The Saigh Foundation

The Saigh Foundation is a professionally managed private trust honoring the legacy of Fred Saigh — St. Louis lawyer, businessman, and former owner of the St. Louis Cardinals (1947-1953). Established in 2000, the foundation operates with 25 years of accumulated grantmaking discipline: a narrow geographic mandate (the 15-county St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area), two programmatic pillars (education and health), and an exclusive focus on children and youth up to age 24.

The foundation is managed by Fiduciary Trust Company International as institutional trustee, alongside individual trustees Franklin F. Wallis, Heidi Veron, and Michael Hejna. Executive Director Elke K. Buckland oversees day-to-day operations with Assistant Director Julie Hantman handling applicant relations. This professional management structure means investment discipline is tight and grantmaking follows a defined annual rhythm — not opportunistic or headline-driven.

Relationship development is central to the foundation's culture. The foundation explicitly invites first-time applicants to contact Julie Hantman at 314-862-3055 or saigh@thesaighfoundation.org before submitting to arrange a preliminary meeting. This is not a courtesy gesture — it is an on-ramp that allows prospective grantees to confirm fit, ask about current cycle priorities, and introduce themselves before the formal application. Organizations that skip this step are leaving a meaningful advantage on the table.

With 354 nonprofits funded since inception — roughly 14 new organizations per year on average — Saigh cultivates long-term relationships. Many grantees are repeat recipients who have demonstrated consistent program quality and financial stewardship. First-time applicants should position their organization as a long-term partner, not a one-cycle opportunist. Show multi-year programmatic vision and organizational stability.

The quarterly application cycle (deadlines January 15, April 15, July 15, October 15 at 11:59 PM CST) is a distinctive accessibility feature: most private foundations of comparable size ($65M+) operate by invitation only. Saigh's open portal, named staff contact, and four annual submission windows make it one of the more applicant-friendly foundations in the St. Louis region. Decisions are communicated approximately three months after each quarterly deadline.

The Saigh Foundation's annual grantmaking has been strikingly consistent over more than a decade, signaling institutional stability rather than market-reactive giving. Grants paid (direct charitable disbursements, excluding administrative costs) from IRS 990-PF filings:

• FY2023: $2,926,096
• FY2022: $2,943,353
• FY2021: $2,899,616
• FY2020: $3,036,645
• FY2019: $2,473,039
• FY2015: $2,911,850
• FY2014: $2,702,100
• FY2013: $2,426,778
• FY2012: $2,298,383
• FY2011: $2,372,850

Total giving figures (which include officer compensation and administrative costs) run higher — approximately $3.5-4.1M annually — but the core grants-paid line has held in a remarkably tight $2.3M-$3.0M band for over a decade. With $70.7M awarded since the foundation's 2000 founding (across ~25 years), the long-term average annual disbursement is approximately $2.8M in direct grants. The 2026 YTD figure of $1,007,500 through at least one quarterly cycle is consistent with this pace.

Grant size distribution is not publicly disclosed in itemized form. However, with approximately 354 unique nonprofits funded since inception (~14 per year), and annual grants paid of ~$2.5-3.0M, average grants per organization cluster in the $75,000-$200,000 range per year. Programs like the Bravo Grants scholarships ($12,000/year per student, renewable) suggest small-to-mid-sized individual grants exist alongside larger organizational grants.

Programmatic allocation: All giving falls within education and health for children/youth in the St. Louis MSA — the foundation does not break out a formal percentage split between the two pillars, but the breadth of past grantees (universities, health clinics, disability programs, scholarship funds) suggests flexibility within these two buckets. The Fred Saigh Leadership Academy (disabilities/special education) and Bravo Grants (college access/financial need) illustrate that the foundation funds both direct service programs and structured scholarship vehicles.

Payout rate: At ~$2.9M in grants against $62-65M in assets, the direct grants-to-assets ratio is approximately 4.4-4.7% — slightly below the mandatory 5% minimum payout when administrative costs are excluded. Total giving (including admin) meets or exceeds the 5% threshold in most years.

The following peer foundations are drawn from IRS asset-size comparables — all hold approximately $65-66M in assets and share the Philanthropy & Grantmaking NTEE classification. Note that asset similarity does not imply programmatic or geographic overlap; Saigh is uniquely distinctive in this peer group for its public accessibility and geographic specificity.

