GCC’s 2025 grant application will open in June.
APPLICATION TIMELINE AND PROCESS
The 2025 grant application will open June 2, 2025. The application closes July 31st, 2025 at 5 p.m.
Gateway Children's Charity partners with YouthBridge Community Foundation to leverage their grantmaking operations support. The grant application can be completed and submitted on the YouthBridge website.
Eligibility
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
Provide services for youth preschool to Kindergarten age.
Are incorporated as an IRC 501(c)(3) public charity.
Are located in and primarily serve the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Grant Guidelines
Gateway Children’s Charity raises funds to make high-impact, tangible investments in nonprofit early childhood programs that support children living in underserved St. Louis communities. For more information on previous grantees, click here.
GCC provides two types of grants:
Expansion– GCC offers grants for capital expenses to assist high-quality early childhood programs in expanding the number of children that they are able to serve by adding additional classroom space. Expansion grants are one-time grants awarded for capital expenses with maximum funding of $100,000. Programs must be able to demonstrate student achievement results. Project examples include but are not limited to:
Construction costs for classroom build out
Equipment and/or curricular resources to outfit new classroom space
Capacity Building – GCC offers grants for early childhood programs that request support in quality improvement initiatives. These one-year grants may be awarded up to $50,000. Project examples include but are not limited to:
Purchasing and implementing research-based curriculum or assessments
Teacher or administrator professional development
Support in achieving national or state accreditation