St. Croix Foundation released its 2025 KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book, “When Data Speaks: The Voices of Our Children,” and Data Dashboard on November 19th, 2025. The VI Consortium’s article zeroes in on the data, indicating the need for collective and coherent partnerships.
Category: In The News
KIDS COUNT— and Speak — in New Report on USVI Youth
St. Croix Foundation released its 2025 KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book, “When Data Speaks: The Voices of Our Children,” and Data Dashboard on November 19th, 2025. The Virgin Islands Source focused on youth voices, quoting a youth contributor directly.
Senator Angel L. Bolques Jr. Commends 2025 KIDS COUNT USVI Report Urges Bold Action for Territory’s Children
St. Croix Foundation released its 2025 KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book, “When Data Speaks: The Voices of Our Children,” and Data Dashboard on November 19th, 2025, catalyzing community conversations across the territory.
St. Croix Foundation Partners to Launch ‘Farm Tienda’
The St. Croix Foundation and the Coca Cola Company launched Farm-Tienda in partnership with local farmers on Friday at the Ann Abramson Pier in Frederiksted.
The project supports the agriculture sector on St. Croix by granting eligible farmers a durable and moveable “farm stand” for the expansion of their local business.
St. Croix Foundation Hosts a Week of Community-Building
The St. Croix Foundation is hosting a week of activities geared toward empowering organizations within the nonprofit sector and for the community at large to become change agents.
On Monday and Tuesday, the foundation will be joined by Tuesday Ryan-Hart, a systems change strategist who has worked with organizations and stakeholders engaged in community building. The Foundation enlisted Ryan-Hart, who will be introducing the community to a new concept of community engagement entitled “The Art of Hosting,” to help build capacity in the community through conversations and training around high-impact collaborations and self-empowerment.
The public is invited to RSVP at stxartofhosting.eventbrite.com for the keynote address, “Re-Inventing Our Collaborations,” which will take place Monday at the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Conference Center at the Virgin Islands Cardiac Center at 5:30 p.m.
On Thursday and Friday, the foundation will host Edward Jones of the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) and the Black Social Change Funders Network (BSCFN). BSCFN is a network of funders committed to creating thriving black communities by strengthening the infrastructure for black-led and social change. Its purpose is “to build the institutional and political power of the black community to make black lives matter and for the black community to thrive.”
Jones, ABFE’s vice president of Programs, noted that “ABFE’s goal is to increase philanthropic engagement in St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. And through BSCFN’s work around black-led and black-serving social change, ABFE is nurturing a shift toward greater social equity for black and brown communities.”
According to St. Croix Foundation Executive Director Deanna James, “Over the course of the past year, the foundation has been sponsoring convenings around the issues of civic leadership, collaboration and community vision building. Ms. Ryan-Hart and Mr. Jones represent the deepening of our commitment to sustained capacity building in our civic sector.”
See original post from Virgin Islands Daily News here.
Philanthropy & Community Approaching Hurricane Rebuilding Through a Holistic, Community-Based Lens
St. Croix Foundation Hosts Visit of Southern State Fund Members
The St. Croix Foundation announced it will host a small delegation of board members from the Southern Partners Fund who are on the island through Saturday. SPF joins St. Croix Foundation’s growing network of national philanthropic partners. Read the complete article here.
St. Croix Foundation Joins Membership at Southeastern Council of Foundations
St. Croix Foundation for Community Development has been accepted as the first foundation outside of the US mainland to join the Southeastern Council of Foundations as official members! Joining SECF’s membership of 300 foundations in the southeast corridor enables us to advocate even more on behalf of all our St. Croix nonprofits. Our philanthropic family just grew and is already opening new doors of opportunities. Read the full interview between St. Croix Foundation’s Executive Director and Southeastern Council on Foundations here.
Helping Caribbean Islands Recover from a Devastating Hurricane Season
As anyone who lives in the Southeast knows, hurricanes can cause massive devastation and disruption. Streets and homes flood, power disappears, cellular networks go down and basic necessities are suddenly in short supply.
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma represented a 1-2 punch, hitting communities along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In their wake, many foundations stepped up, creating or contributing to funds to fuel relief efforts that will last long after these storms fade from the headlines.
Unfortunately, as we’ve all seen in the past week, this hurricane season’s impact has spread beyond the Southeast. Many island nations and U.S. territories in the Caribbean, which were already hit hard by Harvey and Irma, were also dealt another blow by Hurricane Maria. Some places, like Barbuda, were rendered nearly uninhabitable. In other places, particularly Puerto Rico, residents are facing the possibility of weeks or even months without electricity.
Click here to read the full article.
ABFE Stands with The St. Croix Foundation for Community Development and Equitable Relief in The U.S. Virgin Islands and Broader Caribbean
Dear ABFE Members, Friends and Supporters,
ABFE, along with the rest of the world, is devastated by the impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria on the U.S. Caribbean and broader region. The catastrophic force of these storms resulted in the loss of lives, homes and much more. In times like this, it takes the power of the Diaspora to help our families and friends in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Caribbean to pull through.
What is also critical at this moment is to channel resources to credible, trusted organizations that will ensure that all people in the region get the assistance they need. While it is not appropriate to assume that relief efforts can course-correct social inequities, far too often disasters widen pre-existing gaps in health and well-being. Now more than ever, it is important to put relief efforts into the hands of community organizations and neighborhood leaders who understand the lives of victims and will continue to support these individuals and families well after the crisis ends.
To this end, ABFE supports the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development and the recent launch of its Caribbean Assistance and Relief Effort (CARE) Fund. They urgently need the support of U.S.-based philanthropy.
In the short term, the CARE Fund will provide direct support to frontline relief efforts in the USVI and will coordinate with those on the mainland. In the long term, the Foundation, through the CARE Fund, will do what it does best: support holistic community development.
As an operating foundation with 27 years of proven experience in community and economic development, the Foundation will support rebuilding strategies grounded in innovation and sustainability. The Foundation’s long-term hurricane relief efforts will facilitate comprehensive plans to minimize loss of life, mitigate infrastructure damage, improve structural performance of homes and facilitate a more rapid recovery in the aftermath of future storms.
Concurrently, the Foundation is also nurturing broader and stronger regional collaborations and partnerships with affected Caribbean island communities. By doing so, the Foundation will deepen its capacity to support impacted communities for now and beyond. Please consider making a gift today at www.usvigives.com.