Missouri · Nonprofit
DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY
DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY (Missouri) receives grants from 45 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,603,083 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($603,000). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 60% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.2M
- Funders on record
- 45
- Grants received
- $3.6M
- Net assets
- $1.1M
What Dream Builders 4 Equity does
Mission
Dream Builders 4 Equity (DB4E) is working to develop economically sustainable and socially engaged communities by growing equity for youth, businesses, residents, and real estate.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Real Estate Program- DB4E actively addresses the vacant home and building epidemic in North City by rehabilitating and reimagining previously vacant properties. This initiative expands economic opportunities for minority contractors, fosters community business growth, and establishes sustained long-term momentum and investment in Hyde Park. Currently, DB4E is revitalizing four dilapidated properties in the Hyde Park neighborhood, contributing directly to the ongoing renewal of the St. Louis community while involving youth ages 16-24 in the rehabilitation process. As part of our commitment to the community, DB4E has completed seven free home repairs for seniors in the Hyde neighborhood and undertaken four community projects. Additionally, the Dream Builders team and youth played a crucial role in restoring the Hyde Park community after a major storm, clearing numerous fallen trees and debris. The DB4E youth dedicated 352 hours to neighborhood beautification and community cleanup efforts.
$631,248 spent$101,795 earned by the program72% of program spendingThe Summer Build Academy is an eight-week program at the heart of DB4E's youth-driven community transformation. It equips participants aged 16-24 with essential tools, resources, and support, enabling them to thrive and lead in various aspects of life. Throughout the summer, participants engage in community development projects and reflect on their experiences in journals. Their writings are published in a book, with proceeds directly benefiting the youth. After completing the academy, participants are paired with mentors and have opportunities to earn money through property rehabilitation and teaching chess. They also take part in monthly events and have access to free therapy. In 2024, a total of 46 young people completed the Summer Build Academy, collectively investing 9,247 hours in transforming themselves and the Hyde Park community. Graduates from this program serve as chess coaches through our Black Squares Chess initiative, now active in six schools in partnership with Soul Fishers Ministry, where they teach chess to children from kindergarten to eighth grade. Remarkably, 96% of our program participants have achieved significant outcomes, including gainful employment, high…
$199,601 spent$43,546 earned by the program23% of program spendingHOV House of Vision (HOV) is a vibrant community store that highlights locally made clothing, art, books, and other products created by youth and community members. As a catalyst for successful entrepreneurship, HOV removes barriers and risks, providing a safe training ground for our youth and local residents. HOV plays a crucial role in our comprehensive strategy for transforming North St. Louis City. We recognize that building a prosperous community involves more than just rehabilitating homes; it also requires essential services such as retail stores, grocery stores, childcare facilities, and more. By actively contributing to these needs, HOV encourages businesses to return to the area or establish themselves here. In addition to serving as a community store, HOV operates a print and embroidery shop for external businesses, employing our youth as staff members. This integrated model reflects our commitment to nurturing talent, fostering entrepreneurship, and promoting equity within the community. To date, House of Vision has supported 22 local entrepreneurs, providing them with a platform to showcase their products and generate revenue for their small businesses.
$49,342 spent$6,288 earned by the program6% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $880,191.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $801k to $1.6M (+96%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2019 73% · 2020 61% · 2022 0% · 2023 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
79% of DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (82% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Michael Woods
President & CEO
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 24 funders, grant income rose $31k → $784k.
10 of 45 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 60% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 45 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 17% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
63% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 81% · 2019 52% · 2020 61% · 2021 36% · 2022 41% · 2023 26% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
29% of DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 56% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
60% of DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $1.5M that is directly attributable, 60% of it comes from Missouri funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.1M arriving through sponsors registered in 8 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY has grown faster than three-quarters of the 1,928 youth development nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,928 youth development nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Missouri
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
65% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
99%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY?
- DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY (Missouri) receives grants from 45 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,603,083 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($603,000). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 60% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY have?
- IRS filings report 45 organizations giving $3,603,083 in grants to DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY, 25 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY?
- VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM is the largest funder on record, with $603,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like DREAM BUILDERS 4 EQUITY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Missouri. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Dream Builders 4 Equity →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 45 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing