St. Croix Foundation CARE Fund

The month of September was another huge milestone for the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands and so many coastal communities. Together, we marked three years since Hurricanes Maria and Irma hit the islands in 2017. We’ve accomplished much. But the realities of Covid-19 while we await the ending of the 2020 Hurricane Season remind us of the complex vulnerabilities of a predominantly Black, isolated American Island ‘territory’ (i.e. Colony) with no vote. Those vulnerabilities make us work even harder at St. Croix Foundation because we know that the stakes are high. And we also know that our vision of a safe and thriving Virgin Islands is possible.

In this report, you’ll read about the potential we have tapped in our young people. You’ll read about the undauntable spirit of farmers whose businesses are getting a new boost and volunteers who carry the passion of community and motivate civic engagement.  And behind all of this are the partners that make the impossible possible. Thank you to our friends and family at GlobalGiving. You are testimony that together we can (and do) make a difference.

100% Full-time Employment for Workforce Development Students

At a time in history when unemployment rates are at an all-time high, our Solar-Supported Community Center and Workforce Development Initiative represents a philanthropic triumph that can serve as a community model all over the globe. Beyond providing an opportunity to rebuild more sustainably and resilient in the aftermath of historic Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the program's ultimate goal of providing a high-quality workforce training opportunity for unemployed youth has been fully achieved and the model is proven.

Today, we are pleased to report that in just one year, ALL nine students in our program (100% of our graduates) have received national certification in solar installation and ALL are now fully employed in their field of study. We also want to share recent news that two participants have been promoted to Team Lead, and one is training in Tesla power walls. As the first cohort of solar students in the Territory, they also installed the first solar system on the Caribbean Center for Boys and Girls of the Virgin Islands.

Since the Solar-Supported Community Center Project was officially launched in June 2019, we’ve been keeping you updated on the progress of our students and the outcomes of our strategic grantmaking of a solar PV system to community centers around the island. We are also delighted that, through GlobalGiving funding, the solar system for Flambouyant Gardens for Senior Assisted Living has been procured and, despite delays surrounding Covid-19, is scheduled for installation on October 12, 2020.  Located mid-island on St. Croix and serving 56 senior residents, the center was chosen based on its response to the 2017 hurricanes, the population it serves, and where it is located on the island.

The Foundation will be tapping our solar workforce students to conduct the final installation after comprehensive inspections on Flambouyant Gardens has been completed and modifications have been determined. Given the circumstances surrounding Covid-19, the Foundation is taking extra steps to ensure compatibility between the system and the center for smooth installation.

This pilot Initiative has proven that demand exists in the Virgin Islands for a local, skilled workforce in green energy, as is evidenced by our hire rate to date. And, as most of St. Croix Foundation’s projects, the Solar-Supported Community Center and Workforce Development Initiative is designed to serve as a model for how to nurture relevant workforce development that builds capacity for resilience and energy independence. Working closely with our first solarized center, the Foundation projects to have data on usage and savings to share.

As one of the few occupations expected to see exponential growth throughout the Caribbean, there is significant pressure on the Foundation to replicate this program with a new cohort of students. While this was our initial intention, the realities of Covid and the cost of running the program with fidelity have forced us to put a temporary pause on opening a 2^nd cycle.

Grantee Update: Nurturing Capacity in the Next Generation

Last November, we reported on the work of one of our grantees, a graduating senior who had invented a solar charging station in the wake of the 2017 Hurricanes. Kieran, one of our CARE Fund grantees and partners, wanted to build a prototype of the station for his community that would also fulfill a requirement for his final and rigorous service project to graduate as an Eagle Scout.

Designed to be mobilized throughout neighborhoods during times of crisis, the station can be used to charge phones, radios, and any medical equipment such as insulin testers that are rechargeable. Not only did Kieran build it, but he presented his working prototype to an audience of 300 at the 2019 Coconut Festival, designed a brochure, and created a video on how to build the self-sufficient, solar-powered, weather-resistant satellite communication hotspot and charging station. He also taught youth from the local community center how to build the stations to ensure this exploratory project's sustainability.

