What is the purpose of The Dana Brown Charitable Trust (DBCT)?
The PRIMARY purpose of The Dana Brown Charitable Trust is to provide for the Health, education and welfare of underprivileged/economically disadvantaged children in the St. Louis, Missouri Metropolitan area and the health & welfare of animals in the St. Louis, Missouri Metropolitan area.
Who can apply for a grant?
Qualifying organizations must have tax-exempt status under IRS sections 501(c)(3) and
509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2).
Are organizations eligible to receive funding if they are located outside the vicinity of the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area?
The Dana Brown Charitable Trust considers grants within the entire St. Louis MO-IL Metro Area.
National non-profit organizations that provide resources/services that meet DBCT mission and guidelines through a chapter or regional office in the St. Louis MO-IL Metro Area are also eligible to apply.
What is the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area?
In Missouri: St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, Lincoln County, Warren County, Franklin County, Washington County and the city of Sullivan in Crawford County
In Illinois: Madison County, Monroe County, St. Clair County, Calhoun County, Jersey County, Clinton County, Macoupin County, and Bond County
Are grants awarded to 509(a)(3) supporting organizations or private foundations?
No. We do NOT fund 509(a)(3) supporting organizations, private foundations, or private operating foundations.
Are grants awarded to individuals?
No, never.
Are grants awarded for feasibility studies?
No, never.
Are grants awarded for endowments?
No, we do not fund endowments, instead we are program/project focused.
Are multi-year grants awarded?
We are shifting to ONLY fund multi-year grants to those organizations that are in the “always funded” bucket and represent 40% of our annual allocation.
Can private schools K through 12 apply?
Yes, if your school meets the PRIMARY purpose of The Dana Brown Charitable Trust — to provide for the health, education and welfare of underprivileged, economically disadvantaged children in the St. Louis, Missouri Metropolitan area.
Are there any additional focuses or eligibility requirements to apply for a grant at the Dana Brown Charitable Trust that I should know about?
The Dana Brown Charitable Trust is focused on high-impact, low-risk funding and places high importance on those organizations that work collaboratively with other nonprofits.
In addition, you must meet new eligibility requirements and your 501 (c) 3 status must be in place for four (4) full years before you apply. Only agencies that have been providing services for four (4) years or more are eligible to apply.
Are there any restrictions on how frequently I can apply for funding from the Dana Brown Charitable Trust?
Yes. Regardless of whether or not your organization receives a grant from the Dana Brown Charitable Trust, you can only submit one Letter of Intent per year. That means, if you submit a Letter of Intent for the 2024 Spring grant cycle, you cannot submit another Letter of Intent until the 2025 Spring grant cycle.
Additionally, if you are invited to submit a full grant application, regardless of whether or not you receive funding, you can still not submit a new Letter of Intent until the following year.
Finally, if you do receive funding from The Dana Brown Charitable Trust, you may not submit a new Letter of Intent until a full year after you’ve received your final grant-payment from The Dana Brown Charitable Trust. (Example: You receive your last award from The Dana Brown Charitable Trust in the 2024 Spring Grant cycle you may not submit another Letter of Intent until 2025 Spring Grant cycle.
What is the first step to applying for a grant from The Dana Brown Charitable Trust?
In order to be invited to apply for funding from The Dana Brown Charitable Trust, you must first submit a Letter of Intent and be invited by the DBCT Grant Review Committee to complete our full online grant application.
What is the deadline for my Letter of Intent?
Letters of Intent are due on March 4th for our Spring grant cycle and September 2nd for our Fall grant cycle.
Letters of Intent for our Spring grant cycle are accepted between January 1st and March 4th. Letters of Intent for our Fall grant cycle are accepted between July 1st and September 2nd. The LOI process will close at 10 pm (CST) on March 4th and September 2nd.
Will I be informed if I have not been invited to complete the Full Grant Application?
Yes. You will be informed. The DBCT Grant Review Committee meets within a month of the two respective LOI deadlines (March 4th for Spring and September 2nd for Fall) to review Letters of Intent. You will be notified shortly following that meeting if you’ve been invited to submit a full grant application.
Where and when do I submit my Full Grant Application?
After submitting your Letter of Intent and being invited by The Dana Brown Charitable Trust Grant Review Committee to apply, you will receive further instructions on where and when to complete the full grant application. This detailed information will be communicated via email after the Grantmaking Committee reviews your Letter of Intent.
