Missouri Foundation for Health awards $1.5M to 12 health leaders

Missouri Foundation for Health is giving $1.5 million to 12 Missourians through its second-year Spark Prize, including six $200,000 awards and six $50,000 honors. The unrestricted funding is designed to back people driving long-term change in child care, housing, food access, legal advocacy and community health across the state.

Why it matters: - Missouri Foundation for Health is using flexible, individual-based funding to back people it sees as catalysts for long-term health change in Missouri. - The $1.5 million commitment supports work that addresses barriers tied to health, including child care, housing, food access, medication, violence prevention and legal advocacy. - The prize is meant to help community leaders move ideas faster without the restrictions that usually come with traditional grants.

What happened: - Missouri Foundation for Health announced $1.5 million in Spark Prize funding for 12 individuals working to break down barriers to good health in the region. - Six 2026 Spark Prize awardees will each receive $200,000 in unrestricted funding. - Six “Leaders to Watch” will each receive $50,000. - The announcement was made in St. Louis on Oct. 14, 2026.

The details: - The Spark Prize is now in its second year. - The award funds individuals, not organizations. - Missouri Foundation for Health describes the prize as trust-based and flexible funding. - Awardees were selected for their potential to create long-term impact in Missouri. - Nominees represented a range of backgrounds, geographies and sectors. - Charli Cooksey is founder and CEO of WEPOWER, which works to build community power to achieve universal access to childcare and close the racial wealth gap. - Jessica Gaines is founder of Kendall Developments and chief construction officer of Dream Builders 4 Equity, which works to strengthen neighborhoods and expand opportunity across St. Louis. - Heather Lyons-Burney is a clinical associate professor at the UMKC School of Pharmacy and is helping establish a charitable primary care clinic in Branson. - Heather Lyons-Burney is also developing My Neighbor’s Charitable Pharmacy, Missouri’s first designated charitable pharmacy. - Mike Milton is founder and executive director of Freedom Community Center, a North St. Louis organization focused on community-based approaches to violence centered on healing, accountability and repair. - Blake Strode is executive director of ArchCity Defenders, a St. Louis-based civil rights organization providing holistic legal advocacy to people facing poverty, housing instability, criminalization and other systemic barriers. - Maurice Theriot is executive director of South Side Farms, a seven-acre urban farm in Cape Girardeau working to increase access to fresh, nutritious food in a federally designated food desert. - Ryan Smith of St. Louis is director of CHW Leadership and Development at CHW Coalition. - Jolie Foreman of Clarence is executive director of Shelby County Cares. - Mel Constantine Miseo of Columbia is executive director of The Center Project. - Kimberly Weakley of Farmington is state assistant coordinator for Missouri Childhood Community Leaders. - Afton Harper of Springfield is assistant director of advocacy and accessibility at Empower:Abilities. - Krista Pyle of Springfield is founder of Stronger Together Springfield. - Missouri Foundation for Health said awardees are tackling challenges ranging from child care and housing to medication access and healthy food. - Missouri Foundation for Health also said many awardees work outside traditional institutions and have built models rooted in lived experience, innovation and deep community ties. - The full bios are available through the Spark Prize page.

Between the lines: - The prize is a bet on people rather than organizations, which gives awardees more freedom to respond to community needs in ways large institutions often cannot. - By emphasizing lived experience and community ties, Missouri Foundation for Health is signaling a preference for grassroots solutions over conventional program models. - The mix of awardees suggests the foundation sees health as tied to housing, food, legal support, disability access and violence prevention, not just clinical care.

What's next: - Awardees will be able to use the unrestricted funding in whatever ways best support their work. - Missouri Foundation for Health says the prize is intended to serve as a starting point that can jumpstart future impact. - News release materials, awardee headshots and bios are available in the Digital Press Kit. - More information is available at mffh.org/spark.