The Futuremakers Club

We’re hype to be partnering with @futuremakersstl and to be hosting Headliners this spring! 👏 This week’s Highlight Mic Night features Toraino Hellems 🎤🔥 Join us May 21 for headlining entertainment, an open mic, and a night dedicated to local talent. Performance starts at 7 PM, followed by open mic at 8 PM! Pull up, listen in, or pass the mic. Interested in performing? Contact [email protected]

RSVP to join @mfaimadethis + @kdfreshman for an evening celebrating the release of Kendall’s new project Rise. This three-part event features the premiere of a new music video from the project, followed by an engaging panel discussion on music video creation and the evolving role of video in shaping today’s music landscape. Hear from a lineup of creatives and collaborators as they share insights into their process, inspiration, and the intersection of sound and storytelling. Featuring: - Cami Thomas // @camicruzthomas - Kendall Davidson // @kdfreshman - Adrian Gomez // @adrian_gomez_ - Jazzy Kettenacker // @jazzykettenacker - Jayvn Solomon // @jayvnsolomon 📍 @truststl 🗓 Wednesday, May 6 ⏰ 6:30 PM Special thanks to @futuremakersstl for partnering with us on this. 🔺

The spring lineup for Thursdays at @themonikerstl drops soon. Can Futuremakers help sell them out??? See you there.

Last week, the @disasterdollardatabase team visited St Louis with @camicruzthomas @mfaimadethis @futuremakersstl @benton_park . Nearly a year since the May 2025 tornado, recovery in St Louis continues, and the federal funding picture tells part of the story. Here are some data points we’ve found in our research. 🔗: Link in bio for the full slides from our presentation Questions? Reach out to us via DM or email us ([email protected])

Swipe for progress > @mfaimadethis hosted Carnegie Endowment for International Peace here on the ground in St. Louis to talk data, money, what disaster recovery looks like/has looked like in similar cases, and what vision is next for St. Louis. Disaster recovery is hard. It’s nuanced and with the changing federal landscape, it’s not straightforward. That said, we should have CDBG-DR federal funds to help with this and that’s something that should have been (and could still be) relentlessly advocated for. We have Ram’s funds that could assist with next steps. We have community in place that can continue recovery with the right resources. There are national experts who want to help, and are a phone call (and a plane ride and MFAI-rented big ol’ SUV) away from assisting in building our new future. So we brought them out, and had two days on the ground and chatting with community (before the big public presentation on the data at @21cstl ). What we don’t have rn is a clear plan from officials, or even a “here’s my best case scenario for the North Side and here’s how we’re going to get there.” So what’s ours? What do the numbers tell us are possible? That part is not something money can buy, that’s something that our officials just have to have a hunger for. Gotta “have that dog in ‘em” so to speak. A “I’ll try anything to ensure our people get what they need, and I have the vision of a St. Louis that thrives on all fronts.” A completely new reality is possible, and we have to think about how we approach our tornado recovery and whatever else may come. More to say (as always). But for now: thank you @disasterdollardatabase @labosarah @lolololori @futuremakersstl @lindsay_pattan @actionstl @melaniemariestl @dr.mclemore @21cstl @314oasis @markmaxwelltv @katekeelan Zoom out. No small fish issues. There’s a major opportunity in front of us to undo the misdeeds of this city’s treatment of the North Side and to restore more than just buildings and homes. Entire generations worth of, “we deserve so much more” are at the core of this. Let’s make it right (with the funds to get there). More to come ✨ love y’all. INCREDIBLE PHOTOS BY TYLER THE GREAT @tylersmall314 📷

Thank you @maxhavey and @stlouismag for covering our microgrant awardees and our vision for building culture, community and vibrancy downtown! Big things to come. “If we can pull all of this off in 45 days, and a social post brings in nearly 25 artist applicants, we can take that to institutional funders and say, ‘What if you gave us $150,000, roughly the cost of one street festival?” Pattan says. “That could be roughly 200 to 1,000 [events] throughout the year, whether that’s walking groups, artists’ performances, voter registration, or civic meetups. The more you have of that, the more it is going to add up over time.” Grab the link in our bio… there is a surprise (one of our first board members revealed!)

Wednesday April 22nd, this is the place to be. We’re hosting Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Disaster Dollar Database team HERE to St. Louis to talk/present some data and case studies on disaster recovery. This is not the mind-numbing data/numbers you’ve been bogged down with this year. These are game changing perspectives on how we tackle tornado recovery and natural disaster recovery going forward. Data, action and real planning. I need you all in this room ✨ Wed April 22 at 6:30 at 21C Museum Hotel St. Louis. Thank you to the crew for making this Shake: @mfaimadethis @disasterdollardatabase @futuremakersstl @benton_park @lolololori and for @21cstl for hosting us. As always, thank you to the orgs and voices here leading the charge, and for @actionstl for guiding the way. North Star ⭐️

We awarded $1,250 in microgrants to artists last night! This cycle catalyzes a new performing arts series at @themonikerstl , covering five weeks of programming to get things off to a strong start. Grantees include: @iveyamour (who blew us away with her gorgeous voice!) @kdfreshman @iamtoraino @anthonylucius @shaelynrolf Congrats to the artists! In addition to the performance grant, Futuremakers will support each artist through publicity and space on our calendar. Thanks to @iveyamour for hosting and performing, @allieemagee for managing this grant program, @riley.e.reed for coordination and social coverage, @britteneythecoach for representing The Moniker, @djlwrnc for the beats, and @miranda.munguia fo theeee best visual storytelling! Now it’s time to pack the house on Thursday nights. See you there, STL.

Wed April 22nd: We will be hosting Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Disaster Dollar Database in St. Louis for a public, in-person presentation and workshop (hosted by @mfaimadethis in partnership with @futuremakersstl ). The session will be a deep dive into disaster relief data, federal and national natural disaster funding trends, case studies from similarly sized recoveries, and potential paths forward for federal tornado relief funding following last year’s May 16th tornado. This event is open to the public and will be held at 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis on Wednesday, April 22 at 6:30PM, and will include a presentation on the national disaster recovery landscape followed by a Q&A. The presentation will be led by @camicruzthomas of @mfaimadethis @labosarah of @disasterdollardatabase . Thank you to 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis, Department of Futuremaking, and the Benton Park Neighborhood Association for their partnership in hosting this event. RSVP at the link in bio. See you Wednesday April 22nd at @21cstl

Our first Futuremakers Forum was a vibe. We learned about @developstlouis and all the tools they offer for small businesses, we were all deeply inspired by Alderwoman @jamicoxantwi , we heard from @stlouisboe , and we were reminded by @decembrsvryown of @21cstl that St. Louis needs us and we don’t have to wait to be called upon, but we do need to work together. Alderwoman @lishaliberty , @stl_from_above , @denis_beganovicstl , @franklinstein96 and @iveyamour took the mic to share their perspective and ideas. The #1 thing we heard from attendees: “This is the energy we need!” Our next events will be announced very soon, along with our first big membership meeting. Be there! Snapped by @miranda.munguia

TONIGHT: Ivey Amour and DJ LWRNC perform at The Moniker from 5-7PM. @iveyamour @djlwrnc 📍 @themonikerstl Four local artists will receive a $250 performance grant as part of a new performing arts series hosted by the venue. Don’t miss it! Didn’t RSVP? Come anyway and get snapped by @miranda.munguia

If Futuremakers has shown anything, it’s that St. Louisans are proud of their Downtown, their City, and they want to be involved. Abundance + encouragement + mobilization = citizen-led progress that lasts. Here’s the latest from the Futuremakers Club.