Today, we are incredibly happy to report that we’ve recently heard from Kieran, and he has received his final badge and is an official Eagle Scout. This is a difficult challenge and requires a total of 21 merit badges. Kieran’s work didn’t just impress the Foundation -  it was also showcased on the official Eagle Scout pagehere: https://eagleprojects.boyslife.org/solar-satellite-solution/

As an example of the Foundation’s strategic grantmaking, this is a special grant with almost unlimited leverage points – from youth skills and leadership development to nurturing public awareness and resilience building.

Next Steps for Farm Tiendas as Resilience Hubs

As another example of the Foundation’s strategic grantmaking and programming, you may recall that we granted 7 durable steel containers to farmers to serve as “Farm Tiendas” or farm stands to help stabilize their business and serve as a resilience hub during grey skies. Despite continued delays surrounding Covid-19, we are happy to report that we have been able to pivot as necessary to keep activating components of this initiative while also ensuring the safety of all participants.

To date, all containers have been delivered and all are in full operation! While we had to postpone solarizing the Farm Tiendas due to Covid-19, all systems have arrived, and installation will begin in October. Additionally, all farmers have met with an engineer who has provided a comprehensive report on the steps needed to secure Farm Tiendas, in each unique location, for the long-term. The Foundation has also provided tie-down kits and rust spray as an extra level of protection during the 2020 hurricane season, a value of $4200 to each farmer. Over the summer, each farmer also received a water buffalo with a capacity to store 1000 gallons during blue and grey skies.

As a side note, we would be remiss to not mention that our contracted engineer, Kareem, was one of the first members of the Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council- a youth leadership development body of high school students launched in 2009. Today, Kareem is a Mechanical Engineer and living demonstration of the impact of our holistic approach to philanthropy and community development.

The Farm Tienda is yet another economic and resilience model that the Foundation is tracking – how it was developed, lessons learned, and how to leverage local resources for measurable outcomes around food security The Foundation looks forward to the next phase, during which Farm Tiendas will be solarized and data collection on how the Farm Tiendas function will become a priority.

AmeriCorps VISTAS Making Connections for Preparedness

In past reports, St. Croix Foundation has reported to you on the exciting program to bring 15 VISTA volunteers to serve nonprofits on St. Croix. This is boots-on-the-ground support for nonprofits, who are working over capacity to serve a community with increased needs, that has a tangible impact. Once again, due to Covid-19, our recruitment and placement schedule was interrupted. However, the Foundation has successfully recruited and assigned 6 AmeriCorps VISTA members to support 4 nonprofit organizations: Caribbean Center for Boys and Girls of the VI, St. Croix Long Term Recovery Groups, Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition, and St. Croix Landmarks Society. The early stages of recruiting were challenging, but each organization has been determined to utilize this opportunity to drive change in their respective organizations.

Thanks to a generous grant from GlobalGiving’s Cruzan Island Spirit Fund to help subsidize housing costs for our volunteers, we continue our quest to recruit 8 more members and a VISTA leader. With assistance from FEMA, St. Croix Foundation was able to secure a booth and collect names of interested volunteers for the AmeriCorps VISTA program. There were over 500 attendees at this event. SCF also applied and received support for the U.S. Dept of Interior: Office of Insular Affairs. This support focuses on training and technical support for VISTAs. St. Croix Foundation has also been working with FEMA as they developed the Community Response Plan (CRP). In May VISTAs received training on how to use the recovery tool. And despite Covid-19, our VISTAS are connecting with each other, their community, and the broader field of philanthropy.

One of our VISTA volunteers for the St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group, Rosalie, epitomizes the spirit of AmeriCorps VISTAs and the Virgin Islands. A local resident, cancer survivor, and senior volunteer, Rosalie was previously supporting LTRG with recruiting volunteers for housing rebuilds but had to switch roles due to Covid-19. Today, she is conducting surveys for the St. Croix Community Response Plan. Rosalie is one of the biggest advocates for the AmeriCorps VISTA program. In addition to her work with LTRG she continues to share the available VISTA opportunities with young people at the American Red Cross and has presented to the St. Croix Retiree Association, Virgin Islands VOAD,  as well as the St. Croix COAD Executive, Youth, and Unmet Needs Committees. She also presents at monthly Town Halls, where she is a champion to engage more local VISTAs, citing obvious benefits to the local residents on the individual and community level.

