Program areas at Wepower
Community Wealth Building Initiative - We run a trio of programs (WEPOWER Business Accelerator, WEPOWER Investment Fund, and Kiva Hub 0-Interest loans) that develop Black and Latinx St. Louis entrepreneurs with the goals of sparking economic development and creating living-wage jobs. In 2021, we disbursed 15+ interest free loans (up to $15k) through the St. Louis Kiva Hub. In 2021, we also launched our $1.5 million investment fund, which will provide Black and Latinx-owned businesses access to capital and business coaching with flexible, founder-friendly payment terms. In addition, we had 10 local Black and Latinx-owned businesses complete our accelerator in 2021; each participant received 100+ hours of business coaching, investment readiness training, marketing and branding consultation, bookkeeping support, and mentorship over a 6 month period.
Storytelling and Communications - We tell human-centered stories that shift beliefs and behaviors. We amplify the stories of our community members in order to illuminate their experiences with the current system and their journeys of achieving change. We produced several stories and videos about our entrepreneurs and changemakers, in addition to highlighting them and our work on social media and other platforms.
Power Building Academies: Power Building Academy is a 3 month program that provides key experiences in leadership development, systems analysis, and grassroots organizing for residents seeking to improve the regions economic and early childhood education (ECE) systems. In 2021, we trained 21 local residents through the program. In tandem with our Power Building Academy and in partnership with others, we have also started a coalition for economic justice, designed policy platforms, and led advocacy campaigns including one to spark equitable allocation of resources to early childhood education centers and another to address impending school closings within the Saint Louis Public Schools.
Chisholms Chair Fellowship - The Chisholms Chair Fellowship is a 3-month leadership development experience for Black and Latina women in St. Louis who are interested in pursuing publicly elected and appointed civic positions. In 2021, we successfully prepared 13 women for public leadership.