The strength of the St. Louis region hinges largely upon the health and vitality of our neighborhoods… all of our neighborhoods.

Strong neighborhoods are important because they help regions compete in the global economy.

Community development organizations can often make the difference between a strong neighborhood and one that continues to struggle or declines. Yet the region’s count of and network among these organizations remains weak.

In addition to strengthening our region generally, a stronger community development system will also make our region more attractive to national foundations with a focus on community building – a key resource currently untapped in the St. Louis market.

To address this issue, several key nonprofit organizations joined forces, creating a task force to strengthen this system, including the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis, St. Louis Metropolitan CRA Association, Greater St. Louis Community Fund, Rise, and United Way of Greater St. Louis.

Read the task force report here: StrengtheningNeighborhoodsTaskForceFinalMarch2015.pdf