2024-2025 Impact Report
Who We Are
Our work
WEPOWER activates community power to build a just and equitable St. Louis for all through:
(1) reimagining social systems to support instead of harm us
(2) developing leaders' and organizations' capacity as agents of change
(3) supporting campaigns, coalitions, and innovative initiatives that transform community visions into reality.
Our vision
We envision a future where systems are accountable to powerful communities that have been oppressed, and nurture our freedom, well-being, dreams, and joy.
Our goals:
Make child care a civil right by ensuring universal access. Close the wealth gap.
Our Impact
Over the past two years, we’ve been dreaming of a new St. Louis, developing leaders equipped to drive that transformation, resourcing businesses that can fuel our economy, and championing campaigns and coalitions that unite diverse stakeholders to move our region forward together. This is just a snapshot of
We reimagined the St. Louis economy.
To realize the Playbook, we have begun implementation of four catalytic strategies:
We released The New STL Economy PLAYBOOK: Planting +Growing Our Collective Wealth after a year-and-a-half of research, 3,000 hours of community design, over 000 stakeholder engagements, and support from 38
Strategic Priority #1
Launch a governance body
Build public awareness and activate the arts as a tool to Review
Strategic Priority #3
We completed research and developed actionable steps to achieve universal access to child care in St. Louis.
80,000+
80,000+ children ages
five or below across St. Louis City and County.
20,000+ $31,000 $580 million
20,000+ economically disadvantaged children cannot access early care and education.
Up to $31,000 is the true cost of care in STL per infant per year when accounting for expenses associated with quality.
$580 million annual gap in funding child care across St. Louis City and County.
The James S. McDonnell Foundation and the St. Louis Community Foundation invested in WEPOWER and the Gateway Early Childhood Alliance in bringing together a diverse set of stakeholders from across St. Louis City and County to develop a bold set of clear, actionable steps to operationalize the Early Childhood Playbook, which was informed by the IFF First Steps to Equity needs assessment.
To Address These Stats, We Must Advance A United, Multi-Sector Advocacy Coalition. This will be done by:
1. Treating a City Sales Tax Campaign as a Proof Point and Power-Building Strategy
2. Formalizing Provider Leadership
3. Building a Coordinated, Broad-Based Advocacy Coalition with Local- and State-Level Influence
We trained 150 Changemakers and Business Leaders and directed nearly $500,000 to efforts to transform St. Louis.
To reduce the harm to our communities caused by unjustly designed systems, our changemakers bring stakeholders of all kinds together to understand the root causes of injustice, then imagine, design, and build an entirely new system.
To create an entirely new system, imagined and designed through the Tomorrow Building program, Changemakers learn to organize to build people-power through grassroots electoral and policy campaigns.
To assert people-power at tables where policy and systems-level decisions get made, changemakers develop ethical, justice-oriented, public leadership skills as they consider appointed and elected positions to advance newly imagined systems born from Tomorrow and Power Building.
number of thriving businesses that sustain our local economy, entrepreneurs access coaching, capital, and connections to help them scale and create living wage jobs.
We trained approximately 100 new changemakers across St. Louis and the Metro-East through the Power Building Academy, Tomorrow Builders Fellowship, and Chisholm’s Chair Bootcamp.
We deployed approximately $150,000 in funding to St. Louis changemakers and hubs.
WEPOWER has successfully supported 8 cohorts since the launch of our business accelerator program in 2020. Between 2024 and 2025, we trained and supported approximately 50 entrepreneurs, including construction company owners, through WEPOWER’s business accelerator.
We deployed approximately $300,000 in funding to St. Louis entrepreneurs.
92% agreed to strongly agreed that their understanding of power deepened.
92% agreed to strongly agreed that they were introduced to new concepts and skills that can support them in achieving change in their community.
Changemakers and Hubs built true power as they transformed brick-and-mortars into places of civic engagement and power building where they activated 1,000+ St. Louisans to register to vote, pledge to become a “Child Care Voter,” and pledge to fight for paid sick leave and family medical leave.
2025 cohorts: 84% identify as Black-owned, 16% as Latinx-owned, and 76% as women-owned.
2024 cohorts: 91% identify Black-owned, 16% identify as Latinx-owned, and 74% identify as women-owned.
“The WEPOWER Accelerator program exceeded my expectations and provided me with so much value. I gained actionable insights and tools that have helped me scale my business while staying true to my mission. The opportunity to learn from industry experts and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs was incredibly rewarding, offering fresh perspectives, collaboration opportunities, and a strong support network. The program also helped me refine my operations, enhance my marketing approach, and identify new revenue streams to ensure the long-term sustainability and impact of my business. It was a transformative experience that not only helped me grow as a business owner but also as a leader committed to driving meaningful change in my community.”
– quote from a 2024 alum
$200,000 in grants
$88,000 in zero-interest Kiva loans
