Episode Details

In 2025, the Deaconess Foundation partnered with St. Louis nonprofit Vision for Children at Risk to launch the NextGen Grantmaking Initiative. The approach reimagines philanthropy by placing decision-making power in the hands of young people. Led by VCR’s Youth Advisory Council, the initiative awarded a total of $100,000 to five local programs dedicated to community-building, housing, mental health services, and substance use intervention for young people. Alicia Selmon, a Harris Stowe State University junior, describes how she and fellow VCR Youth Advisory Council peers approached the grantmaking process. Rob Donnelly, founder and executive director of Opportunity House — one of the initiative’s awardees — speaks to how NextGen Grantmakers has impacted his organization's work providing long-term housing and mental health support to queer young people ages 17-24.