 |
| Just For Kids: Forward Through Ferguson Policy Campaign Grant Opportunity |
|
On September 14, 2015, the Ferguson Commission released
Forward Through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equity report
.
The Commission's report provides specific policy recommendations and calls to action to move the region toward racial equity and justice in light of our history and contemporary challenges.
Today, almost two years later to the day, the nature of imbedded and implicit bias in our systems of public safety and judicial accountability have been highlighted again. The community's distrust of these systems comes at a high cost, which has been borne out in recent preparations for the Jason Stockley trial verdict by city and state elected officials. The costs have piled up across the nation in civil suits paid by cities to victimized families and the billions of dollars racial income inequities cost the St. Louis regional gross domestic product.
More than anything, as employees of the Foundation leave to pick up children released early from school and the Missouri National Guard make their way through the same streets, we recognize the juxtaposition of the two is unhealthy and unsafe for our kids. As noted in Deaconess' Racial Equity Commitment, released on April 4, 2017:
"Deaconess Foundation has envisioned a community that values the health and well-being of all children and gives priority attention to the most vulnerable...This community can only exist if
the allocation of power and distribution of resources, benefits, opportunities and burdens are not predictable, nor determinable by race...To accomplish this vision, we pursue child well-being through public policy and racial equity...Getting to fairness in daily life means swimming upstream to disrupt policies that make racial disparities in our classrooms and neighborhoods possible, while offering innovative alternatives."
In alignment with this commitment, Deaconess will invest $100,000 in a policy campaign which pursues policy change through grassroots advocacy, civic engagement, and community organizing focused on at least one of the Ferguson Commission Calls-to-Action.
This grant is made possible through philanthropic partnership between Deaconess Foundation and the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock.
Information on the grant and application process can be found
here
on our website.
Applications will open Monday, September 18, 2017 are due November 1, 2017.
*****************************************************
In alignment with our
Just For Kids
funding strategy
,
the deadlines to apply for new funding opportunities are approaching:
Mission Related Investments
provide below market-rate loans to community development financial institutions (CDFIs), credit unions, nonprofit financial intermediaries, nonprofit organizations and social enterprises to expand community capital and advance Deaconess' policy priorities.
Applications
a
re due
September 18, 2017
.
Responsive grants
provide 1-2 years of project support for policy development, advocacy, or organizing efforts that pursue systems change for children. Quarterly
Applications
are due
October 31, 2017
.
Please visit our
website
to learn more about these opportunities!
|
|
Building a Community:
Deaconess Center for Child Well-being
|
|
|
With walls erect and the installation of its roof complete, the Deaconess Center for Child Well-being is comin
g to life! Last September, Deaconess Foundation broke ground at 1000 North Vandeventer in the Grand Center Arts District on the 21,000 square-foot office and convening space. The Center will open in the winter of 2017 and is expected to host more than 6,000 citizens a year in more than 250 meetings focused on children's issues.
In addition to offices for Deaconess Foundation and long-term missional partners,
Vision for Children at Risk
and
Neighborhood Houses
,
the building will house meeting rooms, classrooms and conference space for up to 125 people in the largest setting.The space is designed to invite child advocates, civic leaders and community organizers to align promoting policy to enhance the well-being of children.
Enhancing community development was a key driver for Deaconess' decision to break ground on vacant lot north of Delmar at the edge of St. Louis' Vandeventer neighborhood. The project is planted firmly in the
St. Louis Promise Zone
. In the concept phase, the North Central Steering Committee and Alderman Terry Kennedy affirmed that the Center aligns with the North Central Plan, a neighborhood-driven development initiative. During construction, all contractors will pay prevailing wage with at least 35% of the contractors being minority business enterprises and 15% being women business enterprises. Once opened, the Center will have approximately 40 people working onsite daily.
The $8.8 million project is self-funded by Deaconess and participation in the New Market Tax Credit Program with allocations from the
St. Louis Development Corporation
and Capital One. The NMTC Program was established as a component of the federal Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 to stimulate revitalization in communities nationwide. Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being is a nonprofit, qualified active low-income community business with a three-member Board of Directors: Cheryl D.S. Walker, Esq., president; Dr. Sue Stepleton, vice president, and Rev. Starsky D. Wilson, secretary.
VIDEO:
Click here to see the Deaconess emblem from the former hospital grounds being placed in the chapel courtyard at the Deaconess Center for Child Well-being.
|
|
Summer 2017 Children's Defense Fund
Freedom Schools
|
|
D
uring the summer of 2017 Deaconess Foundation sponsored a network of three CDF Freedom School® programs for children in grades kindergarten through twelve. In partnership with Neighborhood Houses and with the blessing of the pastors and congregants, Deaconess sponsored programs at Peace United Church of Christ, Hope United Church of Christ, and Saint John's Church (The Beloved Community).
The six-week program provides summer enrichment around five essential components: high-quality academic enrichment, parent and family involvement, civic engagement and social action, intergenerational leadership development, and nutritional, physical, and mental health. Enrichment is driven by the Integrated Reading Curriculum (IRC) which primarily focuses on literacy to curb summer learning loss and close achievement gaps.
