Community Wealth Building Fellowship in St Louis
July 22, 2025
Come work with The Democracy Collaborative and WEPOWER to help us build community wealth and the democratic economy in St Louis!
Deadline: Applications by August 15, 2025, 5:00pm ET
The Democracy Collaborative with WEPOWER are looking to hire a Fellow to work on Community Wealth Building activities within and based in St Louis, Missouri. This is a nine-month fixed-term contract running until spring 2026. The stipend for this fellowship is $50,000.
The Fellow will be embedded with WEPOWER in St. Louis, working as part of their team to advance Community Wealth Building on the ground, whilst devoting about one day per week to The Democracy Collaborative, working to deepen ties and understanding and the working relationships between the two organizations and contributing learning from St. Louis to TDC’s Community Wealth Building Community of Practice in the United States and TDC’s other networks in the United States and globally.
Responsibilities
Qualified candidates must be experienced in policy and research development, and passionate about making real differences to the lives of people and communities experiencing social, economic, ecological, and racial injustice. Ideal candidates will have a demonstrable commitment to transformative socio-economic change, and will be creative, flexible, and adaptable, with experience of high-level relationship building with senior policy and activist leaders.
The fellow will work in WEPOWER St. Louis offices and virtually with occasional travel to other parts of the United States as needed, and will be required to perform some mix of the following:
Facilitate public awareness efforts to grow the region’s understanding and belief in community wealth building (especially worker ownership), including the creation of educational content and resources, making presentations, and engaging in one-on-one and community meetings.
Communicate effectively internally and with external partners at various levels, including institutional leaders, public officials, community organizations, organizers, and activists
Conduct qualitative and quantitative research related to social, economic, climate, and racial justice; Write and edit reports, memos, and briefings
Manage, grow, and engage WEPOWER’s Community Wealth Building Action Group, a coalition of community members and institutions committed to community wealth building; support other opportunities to grow WEPOWER’s partnerships and collaborations to advance economic justice across the region
Write blogs and contribute to TDC policy work, newsletters, and social media
Assist with shaping TDC’s CWB strategy and activity as part of the CWB team.
Specification
About TDC
The Democracy Collaborative is an action-oriented think-do tank seeking to build a democratic economy through political-economic system change from the bottom up. We do this both through our on-the-ground practice – the body of work we call Community Wealth Building – and through interventions in the ideas system and at the level of policy and strategy, organized around the larger frame of a democratic economy as our contender to become the next system of political economy.
We see the central task of the next decade as being the establishment of irreversible foundations in ideas and projects and viable policies such that a longer-term transformation of our political economy becomes an inevitable reality, flowing from core shared values and institutional design principles.
We are a solutions-oriented organization that seeks to be high on content and low on rhetoric. We are pragmatic and flexible as to the means of delivering change, while remaining steadfast as to our aims—the build-up and construction over time of a democratic political economy that is inclusive, just, peaceful, and that operates safely within planetary boundaries. Our vision is of a future economy, in the United States and around the world, in which all people and communities can flourish and exert greater democratic control over their own lives and destinies.
About WEPOWER
WEPOWER is a team full of dreamers and doers. WEPOWER was founded by Charli Cooksey in 2018. The Ferguson Uprising ignited the idea of WEPOWER. The organization envisions a future where systems are accountable to powerful communities that have been historically oppressed and nurture our freedom, well-being, dreams, and joy.
Our mission is to activate community power to make child care a civil right and close the racial wealth by: (1) reimagining social systems, (2) developing community leaders' and organizations' capacity as agents of systems change, and (3) providing support with campaigns, coalitions, and innovative initiatives that transform community visions into reality.
We have won over $17 million in public funding for early childhood education, including $2.3 million in annual recurring funding in St. Louis City. We have led and supported local and statewide ballot measures through voter engagement efforts, which have led to raising the minimum wage and mandating paid sick leave. We deployed nearly $1 million in capital and provided coaching and connections to 100+ Black and Latinx businesses. We trained over 450 community members on grassroots organizing, running for office, and designing policy and systems change agendas, with four of them identifying as Black and Latina women currently serving as elected leaders.
In 2025, after a year and a half of research, 3,000 hours of community design work, over 1,000 community engagements, and collaboration with nearly 40 national and global subject matter experts, the second-ever Playbook was released by WEPOWER: The New STL Economy Playbook: Planting + Growing Our Collective Wealth. The Playbook presents a bold vision for reshaping St. Louis’ economy in ways that prioritize people and power, returning it to its rightful place: in our neighborhoods.
About Community Wealth Building
Community Wealth Building (CWB) is an economic development model that transforms local economies based on communities having direct ownership and control of their assets. It challenges the failing approaches that have been widely accepted in American economic development for too long, and addresses wealth inequality at its core.
How To Apply
Send résumé with references and a detailed cover letter explaining your interest in and fit, indicating relevant qualifications. To Neil McInroy - nmcinroy@democracycollaborative.org
Applications should be in by August 15, 2025 at 5pm (ET), and if selected for interview, this will be conducted on Zoom. Interviews will be conducted by Stephanie McHenry (CEO, TDC), Neil McInroy (Global Lead for Community Wealth Building, TDC), and Charli Cooksey (Founder and CEO, WEPOWER).
Compensation
This fellowship will be in the form of a 9-month fixed-term contract with a stipend of $50,000. TDC is open to the possibility that the position will lead to longer-term employment with TDC after the period.
The Democracy Collaborative is an Equal Opportunity Employer—people of color, people with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply; we are committed to a diverse workplace, and to supporting our staff and fellows with ongoing career development opportunities.
