Invest STL’s goal is to chip away at the enduring legacy of systemic anti-Black racism, which often manifests in the way of gentrified neighborhoods and displaced families. In an effort to combat the declining Black population in St. Louis, the organization lives up to its name—and Eskridge’s big-swing mentality—by directly investing in residents and neighborhood programs, primarily in places with at least two generations’ worth of history as majority Black communities.

In 2023, Invest STL launched Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place, a three-year wealth-building pilot program that provided 50 St. Louisans, or “resident investors,” with $2,000 for immediate needs and $20,000 for investment. Since its inception, resident investors have utilized the program to launch five new businesses, create 25 investment accounts, and complete major repairs on 25 homes—furthering their stake and legacy in the city. 

“We’ve had [resident investors] say multiple times that we provide space for them to breathe, to really think, to really dream,” Eskridge says. And although the pilot isn’t set to end until mid-2026, Invest STL has already created a detailed framework for other cities to use as a blueprint in their own neighborhoods.

The groundwork that Eskridge and her team laid with Rooted also allowed the organization to respond quickly when a tornado ripped through the city last May and damaged thousands of homes. In just six weeks, they launched the Northside Resilience Fund and raised $4 million, providing $3,000 in direct cash assistance to more than 1,000 families affected by the disaster.

Investment in the form of cash-in-hand, Eskridge says, “is one of the single most useful ways that we can support people becoming more economically mobile, civically engaged, and powerful.” It’s a formula that the organization often uses: Invest STL also directs up to $2,000 to local resident collectives through their Small Dollars Action Fund.

“The core of our work is about building up agency,” Eskridge says. “[People should] have the ability to walk to the essential things, find joy immediately outside the home, and find connection in their area. They should have a sense that they matter.”