Starting with Community…

Despite being an unendowed, small community foundation serving an under-served, under-resourced community, Hurricanes Irma and Maria afforded St. Croix Foundation the opportunity to demonstrate the worth and impact of our philanthropic approach. Having just celebrated our 30^th anniversary this past September, our leadership journey is one we believe can inform burgeoning philanthropies in developing communities around the world. Over the past three decades, St. Croix Foundation has learned a lot. Principally, that there is abundance amid scarcity and that often the assets we are searching for are untapped gems in our own communities. To learn  more about our approach, we invite you to read our President’s 30^th Anniversary Message at http://www.stxfoundation.org/a-message-from-the-president-on-the-foundations-30th-anniversary/

New Systems and the Caribbean Assistance and Resilience Effort (CARE) Fund

In 2017, when category 5 Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the Virgin Islands, we knew that full recovery would be long and that the world would not wait for us to rebuild before the next storm. And so, as our friends and partners at GlobalGiving know, St. Croix Foundation began the work. We collected data, networked our nonprofits, built holistic programming, and launched initiatives spanning workforce development, energy independence, food security – and perhaps most impactful, capacity building for nonprofits.

Another hurricane season came and went, and we sighed in collective relief that 2018 had given us a little more time to rebuild – and then Covid-19 hit the world. For the Virgin Islands, an unincorporated territory whose story is often overlooked, the stakes could not be higher. It is a reminder to us all that resilience is about more than hurricane preparedness; it is about institutionalizing civic power into our societies so that the innovation, passion, and nimbleness of people are leveraged for the resiliency we all aspire to reach.

Together, GlobalGiving and St. Croix Foundation have built a partnership rooted in a collective aim of nurturing healthy, resilient communities. One week ago, the Virgin Islands and coastal communities throughout the world went on high alert as we entered into the 2020 hurricane season, which is projected to be more active than average. From hurricanes to economic recessions and now, a global pandemic, the call of philanthropy has never changed for us: get on the ground, nurture enduring relationships with nonprofits to understand needs, and devise targeted solutions. Through our CARE Fund, the Foundation will continue to serve, to innovate old systems, build new ones, and share our stories of progress.

6 Young People Hired, Community Center Solarized, Countless Residents Impacted
For an initiative designed to achieve multiple objectives, our Solar-Supported Community Center and Workforce Development Initiative represents a philanthropic story of opportunity, resilience, capacity building, and collaboration.

The Foundation believes that to engage disenfranchised youth, to provide the skills necessary for them to take advantage of opportunity, we recognized that we would have to make space for them. So, we did!

What began as a project to solarize community centers throughout the island of St. Croix became a multi-layered initiative in which we embedded workforce development, nonprofit capacity building, and energy independence.

Today, six young adults, the first cohort of certified solar installers in the Territory, have completed a 6-month National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) course! Prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, three students had been hired, and the remaining students are in line to being hired by a local installation company. We check in with our students and are working with them on smaller projects to keep the momentum of their career going - and where there was once resignation, there is now hope for a real future. That’s opportunity.

In our past reports, we’ve given you a lot of data. We have detailed the rigor of the instruction our students underwent and described the curriculum that included soft skills as well as technical skill-building. We told you that they completed over 400 hours of class time, and we showed you the smile of a young man whose life was changed. You learned of the impact our solar initiative would have on community centers, such as saving over 40% on utility costs annually. You heard that the Caribbean Center for Boys and Girls, our first center to receive this innovative grant of a full solar system, serves over 100 students a day and is located in one of our most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. They have agreed to reprogram utility savings into enhanced services. The ripple impact on children and families is almost unquantifiable. And in another demonstration of civic collaboration and capacity building, every center we solarize has agreed to serve as a resilience hub during grey skies, providing energy access, communications, and invaluable community services. This is what a story of resilience and capacity building looks like – on an individual, organizational, and community level!

