ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Croix Foundation is pleased to offer three scholarships of up to $3,000 each to 2023 graduating seniors on St. Croix through the Lang-Wise STEM Scholarship. The Foundation will begin accepting applications for the 2023 Lang-Wise STEM Scholarship Fund beginning May 8, 2023, and the deadline to apply is June 30, 2023. The online application is available at https://www.stxfoundation.org/grants-scholarships/.

Open to 2023 graduates from St. Croix public, private, or parochial schools, the Lang-Wise STEM Scholarship Fund requires that applicants be pursuing a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM). Applicants must provide proof of acceptance to an accredited four-year college or university to study and must indicate and maintain a GPA of 2.75 or higher. Applications will be reviewed by the St. Croix Foundation Grants Review Committee and must be received no later than June 30.

The Lang-Wise STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Scholarship Fund was established in the fall of 2022 at St. Croix Foundation by St. Croix resident and engineer Raydiance Wise. Recognizing that scholarships help to cover significant costs associated with higher education, this award is designed to encourage students to pursue STEM-related fields by offsetting costs related to travel, clothing, textbooks, and other expenses associated with attending college that become burdensome.

Founder of the Lang-Wise STEM Scholarship Fund, Raydiance Wise, stated that “We are honored to work with the St. Croix Foundation to support our youth as they pursue studies and careers in STEM. I personally benefitted from scholarships and fellowships as I pursued my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and we look forward to seeing our 2023 recipients excel in these challenging and rewarding fields.” In its first official cycle, the Lang-Wise STEM Scholarship Fund will provide a maximum of three scholarships.

Application Process. To apply, interested students should visit the Foundation’s website at https://www.stxfoundation.org/grants-scholarships/ where Application Guidelines can be found. All applications are due by June 30. Applicants will be informed of decisions within 30 days. All scholarship recipients are required to report on their successes and challenges throughout the year to help ensure that the Fund continues to meet current needs and to provide students with additional support if needed. Contact Lilli Cox with any questions or challenges completing the application via email at lcox@stxfoundation.org.

St. Croix Foundation wishes to extend its sincerest appreciation to the Lang-Wise family for supporting our young people. For more information about how to support the Lang-Wise STEM Scholarship Fund, please visit the Foundation online at www.stxfoundation.org or call at 340.773.9898.

ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Croix Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of the St. Croix Educational Complex (SCEC) 20^th Anniversary Reunion Committee Fund. Through this fund, one scholarship award of up to $5,000 will be offered to a graduating senior from the St. Croix Educational Complex, who is pursuing career goals through an institution of higher learning. The Foundation will begin accepting applications for the 2023 SCEC 20^th Anniversary Scholarship on April 28, 2023 and the deadline to apply is June 16, 2023.

Open to 2023 graduates from the St. Croix Educational Complex, the SCEC Anniversary Fund requires that all applicants provide proof of acceptance to an accredited college or university and must indicate and maintain a GPA of 2.0 or higher. Applications will be reviewed by the St. Croix Foundation Grants Review Committee and must be received no later than June 1.

The St. Croix Educational Complex (SCEC) 20^th Anniversary Reunion Committee Fund was established in the fall of 2022 by the SCEC’s 2003 alum to support graduating high school students on the island of St. Croix who have chosen to further their studies at an institution of higher education. St. Croix Foundation for Community Development (SCF) administers the SCEC 20^th Anniversary Fund with the goal to provide opportunities to youth who have met obstacles but persevere despite these challenges and see education as a means to achieving personal/professional success that can then be shared with the next generation.

Member of the St. Croix Educational Complex 20th Anniversary Committee and Advisor to the Fund, Anquanette Gaspard, stated, “Members of the Class of 2003 were excited about combining efforts to give back to the institution that shaped many of us into who we are today.” Gaspard highlighted that many of the graduating class members are contributors to a variety of industries with careers ranging from doctors, nurses, entrepreneurs, architects, engineers, and distinguished members of the different branches of the Armed Forces. In its inaugural cycle, the SCEC 20^th Anniversary Fund will provide one scholarship with the intention to expand its support in 2024.

Application Process. To apply, interested students should visit the Foundation’s website at https://www.stxfoundation.org/grants-scholarships/ where Application Guidelines can be found. All applications are due June 16. Applicants will be informed of decisions by June 30. All scholarship recipients are required to report on their successes and challenges throughout the year to help ensure that the Fund continues to meet current needs and to provide students with additional support if needed. If challenges or questions arise regarding completing the application and/or obtaining required documents, staff is available to assist at lcox@stxfoundation.org.

St. Croix Foundation wishes to extend its sincerest appreciation to the St. Croix Educational Complex 20^th Anniversary Reunion Committee and the class of 2003, who is strategically giving back to the next generation. For more information about how to support the SCEC 20^th Anniversary Fund, please visit the Foundation online at www.stxfoundation.org or call at 340.773.9898.

