The Ashrei Foundation imagines a just Missouri where the way we look, where we are from, or who we define ourselves to be does not limit our access to quality and affordable healthcare, education, housing, technology, and economic stability.

Ashrei exists to empower and activate the St. Louis community and partners throughout the state of Missouri to promote economic justice, to relieve suffering, and interrupt cycles of poverty.

“Ashrei,” is the first word and the name of a reading from the Book of Psalms that is interpreted as “forward.”

Our work is to move our community forward on the path towards abolishing all systems of economic exclusion and oppression, to a future where all people may live with dignity, justice and freedom.

Building upon established relationships of trust, the work of Ashrei will be to deepen the social justice work of the faith community and leverage resources that are not available to houses of worship.

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization determined by the IRS to be a public charity (pursuant to IRC 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)) founded in June 2021.

We are so grateful to our Founding Funder, the Clever Little Girl Foundation, which made it possible for the Ashrei Foundation to begin our important work immediately.

The Clever Little Girl Foundation (CLG) was founded by Sue McCollum in 2020 in an effort to address systemic inequity in incremental yet meaningful ways. CLG is built on the philosophy that by identifying and tackling the root causes of systemic inequity we can make a big difference.

In addition to providing ongoing financial support, CLG actively supports the Ashrei Foundation through strategy, networking, and more.