Foundation doles out first round of grants

The Jefferson Foundation has awarded the most money in a single round since moving to a two-round grant cycle eight years ago.

The foundation recently announced the recipients of its first round of grants for this year, with 138 agencies receiving a total of $3,898,123.03. There were 143 grants awarded with five agencies receiving two grants each.

The more than $3.8 million is the most money the foundation has given out at one time since 2017, when 138 grants totaling more than $3.9 million were awarded in the final year the organization did only one round of grant funding.

Missy Endres, Jefferson Foundation executive vice president, said more grant money was available for the first round of grant funding because the organization had a higher budget than recent cycles.

“Our budget is driven by our investments,” Endres said. “Last year was really good. So, this year, we have one of our highest grant budgets. That allows us to do more."

The 143 grants in the first round this year is a record for the foundation, since the two-round cycle started. The previous highest total of grants distributed in a single round was 129 in the first round of 2024.

The 143 grants also are the second most grants awarded at one time by the foundation, which distributed 150 grants for more than $7.3 million in 2015.

Endres said the foundation distributed more grants because 129 were for $50,000 or less.

“There are a lot of smaller grants,” Endres said. “If you look at $50,000 or below, there are a lot of grants that fall in that category, which allows us to do more. A lot of the basic need grants tend to be some of the smaller grants. With the focus on that, that shows why we had such a large number this round.”

Endres said the foundation received 175 requests for a total of $8,674,938.65 for the first round this year. She said recipients were notified about receiving grants on May 1, and checks were mailed June 1.

“I feel really good about this round,” Endres said.

Endres said the foundation will start accepting second-round grant applications for 2026 on June 3, and agencies have until July 16 to apply for grants.

Endres said the foundation’s current account balance is $228,082,728, and it has awarded 2,237 grants for a total of about $80.7 million since 2014.

Top recipients

The Jefferson County Health Department received the most money with a $175,000 grant.

Brianne Zwiener, Health Department public communications officer, said the grant money will help fund direct services, such as screenings and vaccinations, at either a reduced cost or no cost to patients.

Zwiener said between $80,000 to $90,000 of the grant money is used to pay for direct services, and the Health Department also uses some of the grant money to pay for its Mobile Health Center and personnel costs.

“We have folks who don’t have insurance or are under insured, so this funding is a critical game changer for some folks,” Zwiener said. “It allows people to get services, medication, blood work, follow up, education and referrals that without it they would have no options because cost is a huge barrier.”

The Health Department may be contacted by calling 636-797-3737 or by going to jeffcohealth.org.

Upward Smiles, which provides dental care to children and pregnant women who are under insured or do not have insurance, received the second largest grant this cycle. The organization received $150,000.

Sherry Cauley, Upward Smiles founder and CEO, said her organization will use the grant money to continue to fund its various services.

“It is a huge impact to have them stand behind us for all of these years,” Cauley said of the foundation. “It has allowed us to take on more services that may eliminate some parents from having to make multiple visits to our office. It allows them to have sedation locally, instead of having to travel two hours away. Everything they have done has allowed us to become multifaceted. I 100 percent believe we could not do it without them.”

Upward Smiles has locations in Festus, 660 N. Creek Drive, and Farmington, 2820 Anchor Drive, and may be contacted at 573-327-8010.

OATS Transit received two grants for a total of $139,742. The foundation awarded the organization a $100,000 grant to support its transportation services and a $39,742 grant to help purchase new buses.

OATS operates two cross-county bus services, which are called Blue and Green routes, and ride programs that provide county residents with transportation to work, medical appointments, shopping and other community resources.

OATS officials said the organization provided 43,344 trips to 280 Jefferson County residents last year.

Jill Stedem, OATS administrative director, said staff is reviewing and revising the Jefferson County service model to better accommodate the growing demand for deviation and demand-response transportation requests.

“As part of this transition, OATS Transit will soon be expanding more flexible, general-public, demand-response prescheduled transportation options designed to better meet the community’s overall transportation needs,” said Pam Knox, OATS Mideast regional director.

Stedem said the grant to help purchase new buses is a 20 percent matching grant OATS needs to secure an 80 percent federal grant to buy the buses. She said the organization plans to purchase two buses to replace buses that are currently in service.

“We are grateful for the funding from the Jefferson Foundation, which will continue supporting Jefferson County public transportation services,” Stedem said.