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Croix Foundation for Community Development will be hosting its 5th Annual Philanthropy Retreat February 16th through February 18^th, 2023, on the island of St. Croix. Entitled THE POWER OF PLACE: Reframing Old Paradigms in Philanthropy to Build Radical New Systems of Equity Rooted in Place, the invitation-only convening will connect National and Regional Senior Philanthropy Executives with Board and Staff of the Foundation’s Nonprofit Consortium, a coalition of approximately 30 St. Croix Nonprofits.

This year’s convening will feature guests and speakers from across a diverse philanthropic landscape, including Association of Black Foundation Executives, Black Belt Community Foundation, The Bridgespan Group, Foundation for Appalachia Kentucky, Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust, Global Giving, The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and more. Members of St. Croix Foundation’s Nonprofit Consortium, Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism, St. Croix Environmental Association, and the Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition will lead a panel focused on collective impact and environmental justice, with other local nonprofit partners hosting island tours, site visits, and an opening reception dinner.

As a vehicle for engaging national funders and exposing them to the unique realities of the U.S. Caribbean, the 3-day retreat will offer national and international funders the opportunity to learn about the inherent challenges and assets of the territory’s social and economic landscape. The theme for this year’s convening is centered on the power of place-based philanthropies to achieve deeper and more systemic social impact and equitable outcomes for marginalized communities. The retreat will also explore and challenge philanthropy’s current paradigm, which often serves as a ‘funding-gatekeeper’ that prevents the (equitable) flow of resources to those closest to the ground.

Over the course of several days, St. Croix Foundation will lead its local nonprofit partners and foundation guests in a focused conversation around the impact of community-rooted collaboration to leverage scarce resources before, during and after a crisis for the most vulnerable among us; the vital role of place-based philanthropies to support (and drive) sustained social change; and the need for the field of philanthropy itself to evolve in order to effectively meet today’s needs.

According to St. Croix Foundation President, Deanna James, “From our inception, St. Croix Foundation has been committed to honing competency around deep civic discourse and the disruption of old outdated paradigms that no longer serve the People and the Places in which we invest. Over the course of our upcoming 3-day convening, we are excited to unveil our new Theory of Change for the field of Philanthropy that we believe could have far-reaching impact.” James continued.

St. Croix Foundation first launched its Philanthropy Retreat in 2017, one year after conducting a donor study that revealed some striking data points about St. Croix’s philanthropic landscape. One finding was that the majority of the donors interviewed were more inclined to provide “charitable” gifts to nonprofits (often below $10,000) as opposed to transformational philanthropic giving that could stabilize and advance organizations’ missions and programmatic agendas.  The Foundation’s study uncovered yet another trend, namely that a number of corporate and EDC donors, while making transformational gifts (i.e., 6 and 7 figures) to stateside nonprofits, were not engaged in that level of giving locally. Compounding local donor trends is the fact that most national funders have historically not recognized the U.S. Caribbean as a philanthropic priority, deeming this territory, in particular, to be either international or irrelevant because of our small population and political status.

All of these patterns have ultimately had a significant impact on the operational stability of nonprofits, many of which are serving a community with expanding needs and fewer philanthropic resources, forcing many to be overly dependent on government funding to survive. In response to this data, the Foundation launched their Nonprofit Consortium shortly after the study in 2016, to convene local nonprofits around a collective agenda of building organizational capacity and collaborating around shared missions and programming for exponential impact. St. Croix Foundation’s Philanthropic Retreat consequently serves as an opportunity for the Foundation to advocate for greater equity and inclusion for St. Croix.

To date, the national partnerships being nurtured have generated over $3,000,000 in funding for St. Croix nonprofits, and the Foundation has also connected local nonprofits to relevant intellectual brain-trusts and funding networks in targeted ‘sectors’ including arts & culture; the environs; health & human services; and youth & education. Two noteworthy partnerships include the HIVE Fund and Global Giving, both of which represent some of the nation’s most prominent funders in their respective fields.

St. Croix Foundation extends its sincere gratitude to its local, national, regional, and international partners (new and veteran) who have made this convening possible, as well as lead sponsor, the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism. For more information on the 5^th Annual Philanthropy Retreat or how to support the Foundation’s efforts, please call the Foundation’s office at 340.773.9898 or visit their website at www.stxfoundation.org. 

About St. Croix Foundation

Established in 1990, the Foundation has served as a conduit of over 42 million dollars in funding for community-based projects throughout the Virgin Islands. With an incomparable track record of successful community development initiatives and national recognition for its work in education reform and small business development, the Foundation has also received international acknowledgment for its community revitalization initiatives and, today, continues directing its focus on holistic community building and development, policy research and data collection, and the broad-based support of nonprofits, including fiscal sponsorship, grantmaking, and the Nonprofit Consortium.

