About St Louis Art Museum Foundation
Established in 1985 for the sole purpose of supporting the mission and activities of the Saint Louis Art Museum, including fundraising and assisting in financing expansion and renovation of its facilities.
Focus Areas
arts and culturemuseumseducationcommunity outreachconservation
Who They Fund
St. Louis local communitymuseum visitors / arts audiencesstudents and learners (museum education participants)
Funding Style
program supportgeneral operating supportinstitutional support
Topics
About St Louis Art Museum Foundation
St Louis Art Museum Foundation’s grantmaking centers on a single institution: the Saint Louis Art Museum. Recent payments of $11,981,940 in 2024, $10,112,989 in 2025, and $7,703,309 in 2023 all supported the museum’s programs and activities, showing a sustained pattern of institutional support rather than a broad external grant portfolio. The foundation was established to support the museum’s mission and work, including fundraising, financing expansion and renovation of its facilities, and helping it collect, present, interpret, and conserve works of art. That mandate also reaches into education, discovery, and preservation of artistic achievement for people in St. Louis and beyond. Alongside operating support, the foundation’s current activity includes the Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellowship, a two-year paid fellowship designed to build early-career museum experience through work across departments, mentorship, and professional development. The fellowship particularly serves individuals from backgrounds historically underrepresented in American art museums, linking the foundation’s support for the museum with professional development in the field. Leadership is listed under Carolyn J Schmidt.
What St Louis Art Museum Foundation Funds
Education and career development appear in the Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellowship, a two-year paid program in St. Louis that gives early-career museum professionals work experience across museum departments, plus mentorship and professional development. The fellowship specifically reaches individuals from backgrounds historically underrepresented in American art museums. Collections and curatorial practice are part of the same fellowship, which places participants across departments rather than in a single track. That structure connects professional training with the museum’s day-to-day work. The foundation also supports museum operations through payments to the Saint Louis Art Museum for its programs and activities. In addition, its stated mission includes fundraising and helping finance expansion and renovation of museum facilities, which ties grantmaking to institutional support and preservation of artistic heritage.
How St Louis Art Museum Foundation Gives
The foundation’s recent grants cluster tightly around large institutional payments. Across the three largest listed awards, the median grant size is $10,112,989, with the 25th percentile at $8,908,149 and the 75th percentile at $11,047,464. The pattern is consistent with operating and program support rather than many small awards. Recipients recur across years: the Saint Louis Art Museum appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025, indicating ongoing support instead of one-off giving. The foundation does not fund individuals, and it does not make program-related investments. The active fellowship program is open to unsolicited applications.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$10.1M
Total Assets
$319.2M
Total Revenue
$29.7M
Total Expenses
$10.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $8.9M and $11M, with a median of $10.1M.
25th Percentile
$8.9M
Median
$10.1M
75th Percentile
$11M
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
CAROLYN J SCHMIDT
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