Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place

The Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place initiative is part of a broader strategy to design and test innovative strategies to advance equitable development by investing in the power of people to own and direct the trajectory of the places they call home and shift the systems that impact the economic, social, and physical wellbeing of our communities.

Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place is an initiative taking place in the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods aimed at helping long-term Black residents build wealth so that they can afford to stay and grow in the neighborhood. As part of an anti-displacement strategy, Invest STL launched the initiative which provides 50 residents with support from a financial planner and $20,000 to use towards 1) purchasing property 2) renovating property 3) starting a business or 4) opening an investment account. Participants also receive an additional $2,000 to use to pay off debt, create emergency savings, or address any immediate financial needs.

To qualify applicants had to demonstrate they’ve lived in the neighborhood since at least 2016, are a Black household, over the age of 25, and earn 10-120% of the area median income.

Beyond $20,000

The Rooted initiative allows us to take a multi-faceted, multi-generational approach to wealth building. Providing $20,000 to participants is a large piece of the initiative, but to build and keep wealth other supports are needed. When we look at wealthy people, we see that wealth isn’t typically grown and maintained in isolation and by one person alone; instead, the wealthy often have support and guidance from financial experts, legal teams, and other industry experts. Therefore, in addition to the $20,000, all participants have access to pro bono services from a financial planner, credit counseling, estate planning services to ensure their assets are protected and can be passed on, and mentorship and guidance for starting or scaling a business, buying a home, investing in real estate, investing in stocks and bonds, and planning for retirement.

Next Steps

Over the next 3 years, Rooted participants will continue working with their financial planners to ensure they reach their financial goals. Invest STL will connect participants to additional financial workshops and services to assist them in building more knowledge around wealth building. We are also collecting qualitative and quantitative data throughout the project to build a case for replication and policy change.

Learn more at: InvestSTL.org/Rooted

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