Incarnate Word Foundation

What Incarnate Word Foundation does

Incarnate Word Foundation is a private, faith-based charitable foundation established in 1997 and headquartered at 5257 Shaw Ave., Suite 309, St. Louis, Missouri. Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, it operates the "Annunciation Grant Cycle," an annual grant program (formerly named the General Grant Cycle) that funds nonprofit organizations in the St. Louis region working on food insecurity, immigrants and refugees, safeguarding vulnerable populations, and Catholic education, with the 2026 cycle commencing April 23, 2026. Race equity is stated as the central concern behind everything the foundation seeks to fund.

The foundation's core offerings are a portfolio of grant programs: the flagship Annunciation Grant Cycle, the CPPS Catholic Education Grants and CPPS Legacy Fund (with the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O'Fallon), the CSJ Grants Fund (with the Congregation of St. Joseph), and The Racine Dominicans Mission Grants Program. Adjacent activities include IWF Press, a publishing imprint producing spiritual and contemplative titles such as "Conversations with God" and "Blue Hole Wisdom," and an online "New Treasures" area highlighting new grant opportunities and legacy initiatives. Grantees apply through a self-serve Grant Portal hosted at grantinterface.com.

The organization is endowment- and donation-funded rather than revenue-generating; no products or services are sold, pricing is not publicly disclosed, and there are no funding rounds, revenue figures, or M&A activity reported. Outreach runs through a website, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and quarterly newsletters announcing grants and grantee news. The foundation employs 11–50 people and serves the St. Louis region exclusively; no proprietary technology platforms or AI capabilities are identified.

Name

Incarnate Word Foundation

Legal name

Incarnate Word Foundation

Website

https://incarnatewordstl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Faith-based charitable foundation in St. Louis, founded in 1997 and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. It distributes grants to regional nonprofits addressing food insecurity, immigrants and refugees, vulnerable populations, and Catholic education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN), Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Faith-Based & Mission Service Programs (EDAIAGAI)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Social justice grants
• Faith-based philanthropy
• Community foundation services
• Nonprofit grant administration

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grantmaking: The Incarnate Word Foundation operates as a charitable foundation that distributes grants to support social justice initiatives. Founded in 1997, the foundation has been faithfully serving the St. Louis region. As a grant-making organization, revenue comes from endowment funds and charitable giving rather than product or service sales. Grants are awarded annually through the Annunciation Grant Cycle to qualifying organizations addressing issues such as food insecurity, immigrant and refugee support, and safeguarding vulnerable populations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Incarnate Word Foundation is a non-profit, faith-based foundation that administers and distributes philanthropic grants to nonprofit organizations in the St. Louis region across priority areas including food insecurity, immigrant and refugee services, safeguarding vulnerable populations, and Catholic education. It runs an annual Annunciation Grant Cycle plus several specialty grant funds (CPPS Catholic Education Grants, CPPS Legacy Fund, CSJ Grants Fund, Racine Dominicans Mission Grants Program) and operates IWF Press, a small publishing imprint producing spiritual/contemplative titles.

Product overview

Incarnate Word Foundation is a charitable foundation serving the St. Louis region since 1997, focused on social justice through philanthropic grantmaking. The organization operates a portfolio of named grant programs including the Annunciation Grant Cycle (annual general grants), CPPS Catholic Education Grants, CPPS Legacy Fund, CSJ Grants Fund, and The Racine Dominicans Mission Grants Program. Additionally, the foundation operates IWF Press, a publishing imprint producing spiritual writings, and provides a Grant Portal for online application management. The core offering is grant administration and distribution supporting food insecurity, immigrants and refugees, and safeguarding vulnerable populations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annunciation Grant Cycle Annual competitive grant cycle (formerly the General Grant Cycle) providing funding to nonprofit organizations in the St. Louis region for social-justice-aligned programs across the foundation's priority areas.
• CPPS Catholic Education Grants Specialty grant program supporting Catholic education initiatives, operated in partnership with the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O'Fallon (CPPS).
• CPPS Legacy Fund Grant fund supporting legacy projects and initiatives of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O'Fallon (CPPS), administered through the foundation.
• CSJ Grants Fund Collaborative grantmaking fund established with the Congregation of St. Joseph (CSJ) supporting shared mission-aligned initiatives in the St. Louis region.
• Racine Dominicans Mission Grants Program Mission grants program operated in collaboration with the Racine Dominicans religious congregation for mission-aligned grantmaking.
• IWF Press Publishing imprint of the foundation producing spiritual and contemplative writings, including titles such as "Conversations with God" and "Blue Hole Wisdom."
• Grant Portal Online portal for nonprofit applicants to submit and manage grant applications to the Incarnate Word Foundation.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O'Fallon (CPPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CPPS Catholic Education Grants program is a partnership with the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O'Fallon. The foundation co-sponsors the 5th Grade Art Contest with CPPS and manages the CPPS Legacy Fund for grantmaking.
• Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate WordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word are the sponsoring congregation of the Incarnate Word Foundation. The Annunciation Grant Cycle was renamed in honor of the feast day of this congregation. The Annunciation celebrates God's incarnation in the world.
• CSJ (Congregation of St. Joseph)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CSJ Grants Fund is a collaborative grantmaking fund established with the CSJ community, supporting shared mission-aligned initiatives in the St. Louis region.
• Racine DominicansminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Racine Dominicans Mission Grants Program is a partnership supporting mission-aligned grantmaking initiatives in collaboration with the Racine Dominicans community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Deaconess Foundation: A St. Louis-based faith-rooted foundation focused on child wellbeing and community health in the region. Comparable in geography, faith-rooted identity, and grantmaking scale, though with a narrower programmatic focus on children and families.
• Missouri Foundation for Health: A large independent philanthropic foundation serving Missouri with a focus on health equity and vulnerable populations. Comparable in regional scope and grantmaking role, though substantially larger and focused on health rather than the broader social-justice remit.

Broad incumbents

• Catholic Charities of St. Louis: A larger faith-based social services organization in St. Louis rooted in Catholic social teaching. Overlapping mission of serving vulnerable populations, immigrants, and refugees, but operates direct service programs rather than grantmaking, making it a broader incumbent in the same ecosystem.

Direct peers

• St. Louis Community Foundation: A regional community foundation serving the St. Louis metropolitan area with a similar model of pooling philanthropic capital and distributing grants to local nonprofits. Directly comparable in geography, organizational structure, and grantmaking focus.
• Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cincinnati: A Catholic-sponsored foundation affiliated with the Sisters of Charity, sharing both the religious-sponsorship structure and grantmaking approach. Operates in a different region but is highly comparable in mission, scale, and operating model.
• Catholic Foundation of the Archdiocese of St. Louis: A Catholic-affiliated foundation serving the St. Louis region that manages endowments and distributes grants to Catholic parishes, schools, and ministries. Closely comparable in faith-based mission, regional geography, and grantmaking model.
• Danforth Foundation: A St. Louis-based private foundation with deep regional roots and a long grantmaking history in the city. Comparable in geography and foundation model, though with a substantially larger endowment and broader programmatic scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@iwfdn
• Facebookfacebook.com/IWFSTL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/incarnate-word-foundation
• Xx.com/iwfstl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Incarnate Word Foundation