Through the support of our strategic philanthropic partners, like GlobalGiving and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, St. Croix Foundation was able to conduct strategic grantmaking that is providing full solar systems and paying student stipends for On-the-Job training. Locally, the partnership of each community center builds capacity to serve hundreds, if not thousands of residents. In the public sector, the VI Department of Labor’s Workforce Investment Board underwrote instructor salaries and student books, supplies, tools, and classroom stipends. And through the support of local corporate citizens, we were able to fill in the final funding gaps and provide actual job opportunities to students once the course was completed.

Having secured funds for the first three centers, we are working hard to find partners for our fourth center and a second cohort of NCCER students.

Mobilizing Civic Power through AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteers
Just as St. Croix Foundation was gearing up for additional recruitment to build our 15-member AmeriCorps VISTA team, Covid-19 forced our community to go into lockdown. However, the project has been nimble where possible, and we are now hosting 6 VISTAs. Despite challenges surrounding the pandemic, VISTAs continue to work to support the Caribbean Center for Boys and Girls of the VI, St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group, and Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition.

One of our VISTAs works with the St. Croix Long Term Recovery group on increasing funding for the Unmet Needs Committee, who provides disaster recovery assistance to St. Croix residents who have nowhere else to turn. Having joined the team in February, this VISTA is an engineer who shifted to education and nonprofits to learn more about her community while serving at the same time. In just her first month, she has already submitted her first grant for the St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group. One of the reasons the VISTA program is so beneficial (around the globe) is because each VISTA brings a new personality, a new perspective, and a new approach. VISTA is a mutually beneficial program because, as one volunteer says:

“It is inspiring to see the incredible hearts of all of the staff and their desire to make a positive impact in the community they serve. They are excellent examples of what a Servant Leader’s heart looks like.I’m enjoying being that compassionate bridge between a need in my community and available assistance that helps people get to a better place in life with dignity. I also love scuba diving. I have an Advanced Open Water certification, with the hopes of one day becoming a Master SCUBA Diver.”

To the Foundation, this is testimony that civic power is strong in our community and programs like VISTA mobilize voice, skill, and passion for people.

VISTAs are also provided training, and two attended the AmeriCorps VISTA In-Service Training on March 3-6, 2020, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They joined a community of over 200 VISTA volunteers from 25 states for a 3 ½ day, in-person training and skills-building opportunity designed for VISTA members in their first few months of service. The training offers learning on service-related topics, practical skill development, and networking opportunities. Sessions covered various topics such as Capacity Building: The Heart of VISTA, Empowering the Community, Recruiting and Placing Volunteers and Creating and Maintaining Successful Partnerships. As part of providing a holistic experience, the Foundation will also be offering VISTA training and experiences in grant research, website development, and cultural sensitivity.

While Covid-19 has delayed recruitment, the Foundation is working toward having all VISTAs in place by the end of September. Thanks to housing stipends provided by GlobalGiving, the Foundation will be able to offer a package that gives local and visiting VISTAs a valuable experience in place-based philanthropy. Our VISTA initiative is about building a system of strong nonprofits to support our community through any trial.

Healing through the Humanities: The Alexander Theater Take the Stage
Sunday Market Square is a very special space on St. Croix, once a designated convening space where enslaved Crucians were allowed to trade goods, connect with loved ones, and socialize in the marketplace on Sundays- their only day off from work. Through the years, Sunday Market Square remained a popular meeting place for residents of St. Croix through the 1900s. Today, St. Croix Foundation’s headquarters are located in the Square right next to the Alexander Theater. The Territory’s first indoor movie house, the Alexander Theater served as a center of economic activity in Christiansted town from the mid-1950s and operated until 1989 when it sustained catastrophic damage from Hurricane Hugo and then again in 1995 from Hurricane Marilyn.

The Theater was acquired by the Foundation in 1998 and has been a core component of the Foundation’s longstanding vision for the revitalization of the Square ever since. Today, the renovation and retrofit of the Alexander Theater represents a thriving social, cultural, and economic opportunity for St. Croix.

