St. Croix Foundation CARE Fund

The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season is almost here, and as we look back on the past five years since Hurricanes Irma and Maria, St. Croix Foundation can confidently say that our community, on this tiny island in the middle of the sea, is stronger and more resilient than ever before.

Ultimately, we believe there are two fundamental reasons why, today, we have working models of resilience and sustainability actively serving our community. First, despite sitting in a blind spot for most national and international funders, GlobalGiving saw in us a unique approach to “disaster” philanthropy – one that went beyond traditional transactions and created the space and spirit for relational, collective work. And second, St. Croix Foundation was ready! We’d been cultivating relationships with established and emerging nonprofits for decades. In fact, we’ve been working with them for so long, on so many levels, that we know the depth and breadth of their work supersedes the mere label of being a “nonprofit.” They are civic warriors on the frontlines of every crisis. They amplify the voices of those commonly marginalized, ensuring that our children, our elderly, our economically fragile or politically unconnected are visible and heard. And thus, they are the heart and soul of everything we do – and this report!

GlobalGiving’s unwavering support, through hurricane recovery and now COVID-19, has allowed the Foundation to support this special community with holistic programming, grantmaking, and capacity building. It’s a story of what happens when philanthropy gets it right… and we couldn’t be more appreciative!

Collective Impact through Grantmaking
As we reported back in January, our CARE Fund awarded $160,000 in Sustaining Impact Grants to 11 organizations at the close of 2021. And in this last quarter, we awarded one more grant in the amount of $15,000 to the St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group to fund Disaster Case Management. In total, over the past 6 months and with funding from GlobalGiving, we have awarded a total of $175,000 in stabilization funding to keep doors open and programs running!

Over the course of April and May, St. Croix Foundation’s program team has been meeting with each awardee to learn about progress and challenges, and to hear their stories of impact. And while we work with these organizations daily, we are continually awed by their capacity to pivot, grow organizational stability, and deliver quality programming in a rapidly changing environment. Fired by passion and fueled by collaboration, our partners are meeting – and in many cases exceeding – the mark.

A Story of Hope, Healing… and System Building
In just six months, one awardee, the Diane Hampton Virgin Islands Breast Cancer Project, has held a total of nine Art Therapy Workshops, offering free art therapy classes to all cancer survivors ranging from elementary school-age to seniors. In total, 32 survivors have participated in workshops with many more family and friends attending.  In fact, as Diane says, “This is how you provide healing and support without being in a ‘support group’!” Led by local and visiting artists, workshops use a wide variety of artistic mediums, including the art of mindful meditation to engage and inspire.

When the 2017 hurricanes hit, support groups offered by a sister organization came to a stop. Diane Hampton, herself living with cancer and a certified art therapist, founded the Virgin Islands Breast Cancer Project, which, with funding through the CARE Grant, has now expanded to include all those affected by cancer. This represents an emerging system of support – and a first for the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Diane Hampton is doing much more than offering classes. She’s also advocating for greater investments into the territory for data collection and research on the psychological and environmental factors that survivors and those living with cancer are contending with. During this quarter, Diane traveled to Washington D.C. for the National Breast Cancer Coalition’s #Lobby Day, to advocate for policy priorities and shine a light on the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Impact of Collective Work: Community Building
As an invitation-only grant opportunity to members of St. Croix Foundation’s Nonprofit Consortium, funds awarded through the CARE Grant have been leveraged for multiple benefits.

FYR is LIT, an awardee focused on youth leadership and literacy, partnered with several sister organizations for facilities and programming, including Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism (CHANT), World Ocean School, and the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts (CMCArts). The Virgin Islands Breast Cancer Project also partnered with CMCArts; World Ocean School is collaborating with CHANT to deliver community events in which cultural tours are taken to the seas. In each case, organizations received funding for renting space and delivery of services, strengthening each organization’s organizational and programmatic capacity to serve a larger and wider audience.

Our AmeriCorps VISTA Team Grows in Size and Impact!
The vision is becoming a reality! Our AmeriCorps VISTA Team continues to grow both in the number of VISTAs serving and in participating organizations! Currently, St. Croix Foundation has 6 VISTA Members and a VISTA Leader serving five organizations. Our newest team member, Sonia, is our VISTA Leader, who will assist nonprofits navigate through the recruiting and onboarding process of VISTAs. We are happy to report that in the past quarter, Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism and St. Croix Environmental Association, have joined as VISTA hosts and Sonia will be helping them identify and secure a VISTA each in addition to 10 more for a total of 12 additional AmeriCorps VISTA members serving our civic partners.

Our current VISTA members are providing ongoing support to our local nonprofits in marketing, grant research, and volunteer recruitment. Kevin, a VISTA placed at St. Croix Foundation, has captured testimonials from nonprofit leaders across all sectors to showcase the impact of the CARE Grant on an organization’s ability to serve. Kevin also created our Nonprofit Consortium’s 5-Year Retrospective and is providing insight and expertise on website redesign projects and social media strategy. And Mackenzie, who we highlighted in last quarter’s report, has already helped St. Croix Montessori School secure three grants for their Edible Schoolyard Project!

For organizations administering direct services to a vulnerable community, there is often no time to build the collateral, conduct time-consuming research and reporting, and activate communications to ensure the Good Work is seen. For the Foundation, the AmeriCorps VISTA Team represents a collective sigh of relief from our hard-working nonprofits – and a chance to grow and expand while still providing critical services. We can’t thank GlobalGiving enough for providing us with support for this incredible team!

A Model, Nonprofit Community Resilience Hub!
It’s finally here! We are excited to give our family at GlobalGiving a quick update on our brand-new solar system, which will harden the Foundation’s infrastructure to transform us into a bonafide Nonprofit Resilience Hub! Just in time for the 2022 Hurricane Season, we are now arranging delivery of our new solar system and scheduling installation. As you know, the Foundation served as an impromptu hub for nonprofits and relief agencies after the 2017 hurricanes – but our capacity was limited. Now, five years later and thanks to GlobalGiving’s enduring support, in times of disaster, St. Croix Foundation will be able to keep our doors open for longer and assist our frontline relief workers and civic agencies with staying connected and serving. Stay tuned for news of full installation!

The Whole is Greater... Than the Sum of Its Parts
There is a recognized phenomenon in which sometimes, when all the right factors come together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And so it is with the CARE Fund. Because GlobalGiving and a small place-based community foundation partnered, the impact of the CARE Fund has exponentially grown. Together St. Croix Foundation and GlobalGiving have created an interconnected network of resilience hubs powered by civic organizations and rooted in community. Whether providing shelter from the storm or a space for children to learn and play when the world contracts to a pinpoint, the collective impact of our partnership is perhaps incalculable. But what we do know is that together we’ve served countless individuals, and organizations, and strengthened the civic sector as a whole through the CARE Fund. To the Foundation, this is what it looks like when we get it right!