Dana Brown Charitable Trust

What Dana Brown Charitable Trust does

The Dana Brown Charitable Trust is a private philanthropic foundation established in 1994 following the death of Dana Brown, a St. Louis entrepreneur who built the Safari Coffee brand. The trust exclusively serves the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area and provides grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations supporting financially disadvantaged children up to age 18, programs that enable children to learn about wild animals and nature, and secondarily, animal-assisted services for children. Since inception, the trust has distributed approximately $112.3 million across 494 funded organizations, with $4.61 million deployed across 123 unique grant requests in 2025.

Grantmaking is operated through a structured two-cycle annual process (Spring and Fall) administered via the Grant Interface (Foundant) online portal with Charity Check by Candid verification integrated for eligibility screening. The trust is administered by U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management as fiduciary trustee from its Clayton, MO headquarters. Four "always funded" anchor organizations — Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis Children's Hospital, SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, and Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital — are designated in the original trust document and receive multi-year funding consideration, with several having facilities or chairs named after Dana Brown (Dana Brown Emergency Department, Dana Brown Chair in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Dana Brown Orangutan Reserve, Dana Brown Lords of the Forest elephant habitat).

Rhae Yancey serves as Executive Director, overseeing the DBCT Grant Review Committee and grantmaking operations. The trust's outreach is conducted primarily through its website (danabrowncharitabletrust.org) and monthly email newsletters. Geographic eligibility is strictly limited to the St. Louis MSA, and the organization does not support feasibility studies or Supporting Organizations.

Name

Dana Brown Charitable Trust

Legal name

Dana Brown Charitable Trust

Website

https://danabrowncharitabletrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Dana Brown Charitable Trust is a private St. Louis-area philanthropic foundation established in 1994 that distributes grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofits serving financially disadvantaged children up to age 18 and wild animal education programs in the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Grantmaking Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI)

Keywords

• Charitable grantmaking
• Philanthropic foundation
• Nonprofit grants
• Children welfare funding
• Wildlife conservation grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Dana Brown Charitable Trust provides grant funding to qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. Grants support programs for financially disadvantaged children (up to age 18) in health, education, and welfare, as well as wild animal education programs and animal-assisted services for children. The trust administers grants through two annual cycles (Spring and Fall) using a structured Letter of Intent and full application process via an online grant platform.

Product overview

Dana Brown Charitable Trust is a philanthropic grant-making organization that provides financial support to nonprofit organizations serving financially disadvantaged children (up to age 18) and programs featuring wild animals in the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. The trust does not offer technology products or services but rather operates as a charitable foundation distributing grants through a structured application process via the Grant Interface/Foundant online portal, with two annual grant cycles (Spring and Fall). The organization's focus areas include children’s health, education, welfare, and wildlife conservation/education programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dana Brown Charitable Trust Grant Program Structured grant funding program providing financial support to qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. Grants are awarded through two annual cycles (Spring and Fall) following a Letter of Intent and full application process, supporting programs for financially disadvantaged children (up to age 18), wild animal education programs, and animal-assisted services for children.

Quantifiable outcome

• Distributed $4.61 million to 123 unique grant requests in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers35 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• U.S. Bank Private Wealth ManagementcoreOthersTrust is administered c/o U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management. U.S. Bank serves as the fiduciary and provides administrative support for the Dana Brown Charitable Trust.
• Grant Interface (Foundant)coreTechnology or IntegrationOnline grant management platform used for grant applications, Letters of Intent, eligibility verification (Charity Check by Candid), and progress report submissions.
• Saint Louis ZoocoreOthersOne of four 'always funded' organizations per Dana Brown's original trust document. Special multi-year grant consideration given due to Dana Brown's passion for wild animals.
• St. Louis Children's HospitalcoreOthersOne of four 'always funded' organizations per Dana Brown's original trust document. Named facilities include Dana Brown Emergency Department and Dana Brown Chair in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
• SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's HospitalcoreOthersOne of four 'always funded' organizations per Dana Brown's original trust document. Support includes Mobile Intensive Care Units and new pediatric hospital campaign.
• Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge HospitalcoreOthersOne of four 'always funded' organizations per Dana Brown's original trust document. Named Optimization Zone (OZ) program for children ages 0-5.
• Charity Check by CandidcoreTechnology or IntegrationCharity verification service integrated into grant platform. All organizations must pass Charity Check verification to be eligible for grants.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Crawford Taylor Foundation: St. Louis-area private foundation supporting youth, education, and community programs; directly comparable in mission, geography, and grantmaking scale.
• Bayer Fund (formerly Monsanto Fund): St. Louis-based corporate foundation with substantial regional grantmaking; directly comparable footprint and child/food security programming.
• Emerson Charitable Trust: St. Louis-headquartered corporate giving vehicle of Emerson Electric; comparable St. Louis grantmaking scale and child/community focus.
• Edward Jones Foundation: St. Louis-headquartered corporate foundation; comparable regional grantmaking with overlapping focus on children, education, and community welfare.
• Danforth Foundation: St. Louis-based private foundation with a long-standing regional grantmaking focus on education and community, structurally similar to DBCT as a perpetual endowed foundation.
• Greater St. Louis Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving the St. Louis metro area with grantmaking and donor-advised funds; directly comparable regional grantmaking structure competing for the same nonprofit ecosystem.
• Spirit of St. Louis Foundation: St. Louis-focused grantmaking organization supporting children and community programs; highly comparable mission and geographic focus.

Broad incumbents

• United Way of Greater St. Louis: Largest regional pooled fundraiser and grantmaker for human services in the St. Louis MSA; broader human-services scope but overlapping grantee universe.
• Boeing Company Charitable Trust: Large U.S. corporate charitable trust with a significant St. Louis-area giving footprint; broader national scope but overlapping regional priority areas.

Regional players

• BJC HealthCare Foundation: St. Louis-based health system foundation funding pediatric and community health programs; adjacent in mission (children's health) and geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dana Brown Charitable Trust