Round 1 grants

• ACPD: $50,000, to provide access to substance abuse treatment services for Jefferson County residents.
• Aging Ahead: $100,000, to support the Meals Program in Jefferson County.
• All For Family: $10,000, to develop a strategic plan.
• Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter: $20,000, to provide Alzheimer’s education, outreach and ongoing care support to Jefferson County residents.
• American Cancer Society: $15,000, to provide support services for Jefferson County residents who are diagnosed with cancer. Services include the call center, transportation and lodging.
• American Institute for Respiratory Equity: $30,000, to provide prescription assistance and new diagnosis kit backpacks to Jefferson County children diagnosed with asthma.
• American Red Cross of Missouri & Arkansas: $50,000, to support disaster relief and preparedness programs in Jefferson County.
• AMVETS National Service Foundation: $10,000, to support a health and benefits fair for Jefferson County Veterans.
• Annie’s Hope - The Bereavement Center for Kids: $30,000, to support grief services for children and families in Jefferson County.
• Antonia Fire Protection District: $3,000, to purchase trauma bags.
• Area Resources for Community and Human Services FBO Kids Vision for Life St. Louis: $25,000, to purchase a mobile vision clinic.
• Area Resources for Community and Human Services FBO Kids Vision for Life St. Louis: $45,000, to expand mobile vision clinic services to additional Jefferson County schools.
• Arnold Food Pantry: $15,000, to purchase food and to assist with general operating expenses.
• Atlas Youth Outreach: $25,000, to provide therapeutic support groups for teens in Jefferson County.
• Back to Play: $5,000, to support the basic needs program.
• Barnabas Foundation Inc.: $10,000, to construct new, fully accessible cabins.
• Boonslick Regional Planning Commission: $10,000, to support transportation services in Jefferson County.
• Burns Recovered Support Group: $10,000, to support Jefferson County children attending the Burn Camp.
• Canine Companion Therapy Program: $2,500, to support children and adults who have experienced a traumatic event.
• Catholic Charities of St. Louis: $20,000, to provide financial assistance to help families and individuals remain stably housed.
• Catholic Charities of St. Louis: $50,000, to support transitional housing.
• CHADS Coalition For Mental Health: $10,000, to provide training for staff in the Family Support and Social Emotional Wellbeing programs.
• CHADS Coalition For Mental Health: $110,000, to provide Family Support services and school-based programs, including Signs of Suicide and Social-Emotional Mentoring programs.
• Champion Life Foundation Inc.: $50,000, to purchase food for the summer meal program.
• Cherish: $10,000, to support grief services in Jefferson County.
• Christian Family Services: $55,000, to provide program support for the foster care, maternity counseling and adoption, counseling services and transitional housing programs.
• City of Crystal City: $17,504, to purchase emergency medical equipment.
• City of Festus Administration: $5,550, to upgrade the dispatching software.
• City of Herculaneum: $50,000, to support expansion of Kade’s Playground.
• CNS International Ministries Inc.: $6,000, to support residential substance use treatment services for Jefferson County residents.
• Connect Church: $40,000, to purchase dental equipment.
• Cornerstone Mission: $5,000, to provide program support for the basic needs program.
• Court Appointed Special Advocates of Jefferson County: $35,000, to support advocacy services for children who are in the foster care and family court system in Jefferson County.
• Crisis Aid International: $25,000, to support services for Jefferson County children, youth and their families who are at risk for or have experienced child sexual exploitation or trafficking.
• De Soto 73 Public Schools: $10,000, to provide program support for the basic needs program.
• Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments: $15,000, to provide services for children in Jefferson County who are visually impaired.
• De Soto Food Pantry: $10,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need and to purchase food for the food pantry.
• Developmental Disability Advocates: $10,000, to purchase a human resources information system.
• Disability Resource Association Inc.: $100,000, to provide program support for the emergency assistance, transportation and independent living programs.
• Disability Resource In-Home Services: $29,500, to provide in-home care services and to support new aides with travel expenses.
• Disability Resource In-Home Services: $35,000, to support the in-home care program and to provide medical equipment to individuals with a disability.
• Dunklin R-5 School District: $10,000, to upgrade fitness opportunities for staff and students.
• Duo Dogs Inc.: $5,000, to provide therapy and assistance services at Jefferson County schools and facilities.
• Emmanuel Baptist Church Food Pantry: $20,000, to purchase food and to assist with general operating expenses of the food pantry.
• Eye Thrive: $50,000, to provide Jefferson County children with comprehensive eye exams and glasses.
• FamilyForward: $50,000, to provide trauma services and assessments for Jefferson County children in foster care.
