Deaconess Foundation Invests $450,000 in Innovative Community-Stewarded Funds

As part of Deaconess Foundation’s strategic approach to advancing liberation in seven generations, it recently invested $450,000 in two innovative community-stewarded funds: NextGen Grantmakers and the Seniors Community Revitalization and Development Fund (Seniors Community Fund). Both initiatives put funding decisions into the hands of the people—in this case, young people and older adults—who are part of the generations for which they are providing solutions.

NextGen Grantmakers is a transformative, youth-stewarded fund, launched in partnership by Vision for Children at Risk (VCR) and Deaconess Foundation, that places funding decisions in the hands of young changemakers. $100,000 in grant funds was awarded to five organizations that fall within NextGen Grantmakers’ priority areas. The funding was awarded to:

• Gentle Men of Vision
• DePaul USA
• Dream Builders 4 Equity
• Hope Creates
• Opportunity House

The Seniors Community Fund is a community-led fund that was launched in partnership by the Community Health Commission of Missouri (CHCM) and Deaconess Foundation, which is based in St. Louis. It is led by a Senior Advisory Board, composed of adults 55 years and older, who selected a group of 14 grant recipients that operate in areas including safety, transportation, and health navigation support. The grant recipients include:

• Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House
• Mission: St. Louis
• Rebuilding Together Saint Louis
• Hitz Memorial Home
• Ignite Hope’s Wheels of Connection
• Mercy Hospital St. Louis Senior Transportation Assistance
• St. Louis Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Rx Outreach
• Vitendo 4 Africa
• Housing Provided for the Elderly, Inc (HOPE)
• Claudie’s Urban Community Gardens
• Criminal Justice Ministry
• Guardian Angel Settlement Association 
• St. Louis Health Equipment Lending Program (STLHELP)

Learn more about the Seniors Community Fund and NextGen Grantmakers grant recipients here.