Cultivating Black Wealth in Place
Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place explores how direct, place-based wealth-building investments impact Black residents’ ability to thrive in their chosen community in St. Louis.
INVESTMENT MODEL:
50 Resident Investors x $22k each
The Value of Investing in People + Their Neighborhoods:
As new outside investments come into Black and Brown neighborhoods around the country that have long been economically neglected, the trend is for outside investors to profit from low purchase prices and access to outside capital as they attract a new market to the neighborhood.
Direct cash investment in people creates a pathway for long-standing neighbors and community staples to continue their legacy in place, deepening the neighborhood’s cultural and social connections and stability while positioning themselves to benefit from the economic upturn on the horizon.
The Importance of Preventing Displacement:
Displacement can have many adverse effects on individuals and families. Being pushed to uproot from a home and community disrupts stability and impacts economic growth. Displacement at scale can also lead to the loss of community anchors, such as neighbors, churches, and small businesses, culminating in the erasure of community history, culture, connection, and resources.
The Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place pilot in St. Louis represents one effort to understand if direct funds can help Black residents remain in their community by increasing access to assets such as housing, long-term capital, and business development.
Goal of this Powerbook:
The goal of Rooted Powerbook: Action Steps for Investing Directly in People to Prevent Displacement through Wealth Building is to inspire learning and provide step-by-step guidelines on how to build a similar wealth-building and anti-displacement project for YOUR neighborhood or city.
We encountered a range of experiences as we developed and evaluated Rooted. By sharing our learnings, we hope to help you launch similar initiatives, save time on planning, and avoid some of the challenges we faced.
Why Rooted
Rooted takes a unique approach to complex issues by merging wealth building and financial planning in a place-based effort to prevent displacement during gentrification. This approach not only addresses immediate displacement issues but also promotes long-term, equitable growth by working to ensure all community members have a fair chance to benefit from local development and prosperity.
PROVIDING FUNDS FOR RESIDENT INVESTORS
Rooted focuses on helping residents build wealth by providing 50 resident investors with $2,000 for immediate needs and debt relief, $20,000 for investment, and support from a financial planner, so that they can afford to stay and grow in their neighborhood. The $20,000 investment can be used to:
- Purchase property in the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods
- Complete property repairs or upgrades in these neighborhoods
- Start or build a small business in these neighborhoods
- Add to an investment account
We recognize that without access to larger funds, it is hard for people to make investments, like investing in their home or the stock market. Through Rooted, we have created mechanisms for stabilizing, building, and passing on wealth to future generations.
Rooted Overview
Want the compelling overview and background of the Rooted initiative? Download the Rooted Overview here.
How-To Guide
Ready to start your own project based on Rooted? Download the Rooted How-to Guide here.
How Rooted Came to Life in St. Louis
As the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods began to see signs of gentrification, we were working with neighborhood residents and the local Community Development Corporation. We learned that while residents were excited to see less vacancy in the neighborhood, they were worried that increased prices would push longtime residents out of the neighborhood. This led to the genesis of the Rooted anti-displacement pilot.
To date, Rooted resident investors have:
What the Resident Investors Are Saying
“It’s not that often that there are organizations that are willing to help without a fee. Overall, I just feel more knowledgeable. Before, it felt like you had to pay to get this information because it was more or less withheld. People who are in business work so hard to find the resources and information that they kind of gatekeep the information. Through the coaching, the information was readily provided without any hesitation.” – Alisha
“I just want to want to do more with my life, rather than go to work, so I wanted to invest to see what I can do, what is going to be a good investment? What’s going to be good for me?” – Chuck
“I’m hoping that different kinds of people change into a ‘we thing’ so people already in the neighborhood prosper and the people who move in feel part of the community. Change (happens) by teaching people how to GROW wealth – one of the most important things they’re doing. If you don’t have money, you won’t be able to stay in the neighborhood.”
– Samie
“What I like about Rooted is having the opportunity to build generational wealth for myself and my children. I like the resources that have been provided, [For example,] the financial planner, Prosperity Connection (a credit building organization), the different meetings on wealth building, estate planning, saving, budgeting, and the stock market. Being in the Rooted initiative has helped me to understand how to better manage my finances.” – Rabiah
“We can rebuild and build a better community. I think, education with the younger generation, whose parents are older, they need to be able to get an understanding of what it means to have property, our property.” – David
“My bubble is expanding in seeing and talking to people about how things have changed in a good way. Initiatives like this are impacting people that actually have… even deeper roots than I do here, right? It is a very fulfilling feeling for me.” – Krista
“How unique to have this well thought out program to be a blessing to a community that just needed a push. Real people having an opportunity to push forward in a business, home repair, investment both financially and in real property. I had never heard of anything like it! The most rewarding for me was the training and all the resources that were made available to everyone!” – V. Smith
Rooted in the news
Scott Shelton: “We have to respect our elders and take care of our rich history.”
Can community nonprofit Invest STL help Black residents in St. Louis’s West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods build enough wealth to stave off the forces of gentrification? One census tract in the neighborhoods shows a 396% increase in white residents since 2010. Meanwhile, in two other census tracts, the population of Black residents has decreased by 30%. A spike in investor-owned properties is also underway.
St. Louis’ West End neighborhoods show early signs of gentrification. A nonprofit offers an experimental solution.
Residents of St. Louis neighborhoods have been getting phone calls. The calls used to be local or sometimes out-of-state, but now, they appear to come from call centers in other countries, said Michelle Witthaus, a resident of south St. Louis. The callers all have one thing in common: they want to buy up property.
