The U.S. Marines website states that Marines share a belonging that is more than mere togetherness. This is quite evident at FOCUS Marines Foundation (FMF), a YouthBridge fundholder grant recipient. Founded in 2010 by Marines, the organization is led by volunteer veterans.
When Barbara Carswell, YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis CEO, became aware of Rung for Women a few years ago, she was impressed with the group’s mission and successes. As she learned more, she automatically began pondering a possible match to a YouthBridge fundholder.
Pony Bird has received several grants from a major YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis fundholder over the last eight years. Pony Bird’s mission of enriching the lives of individuals with disabilities is a perfect match for YouthBridge and for this fundholder.
Ymani received a grant award to place vending machines with free books in places where children congregate and to expand the community activities at the bookshop. After learning she had won the grant, however, she discovered that the money could only be received by a qualified nonprofit organization. Far from being disheartened, Ymani began the search for a fiscal sponsor, and soon realized that YouthBridge was the partner she was looking for.
February is sometimes called the month of love, and YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis is joining in the celebration. Rather than honor Cupid, we are focused on the love that comes from the Ancient Greek word philanthropia, the root word of philanthropy.
Sometimes the most obvious solutions are right under your nose. Progress 64 West has been awarding scholarships to young entrepreneurs for decades, but last year the Scholarship Committee began discussing ways to be more effective. The group needed help to expand its reach and deepen its impact through larger scholarships. Unbeknownst to the committee, the solution it was looking for all along existed within its own backyard at YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis.
YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis has been busy! As the new year begins and we dive into goals and plans for 2024, we want to take a moment to celebrate the growth and successes of last year. More than simply celebrating, we want to examine those successes to determine not only how to recreate them, but how to build upon them.
Only in the world of YouthBridge Community Foundation would it seem commonplace to host a board meeting for an organization whose members live across the country – and who have never met in person! Restore Orphan Fund (ROF) members recently took advantage of YouthBridge’s invitation to visit St. Louis to meet each other and meet the YouthBridge staff, while bringing a little joy to the lives of area children living in foster care.
Working with The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, a 2023 recipient of a Heritage Grant, is one example of YouthBridge’s commitment to older youth. According to The Scholarship Foundation Executive Director, Faith Sandler, the agency has benefited from donor-designated gifts from YouthBridge fundholders over the years. Now as a Heritage Grant recipient, The Scholarship Foundation is honored to be “selected based on what [they] do rather than who [they] know.”
Heritage Grants awarded by YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis are inspired by fundholders with big hearts who care about the financial sustainability of the nonprofits they love. After careful research and much consideration, YouthBridge determined that CASA of St. Louis fit the Heritage Grant requirements perfectly this year.
Gateway Children Children’s Charity’s mission to raise “funds to make high-impact, tangible investments in early childhood programs that support children living in underserved St. Louis communities” aligns perfectly with the mission of YouthBridge Community Foundation. The two organizations understand that young people need access to resources and supportive environments to thrive – and their grant programs increase access to these critical supports.
The Girl Scout mission to “build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place” is a tall order. It requires passion, dedication, a fierce belief in girls’ abilities, and of course, financial resources to support programming that nurtures these traits.
What do Black families in St. Louis need to thrive before, during, and beyond pregnancy? Generate Health explored this question after recognizing that years of racially inequitable policies and practices had created a cycle of distrust and unfavorable maternal care outcomes among many Black St. … More →
The first 15 years of Dr. David Campbell’s career were dedicated to medical education, teaching young physicians. Even then, he recounts working to incorporate ‘outreach to the community’ into the curriculum for these young physicians. When Dr. Campbell decided to step away from medical education it was to start a not-for-profit to further this ‘outreach to the community’. In 2000, he formed the Institute for Family Medicine (now named IFM Community Medicine) to advance the goal of providing quality healthcare services to disadvantaged children and families.
A Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial institution that accepts deposits, makes loans, and provides a wide array of other financial services and products. This definition only begins to describe St. Louis Community Credit Union (SLCCU). For over 80 years SLCCU has existed to provide residents of the St. Louis region with safe, affordable and accessible financial services and products through caring service and education.
To honor our mission of partnering with donors around sustainability of nonprofits, YouthBridge provides grants to child or youth serving organizations that are regularly supported by our fundholders.
The Think Big for Kids Fund provides grants designed to stimulate innovative thinking and fund big ideas from nonprofits that serve children and youth in our community.
Remember the excitement of that new backpack, new box of crayons or freshly sharpened pencils – especially on the first day of school? Over 90,000 St Louis area kids share that joy because of the efforts of KidSmart. Founded in 2002, KidSmart’s mission is to empower children in need to succeed in school by providing free essential tools for learning.
“Inclusion” is defined as the state of being included or being made a part of something. Thanks to One Classroom, children with physical or intellectual disabilities are now educated in the general classroom of many Catholic schools in the St. Louis area. Rather than being segregated from their age peers, students’ individualized needs are addressed in the classroom as they work toward their individual potential.
The mission of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis is to serve, support and celebrate the lives of all individuals with Down syndrome and their families, through every stage of life. The pillar of the organization is family support from the moment that a family receives notice that their unborn child may have Down syndrome through the end of the loved one’s life – and even beyond.