| JP UPdate: Building Assets, Changing Lives.
A Look-Back at 2025 (So Far)
As we soar past the midpoint of 2025, it’s the perfect moment to pause and celebrate the incredible, tangible growth our community and mission have achieved. At Justine PETERSEN (JP), our core promise is simple yet profound: to unlock financial access, build assets, and transform lives.
The stories and partnerships that follow are powerful reminders of why this work is vital, demonstrating how, together, we are actively redefining what is truly possible in community development.
Spotlight on Impact: Success Stories from the First Half of 2025
Cultivating Resilience: Food + Housing with Good Life Growing
Our enduring partnership with Good Life Growing (GLG), a social enterprise based in St. Louis focused on tackling food insecurity, housing, and community revitalization, reached a phenomenal new milestone this year.
When GLG navigated significant disruption during the pandemic, they turned to JP with confidence. We have brilliantly reimagined their model. The new vision centers on “agrihood” developments—community-driven designs that combine essential housing with integrated urban agriculture and gardens.
Because of this crucial pivot and our shared resilience, GLG is now planning to scale its impact to multiple underserved neighborhoods, building not just resilient food systems, but neighborhoods where people, planet, and profit align. This story beautifully reinforces how strong partnerships, rooted in unwavering trust and shared purpose, create the resilience necessary to define a powerful new future.
Entrepreneurial Dreams Realized: Elegance Made Simple
In April, we celebrated the inspiring success of Elegance Made Simple, a bridal boutique in Troy, Missouri, led by owner Katrina Walters.
Katrina Walters saw the tremendous potential to elevate the bridal boutique she inherited, transforming it into a center for beauty and exceptional personal service. When traditional funding sources created a barrier, she confidently partnered with JP. Our support allowed her to refresh the space, invest in new signage and interiors, and strategically expand the offerings to include bridal party and groomswear. Katrina’s vision is now thriving, deepening the boutique’s connection to her hometown community and proving that ambition, when met with the right partnership, is unstoppable.
Partnerships Matter: Stifel Bank as “Lender of the Year”
On the institutional side, we were proud to recognize Stifel Bank as our “Lender of the Year.” This prestigious recognition shines a light on their essential, ongoing commitment to powerful community investment and truly inclusive financing for underserved entrepreneurs.
Their belief in a collaborative model has enabled us to bring critical capital to where it is needed most—in communities often overlooked by traditional financial flows. Our mission is not a solo endeavor; it thrives when we walk alongside strong institutional partners like Stifel.
Innovation & Equity: Aselle Botanics and the Smith Family
As we moved into summer, two distinct success stories highlighted the incredible breadth of JP’s work:
Aselle Botanics: Mother daughter duo Michelle and Abigail Hollis brilliantly blended generational skincare wisdom with modern science. Through an SBA microloan supported by JP, they launched their e commerce platform, entered wholesale markets, and built a clear vision for larger scale growth.
Homeownership Milestone: Andrea and Jarred Smith closed on their new home in April through our Access Home program. Even when their new home faced the devastating challenge of the May tornado, their remarkable resilience, coupled with our dedicated team’s support, proved that homeownership is far more than a purchase—it is an unshakable foundation for stability, healing, and deep community commitment.
Why It Matters & What’s Ahead
Every facet of our work—spanning food/housing innovation, small business growth, homeownership, and institutional partnerships—is triumphantly anchored in our core promise: to build assets and change lives.
When a business blossoms, it employs neighbors, creates services, and builds wealth locally.
When a family becomes a homeowner, they anchor themselves, invest in a place, and lift up their surroundings.
When institutions choose to invest differently, capital shifts powerfully from exclusion to empowerment.
As we look ahead to the final quarter of 2025, we are energized by what lies ahead: launching new loan programs, offering even deeper technical assistance, forging stronger community alliances, and celebrating countless more stories of possibility being triumphantly turned real.
We invite you, our clients, dedicated partners, and committed investors, to stay connected, generously share your own wins, and continue embracing the belief that every single step forward is a monumental triumph. Thank you for being part of this journey with Justine PETERSEN. We are building assets and changing lives: one business, one family, one neighborhood at a time. |
