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Donate Life Foundation (d/b/a Mid-America Transplant Foundation)

Annual Giving
$1.5M
Grant Range
Up to $0.6M

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $1,500,000+ (2022)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly available
  • Decision Time: Varies by program (rolling to annual)
  • Grant Range: Varies by program (up to $550,000+ for research)
  • Geographic Focus: 84 counties + City of St. Louis (Missouri, Southern Illinois, Northeast Arkansas)

Contact Details

Overview

The Donate Life Foundation, operating as the Mid-America Transplant Foundation (EIN: 46-3570900), is the charitable arm of Mid-America Transplant, established to provide enhanced support to transplant patients, donor families, and the community. With annual giving exceeding $1.5 million, the foundation focuses on reducing the need for organ and tissue transplantation, increasing organ availability, and improving outcomes for recipients and donor families. The foundation has been recognized nationally through its parent organization's two Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards and serves 4.7 million people across its designated service area spanning parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Partner/Community Grants: Annual awards to 501(c)(3) nonprofits in designated service area

  • Application method: Annual cycle with committee review
  • Focus: Grief support, health disparities, chronic disease management

Clinical Innovation Fund: $550,000+ per cycle (Note: 2025 cycle paused, resuming 2026)

  • Application method: Letter of Inquiry, then full application
  • Focus: Research to improve organ/tissue donation and transplantation

Medical Professional Education Reimbursement Grants: Continuing education support

  • Application method: Rolling basis until funds depleted
  • Focus: Critical care and trauma medicine professionals

Scholarships: Partnership programs with regional universities

  • Application method: Through partner institutions
  • Focus: Nursing and mortuary sciences students

Priority Areas

  • Grief support services for donor families
  • Clinical research to increase organ utilization
  • Health disparity reduction
  • Preventative care to reduce transplantation need
  • Bioengineering and regenerative medicine
  • Deceased donor management research
  • DCD organ utilization

What They Don't Fund

  • National, multi-centered studies
  • Living donation projects
  • Organizations outside their designated service area
  • For-profit entities

Governance and Leadership

Kevin Lee, President and CEO of Mid-America Transplant since January 2023, leads the organization with over 25 years of healthcare and nonprofit experience. Lee joined in 2015 as Executive Director of the Foundation and has driven significant growth, achieving a 30% increase in organs transplanted and 80% increase in tissue donors from 2015 to 2023. He recently received the Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence from the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Foundation and serves on multiple boards including the Baldrige Foundation and SSM Health Foundation – St. Louis.

Dr. Richard Bucholz serves as Board Chair and is a professor of neurological surgery at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Partner/Community Grants: Submit applications during annual open cycle. Applications evaluated by grants committee using standardized scoring tool.

Clinical Innovation Fund:

  1. Submit Letter of Inquiry first
  2. If invited, submit full application
  3. Applications reviewed by medical professionals from regional hospitals and transplant centers
  4. Contact: Haley Ormsby (hormsby@midamericatransplant.org)

Medical Professional Education Reimbursement: Complete application form with seminar/class brochure. Rolling submissions accepted.

Decision Timeline

  • Partner Grants: Annual cycle timing varies
  • Clinical Innovation Fund: Multiple month review process
  • Education Reimbursement: Rolling decisions until funds exhausted

Success Rates

Not publicly available

Reapplication Policy

Not specified in public materials

Application Success Factors

Based on the foundation's evaluation process and funded projects, successful applications demonstrate:

  • Clear alignment with priority areas: Applications addressing grief support, organ utilization, or health disparities receive special consideration
  • Geographic relevance: Projects must serve communities within the 84-county designated service area
  • Measurable impact: Research proposals showing potential for impact within 3-5 years are favored
  • Committee scoring criteria: Applications evaluated using standardized scoring tools by trained reviewers
  • Innovation focus: For CIF, projects exploring bioengineering, regenerative medicine, and novel approaches to increase organ utilization
  • Evidence of need: Patient assistance requires demonstrated financial need through transplant social workers

Recent funded examples include Dr. Mohamed Zayed's research on developing human pancreatic islets in pigs and AI systems to improve kidney placement efficiency.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• Focus applications on the foundation's four key areas: grief support, health disparities, reducing transplantation need, and chronic disease management • Ensure your organization is located within the 84-county designated service area plus City of St. Louis • For research grants, emphasize measurable impact within 3-5 years and connection to increasing organ utilization • Clinical Innovation Fund applications require Letter of Inquiry first - make it compelling • Education reimbursement grants are available year-round on rolling basis - apply early before funds depleted • Note that 2025 CIF cycle is paused - plan for 2026 submission • Partner with transplant social workers for any patient assistance programs

References

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