The Whitaker Foundation is a private foundation in Saint Louis, Missouri. The Whitaker Foundation was begun by Mae Meissner Whitaker in memory of her husband Lyndon.

Whitaker Music Festival 2009 at the Missouri Botanical Garden
Wednesdays, 7:30-9 pm, June 3 through August 5, 2009 in the Missouri Botanical Garden

June 3: Peter Martin
June 10: St. Louis Stompers
June 17: Scott Alberici
June 24: Mosby Group
July 1: Dizzy Atmosphere
July 8: Tony Simmons Band
July 15: Rogers, Nienhaus and Crawford
July 22: Farshid Etniko
July 29: Ralph Butler
Aug. 5: Anita Rosamond

Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis
“The Merry Wives of Windsor”
Performances at 8 pm nightly except Tuesdays, May 20 through June 14, 2009 in Forest Park.

Ivory Perry Park
Sunday, 6-8 pm, June 28, July 26, August 23, 2009 at Ivory Perry Park.

June 28: Kim Massie
July 26: Ralph Butler
August 23: CoCo Soul

Whitaker Urban Evening Series
Thursdays, 7-9 pm, June 18 through July 23, 2009 at St. Louis Place Park.

June 18: Renee Smith
June 25: MCPlayers Reggae Band
July 2: Groovethang-Shining Star—A Tribute to Earth, Wind and Fire
July 9: Erin Bode
July 16: El Caribe Tropical
July 23: Arvell & Co.

Harvest Sessions: New this Year - 2 Locations
14th Street Mall in Old North Saint Louis
Performances are 9:30 am - 11:30 am

June 6 - The Dock Ellis Band and LeAndra
July 18 - TBA
August 1 - TBA
September 5 - Swing DeVille
October 3 - TBA
October 31 - TBA


Tower Grove Farmers’ Market
West Pool Pavillion in Tower Grove Park
Performances are 9:30 am - 11:30 am

May 9 - Caleb Travers
June 13 - Stace England
June 27 - Celia (children’s series)
July 11 - Cowboy Randy (children’s series)
July 25 - TBA
August 8 - Rough Shop
August 22 - Wack-A-Doo (children’s series)
September 12 - TBA
September 26 - Rylee’s Grandpa’s Friends (children’s series)
October 10 - Prairie Soul
October 24 - TBA

Enriching Lives Through the Arts

The Arts provide a breadth and depth of experience that touch our lives and enrich our region. By investing in creative experiences of St. Louisians we help toward the discovery of ourselves, each other and our community. By supporting excellence in the arts, we promote art forms and institutions that challenge, entertain, and contribute to our overall quality of life.

Encouraging the Preservation and Use of Parks

Parks are an invaluable humanizing asset in an urban environment, providing space for people of different ages and from all walks of life to experience relaxation and tranquility, or to share the company of others in communal activities. By funding projects in parks, we help to create moments of joy, beauty, and neighborhood celebrations that bind us together as a community. Successful grantees share a high quality of program execution, a supportive and active board and an exemplary artistic program. They represent an important niche in the community, have a cogent plan for evaluation, diversity in income, and an enthusiasm for the area in which they work. The Foundation provides both start-up and short-term funding, capital needs and on occasion funds for operating support.

The Whitaker Foundation values projects that are creative in their execution, move toward self sustainability when possible, and are strategic in nature.

Grants made by the Foundation support projects and agencies within a fifty mile radius of the Arch.

The following pages provide information about the Whitakers, recent grants made by the Foundation, and information on how to apply. Agencies contemplating an application should speak to Foundation staff early in their planning.

Thank you for your interest in the Whitaker Foundation and in helping honor Mrs. Whitaker’s gift. We continue to be inspired by her far-sighted view of St. Louis and its potential, her generosity, and her courage in leaving her legacy in the hands of future generations.

Sincerely,

The Trustees of the Whitaker Foundation

A Note About Grants*

*In reading the annual reports you will note that until recently the Foundation also made grants toward the advancement of preventive healthcare and medical research. In 2003, the Foundation hired evaluators to look at our programming, determine our best practices, and compare these with community need. An environmental scan suggested that other source funding in the health area had increased exponentially while funding for the arts and urban parks had declined. Additionally, results suggested a greater expertise in the latter mentioned areas as well a better ratio of scale. As a result, Trustees elected to focus on arts and parks. No new health grants were made after the conclusion of the 2003 grant year. Any payments made subsequently support pledges made before the change in focus.