What are the deadlines for the Full Grant Application?
Spring Cycle Deadlines
Fall Cycle Deadlines
Can I submit my Letter of Intent, Full Grant Application, or Progress Report by mail?
No. ALL requests must be submitted through the Foundant Grant Interface Platform.
Am I required to send in a copy of the organization's IRS 501(c)(3) Determination Letter?
Yes. Copies of the organization’s 501(c)(3) Determination Letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service must be submitted if you are invited to apply. You will upload the letter on the application form on the grant interface platform.
Do I need to have the application signed?
We request that all Full Grant Applications are signed, in addition to other forms that are part of the grant process. Since our application process is entirely digital, we will accept digital signatures on all grant process forms that request a signature.
When will I be notified if I received a grant from The Dana Brown Charitable Trust?
You will receive notification if you received a grant from The Dana Brown Charitable Trust within one month of our Full Grant Application Deadlines which are May 13th (Spring) or November 18th (Fall).
What are the deadline dates?
Letters of Intent are due on March 4th for our Spring grant cycle and September 2nd for our Fall grant cycle.
Once invited, completed full-grant applications are to be submitted via the grant interface platform by May 13th (Spring) or November 18th (Fall) depending on the grant cycle you are invited to apply for.
How often does the Grant Review Committee meet?
The DBCT Grant Review Committee meets as needed throughout the year but has several pre-established meeting dates to review submitted application materials. Those meetings are as follows:
Spring
March: Letter of Intent Review
June: Full Application and Progress Report Review
Fall
September: Letter of Intent Review
December: Full Application and Progress Report Review
When is the fiscal year of The Dana Brown Charitable Trust?
The fiscal year of the Trust runs from July 1 to June 30.
My organization RECEIVED a grant last year. When can we reapply?
Whether or not your Letter of Intent or Grant Application has been accepted, you must wait 12 months before reapplying for funding from the Dana Brown Charitable Trust.
My organization was DECLINED funding last year. When can we reapply?
Whether or not your Letter of Intent or Grant Application has been accepted, you must wait 12 months before reapplying for funding from the Dana Brown Charitable Trust.
Are there any additional actions I need to take if I am awarded a grant by The Dana Brown Charitable Trust?
The Dana Brown Charitable Trust requires that you submit an end-of-year Progress report within 10 months of your initial grant application. Your organization applicant/grant writer and/or primary contact will receive an assignment and email from the grant interface platform to complete this Progress Report when it is due.
As a general rule, if you received a grant during our Spring grant cycle, your progress report is due by April 30th. If you received a grant during our Fall grant cycle your progress report is due by October 30th. Interim reports and financial accounting will also be required for multi-year projects.
Where do I submit my year-end Progress Report?
All awarded organizations will receive an email once the progress report has been assigned on the grant interface platform.
This form is part of the grant process and is attached to each awarded grant request on the history of each registered organization.
That assignment to compete the form and required task is usually sent eight weeks (8) weeks before the hard deadline of April 30 or November 30.
What are the components of the year-end Progress Report?
It is an online form that must be completed to meet all requirements of the grant award.
Since the majority of grant awards are project/program specific, you will be asked to provide income and expenditure information compared to the budget initially proposed in your grant application. The Executive Director and Grant Chair will review to ensure that the grant award was used as outlined on the grant LOI and Application.
Any program impact images you’d like to share with The Dana Brown Charitable Trust (up to four, limit 4mb per image file).
What if I miss the deadline to submit my assigned progress report?
NEW Dana Brown Charitable Trust grant guidelines adopted in 2024, will enforce this deadline. The consequence of missing/not submitting the form by the deadline (without written approval or communication from the Executive Director or Grant Chair) the organization will not be allowed to apply for a grant for three (3) full years.
To properly assign the form to meet the required deadline after a grant award, it is IMPERATIVE that your organization be updated if there is transition in the grant writer/applicant role.
Contact the DBCT Executive Director for assistance with this process. It is the organizations responsibility to keep the grant interface online information and contacts, including all grant writers updated.
To begin the grant application process, please visit the grants page. For all other inquires, contact:
Rhae Yancey
tel: 314-250-5491
rhae.yancey@thedbct.org
The Dana Brown Charitable Trust
U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management
U.S. Bank Shaw Park Plaza
1 North Brentwood Blvd., Suite 1400
Clayton, MO 63105
