Community Builders Network Of Metro St Louis

Strong Organizations - Organizational capacity building programs under CBNs Strong Organizations pillar support CBN member organizations and their partners so that they can do their best work. In 2020, CBN started hosting monthly all-member calls (which started as weekly calls at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic) to hold space for members to check in, support and collaborate with each other, share resources, and lead discussion on issues theyre grappling with. CBN staff was also part of the technical support team for the CDC Stability funding stream under Invest STLs Neighborhood Solidarity Fund, a grant pool to help place-based entities respond to and stay afloat during the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, CBN staff spent time planning a workshop series on sustainable business models for place-based organizations, which kicked off with a series on residential real estate in early 2021.

Sharing Stories Public awareness building initiatives under CBNs Sharing Stories pillar spread the word about what it takes to make our neighborhoods great places to live and why strong communities matter. . In 2020, CBN focused our communications resources on keeping community builders connected during the COVID-19 pandemic, including by creating a COVID-19 response section on our website. CBN staff also started a CBN Member Bright Spots Blog to highlight the important work our member organizations are doing. CBN continued partnering with Humans of St. Louis to compile unique photostories about our Annual Community Building Awards honorees, crafted to help spread the word about what community building looks like through the eyes of folks who are doing the work every day. Due to COVID-19, CBN pivoted our Annual Community Building Awards to a successful virtual event that was held in July 2020.