ST. LOUIS—The work of allocating how millions of dollars in federal COVID-era stimulus will be distributed in the St. Louis region took another step forward Tuesday, and also got a large boost in efforts city leaders hope is a catalyst for future investment long after a 2026 deadline to spend American Rescue Plan act funds.

In a media event in North City, Mayor Tishaura Jones and others announced the launch of the Economic Justice Accelerator, a fund that will mix public funding sources with private and philanthropic money to fund the implementation of the city’s Economic Justice Action Plan.

“Delivering economic justice for all who live here will make our city more economically competitive, while creating change residents can see and feel in their neighborhoods. But this is a team effort and government cannot shoulder this burden alone. When done in collaboration with our philanthropic, civic and private sector partners, when our visions and actions align, we can truly make a long-lasting difference for generations to come,” Jones said.

Tuesday, officials announced the first philanthropic donation to that fund came from the MasterCard Impact Fund, a $1 million grant that will focus on small business support and access to capital for minority and women-owned businesses at the city’s Northside Economic Empowerment Center

Also Tuesday, the city announced more than $26 million that will be available because of a bill Jones signed in January that will see overgrown lots cleaned up and allow neighborhood groups and others to apply for improvement projects. 

“Back in April, the mayor's office ran a survey. They received over 5,000 responses from city residents and then the number one priority that came out of that was neighborhood transformation. And so we're very excited to put these funds to work,” said Nahuel Fefer, Executive Director of the Community Development Administration. “At the end of the day, though, this will only work depending on the applications we get. And that's why we really want to hear the community's ideas. What does your park need? What could an abandoned building on the corner become? How can we clean up our alleys?” 

For more information on when the funds will be available, visit the St. Louis Development Corporation’s website.