Cardinals Care Snapshot

Disclosure: Yes, I am a Cubs fan, but that does not influence my analysis or opinion when looking at the St. Louis Cardinals Community Fund/Cardinals Care.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's take a look at the impact they have had in their community. Simply put, it's underwhelming. Their IMPACT+ score comes in toward the bottom third of the league at 48.6 and looking at the data, you can see why.

Except for 2020 when they dipped into their assets, grants and program dollars have been relatively low and have been stagnant with a 5-year CAGR of only 4.8%. It's not like they are hoarding money as we've seen with other foundations; it's just that they aren't bringing in that much to begin with, and in fact, that number has a -8.6% CAGR since 2019.

To be fair, there is some evidence of increased activity over the past two years. For example, they distributed over $306,000 to 104 organizations this past May, a record for their annual spring grant cycle (compared to $188K/80 organizations in 2024).

While I haven't noted player impact in my other snapshots, I feel compelled to discuss Jordan Walker, the Cardinals' Roberto Clemente Award nominee. Walker is the youngest nominee this year, and it's great to see a young player make such an effort to give back. He co-founded Walker's Winners Foundation, which hosted over 200 students and families from its school-year program at Busch Stadium this season. He's also become an outspoken advocate for youth inclusion in baseball, especially among Black kids, using his platform to push the message that "the sky's the limit." Walker seems poised to have a wonderful career, on and off the field.