Invest STLA community economic development initiative for improving and strengthening the St. Louis Region.

Background• CBN and MSLCRA agreed to

a task force at the end of 2013

• Members from each association plus foundation and community development financial institution representatives met throughout 2014

• Recommendations proposed in a report completed in December of 2014

• Implementation plan developed from January to Sept. 2015

Invest STL Approach to ChangeCapital

Invest, mobilize, and leverage the following types of capital:• Financial• Human and

Intellectual• Social

Focus Areas

Distressed and middle-market place-based issues:•Economic

Opportunity •Leadership

Capacity•Safe and Healthy

Environments5 Counties•St. Charles, St.

Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Clair, and Madison

Products & Services• Capacity Building,

Training, and Support

• Community Investments• Grants• Financial Products

and Services• Investment

Coordination and Facilitation

Results

System: increased and aligned capital, leadership and will; shared success indicators and storiesCapacity: effective non-profits and community partnershipsCommunity: residents have improved lives and neighborhoods

Vision- Healthy neighborhoods that are thriving, resilient, and livable for everyone. Mission- To provide a community economic development support system for improving and strengthening the St. Louis regionValues- Innovation, Leadership, Collaboration, Impact, and Evaluation

Ecosystem

Public PartnersCity and County

GovernmentRegional Planning

AgenciesFederal Agencies

Private PartnersFinancial

InstitutionsInvestors

EntrepreneursDevelopers

Service Providers

Philanthropic Partners

Local FoundationsNational

FoundationsCorporate DonorsIndividual Donors

Invest STL Infrastructure

Coordinating Council

Investment Collaborative

Review Committee

Evaluator

Project-Based Investment Process

Sustained Investment Process

Intermediaries, Professional Development Providers, & Community Economic Dev. Orgs.

Invest STL Infrastructure• A community initiative of key stakeholders from public,

private, and community organizations.

• The St. Louis Community Foundation has a fund designed for pooling resources and investing in community building.

• Local funders will hire a system staff person for an initial three year position.

• Staffing the system will be 2/3rds resource coordination and 1/3rd supporting, organizing, and managing committees, implementation efforts, and evaluation.

Invest STL• Invest STL institutionalizes our region’s ability to align local

and national investment behind

1. regional coordination of public, private, and philanthropic investments in impactful neighborhood revitalization projects,

2. sustained neighborhood revitalization initiatives, and

3. professional development.

Invest STL Benefits• The system allows multiple actors (local and national) to plug and play in building strong

communities.

1. Funders can pool resources at a scale that can achieve impact in a way that no one funder can do.

2. Pooling and coordinating investment shares risk.

3. Allows investors to care for their issue of interest while also caring for the context affecting their issue.

4. Streamlining the vetting process for proposals and evaluation of implementation saves investors time and resources.

• The system will support investors in being able to support revitalization in two broad types of market conditions:

1. Comprehensive community economic development in distressed places; and

2. Targeted community improvement, including grass roots marketing and below-market rate lending, in “middle-market” neighborhoods.

• The system allows us to move from doing deals to building places that succeed through sustained investment in community capacity and neighborhood improvement initiatives.

Questions

Mary G. McMurtreyDirector of Community EngagementSt. Louis Community Foundation319 North Fourth Street, Suite 300St. Louis, Missouri 63102Email: mary@stlgives.orgPhone: 314.880.4961 Fax: 314.588.8088