By: DEANNA JAMES, PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
(TEL) 340.773.9898, (EMAIL) staff@STXFOUNDATION.ORG
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – In recognition of National Philanthropy Day, St. Croix Foundation for Community Development is pleased to announce $65,000 in grants were awarded to 13 member organizations of the Foundation’s Nonprofit Consortium. Made possible through the Foundation’s CARE Fund and the newly formed Momentum Fund of the United Philanthropy Forum, the grants serve to build capacity among nonprofits as they advance COVID-19 relief efforts.
Mini-grants totaling $65,000 were awarded to St. Croix nonprofits through St. Croix Foundation’s CARE Fund, which was established in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, to support strategic, high-impact investments in the Virgin Islands for disaster recovery and community resilience. Now a permanent Fund of the Foundation’s, the CARE Fund, in this cycle of grantmaking, is prioritizing 1) Stabilizing nonprofits serving vulnerable populations through the Open Door Funding; 2) Providing direct support for frontline NPOs to build or expand programming. The following organizations were awarded mini-grants of $5000:
- Caribbean Center for Girls and Boys of the Virgin Islands
- Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts
- C.H.A.N.T. (Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism)
- Clean Sweep Frederiksted
- Liberty Place
- FYR is LIT
- St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group
- Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands
- Music in Motion
- World Ocean School
- St. Croix Environmental Association
- St. Croix Montessori School
- Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition
This cycle of the CARE Fund was invitation only and offered to St. Croix Foundation’s Nonprofit Consortium member organizations- a coalition of 25 nonprofits that is working collaboratively around four vital sectors including, 1) health and human services, 2) education, 3) environment (built and natural)and, 4)arts, culture, and heritage.
Funding for this round of Grants was made possible by a $65,000 grant award from the United Philanthropy Forum’s Momentum Fund, which is advancing “a model of philanthropy that unapologetically centers racial equity and explicitly prioritizes the needs of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities as part of our national recovery from the COVID-19.” President and CEO of St. Croix Foundation, Deanna James, stated, “Every November, St. Croix Foundation celebrates National Philanthropy Day, a day to pause and say thank you to the countless donors, social impact organizations, and civic and corporate partners who believe, as we do, in the nobility of Philanthropy (defined as ‘the love of humankind’). St. Croix Foundation could think of no better way to recognize National Philanthropy Day than to support local nonprofits who are in turn supporting Our Community.”
To date, the CARE Fund has invested over $1.8 million into the Virgin Islands community’s ongoing recovery efforts through innovative and strategic grantmaking, workforce development, and food security initiatives.
St. Croix Foundation extends its deepest appreciation to the United Philanthropy Forum and to the Virgin Islands nonprofits, national partners and foundations, businesses, individuals, churches, associations, grassroots movements, and everyone in between for their incredible gifts of time, talent, and treasure, as well as the Foundation’s Grants Review Committee for its engagement.
For more information on how you can support this special fund, or to support the Foundation’s numerous other projects/programs please contact St. Croix Foundation at 340-773-9898, staff@stxfoundation.org, or visit its website at www.stxfoundation.org. For information on the Momentum Fund, visit www.momentumfund.org.
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ABOUT ST. CROIX FOUNDATION
Established in 1990, the Foundation has served as a conduit for 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 energy independence, workforce development, education, youth and families, and of course, the broad-based support of nonprofits, including fiscal sponsorship, grantmaking, and the Nonprofit Consortium.