Community Builders Network of Metro St Louis

Supportive SystemsCivic capacity building initiatives under CBNs Supportive Systems pillar build bridges across places, sectors, and silos and advocate for policies that strengthen our civic muscle. In 2020, CBN worked with the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) Coalition to start compiling the St. Louis Affordable Housing Report Card, a first-of-its-kind tool created for community organizations, housing advocates, decision-makers, and residents in St. Louis City and County who want growth in and more equitable use of affordable housing resources. The Vacancy Collaborative released its first 18-month Work Plan to comprehensively address St. Louis vacancy challenge and made progress toward short- and long-term goals under all 5 action categories. The Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Coalition coordinated collective impact data and stakeholder outreach and prepared a CDFI systems strategy for supporting Black and Latinx businesses.

Strong Organizations - Organizational capacity building programs under CBNs Strong Organizations pillar support CBN member organizations and their partners so that they can do their best work. In 2020, CBN started hosting monthly all-member calls (which started as weekly calls at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic) to hold space for members to check in, support and collaborate with each other, share resources, and lead discussion on issues theyre grappling with. CBN staff was also part of the technical support team for the CDC Stability funding stream under Invest STLs Neighborhood Solidarity Fund, a grant pool to help place-based entities respond to and stay afloat during the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, CBN staff spent time planning a workshop series on sustainable business models for place-based organizations, which kicked off with a series on residential real estate in early 2021.

Sharing StoriesPublic awareness building initiatives under CBNs Sharing Stories pillar spread the word about what it takes to make our neighborhoods great places to live and why strong communities matter. . In 2020, CBN focused our communications resources on keeping community builders connected during the COVID-19 pandemic, including by creating a COVID-19 response section on our website. CBN staff also started a CBN Member Bright Spots Blog to highlight the important work our member organizations are doing. CBN continued partnering with Humans of St. Louis to compile unique photostories about our Annual Community Building Awards honorees, crafted to help spread the word about what community building looks like through the eyes of folks who are doing the work every day. Due to COVID-19, CBN pivoted our Annual Community Building Awards to a successful virtual event that was held in July 2020.