The Saigh Foundation stands apart from every asset-comparable peer in one critical dimension: radical accessibility. Most private foundations of $60M+ in assets operate entirely by invitation, maintain no public application portal, and list no staff contacts for prospective grantees. Saigh publishes its assistant director's direct phone number, operates four open grant cycles per year, and explicitly invites pre-application meetings.

This accessibility reflects the foundation's mission-driven, community-embedded identity. As a St. Louis-specific funder honoring a local civic figure, Saigh needs to be findable and approachable to the regional nonprofit ecosystem it serves. Peer foundations in New York and Pennsylvania have no such localized identity obligation. For St. Louis-area nonprofits working in children's education or health, Saigh is one of the most actionable funders of its asset class — a rare combination of significant grantmaking capacity and genuinely open doors.

August 2025 — Fred Saigh Leadership Academy: SEF-STL announced the 2025-2026 cohort of the Fred Saigh Leadership Academy on August 21, 2025. This program, running since fall 2004, provides leadership development for high school students with disabilities in St. Louis County. Its 20+ year continuous operation demonstrates Saigh's model of deep, sustained investment in proven programs rather than one-time project grants.

2024-2025 Impact Metrics: The foundation's impact page reports 27,362 St. Louis children and adults reached through grantee programs during 2024-2025. An accompanying volunteer metric — 488 volunteers contributing 65,557 hours, valued at $2.2M+ — signals that the foundation tracks and values grantee capacity to leverage community engagement, not just staff-delivered services.

April 2026 — Application Process Change: The April 2026 cycle introduced a new financial information format in the online application. This is a meaningful procedural change: organizations applying in 2026 and beyond should prepare for more structured financial disclosures. Have current audited financials, program budgets, and Form 990 ready before opening the application portal.

2026 YTD Grantmaking: $1,007,500 awarded as of spring 2026, consistent with the first quarterly cycle's pace. The foundation has now funded 354 nonprofits since its 2000 founding — a milestone that reflects two-and-a-half decades of sustained, focused regional investment.

Historical scale: $70.7 million in total grants since inception, all concentrated within the St. Louis MSA. Known past recipient sectors include special education, university-adjacent nonprofits (UMSL area), health organizations (ALS of Greater St. Louis), and college-access programs.

Before you apply — call first. The foundation's own website directs potentially eligible organizations to contact Assistant Director Julie Hantman at 314-862-3055 or saigh@thesaighfoundation.org to arrange a preliminary meeting before submitting. This is the single highest-leverage action available to a prospective grantee. Use it to confirm your program falls within the current cycle's informal priorities and to introduce your organization's leadership.

Frame everything around direct services. The eligibility page explicitly states: 'Direct services to children are preferred.' This means your proposal narrative should lead with how many children will receive services, how often, and with what measurable outcome — not systemic change, coalition building, or policy advocacy. Every paragraph should answer the question: 'How does this touch a child in the St. Louis MSA?'

Be specific about geography. The 15-county St. Louis MSA includes 7 Missouri counties (St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, Warren) and 8 Illinois counties (Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, St. Clair). Name your specific service counties. If you serve St. Louis City — a separate jurisdiction from St. Louis County — specify it explicitly. Vague 'greater St. Louis' language is weaker than precise county-level data.

Prepare for new financial scrutiny. Starting April 2026, the application includes a new financial information format. Gather your most recent IRS Form 990, audited financial statements, current organizational budget, and program-specific budget 3-4 weeks before your chosen deadline. Do not attempt to complete this section the night of the deadline.

Time your cycle deliberately. Four deadlines per year (January 15, April 15, July 15, October 15 at 11:59 PM CST) allow strategic timing. If you want funding for a fall program launch, the July 15 deadline with an ~October decision is ideal. If your organization's fiscal year begins July 1, an April 15 submission targeting a ~July decision aligns grant receipt with your budget cycle.

Never request what they explicitly exclude. Capital campaigns, annual fund appeals, dinner/event fundraisers, travel/conference costs, films, crowdfunding projects, loan repayment, and anything outside the 15-county MSA are hard exclusions. Including any of these in a proposal signals that you have not done basic due diligence.

Position for long-term relationship. With 354 nonprofits funded over 25 years, Saigh invests in organizations, not projects. Close your proposal with your organization's long-term vision and capacity for sustained impact — demonstrating that a grant relationship would be a lasting partnership.