The Roots of 'Rooted'
In St. Louis, non-profit organizations search for tangible ways to combat gentrification. Washington University in St. Louis’ publication, The Source, defines gentrification as “the displacement of poorer residents in rebounding urban neighborhoods.” In St. Louis, MO, displacement of its residents, many of whom being black, has historical roots.
Introducing ‘New Neighbors’
Can community nonprofit Invest STL help Black residents in St. Louis’s West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods build enough wealth to stave off the forces of gentrification? One census tract in the neighborhoods shows a 396% increase in white residents since 2010. Meanwhile, in two other census tracts, the population of Black residents has decreased by 30%. A spike in investor-owned properties is also underway.
Innovations in Baby Bonds: Why Pairing Guaranteed Income and Baby Bonds Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts
Nearly 300 funders, scholars, and practitioners gathered for Innovations in Baby Bonds hosted at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in partnership with Asset Funders Network and the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at The New School on January 16, 2025. Speakers, including Invest STL’s CEO Dara Eskridge, explored how strategic investments in baby bonds, combined with direct financial assistance, can address wealth inequality.
Invest STL Gets National Attention by Seeding $20K to Residents in 2 Neglected Neighborhoods (Article + Podcast)
When Alisha Bey saw a flier in her neighborhood for a program that promised $20,000 in investment capital, she was hesitant to give it a try thinking that it was too good to be true.
When Personal Wealth in One Neighborhood Turns Into National Progress
Financial Planning Magazine outlines how to measure the effectiveness of Invest STL’s Rooted program within the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods of St. Louis to expand the initiative to other neighborhoods and cities.
A Plan to Build Black Wealth in One Community — and Nationwide
Financial Planning Magazine explores the design and structure of Invest STL’s Rooted program, including the scale of the program, how capital is deployed, the financial planners each participant receives to help them with personalized planning to build wealth.
An Effort to Alter the Course of the History of Black Wealth in St. Louis
Financial Planning Magazine recounts the history of primarily Black neighborhoods in St. Louis including the West End and Mill Creek Valley and the mission behind Invest STL’s Rooted program to help build Black wealth within historic Black communities.
A Community Investment ‘Rooted’ Initiative Provides 20K to Some City Residents
Invest STL is putting power back into the neighborhoods located in the West End and Visitation Park through their Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place initiative. The 20-year timeline of organization is committed to investing in people, property, and small businesses.
Invest STL Pilot Program Focused on Keeping Residents Rooted in the Community
Invest STL’s pilot program, Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place, aims to support development in predominantly Black neighborhoods while allowing people to build wealth and business in the place they call home.
Can Wealth-Building Programs Both Prevent Displacement and Narrow the Racial Wealth Gap?
Gentrification can bring economic investment to low-income neighborhoods, but not all residents experience the benefits of that investment equally.
To Strengthen North St. Louis Neighborhoods, Program Gives 50 Families $20,000 Each
The 1906 home in the West End is owned by his grandfather and is home to multiple generations of family who see Rooted as an opportunity to protect and build upon their assets, to ensure that future generations can benefit from their family’s legacy and remain in their home on Oakley Place.
Acknowledgements
Key Players Acknowledgements + Gratitude
Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place was made possible by a small but mighty team of organizations who helped Invest STL plan and scope the initiative. We have the utmost gratitude for our colleagues at Mass Economics, the Center for Civic Research and Innovation, Urban Institute, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis for their role in helping guide our planning and offer their expertise.
We’re grateful for the financial institutions and financial planners who stepped up to help us figure out how best to support participants throughout this initiative, including Wells Fargo, Wendy Hartman and the team at Buckingham Wealth Partners, and Peter Lazaroff at Plancorp. Additionally, we have volunteer financial planners from the following firms: Signify Wealth, CKH Financial, Thornton Advisor Group, Commerce Bank, US Bank, Moneta, Pines Wealth Management, Ratliff Group, Brand Asset Management Group, Toberman Wealth, and Carson Group. Legal and contract support has been provided by Polsinelli.
We’re also thankful to work with the following partners to help support Rooted resident investors along their wealth-building journey: Prosperity Connection provides credit-building support, Small Business Empowerment Center provides mentorship for those pursuing entrepreneurship, Park Central Development Corp. provides property repair oversight, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri provides estate planning services, and True Title provides property title inquiry support.
None of this would be possible without major financial support from Wells Fargo and the Boniface Foundation. Additional funding support has been generously provided by Commerce Bank, National Development Council, NISA Foundation, and Regions Bank. We’re grateful to our partners for understanding the opportunity and investing in learning.
We want to acknowledge Joe Palm, Emmett Coleman, DaLila Spencer, & Tamika Stigers, were the West End neighborhood residents who participated in the focus group on messaging the initiative. Cornerstone Corporation, West End Neighbors, and Concerned Citizens United Neighborhood Association all assisted with promoting the initiative.
The creation of the Rooted Powerbook: Action Steps for Investing Directly in People to Prevent Displacement through Wealth Building is made possible with funding from the James S. McDonnell Foundation and support from Third Space Action Lab and JEME. As we explore the refining and scaling of Rooted, we are grateful for support from Edward Jones.
WHO WE ARE
,St. Louis, Missouri, our home, is where we get to be in community with daring, brilliant spirits who are all working for a just and equitable region. Invest STL is part funder, part convener, and full-time partner to neighborhood groups striving to transform their communities to be worthy of their lifetime.
