2025 Civic Hub grantee

St. Croix Foundation for Community Development (SCF) serves the U.S. Virgin Islands, a predominantly Black, nonvoting territory where systemic disinvestment has left residents with fragile healthcare, education, and food systems.

Nearly half of children under five live in poverty, and over the past decade, the community has endured cascading crises: the 2012 oil refinery closure that gutted the middle class; Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, which shuttered schools and the only public hospital; the 2021 refinery’s toxic fallout; and, most recently, an EPA-declared emergency due to lead-contaminated water.

Amid this, this Black-led Civic Hub cultivates collaborative ecosystems to build power for people. Through its Nonprofit Consortium, SCF supports about 30 grassroots organizations with capacity building, training, and catalytic funding. With a decolonized approach rooted in “relationship as the revolution,” SCF advances resilience, equity, and self-determination by mobilizing place-based philanthropy and convening cross-sector coalitions to drive systemic change.

“As St. Croix’s only place-based operating foundation, we weave grantmaking, capacity building, advocacy, and revitalization into one mission: to spark philanthropy, marshal resources, and catalyze change for the people of St. Croix and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

-Deanna James, President
St. Croix Foundation for Community Development

Seeking to prove the power of relationships to reinvent systems for the most vulnerable, SCF is cultivating a critical mass of civic practitioners in its community of 50,000. At its 2025 Kids Count & Nonprofit Consortium Summit, 82 community members, educators, and artists came together to create seven grassroots solutions such as youth collaboratives and a wellness campaign.

The Summit also equipped local leaders with tools to design initiatives and elevate underrepresented village voices. By connecting diverse perspectives, fostering trust, and centering love in the civic ecosystem, SCF is building agency and belonging while advancing emergent solutions for a more resilient St. Croix.

The Trust for Civic Life funding will go to enhance the foundation’s role as a Civic Hub by supporting its Nonprofit Consortium, expand convenings and trainings focused on coalition building, and improve community programming.

Learn more at www.stxfoundation.org