• Fechter Cancer Care Foundation: $5,000, to provide financial assistance to cancer patients going through treatment.
• First United Methodist Church: $18,000, to purchase food and to assist with general operating expenses of the food pantry.
• Food Outreach Inc.: $25,000, to provide healthy meals to Jefferson County residents who have HIV or cancer.
• Foster Together: $25,000, to provide support for the basic needs program that serves foster parents and children.
• G.S.B.T.T.C. (Giving Something Back To The Community): $12,500, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• Gateway Down Syndrome Association: $25,000, to support services for individuals with Down syndrome in Jefferson County.
• Gateway Housing Service Project: $10,000, to build and install ramps in Jefferson County.
• Gateway to Hope: $25,000, to provide support services to breast cancer patients in Jefferson County and to assist women in getting screened.
• Get Healthy De Soto: $4,254.08, to purchase garden equipment.
• Girls on the Run of St. Louis: $40,000, to support the Girls on the Run program in Jefferson County schools.
• Goldman Fire Protection District: $24,172.95, to purchase a chest compression device.
• Good Shepherd Children & Family Services: $35,000, to support foster care services in Jefferson County.
• Grace Presbyterian Church: $5,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• Grandview R-2 School District: $7,800, to purchase emergency medical equipment.
• H.E.R.O.E.S. CARE INC.: $15,000, to provide assistance to veterans who are participating in the counseling program.
• High Ridge Elks Lodge 2455 Community Assistance Charity: $7,500, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• Hillsboro Little League: $1,800, to purchase emergency medical equipment.
• Hillsboro School District: $10,000, to support the basic needs program for students in the Hillsboro School District.
• Jeffco Shop With A Cop: $10,000, to provide program support for the Shop with a Cop program in local schools.
• Jefferson College Foundation Inc.: $100,000, to purchase equipment for a Diagnostic Medical Sonography program.
• Jefferson County Community Partnership: $19,500, to develop a strategic plan.
• Jefferson County Family YMCA: $10,000, to expand the diabetes prevention program to Jefferson County.
• Jefferson County Foster Children’s Fund Inc.: $12,500, to provide basic needs items to children in foster care.
• Jefferson County Foster Closet: $10,000, to provide program support for the basic needs program.
• Jefferson County Government: $25,000, to provide program support for the treatment court program.
• Jefferson County Health Department: $175,000, to provide affordable and accessible safety net health services, including screenings and vaccinations, direct care and prevention education.
• Jefferson County Pregnancy Care Center dba MyLife Medical Center: $15,000, to provide parenting classes and to help families with basic needs items.
• Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation: $40,000, to provide direct financial assistance for housing to low-income individuals and families.
• KMA Foundation Inc.: $25,000, to provide a safe driving awareness program to schools in Jefferson County.
• Lafayette JeffCO: $50,000, to help replace the roof on the sheltered workshop.
• Legal Services of Eastern Missouri: $30,000, to provide legal services to Jefferson County survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
• Living Faith Food Pantry: $20,000, to purchase food and to assist with general operating expenses.
• Living Well Village Foundation: $25,000, to support the virtual healthy lifestyle program and a day camp program for Jefferson County children who have autism and their parents.
• Lung Cancer Connection: $5,000, to increase awareness of radon exposure and lung cancer screening options.
• Lutheran Family and Children’s Services of Missouri: $45,000, to provide mental health counseling services to Jefferson County residents.
• Mary Daniels Foundation: $25,000, to provide basic needs services to survivors of domestic violence.
• Maryville University of St. Louis: $25,000, to provide program support for the KidTalk Outreach program which provides free speech-language therapy services.
• Memory Care Home Solutions: $15,000, to provide dementia care services and education to families in Jefferson County.
• Miriam Foundation: $8,550, to provide mental health training to two Jefferson County schools.
• Missouri Justice Coalition: $10,000, to provide financial assistance for basic needs.
• Missouri Kids Unplugged: $5,000, to support healthy outdoor events for Jefferson County families.
• Missouri Press Foundation: $40,000, to increase stories on health care topics.
• Morse Mill Baptist Church: $5,000, to provide program support for the basic needs program.
• NAMI St. Louis: $10,000, to support the Crisis Intervention Team program in Jefferson County.
• Nurses for Newborns: $55,000, to provide nurse home visits to underserved families in Jefferson County.
• OATS Inc.: $39,742, to purchase new buses for the Jefferson County transportation program.
• OATS Inc.: $100,000, to support transportation services in Jefferson County.
• Office of Job Training Programs: $50,000, to support employment services for Jefferson County residents.