Afternoon enrichment activities strived to interweave literary themes introduced and explored in the IRC. Students, through a partnership with the local YMCA, received swimming lessons for the duration of the CDF Freedom Schools® program and were introduced to computer coding and application with the assistance of a local Microsoft retail store. They learned the importance of families eating healthy, preparing healthy meals, and budgeting, and visited the St. Louis Zoo and Missouri History Museum and went on a guided tour of the St. Louis Civil Rights Legacy program. They also were guests of the Teens Make History theatre performance: BAG Then; BAG Now. Students at St. John's Church had the opportunity to learn to express themselves through West African drumming and dance.
G
raciously, congregants at the program sites embraced the ministeri
al opportunity to support the students and their families. Peace UCC congregants prepared weekly parent dinners, volunteered to converse and dialogue with students during lunch, and participated in afternoon activities with the students. St. John's Church congregants ser
ved as special reading guests during the
Read Aloud
segment of the day and volunteered support and me
als for parent meetings.
With the assistance of the Metropolitan Congregations United, parents were engaged and participated in sessions designed
to equip them with the tools and knowledge to be advocates for their children and themselves.
Deaconess looks forward to the continued sponsorship of CDF Freedom School® programs.
|
|
On the Move:
St. Louis Regional
Early Childhood Summit
|
|
Vision for Children at Risk, in collaboration with the St. Louis Regional Early Childhood Council, Ready by 21 St. Louis and other key community partners, with Deaconess Foundation as the lead sponsor, is hosting the St. Louis Metropolitan Early Childhood Summit.
The daylong conference will prepare the St. Louis region to promote and implement a comprehensive, coordinated early childhood development strategy that will advance kindergarten readiness and early childhood success.
Patrick McCarthy, president & CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Rev. Starsky D. Wilson, president & CEO of Deaconess Foundation are featured speakers.
|
|
Praxis: Strengthening Our Work
|
|
When you do it with us it's called
capacity building. But, when you do it for yourselves you call it
learning."
This was the reflection one not-for-profit executive shared with a group of funders gathered to discuss organizational effectiveness and mutuality in strategy. Unfortunately, this is true. We, as funders, seldom hold ourselves to the same standards we lift up for other social sector partners, especially those we fund. Ultimately, the cycle of research and development of theory, ac
ting upon is and reflecting on how things worked through regular evaluation is an obligation to the community for those of us granted non-profit, tax-exempt status.
At Deaconess, we also believe we owe our partners, grantees and volunteers a special debt of gratitude and transparency for being open, honest and candid with us. This helps us to improve our practices, policies and public witness. Thank you for your participation and investment in our improvement.
Over the last year, Deaconess engaged in a series of rigorous evaluations with third party partners to strengthen our work. These included completion of:
- The Foundation Core Capacity Assessment Tool (FCCAT) - An organizational assessment tool, administered by the TCC Group, that measures capacities considered critical for foundation effectiveness. The FCCAT measures five capacity dimensions that make up a larger organizational effectiveness framework: leadership, management, adaptive ability, technical faculty, and organizational culture. (This was our second time undergoing this assessment, after previous participation in the national pilot.)
- Center for Effective Philanthropy's Grantee Perception Survey - The Grantee Perception Report® (GPR) provides funders with candid feedback and insights based on responses to an online grantee survey. The GPR is the most widely used grantee survey, and it's driven by extensive research and analysis. Funders use the GPR and its comparative data to make the best choices about how to use their resources to create impact.
- Deaconess Impact Partnership Longitudinal Study - In this quantitative and qualitative study, the Foundation engaged the TCC Group to review the outcomes of its deepest philanthropic investment reaching back to its inception in 2004. The assessment is informing the Just for Kids Anchor Institutions Program and informing Deaconess' advocacy for organizational effectiveness funding in the philanthropic sector.
The results of each of these studies has been shared with all our staff, trustees and community advisory board members. They've been used to inform the Just for Kids Theory of Change, human capital strategy and work plans. The full reports (including executive summaries) can be found
here
on the Deaconess website.
|
|
Partner Opportunities and Upcoming Events
|
|
September 30th
from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. -
Sister Antona Ebo Social Justice Conference
, at Cardinal Rigali Center, 20 Archbishop May Dr., St. Louis, MO 63119. Sponsored by the
Archdiocese of St Louis: Peace & Justice Commission, Office of Laity and Family Life, Catholic Youth Apostolate, St Charles Lwanga Center, Catholic Charities, Office of Hispanic Ministry, Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Catholic Education Office, and the St Vincent de Paul Society
. Keynote by Deaconess CEO, Rev. Starsky D. Wilson.
Registration
is open.
October 12th from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m.
-
is convening a policy discussion and listening session on "Healing Policies for Black Boys and Young Men" at Washington University's Brown School.
Registration
is required and open.
|
|
|
|
|
|
