St. Louis Welcome Fund Announces First Round of Grant Recipients
The St. Louis Welcome Fund, a fund to support refugees, made its first round of grants totaling over $500,000 to 14 organizations in April. Funds were directed towards specific projects.
| Organization | Project |
| Bilingual International Assistant Services | Comprehensive Case Management for Afghan Evacuees |
| Casa de Salud | Mental Healthcare for Recent Refugee Arrivals |
| House of Goods /Islamic Foundation of Greater St Louis | Early Settlement Services (rental assistance, transportation) |
| Immigrant & Refugee Women’s Program | Program Capacity Expansion for In-Home/Virtual English |
| St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America | Asylum Accompaniment: Towards Radical Inclusion in St. Louis |
| International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis | Technical Access for New Arrivals |
| Immigrant Service Providers Network (ISPN) | Embedding New Arrivals Support in Community Providers |
| LifeWise STL | Community Care and Mental Health Services |
| Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project | Legal Representation and Case Management |
| Oasis International Ministries | Build Capacity to Welcome Refugees and SIVs |
| Saint Louis Crisis Nursery | Latinx Outreach Program |
| St. Francis Community Services | Abriendo Puertas |
| VITENDO 4 AFRICA | V4A Welcome Fund |
| Welcome Neighbor STL | Increasing Capacity to Serve Influx of Refugees |
Selection Process
The Oversight Committee represented several funders with institutional experience funding organizations who work with foreign-born populations, including refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers from across the globe. Members learned about the needs of refugees and asylum seekers and what efforts are underway to address them, including attending briefing calls hosted by the International Institute, one-on-one conversations with service providers, and knowledge from past grantmaking.
A sub-committee determined a list of several nonprofits working in priority need areas – early resettlement services, housing, mental health. These areas were also determined based on funder experience and briefings from IISTL and other nonprofit service providers. Oversight Committee members had conversations with the selected organizations to determine how the Afghan resettlement impacted their work and what their needs were in the context of the priority need areas. A streamlined RFP was developed and sent to the targeted nonprofits. In addition, the Oversight Committee discussed pathways forward should there be more funding.
About the St. Louis Welcome Fund
The Welcome Fund was created as a response to resettlement needs. It is a strategic way to answer the call to support refugees and asylum seekers. Click here to learn more.
The Welcome Fund is a collaboration between several local funding partners in the community. To become a contributing partner of The Welcome Fund, please contact us today.
Donate
Donate to the St. Louis Welcome Fund here. If you have a fund at the St. Louis Community Foundation, you can make a grant recommendation on Fund Central.