Who we are

Futuremakers exists to strengthen downtown St. Louis by elevating cultural expertise to better complement commercial strategy.

A thriving downtown requires both. Business leaders, developers, and institutions shape capital and infrastructure. Creatives, entrepreneurs, artists, and operators shape culture, experience, and identity. These are distinct forms of expertise. When they are connected in real decision-making and directly funded to execute their work, downtown becomes more vibrant, more economically resilient, and more broadly participatory.

Futuremakers operates in two connected ways:

Department of Futuremaking
This is the structural side of the work. It includes micro-grants, programming, community engagement, advocacy, and amplification. The focus is on funding creators, surfacing community insight, connecting stakeholders, and ensuring cultural intelligence is reflected in real decisions about downtown’s future.

Futuremakers Club
This is the community. Open to creatives, entrepreneurs, small business owners, stakeholders, institutional partners, and civic leaders. It is where relationships form, ideas circulate, and collaboration begins. Members gain access to events, direct cross-sector connection, eligibility for micro-grants, and visibility through shared platforms.

Together, this creates both social and civic infrastructure, without duplicating the work of other organizations.

  • Cultural and Commercial Expertise Are Equal in Value
    A thriving downtown requires both business strategy and cultural intelligence. These are distinct disciplines with distinct forms of expertise. When creatives, makers, artists, producers, and businesses are structurally included in shaping decisions and are directly funded to execute their work, the outcomes are measurable. Greater vibrancy. Stronger commercial ecosystems. Broader participation. More durable growth.

    Built for the Next Generation
    The decisions made today shape the economic and cultural foundation future residents will inherit. A strong downtown prioritizes the leadership, ownership, and creative participation of emerging generations to ensure it remains adaptive, relevant, and opportunity-rich over time.

    The Community Knows
    The people who live, work, and create in a neighborhood hold direct knowledge about what works and what does not. Effective development builds with that knowledge, not adjacent to it. Durable solutions align with lived experience rather than relying solely on top-down assumptions.

    A Strong Downtown Builds a Strong Region
    Downtown functions as an economic and cultural anchor for the broader city and region. When it grows in density, activity, and opportunity, the benefits extend outward. Investment in downtown strengthens the entire regional ecosystem.

    Community Development Should Build Wealth at Every Level
    Development that concentrates opportunity weakens long-term resilience. Community development should expand pathways to ownership, revenue generation, and economic stability for people at multiple stages and backgrounds. A healthy downtown distributes opportunity rather than consolidating it.

  • Connection
    A growing network of downtown creatives, entrepreneurs, small business owners, artists, stakeholders, institutional partners, and civic leaders who show up for each other, collaborate, and build together. Open to all. Members connect across sectors, share opportunities, and help move ideas forward through a Slack community, a LinkedIn group, recurring events, salons, and a newsletter.

    Micro-Grants
    Direct, catalytic funding for free public programming, community events, public art, street vendors, and small businesses activating downtown. These grants help creatives and operators move ideas from concept to execution, adding visible vibrancy and cultural energy to the district. Real projects. Public impact.

    Research and Community Engagement
    Community insight gathered through events, conversations, surveys, polling, grant applications, and direct engagement across the network. This function surfaces priorities, identifies emerging ideas, and connects lived experience to the broader conversations shaping downtown. Organizations may also engage the network to support community-informed planning, surveys, or targeted engagement efforts.

    Advocacy
    Support for policies, investments, and public decisions that strengthen downtown and reflect the people who live, work, and build here. When issues arise that affect the district’s future, the network can facilitate informed, community-based advocacy and coordinated engagement within civic and development processes.

    Amplification
    Expanded visibility for the people and projects shaping downtown. Creatives, entrepreneurs, and grant recipients are featured at events, spotlighted across shared social channels, and supported with tailored public relations materials. The goal is to increase attendance, strengthen credibility, and connect their work to stakeholders, funders, and institutions positioned to hire, commission, and invest.

