CLAYTON 鈥 A coalition of nonprofits formed during the COVID-19 pandemic to respond to the crisis will remain intact after the James S. McDonnell Foundation awarded it more than $2 million over the next three years.
The St. Louis Regional Response Team plans to use the grant to sustain its ability to respond to acute crises 鈥 such as pandemics or floods 鈥 by convening and coordinating action by government and nonprofit providers and funders. But now, it also plans to zero in on one or two systemic issues plaguing St. Louis, said Andrea Jackson-Jennings, RRT managing director.
鈥淲e really want to make sure we continue to be a results-driven convener, collaborator and connector to address some of the critical needs of our underserved communities,鈥 said Jackson-Jennings, who served for a decade as the head of the St. Louis County Department of Human Services before moving to the RRT in 2021.
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Jackson-Jennings recently hired two staff members, and the organization plans to choose a regional issue to focus on around the end of the year. It is considering affordable housing, mental health, violence, food insecurity, transportation or workforce development. Jackson-Jennings said it would help coordinate efforts in those areas and is in conversations with providers to better understand how it can help.
鈥淚 want to make sure we are seen as an asset to existing work that is being done,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be seen as duplicative.鈥
The award is part of a shift from academics to hometown philanthropy at the $500 million McDonnell Foundation, formed in 1950 by James 鈥淢ac鈥 McDonnell, the aerospace pioneer who founded McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis in 1939. Last year, the foundation , a former Washington University professor known locally for his work on the 鈥For the Sake of All鈥 report measuring the region鈥檚 racial health disparities.
Purnell led the Regional Response Team when it was first formed in April 2020.
鈥淚n 2020, this group quickly developed creative solutions that provided assistance to the people who needed it most,鈥 Purnell said in a statement. 鈥淣ow, it can go a step farther and leverage the nimbleness and interdisciplinary talent of the RRT to become an innovation platform for solving the region鈥檚 social problems. We believe it can be a model for the nation, and the James S. McDonnell Foundation wants to ensure it has the capacity to reach its full potential. The RRT鈥檚 mission aligns with our goals of increasing shared prosperity and quality of life for all in our region.鈥