Strive Fund
Strive Fund is a private foundation based in Saint Louis, Missouri. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, most of them in Missouri.
Strive Fund at a glance
In short: Strive Fund gave $238K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $24K), mostly in Missouri. 70% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $238,333
- +7.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $23,833
- +7.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $12,500
- Total assets
- $4,568,154
- +0.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 70% first-time grantees (7 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Missouri (96% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Strive Fund
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests.
- Contact
Mailing address: 1034 S Brentwood Blvd 1060, St Louis, MO 63117
Phone: (314) 726-0266
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Strive Fund funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Counterpublic ($83K). Together the top 10 received $238K.
Grant Size Distribution
49 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 45 grants of 49 (92%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 96% of grant dollars went to recipients in Missouri and 4% to recipients in New York.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Strive Fund open to new grantees?
70%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 7 of 10 grantees (70%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $22K; repeat grants $28K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $30K repeat.
- 30% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+4%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 79% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $223K (2024) to $270K (2023). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $238K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Counterpublic Saint Louis, MO | General Purpose | $83,333 |
| Contemporary Art Museum St Louis Saint Louis, MO | General Purpose | $45,000 |
| Whitfield School Saint Louis, MO | General Purpose | $30,000 |
| St Louis Dance Theatre Saint Louis, MO | General Purpose | $25,000 |
| Saint Louis Art Museum Saint Louis, MO | General Purpose | $15,000 |
| Arch City Defenders Saint Louis, MO | General Purpose | $10,000 |
| The Wilson School Saint Louis, MO | General Purpose | $10,000 |
| Urban League of Metropolitan St Louis Saint Louis, MO | General Purpose | $10,000 |
| National Eating Disorders Association White Plains, NY | General Purpose | $5,000 |
| The Ehlers-Danlos Society New York, NY | General Purpose | $5,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $4,568,154 | $311,822 | $275,554 | $238,333 | 10 | $241,293 | $279,691 | $303,918 |
| 2024 | $4,531,886 | $215,983 | $248,731 | $222,500 | 10 | $225,120 | $192,372 | $288,586 |
| 2023 | $4,564,634 | $122,332 | $303,144 | $270,000 | 12 | $272,188 | $98,882 | $269,600 |
| 2022 | $4,745,446 | $370,884 | $256,620 | $230,000 | 9 | $231,985 | $350,811 | $283,630 |
| 2021 | $4,631,182 | $258,467 | $256,505 | $234,500 | 8 | — | $238,242 | $305,967 |
| 2020 | $4,629,220 | $83,215 | $265,737 | $234,500 | 9 | — | $56,890 | $265,645 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Strive Fund reported a distributable amount of $304K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for Strive Fund is provided. Its 2025 grants included arts and cultural organizations, schools, a civil-rights organization, and organizations working on eating disorders and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. These are examples of grantee organizations, not stated focus areas of the funder.
Among the grantees, Counterpublic describes its mission as reimagining the possibilities of art in public life, and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis says it promotes engagement with relevant and innovative art. St. Louis Dance Theatre says its mission is to invigorate life through dance. Whitfield School describes itself as a small school community focused on curiosity, integrity, and purpose; The Wilson School describes a mission centered on academic education, creativity, social responsibility, and respect for differences. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis says it works to empower African Americans and others in the region through economic self-reliance, social equality, and civil rights. The National Eating Disorders Association says it seeks to change how eating disorders are understood and treated.
Grantmaking
In 2025, Strive Fund reported 10 grants totaling $238,333. Grant amounts ranged from $5,000 to $83,333, with a median of $12,500. Its largest reported grants were $83,333 to Counterpublic, $45,000 to the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, $30,000 to Whitfield School, and $25,000 to St. Louis Dance Theatre. Other grants included $15,000 to the Saint Louis Art Museum; $10,000 each to Arch City Defenders, The Wilson School, and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis; and $5,000 each to the National Eating Disorders Association and The Ehlers-Danlos Society.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Michael P Fischer is listed as trustee on the 2025 filing.
Strive Fund is led by Michael P. Fischer, Trustee on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Michael P. Fischer
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Strive Fund
How much does Strive Fund give each year?
Strive Fund gave $238K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $223K across 10 grants.
What is Strive Fund's typical grant size?
Strive Fund's median grant in 2025 was $12,500, and its average grant was $23,833, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Strive Fund that year got $22K on average.
Where does Strive Fund give grants?
Strive Fund gives mostly in Missouri: 96% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Saint Louis, MO (8 grants).
Does Strive Fund give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Strive Fund's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (10 of 10) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Strive Fund's largest grantees?
Strive Fund's largest 2025 grantees include Counterpublic ($83,333), Contemporary Art Museum St Louis ($45,000) and Whitfield School ($30,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 66% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Strive Fund?
Strive Fund reported $4.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $241K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $304K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does Strive Fund fund?
No mission statement for Strive Fund is provided. Its 2025 grants included arts and cultural organizations, schools, a civil-rights organization, and organizations working on eating disorders and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Strive Fund?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Strive Fund's EIN?
Strive Fund's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 47-2082281. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Strive Fund accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS March 2, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 2, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS February 13, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 6, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS February 11, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 5, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Strive Fund's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Strive Fund funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/strive-fund-morg_8747c27eb58f4a0fae50523f04a98e04
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_472082281_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Strive Fund funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/strive-fund-morg_8747c27eb58f4a0fae50523f04a98e04},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Strive Fund's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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