Spire Foundation concentrates its philanthropic support almost exclusively on broad-based community welfare in the St. Louis area by funding United Way. Their grants appear aimed at public assistance and foundational community services (often unrestricted or general support) rather than narrow programmatic initiatives. The foundation acts as a single, large-scale anchor funder channeling resources to a community-wide intermediary that addresses basic needs and social services.
Highly concentrated: all recorded funding goes to one intermediary (United Way) across multiple grants, indicating large, repeated unrestricted or general-support contributions to a single core grantee.
Spire Foundation’s recent grantmaking is defined by a single, very large community intermediary relationship: United Way in St. Louis has received the foundation’s biggest awards across multiple years, including a $1,881,306 grant in 2025. That pattern points to a funder using sizable general support to underwrite public assistance and basic-needs coordination rather than a wide array of small project grants. The foundation’s giving also reaches a handful of other Missouri-based safety-net organizations, but the main throughline is consistent support for community welfare infrastructure in the St. Louis area. In the latest grant data, that approach appears alongside awards to local action agencies and an urban league, all tied to public assistance programs. Spire Foundation’s grantmaking is local in scope, and every recent grant listed goes to a Missouri recipient. The combination of a large anchor grant, repeated support over several years, and a cluster of smaller awards to related service providers suggests a foundation that channels resources toward the organizations that help administer emergency aid, benefits access, and client support for economically vulnerable households.
Public assistance is the clearest theme in Spire Foundation’s recent grants. In 2025, it gave $80,000 to Community Action Agency of St Louis County for a public assistance program and another $80,000 to Urban League of Metro St Louis for the same purpose. The foundation also backed regional service delivery outside the metro core, including $70,000 to South Central Mo Community Action Agency in Winona and $35,000 to Northeast Mo Community Action Corp in Bowling Green. Another $35,000 went to East Missouri Action Agency in Park Hills, again labeled as a public assistance program. Across those awards, the focus is on organizations that help with basic needs, emergency aid, and access to social services rather than on narrowly defined projects.
Spire Foundation gives with a wide spread in grant size: the 25th percentile is $43,750, the median is $80,000, and the 75th percentile is $1,445,928. That distribution reflects a mix of very large anchor grants and smaller operating-style awards. The recent record also shows recurrence: United Way appears in four consecutive grant years, including 2023, 2024, and 2025, which points to ongoing support rather than one-time funding. The foundation is a local giver, and its grants are shown as public assistance program support. It also accepts unsolicited applications through its Spire Serves / Spire Giving corporate citizenship program.
$2.2M
$6M
$1.5M
$2.2M
Most grants fall between $44K and $1.4M, with a median of $80K.
25th Percentile
$44K
Median
$80K
75th Percentile
$1.4M
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Notable grantees: United Way
Spire Foundation’s giving is concentrated in Missouri, with 100% of recent grants going to recipients in the HQ state. St Louis is the most visible recipient city, appearing on the largest awards and on two $80,000 grants in 2025. Outside the metro area, recent grants also reached Winona, Bowling Green, Park Hills, and Hillsboro. The distribution shows a statewide Missouri footprint, but still within a local pattern tied to communities served by the foundation.
Recent grants go to public assistance and community welfare organizations, including United Way, Community Action Agency of St Louis County, Urban League of Metro St Louis, and several Missouri community action agencies. The grant descriptions center on public assistance programs rather than narrow projects.
The grant-size distribution is broad: the 25th percentile is $43,750, the median is $80,000, and the 75th percentile is $1,445,928. Recent awards include both very large multi-year support and smaller six-figure or sub-$100,000 grants.
Yes. United Way appears in four consecutive years of recent grant data, with awards in 2023, 2024, and 2025. That pattern indicates recurring support rather than isolated one-time funding.
Yes. The Spire Serves / Spire Giving corporate citizenship program accepts unsolicited applications and supports nonprofit organizations and public schools in communities where Spire lives and works.
Its recent grants are entirely local and all shown recipients are in Missouri. St Louis is the most common recipient city, and additional Missouri cities in the recent list include Winona, Bowling Green, Park Hills, and Hillsboro.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Spire Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Nonprofit organizations are invited to apply during the annual April-August application period through a competitive application process. Applicants should align with Spire Serves focus areas and serve communities in Spire’s service territory.
Deadline: Applications are invited from April to August each year.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNITED WAY | ST LOUIS, MO | $1,881,306 | 2025 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM |
| COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY OF ST LOUIS COUNTY | ST LOUIS, MO | $80,000 | 2025 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM |
| URBAN LEAGUE OF METRO ST LOUIS | ST LOUIS, MO | $80,000 | 2025 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM |
| SOUTH CENTRAL MO COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY | WINONA, MO | $70,000 | 2025 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM |
| NORTHEAST MO COMMUNITY ACTION CORP | BOWLING GREEN, MO | $35,000 | 2025 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM |
| JEFFERSON FRANKLIN COMMUNITY ACTION CORP | HILLSBORO, MO | $35,000 | 2025 | P.O. BOX 920 |
| EAST MISSOURI ACTION AGENCY | PARK HILLS, MO | $35,000 | 2025 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM |
| UNITED WAY | ST LOUIS, MO | $1,615,230 | 2024 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM |
| UNITED WAY | ST LOUIS, MO | $1,516,092 | 2024 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM |
| UNITED WAY | ST LOUIS, MO | $1,235,437 | 2023 | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM |
UNITED WAY
$1,881,306PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY OF ST LOUIS COUNTY
$80,000PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
URBAN LEAGUE OF METRO ST LOUIS
$80,000PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
SOUTH CENTRAL MO COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY
$70,000PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
NORTHEAST MO COMMUNITY ACTION CORP
$35,000PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
JEFFERSON FRANKLIN COMMUNITY ACTION CORP
$35,000P.O. BOX 920
EAST MISSOURI ACTION AGENCY
$35,000PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
UNITED WAY
$1,615,230PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
UNITED WAY
$1,516,092PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
UNITED WAY
$1,235,437PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