  • Overview

    The Futuremakers Micro-Grant program is in development. Once bylaws are completed and the governing structure is established, the Board of Directors and Associate Board will jointly oversee the grant process. The framework below reflects current thinking and is subject to refinement by the board.

    Futuremakers Micro-Grants will provide $500 to $1,500 or more in catalytic funding for creative, public-facing projects that add visible energy to Downtown St. Louis. Funding will be offered on a recurring basis, determined by available resources and community need. The purpose is to spark small moments that build momentum. Programming, art, gatherings, and business activations that are free, open, and rooted in community can compound over time into stronger networks, stronger streets, and broader participation in downtown's future.

    What We Fund

    Eligible projects may include free public programming and amenities, live music, art shows, performances, and album releases, family-friendly events and youth programming, public art and temporary installations, street vendors and small businesses activating downtown, and advocacy initiatives that result in a tangible public-facing outcome. Projects may sell products. The requirement is that the activation itself provides a free, accessible benefit to the public and contributes to the vibrancy of downtown.

    Structure Wherever possible, projects must take place within 90 days of receiving funding. The goal is to close the gap between good ideas and first dollars and to support creatives and small operators in bringing their work into public space.

    Selection Criteria

    Grants will be awarded based on the value a project creates for downtown. Considerations include public benefit and accessibility, audience expansion and engagement of new communities, relevance to underserved groups, and clarity and feasibility within a 90-day timeline.

THE LONG VERSION.

Community-Led. People at the center.

Governance

The Department of Futuremaking is formalizing its governing structure. Bylaws are in progress and will be shared with members once completed.

Board of Directors

The Department of Futuremaking has secured fiscal sponsorship and is working with founding board members to draft bylaws and develop a strategic plan. Both will be presented to members once complete.

The board will include appointed and elected positions. Members will have the opportunity to nominate and vote on elected seats. More information and a timeline will be shared with members directly once completed.

Grantmaking

The Associate Board is responsible for outreach, growing the network, and advocating for creatives and the community to the Board of Directors. Members interested in Associate Board service can indicate that at the time of membership. More information on selection is coming.

Associate Board

Once the governing structure is established, the Board and Associate Board will jointly select grant recipients.

How the Boards Operate

Both boards meet monthly during the founding period, March through May, and quarterly thereafter. Between meetings, communication happens via Slack. Members are expected to stay current on conversations and respond in a timely manner.

A strong downtown matters. It is the front door of the region and a primary economic driver. Jobs, tax base, investment, and perception flow through it. Whether residents actively think about it or not, the health of downtown affects the stability and opportunity of the entire city.

At the same time, strengthening downtown cannot mean ignoring urgent needs elsewhere.

The destruction caused by the May 16 tornado in North St. Louis City demands sustained attention, investment, and care. Rebuilding North St. Louis is not the formal mission of this community development platform, which is focused on downtown. But it is an essential priority for the city, and we will not pretend otherwise.

We believe regional growth and neighborhood equity are not competing ideas. A thriving downtown should contribute to a city where all neighborhoods are rebuilt, resourced, and respected.

We encourage grant applicants who want to use downtown as a stage for North St. Louis advocacy, awareness, or resource mobilization. That could include public conversations, cultural events, educational programming, or other free community offerings that connect downtown audiences to the realities and needs of the Northside.

Our focus remains downtown. But our values recognize that the future of the city depends on more than one geography. Building a strong core should strengthen, not overshadow, the neighborhoods that need investment most.

When appropriate, our advocacy network may also lend its voice in support of Northside efforts. While organizational resources remain dedicated to downtown-focused work, the people within this network can choose to stand alongside causes that advance equity, recovery, and long-term stability for North St. Louis.

Neighborhood Equity and Regional Responsibility

Contact

Have an idea, partnership, or question? Share a few details below and we will follow up.

If you are interested in membership, micro-grants, collaboration, or bringing a project downtown, Join The Club.