Support Black-led and Black-benefitting Organizations on Juneteenth
Considered the “longest-running African-American holiday,” Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. On June 19—and throughout the year—we encourage you to celebrate and support Black-led and Black-benefitting organizations in their work to improve our region.
Da Hood Connect (DHC) is one of the newest local nonprofits that serves Black communities. Founded in 2022, DHC helps Black and under-resourced communities thrive by addressing personal needs through education, connection, and the provision of safe cultural spaces and opportunities. With a longer institutional history, The Griot Museum of Black History is a premier resource for Black history and culture in the Midwest, and the first cultural institution in St. Louis solely dedicated to the broad scope of Black History.
Research shows that, though making up around 10% of nonprofit leadership in the U.S., Black and Latinx nonprofit leaders only receive 4% of philanthropic funding (The Bridgespan Group, 2020).* A recent study by Echoing Green and the Bridgespan Group shows that the funding received by BIPOC led nonprofits is smaller and more likely to be restricted than that received by white-led organizations.
Despite disproportionate funding, local organizations continue to create widespread positive change in our region. Power4STL, operating both The T and the Bullet-Related Injury Clinic, bridges fatal gaps in care for people with bullet-related injuries and those at risk for overdose due to trauma-related drug use. This community of healing provides wound care and pain management, withdrawal and detox support, and self-care and spiritual resources. Urban Sprouts Child Development Center (pictured at top) has nurtured and served children—65% of whom are black and 57% of which come from low- to moderate-income families spanning 29 zip codes—through quality education for more than 13 years. Tabernacle Community Development Corporation (TCDC) is engaged in community revitalization in the Jeff-Vander-Lou, Fairgrounds, O’Fallon, and Greater Ville neighborhoods, assisting residents in transforming their lives by providing quality, affordable housing options and employment resources.
Find More Organizations
These organizations are some of many Black-led and Black-benefitting organizations operating locally. We have compiled a broad (though not comprehensive) directory of nonprofits that the St. Louis Community Foundation has supported through Give STL Day, the Black Communities Investment Initiative, fundholder grant recommendations, or other activities. Click here to view the directory.
We are committed to supporting these and other black-led nonprofit organizations. Please contact Elizabeth George, Director of Community Investment, at grants@stlgives.org or 314-880-4956 for more information or to add your organization to this list.
Donors who have a fund at the St. Louis Community Foundation can make a grant recommendation via Fund Central or by contacting their relationship manager.
Last updated: June 21, 2023.
