At Invest STL, we believe that sustainable wealth-building starts with direct investment in Black communities. Through the Rooted initiative, we set out to provide 50 Black households in the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods with the financial support needed to build wealth, secure stable housing, and invest in their futures. As part of our mission, we developed the St. Louis Rooted Powerbook, a comprehensive guide that documents our process, learnings, and best practices—so other communities can replicate and scale similar wealth-building efforts.
The $22K Investment: A Thoughtful Approach to Community Wealth-Building
One of the biggest challenges in designing Rooted was determining the right investment amount and the number of participants to make the most meaningful impact. Our starting budget was $1 million, and we needed to balance maximizing impact with ensuring a statistically significant sample size for future evaluation and replication.
Finding the Right Amount:
Initial considerations pointed to $10,000 per resident investor, but market data indicated this amount was too low to make a real impact.
While $40,000 would have been ideal for wealth-building, it would have only allowed 25 residents to participate, limiting the program’s broader neighborhood impact and evaluative reliability.
We landed on $20,000 per participant as the most viable amount—enough to support home purchases, repairs, business investments, and other wealth-building activities while ensuring an impactful sample size of 50 residents.
Addressing Immediate Financial Needs:
In addition to the $20,000 investment, each participant also received $2,000 for pressing financial concerns such as paying off debt, property taxes, or establishing an emergency savings fund.
This decision was based on data showing that the footprint’s average unsecured household debt was $2,200.
Rather than making this amount need-based, we ensured that all participants received it, recognizing that financial circumstances can shift unpredictably.
Lessons Learned from Implementation
While the Rooted initiative provided critical support to participants, we also encountered key challenges and learning opportunities that have informed our approach moving forward:
Residents faced financial hardships that exceeded our original allocation.
Some participants struggled with high debt, overdue property taxes, major car repairs, or housing instability that $2,000 couldn’t fully cover.
Future iterations of the program could consider additional emergency financial support to address these urgent needs.
The rising cost of home repairs affected funding allocation.
The initiative was designed before the sharp increase in construction costs following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some residents who chose to invest in home improvements found their funds didn’t stretch as far as expected.
Future programs should consider adjustable funding models that account for economic fluctuations.
Why the RootedPowerbook Matters
The Rooted Powerbook is more than just a report—it’s a playbook for other cities and organizations looking to replicate Invest STL’s approach to community wealth-building. It details the decision-making process, data considerations, program implementation, and real-world impact so that this initiative can serve as a model for future efforts nationwide.
By openly sharing our findings and experiences, we hope to encourage policy makers, funders, and community organizations to invest in similar models that support Black homeownership, entrepreneurship, and financial stability.
What’s Next?
As we continue evaluating the impact of Rooted’s first cohort, we are looking toward scaling and expanding the initiative. The success of this model in St. Louis is just the beginning—our goal is to refine and adapt these strategies to benefit more Black communities across the country.
Interested in learning more? Download the Rooted Powerbook and explore how direct investments can drive transformative change in communities.
Visit Invest STL’s Rooted Page to get the latest updates and insights on this groundbreaking initiative.
For far too long, Black communities in St. Louis have faced systemic barriers to building and maintaining wealth. As neighborhoods undergo rapid change and gentrification, Black residents are oftens displaced or unable to secure the economic opportunities needed to thrive. Recognizing this challenge, our Invest STL Policy + Design Activation team launched Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place, a first-of-its-kind direct wealth-building initiative aimed at supporting Black residents with financial resources, tools, and relationships to stay and build wealth in their chosen neighborhoods.
Why St. Louis?
As the location for the three-year Rooted pilot, St. Louis provides a unique opportunity to test and refine strategies that can be scaled to other cities facing similar challenges. The program focuses on the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods — areas rich in Black history and culture, but experiencing increasing development and real estate speculation that threaten long-term residents. By implementing and investigating Rooted here first, we’re creating a blueprint for anti-displacement strategies that can be replicated in other communities.
We set clear goals to focus the initiative and indicators that can determine impact at the end of the pilot.
Goals
Prevent displacement of long-term Black residents
Increase the ability of long-term residents to build wealth
Indicators of Impact
Families have assets that can be passed down generationally.
People can afford to remain in their neighborhood
How Rooted Builds Black Wealth
Rooted is more than just a financial investment—it’s a holistic approach to wealth-building. The program provided 50 Black residents, known as “resident investors,” in the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods with $2,000 to address immediate financial needs, such as paying down debt or creating an emergency savings account, and a $20,000 investment to support long-term wealth building. The initiative also provides the resident investors with a Certified Financial Planner at no expense to assist with building a personalized plan to build wealth and help resident investors reach their goals.
This $20,000 investment may be used to:
Purchase property in the neighborhoods to secure generational wealth
Complete property repairs or upgrades in the neighborhoods to improve living conditions and property value
Start or grow a small business in the neighborhoods to drive local economic growth
Add to an investment account to secure long-term financial stability
Additionally, beyond the financial support, Rooted resident investors receive one-on-one financial planning, access to estate planning services, and guidance on credit and wealth management. These are all critical tools to ensure financial decisions lead to sustainable prosperity, while ensuring resident investors have autonomy and choice over their decisions.
Early Impact + Success Stories
Since its implementation in 2023, Rooted has had a significant impact in the community:
Businesses Launched + Grown: Six resident investors have used their funds to start businesses and two scaled up their businesses, contributing to local economic growth.
Property Investments: 24 resident investors made essential property repairs and upgrades, increasing their property’s long-term value.
Generational Wealth Planning: 16 resident investors secured beneficiary deeds, ensuring their homes can be passed down for generations.
What’s Next?
With the lessons learned and documented from the Rooted pilot, we’re poised to expand the initiative’s impact. We outlined our process, experiences, and approach from our pilot in the West End and Visitation Park to help others build similar wealth-building and anti-displacement projects for their neighborhoods and cities.
The ultimate goal? To create a nationwide movement that redefines wealth-building as a place-based investment strategy for Black and other communities at risk of displacement and erasure.
Interested in Learning More?
Whether you’re an elected official or neighborhood organization member looking to implement a similar project, or a funder or community member looking to support the initiative, Rooted is an emerging model to advance long-term, neighborhood-level wealth-building strategies. Visit our Rooted page to explore how this initiative is shaping the future of St. Louis and beyond.
Check out our News + Updates page to stay informed about other Invest STL initiatives and work like Rooted.