 

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Croix Foundation for Community Development (SCF) is pleased to announce that our 2022 KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book, entitled “From Silos to Systems: Pathways to Child Well-being in the USVI,” was released on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 11:00 AM AST during a Virtual Community Stakeholder Presentation open to the public.

A national initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), KIDS COUNT has evolved into one of the largest, long-standing data repositories in the United States focused on the status of children and families.  A national network of nonprofits, foundations, and consortia from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, KIDS COUNT is seen as a vital means of providing critical data about child well-being for many federal, state, and local government agencies.

During its virtual data presentation on Dec. 14, 2022, SCF’s KIDS COUNT Team provided an overview of the 2022 USVI Data Book to Government and Nonprofit Partners and Community Stakeholders.  The Data Book comprehensively reports on the status of U.S. Virgin Islands youth in four primary domains: Family and Community, Education, Health, and Economic Well-being. Additionally, KIDS COUNT USVI includes spotlights on Opportunity Youth (ages 16-24) and Community Bright Spots, which incorporates the territory’s nonprofit sector as a vital component of the USVI’s system of supports for children. An electronic copy of the Data Book is available at https://bit.ly/2022KidsCountUSVI. Interested parties may watch a recording of the presentation by visiting St. Croix Foundation’s YouTube page at ​​https://youtu.be/RXJcWEdxn-E.

The KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book includes data collected from the most current available data sources from the public and private sector throughout the territory. This year’s data book reports on conditions across all ages of childhood, with a special focus on adolescent “opportunity” youth in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Some of the data is stark: 33% of children in the USVI are living in poverty. Among children five years of age and younger, poverty rates are higher across the territory: on the island of St. Croix, the poverty rate for children in this age group is 42%. But there are also incredible Bright Spots throughout the territory. Civic organizations such as My Brothers Workshop, Caribbean Center for Boys and Girls of the VI, Women’s Coalition of St. Croix, and many more are transforming the lives of youth in our community each day.

This year’s KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book frames the data around “Systems-thinking” to encourage collaboration across sectors and connect seemingly disparate data domains to better inform policy, programs, and services. St. Croix Foundation President and CEO of St. Croix Foundation, Deanna James, stated, ”While there is much to be done in order for our children and families to truly thrive, our team has spent the better part of two years connecting the dots – first to understand each system as it exists, and then to identify potential opportunities to build newer more intersected systems.”

St. Croix Foundation extends its deepest appreciation to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and to its many local partners from the public, private and civic sectors for their collaboration and commitment to children and families in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The Foundation also thanks Global Giving for its generous, unwavering support of our work as well as the Office of the Governor. Questions about the initiative should be directed to President Deanna James of St. Croix Foundation at 340.773.9898 or djames@stxfoundation.org.

Read More 

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Croix Foundation for Community Development (SCF) is pleased to announce the release of the 2022 KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book on Dec. 14, 2022, at 11:00 AM AST during a Virtual Community Stakeholder Presentation.

A national initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), KIDS COUNT has evolved into one of the largest, long-standing data repositories in the United States focused on the status of children and families. A national network of nonprofits, foundations, and consortia from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, KIDS COUNT is seen as a vital means of providing critical data about child well-being for many federal, state, and local government agencies.

During the virtual presentation on the 14th, SCF’s KIDS COUNT Team will provide an overview of the 2022 USVI Data Book to Government Partners and Community Stakeholders. The 2022 KIDS COUNT Data Book comprehensively reports on the status of U.S. Virgin Islands youth in four primary domains (Family and Community, Education, Health, and Economic Well-being). An electronic copy of the Data Book will be distributed to all registered participants. Parents, educators, nonprofit organizations, policy makers, and public administrators are likely to find the information in this year’s Data Book particularly useful.

Interested parties may register for the Presentation at: http://bitly.ws/xzPE. There is no cost to attend and all are welcome.

The KIDS COUNT Data Book includes data collected from the most current available data sources (including Governmental as well as Nonprofit) throughout the Territory. One targeted population that the KIDS COUNT Team seeks to highlight is an often-overlooked subpopulation of our children – adolescents.

President and CEO of St. Croix Foundation, Deanna James, stated: ”As we step into the 3rd year of St. Croix Foundation’s stewardship of KIDS COUNT in the Virgin Islands, our KC Team is growing increasingly optimistic about the potential to measurably move the proverbial needle on the well-being and welfare of children and families in the Territory. Undoubtedly, our optimism is tempered by the challenges before us, including data system deficiencies, and the incoherence of the existing support systems underneath and around our children. Still, there are several bright spots that keep us hopeful.”

St. Croix Foundation extends its deepest appreciation to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and to its many local partners from the public, private and civic sectors for their collaboration and commitment to children and families in the Virgin Islands. The Foundation also thanks GlobalGiving for its generous, unwavering support of its work. Questions about the initiative should be directed to President Deanna James of St. Croix Foundation at 340.773.9898 or DJames@stxfoundation.org