St. Croix Foundation leverages every project for multiple impacts. In May of 2019, the Foundation was approved for a Phase 1 FEMA Hazard Mitigation grant, which will enable us to renovate and retrofit the Alexander Theater. During blue skies, the Alexander Theater will serve as a performing arts center and convening space, helping to transform the Square into the epicenter of culture, arts, and economic development it once was. What’s more, it will function as the only disaster safe room and shelter in Christiansted for nearby residents and tourists visiting nearby hotels at the time of a disaster. The Theater and adjacent buildings will be built to FEMA disaster safe room standards and will be used during times of crisis for years to come. This facility will have the capacity to house 300 or more people safely and will serve as a disaster supply distribution site when our community needs us most.

Phase 1 of the project is currently underway, and the Foundation is working closely with our public sector partners to develop this one-of-a-kind facility that operates at the intersection of arts, culture, economic development, and disaster preparedness. We anticipate breaking ground on construction in 2021.After Phase 1, the project is eligible for up to $10.9 million in Phase 2 funding from FEMA to complete the disaster safe house.

The federal funding for this project is a reimbursable grant, which requires that the Foundation to spend operating funds to cover eligible project expenses before they are reimbursed by FEMA. A Revolving fund has been established to support the Alexander Theater project enabling us to draw down federal funds. Revolving funds will not only cover reimbursable expenses but will enable the Foundation to cover project expenses that are not eligible for reimbursement including Theater specific equipment. Once completed, the revolving funds will be reprogrammed to high impact initiatives for the people of our community and the nonprofits who serve them – initiatives just like this.

The Alexander Theater Restoration and Disaster Shelter Retrofit epitomizes the St. Croix Foundation’s approach to holistic community development. Together with our community and supporters, we are leveraging the power of philanthropy to strengthen and transform our community. How do you push old, inequitable systems out? At the Foundation, we believe the answer is to invest in new systems of innovation, resilience, and the power of community.

Farm Tiendas in Operation!
The story of our Farm Tiendas is near and dear to our heart because it is another innovative system made possible by collaboration and very creative grantmaking that links small business development with food security.

When St. Croix’s small-business farmers were devasted by the 2017 hurricanes, it wasn’t a quick recovery: crops were lost, and an entire growing season was delayed -- or abandoned as in the case of some of our farmers. But today, after a grant that provided seven farmers each with a durable steel container to serve as a farm stands, our farmers are stronger than ever before. Six are already serving the public, and solar and WiFi will soon be installed, providing each farmer with resources to serve their communities in blue skies and in grey. 

One St. Croix farmer, the owner of GLG Farm, is an example of what strategic grantmaking means to the Foundation. Before the hurricane, GLG Farm was participating in Wednesday and Sunday Farmers Markets at the La Reine and South Gate Markets, and he also had a shed on his property used a roadside stand to sell his produce and roasted corn. When the hurricanes hit, GLG Farm was ravaged, he lost all the crops in his field and lost the trailer that was used for storage of equipment and his roadside farm stand. But, thanks to Coca-Cola One, Cruzan Rum, and GlobalGiving, GLG is now back online. They are holding regular hours again and have expanded service to later hours thanks to the solar lights installed on the outside of the unit. Our farmers say it best though:

• “Extremely grateful that there are people working to support farmers in our community!” ~ GLG Farm
• ‘Thanks to St. Croix Foundation, my business has regained critical infrastructure that will allow us to stabilize and expand. We simply couldn’t have done it without you, and we pledge to be the resilient community hub our island needs and to pour passion into food security for all.”   ~ Sejah Farm

Due to delays surrounding Covid-19, Farm Tiendas will be solarized in June and data collection on how the Farm Tiendas function will become the priority of this initiative.

Just the beginning…
In just three months, St. Croix Foundation will celebrate its 30^th Anniversary. What we have learned over the three decades of service is this: that holistic community development, driven by place-based philanthropy high impact civic partnerships and innovative systems can be built. Through our deepening competencies around disaster philanthropy and fully engaged strategic partners like GlobalGiving, we are building a field of practice that can serve as a model for remote, underserved communities everywhere!