Brown Sisters Foundation

We consider it a priority to be as candid and accessible as possible for organizations seeking funding.

2025 Grant Cycle

LOIs are no longer being accepted. Those organizations whose LOIs demonstrate the strongest fit will be invited to submit a full application. These invitations are issued via email in mid-July and full applications are due in August. A subset of those applicants will be invited to present to our Board of Directors in mid-October, and the grant period will run from November 1 through December 31 of the following year.

Please note: In order to preserve the value and uniqueness of a challenge grant campaign, agencies will generally not be funded for two consecutive years, but are welcome to re-apply after a 1 year hiatus.

We do not require a phone conversation prior to LOI submission, though you are welcome to reach out to info@brownsisters.org with specific questions. All organizations are strongly encouraged to explore our website to learn more about our funding priorities, how we invest, and our past grantees.

What We Fund and How

The Brown Sisters Foundation funds faith-based, tax-exempt organizations that work to support economically disadvantaged communities, with a specific focus on young people. All eligible proposals must be located in the St. Louis, Missouri region (USA) within a ~20 mile radius of Forest Park, and must have a challenge grant component. The Brown Sisters Foundation has one annual funding cycle, with project periods running from November 1st to December 31st of the following calendar year (14 months).

Project requests should seek to increase the organization’s ability to accomplish its work, deepen its impact, expand its capacity, become more sustainable or resilient, launch new initiatives/programs, innovate, or provide leverage in some other way. All proposals should include a challenge component.

We encourage organizations to ask for what they need to support a strategically designed leverage-based project. It is rare for the Foundation to make grants larger than $50,000. Our average grant size is $20,000.

To make sure your organization is a strong fit before applying, please review our Funding Priorities and How We Invest to create financial and missional leverage.

Annual Funding Timeline

Each year, our grant cycle begins in early summer. We do not accept proposals outside of our annual grant process. Typically, our grant process is as follows:

• Late May/Early June: Grant Process Opens. We send out an email blast to our contact list announcing the start of our funding process. Click here to join our mailing list.

• Late June/Early July: Letters of Inquiry Due. A short Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is intended to help both the organization and the Brown Sisters Foundation determine whether a project/organization meets the criteria and priorities of the Foundation, without asking the organization to invest a great deal of time in the application process.  We accept LOIs from any interested agency who meets our funding criteria.

• July & August: Full Grant Application. Those organizations that pose the strongest fit will be invited to submit a full application. We only accept full grant applications from agencies that we have invited to do so. These invitations are issued via email in late July/early August and full applications are due in late August.

• Mid-October: Board Presentations. Of those organizations that submit a full application, candidates with the strongest fit will be invited to share a short presentation with our Board of Directors in mid-October.
• Late October: Funding Decisions Announced. Organizations will be notified of funding by late-October and in most cases the grant period starts November 1 and runs through December 31 of the following calendar year (14 months).

Missouri Common Grant Application

The Brown Sisters Foundation uses a modified version of the Missouri Common Grant Application from Philanthropy Missouri’s website.

We make minor adjustments each year and send out our customized full grant application to those agencies who have been identified through our Letter of Inquiry (LOI) process. The LOI process is open to any agency who meets our funding criteria. However, we do not accept unsolicited proposals for our full application process.

Grantees

We’re proud of our partners and are constantly learning from their work. Check out our Grantees Portfolio to gain a feel for the type of partnership that makes a good fit. Click on each grantee below to learn more about that partnership. Or check out more about our funding priorities.