adolescence and young adulthood through professional development. Strong proposals will be youth-led or meaningfully involve youth, generate positive community change, demonstrate creativity and inclusion, and present clear, achievable plans.
The request for proposals opens Septerber 2, 2025 and closes September 26, 2025.
The Racial Healing + Justice Fund is the commitment to change the conditions of systemic racism that reinforce disparities and endanger lives and to heal the core of our community.
Deaconess Foundation, Forward Through Ferguson, and Missouri Foundation for Health, with the thought leadership of InPower Institute have collaborated to establish the St. Louis Racial Healing + Justice Fund to invest in healing community trauma and changing the conditions that reinforce systemic racism.
Request for proposals is closed.
The Seniors Community Revitalization & Development Fund (Seniors Community Fund) aims to improve the public health system infrastructure to better serve residents 55 years of age and older and promote transparency and accountability. The Fund’s community-led Senior Advisory Board, comprised of residents aged 55 and older, is now accepting funding proposals for up to $30,000 from organizations/projects/initiatives addressing three priority areas: transportation, safety, and health navigation support for seniors in the Greater St. Louis region and nearby counties in Illinois.
The Seniors Community Fund is done in partnership with the Community Health Commission of Missouri (formerly the St. Louis Regional Health Commission) to support services for seniors in the region.
The request for proposals opens September 22, 2025 and closes October 17, 2025.
