Joseph and Florence Roblee Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Joseph and Florence Roblee Foundation’s grants support programs related to women and girls, early childhood development, youth of color, LGBTQ youth and criminal justice. Its grantmaking is mainly limited to the St. Louis, Missouri region and Miami-Dade County, Florida.
IP TAKE: This is a pragmatic and progressive funder that mainly limits its work to two geographic areas of priority: greater St. Louis and greater Miami. The Joseph and Florence Roblee Foundation tends to support small- to medium-sized outfits with strong local reputations. Its grants provide both operating and project support. This funder is responsive and approachable, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
PROFILE: Established in 1971, the Joseph H. and Florence A. Roblee Foundation was created by Louise Roblee McCarthy to continue her philanthropy legacy beyond her lifetime. The foundation is named after her parents. It seeks to promote “equity in areas of race/ethnicity and gender, with a preference for early, catalytic, upstream, or movement-building approaches.” Roblee’s stated areas of grantmaking are Early Childhood Education, Women’s Issues and Economic Empowerment and Opportunities for Youth of Color and LGBTQ+ Youth.
Grants for Early Childhood and K-12 Education
Roblee specifies that its Early Childhood Education giving supports programs for children from birth through age eight. Grantmaking stemming from this focus are focuses on:
Underserved and marginalized communities;
Collaborative initiatives for quality early childhood education and access;
Advocacy for child- and family-friendly initiatives including “child care subsidies, medicaid, early childhood education, early childhood home visiting, and public schools”;
Professional development programs for early childhood educators in the areas of anti-bias and anti-racism training;
Parent support programs; and
Interventions for vulnerable families with young children, including home visitation.
Grantees include Kids Win Missouri, Nurses for Newborns of St. Louis and Mindful Kids Miami, Inc. which brings “the benefits of mindfulness to the children of Miami-Dade County.”
Grants for Women and Girls, Work and Opportunity
The foundation’s grantmaking for Women’s Issues and Economic Empowerment names the following priorities:
Marginalized and underserved communities;
Programs that increase the ease and accessibility of women’s social services;
Initiatives for the coordination of services for victims of domestic violence;
The protection of women’s reproductive rights;
Education, training and counseling services that increase women’s economic opportunity, especially for “recently incarcerated” women; and
Support programs for mothers of young children.
Past grantees include Planned Parenthood of St. Louis, Missouri Jobs with Justice, the National Council of Jewish Women of St. Louis and the Ladies Empowerment and Action Program of Miami, Florida.
Grants for Racial Justice, Criminal Justice Reform and LGBTQ Causes
Oportunities for Youth of Color and LGBTQ+ Youth is a newer area of giving for this funder. The foundation names the following grantmaking priorities:
Programs and initiatives that focus on young people between the ages of nine and 21;
Mentoring programs;
Alternative youth justice strategies;
Initiatives for racial justice, including programs that accelerate “equitable policing”;
Teacher development programs that involve anti-bias and anti-racism training; and
Advocacy for foster youth and other vulnerable groups of young people.
Previous grantees in this area include Black Girls Do STEM, Florida Foster Care Review, Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Louis, the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis and the YWCA of South Florida.
Important Grant Details:
Grants typically range from $3,000 to $30,000.
Grantmaking is mainly limited to St. Louis County, Missouri; St. Claire County, Illinois and the greater Miami-Dade area of South Florida.
Grants to organizations operating in other areas of the U.S. may be made in special cases.
The foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications and requests for funding for two annual grantmaking cycles with due dates in February and August.
First time applicants must contact foundation staff at (314) 963-7713 before beginning the application process.
To learn more about the types of organizations the Roblee Foundation supports and at what level, explore its grants list.
General inquiries may be submitted to the foundation via email at grantapplication@robleefoundation.org or telephone at (314) 963-7713.
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