Mapping MO’s Funding Landscape: What Grant Pros Need to Know

Missouri's funding landscape is shaped by geographic concentration, uneven distribution of resources, and widely varying experiences across nonprofits, funders, and grant professionals. Grant professionals are often asked to make strategic, local decisions using national benchmarks and assumptions, which is only part of the story.

This session shares findings from the GPA St. Louis Regional Chapter's two-phase statewide research initiative combining Missouri giving data with survey and interview insights from nonprofit and philanthropic professionals across the state. Together, these findings paint a clearer picture of where philanthropic dollars are going, who has access to them, what it actually takes to compete for funding, and where the grants profession itself is under-resourced.

Attendees will explore this data interactively, reflecting on how it aligns (or doesn't) with their own on-the-ground experience, and will leave with a clearer understanding of Missouri-specific funding patterns to inform their strategy, advocacy, and professional development.