After closing the Center’s doors for over 12 months, Deaconess continued the work of the Movement and adapted to virtual convening and other means of support. These guiding principles led to Deaconess Center restricting physical access to indoor convening spaces and office suites while expanding outdoor open-air capacity and virtual convening opportunities. With the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine becoming widely available to the public, the Center reopened its doors, implementing phases of re-entry adhered to public health and safety best practices. As collaborative engagement has evolved during the pandemic, so has the Center’s ability to support our partners. We have continued to monitor guidelines and adapt convening requirements accordingly while also continuing to support partner access to the virtual convening platform through Deaconess’ Zoom Meeting and Webinar programs.

Deaconess Foundation had exciting changes and adaptations with leadership transitions. An Executive Search Committee was formed and we partnered with a search firm to select a new president and CEO. The firm engaged in one-on-one discussions within the Deaconess community to identify the qualities, skill sets, and experience desired in the next leader. After a rigorous national search, Bethany Johnson-Javois, MSW, was unanimously selected to lead the Foundation’s mission beginning in October 2021. A former Deaconess Foundation trustee, Bethany is a trusted member of the Deaconess community and has an abiding devotion to the Foundation’s mission. We have deep gratitude for Cheryl D.S. Walker (former Deaconess trustee and board chair). Cheryl served as our interim President & CEO during the transition period and has continued to be a trusted partner and consultant for the Foundation. Bethany is the first Black woman to lead the Foundation. She has fearlessly directed the Foundation with an implementation of a 100 year-vision that will impact seven generations. The Deaconess team also expanded with the creation of three new roles that allowed us to better serve our mission, expand our mission, and fully live the new vision.

The political climate’s broad spectrum left our hearts both rejoicing and recoiled. We celebrated the City of St. Louis’s election of Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, the first Black woman to serve who has also committed to building a city centered on children and youth. We grieved in shock and abhorrence at the January 6, 2021 attacks on our nation’s capitol. The attacks placed another magnifying glass on the work that still needs to be done toward addressing white privilege and achieving racial equity. We bore through the pain, stand resilient and remain committed to the work and realization of the vision.

Deaconess Foundation co-hosted with the City of St. Louis the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Community Needs Town Hall. Residents were asked to identify how an undistributed $250 million of the funds should be invested to meet St. Louis City community needs. ARPA funding categories included Infrastructure, Negative Economic Impacts, Premium Pay, Public Health, Revenue Replacement, and Services to Disproportionately Impacted Communities.

We used the Foundation Core Capacity Assessment Tool (FCCAT), an organizational assessment tool, administered by the TCC Group to measure our institutional capacity. This tool looks comprehensively at how foundations function as a whole, while measuring strength and challenges for our capacity to develop efficient grantmaking processes. Our steepest challenge and most significant area for improvement identified fell within the technical capacity dimension. Plainly, the aggregated findings indicated the Foundation did not have the necessary technology resources (equipment, systems, software, etc.) to run efficient operations. The gap in technical capacity inhibited the Foundation’s ability to efficiently implement organizational and programmatic functions.

Over the past few years, we have acquired the necessary technology infrastructure and external technology partners to increase our capacity to improve functions across the Deaconess enterprise. To enhance operations and efficiency, Deaconess Foundation implemented a new portal for grantmaking and convening requests. With the new portal we, at minimum, streamlined the submission of grant proposals for our partners and prospective partners and automate internal workflows for Foundation staff. Additionally, the Board approved the transition from a Racial Equity Task Force to a standing Board Committee to deepen our roots in health justice and racial equity.

Our partners and stakeholders have been and continue to be open, honest, and candid with us, so as we engage the new process together in the new year, please share feedback on your experience using the portal. We appreciate your participation and investment in Deaconess and helping us to improve our own capacity, practices, and policies to better serve our mission, partners, and community.

In 2022, Deaconess Foundation engaged with both national and local consulting firms during a year-long strategic refinement process. The firms engaged with the community in our footprint to assess if the Foundation’s public policy priorities are inclusive and reflect with wisdom and vision of the community in Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois. The process was designed to capture the input from the community and allies, through a participant-centered and equity-driven process. The recommendations from this process will spearhead future public policy and grantmaking priorities in alignment with our 100-year vision.