• Our Lady’s Inn: $5,000, to provide shelter and supportive services for Jefferson County women and children.
• Our Little Haven: $70,000, to support the Coordination of Medical Services and Diligent Relative Search programs in Jefferson County.
• Parents as Teachers – De Soto: $13,000, to purchase hearing and vision screening equipment.
• Parents as Teachers - Festus: $30,000, to provide program support and to purchase incentives to increase participation in health screenings.
• Partners In-Kind: $50,000, to provide psychological evaluations for high-risk youth in Jefferson County.
• Pathways to Independence: $6,000, to support services for Jefferson County residents with cognitive disabilities.
• Pay It Forward Baby Ministry: $12,500, to provide program support for the basic needs program.
• Peace Pantry: $40,000, to renovate the agency’s facility.
• Pink Ribbon Girls: $25,000, to provide meals and rides to treatment for Jefferson County individuals and families where there has been a diagnosis of breast or gynecological cancer.
• Pony Bird Inc.: $45,000, to purchase emergency generators.
• PreventEd: $60,000, to support substance abuse prevention and counseling services.
• Provident Inc.: $90,000, to support mental health services in Jefferson County.
• Raintree Church: $5,000, to support the food outreach and financial assistance programs.
• Redemption Church: $20,000, to purchase food for the food pantry.
• Rocky Creek Youth Ranch: $5,000, to purchase wipeable vinyl couches and chairs for the family visitation area.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis: $25,000, to support services for Jefferson County families who have a seriously ill child.
• Rural Parish Clinic of Archdiocese of St. Louis: $50,000, to support medical and dental clinics in Jefferson County.
• St. Louis Crisis Nursery: $34,000, to support the case management and basic needs program.
• Sneakers with Soul: $5,000, to provide program support for the basic needs program.
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul - Fenton: $10,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul - St. John’s Conference: $20,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need and to support the food pantry.
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul at Holy Family: $15,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish: $10,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• Society of St. Vincent DePaul - Good Shepherd in Hillsboro Conference: $10,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• Society of St. Vincent DePaul Our Lady Conference: $10,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• Special Olympics Missouri: $5,000, to support services for individuals with intellectual disabilities in Jefferson County.
• St Joseph SVdP, Imperial: $10,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church: $7,500, to provide program support for a prom for individuals with special needs.
• St. John’s Lutheran Church and School: $20,000, to support mental health services, wellness services and the Foster Kids’ Fun Night program.
• St. Joseph Catholic Church: $20,000, to purchase a van for the food pantry.
• St. Louis Area Foodbank: $100,000, to purchase food for mobile distribution sites and for Jefferson County food pantries.
• St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Awareness (SLOCA): $5,000, to conduct an outreach campaign on ovarian cancer in Jefferson County and to provide financial assistance to ovarian cancer patients.
• St. Patrick Center: $25,000, to provide program support for the homeless prevention program for veterans in Jefferson County.
• St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church: $2,250, to purchase emergency medical equipment.
• Teen Challenge of St. Louis: $25,000, to upgrade the agency’s fire alarm and detection systems.
• The Arya Foundation: $5,000, to provide adaptive equipment to Jefferson County children.
• The Covering House: $25,000, to upgrade the agency’s technology.
• The Curators of the University of Missouri: $100,000, to provide psychological evaluations for high-risk youth in Jefferson County.
• The James II Project: $25,000, to provide program support for the basic needs program.
• The Moog Center for Deaf Education: $12,500, to provide services to Jefferson County children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families.
• The Salvation Army - Arnold Corps: $25,000, to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
• Tri-County Veterans in Need Team Inc: $7,500, to provide general and financial assistance to local veterans.
• United Way of Greater St. Louis: $20,000, to provide program support and financial assistance to Jefferson County residents.
• Upward Smiles Inc.: $150,000, to support dental services.
• Veterans Community Project: $10,000, to assist Jefferson County veterans in obtaining or maintaining housing.
• Wesley United Methodist Church: $5,000, to provide program support for the basic needs program.
• Wyman Center Inc.: $10,000, to provide program support for the Wyman Leaders program in Jefferson County.
• Zion Lutheran Church: $10,000, to provide program support for the basic needs program.
• Zion Lutheran Church Pevely: $7,500, to support the basic needs program and to provide financial assistance.
• Total: $3,898,123.03