Policy Brief

The Racial Healing + Justice Fund (RH+JF) was established by Forward Through Ferguson, Deaconess Foundation, and the Missouri Foundation for Health to invest in racial healing as a core component of achieving Racial Equity and to make space for affected residents, Black and Brown St. Louisans (defined regionally), to have direct power over the distribution of resources for healing, justice, and transformation. Through these investments, the Racial Healing +Justice Fund aligns local and national philanthropy, community-set priorities, and community-led grantmaking that puts racial equity, healing and justice at the center, creating a future St. Louis where all residents have the opportunity to thrive. During the 2020-23 pilot of the fund, $1.6 million was committed over a three year period by approximately 20 philanthropic partners, with the largest investment from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Although the Racial Healing + Justice Fund was founded in 2020, its origins can be placed with the 189 calls to action from the Ferguson Commission report following the death of Mike Brown, Jr. As such, it is important to consider the conditions of the St. Louis region that led to his killing, and those that persist nearly a decade that has followed. Included as a key call to action from the Commission Report, significant energy and effort championed by FTF and others has been invested in the creation of a “generational” managed or endowed fund that intentionally supports Black and Brown changemakers in the St. Louis region.