# St. Louis Community Foundation

St. Louis Community Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Saint Louis, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Saint Louis, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Saint Louis, MO, United States
- **Founded:** 1915
- **Assets under management:** $500 million (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** stlgives.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/st.-louis-community-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The St. Louis Community Foundation was founded in 1915 as a permanent philanthropic vehicle for the region. Today, it operates as a collective of over 900 charitable funds that allow individuals, families, and corporations to direct their giving. The foundation's governance connects local institutional leaders, including Board Members Nina Leigh Krueger, CEO of Nestle Purina PetCare North America, and Michael Whittle, Vice President and General Counsel for the St. Louis Cardinals. Investment oversight sits with Board Chair Bill Schmidt of Cultivation Capital and Investment Committee Chair John Casnocha. The foundation's $500 million (Altss estimate) asset base supports an annual grantmaking program that distributed $86.4 million in 2023. Its portfolio includes traditional grantmaking and direct investments in regional real estate via the St. Louis Real Estate Foundation Holdings. The flagship Economic Development & Transformation Fund, managed jointly with the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), deploys capital into local projects aimed at revitalization. Kelvin Adams has led the foundation since 2023, marking a shift to leadership drawn from local public service. The foundation's professional operations are housed at its headquarters at #2 Oak Knoll Park in Clayton, Missouri. It became a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) in 2022, formalizing its commitment to ESG integration across its portfolio. It is also an accredited member of the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations and participates in the Council on Foundations and Philanthropy Missouri. The foundation's structural distinction lies in its hybrid model as a community foundation with operating entities. Beyond donor-advised funds, it houses subsidiary vehicles like the Alberici Foundation, the Youth Connections Fund, and the Economic Mobility Fund. This architecture allows the St. Louis Community Foundation to function as a grantmaking institution, a co-investor in real assets through its real estate foundation arm, and a direct partner in economic development with municipal agencies, creating a capital deployment stack not seen in single-focus private foundations.

## Sectors

- Education
- Real Estate
- Healthcare Services

## People

- Kelvin Adams — President and CEO
- Bill Schmidt — Board Chair
- John Casnocha — Chair of the Investment Committee
- Nina Leigh Krueger — Board Member
- Michael Whittle — Board Member

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the St. Louis Community Foundation?

Investment Committee Chair John Casnocha leads oversight of the foundation's portfolio. The committee guides the foundation's allocation across grants, real estate holdings, and other assets. The investment strategy operates under the governance of Board Chair Bill Schmidt, who also serves as a Managing Partner at Cultivation Capital.

### How is the foundation's capital deployed beyond traditional grants?

The foundation manages a multi-layered deployment strategy. It holds direct real estate through the St. Louis Real Estate Foundation Holdings and co-manages the Economic Development & Transformation Fund with the St. Louis Development Corporation. The investment portfolio also includes structured financial instruments, such as a note receivable linked to a privately-held stock conversion.

### Is the St. Louis Community Foundation a single endowment or a collective vehicle?

It operates as a collective of more than 900 individual charitable funds. Donors establish donor-advised, scholarship, and designated funds that pool their assets for investment efficiency while maintaining separate grantmaking identities. This structure differentiates it from a single-source private foundation.

### Who are the key institutional leaders on the foundation's board?

The board includes prominent regional executives. Notable members include Nina Leigh Krueger, CEO of Nestle Purina PetCare North America, and Michael Whittle, Vice President and General Counsel for the St. Louis Cardinals. Former U.S. Senator Christopher 'Kit' Bond is a former board member of the foundation.

### What is the foundation's posture on ESG and responsible investing?

The St. Louis Community Foundation became a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) in 2022 (Altss research). This commitment formalizes its integration of environmental, social, and governance factors into investment analysis and decision-making processes across its portfolio.

### How does the Economic Development & Transformation Fund operate?

The fund is a partnership between the St. Louis Community Foundation and the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), the city's economic development agency. This vehicle is designed to attract and deploy capital into community projects focused on equitable economic growth, enabling the foundation to participate in municipal-scale development alongside its charitable grantmaking.

## Related profiles

- [IBEW Local 351](https://altss.com/profile/ibew-local-351)
- [The University of the South — Sewanee](https://altss.com/profile/the-university-of-the-south-sewanee)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/st-louis-community-foundation-inc

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