“We launched Integrate Community as a philanthropic initiative designed to extend our role beyond building projects to build stronger communities,” said Integrate President Scott Zola. “Rather than centering philanthropy around a single organization, Integrate Community operates as a community-embedded partnership model, aligning each construction project with a nonprofit or public entity serving a critical local need.”

Integrate Community reinforces a simple belief: building communities is about people first. By aligning construction, philanthropy, and partnership, Integrate Construction Partners is helping evolve how companies show up for the places they serve, creating change that extends far beyond the jobsite. These efforts are amplified through collaboration with subcontractors, suppliers, consultants and affiliated companies – mobilizing over 40 contributing project partners to date around shared community goals.

Since its launch, Integrate Community has supported more than a dozen nonprofit and public-sector partners across the St. Louis region and beyond, addressing issues including public safety, healthcare access, domestic violence prevention, education, veteran support, food insecurity, and workforce development.

“Integrate Community cultivates change by applying the same expertise, coordination, and accountability used to deliver complex construction projects that make a community impact. By aligning philanthropy with active work across multiple markets, the initiative allows Integrate Construction Partners to respond meaningfully to local needs wherever it builds,” said Zola.

Most recently, Integrate employees participated in a volunteer event with Operation Food Search called “Canstruction” that challenged them to build a structure out of canned food items at Plaza Frontenac in St. Louis County, with all the food used in the build being donated to hunger relief efforts in the St. Louis area. Operation Food Search distributes more than $32 million worth of food and necessities each year through more than 600 community partners in 24 Missouri and Illinois counties.

Integrate’s signature, annual golf tournament is an employee-driven event that raises funds for a St. Louis–based nonprofit selected through a team-wide vote, ensuring local relevance and shared ownership of impact. Recent tournament beneficiaries include Dogs for Our Brave, which provides professionally trained service dogs at no cost to wounded veterans, and Building Futures which encourages St. Louis youth ages 5-18 years to use their design/build skills to solve problems using woodworking, hand and power tools, computer modeling and more.

In 2023, Integrate donated its construction management fees and coordinated materials and labor donations from several subcontractors to build a state-of-the-art pet safe house for domestic violence victims staying at St. Louis’ The Women’s Safe House. The facility addresses a documented barrier to safety: 70% of domestic violence victims report that their abusers threatened or harmed a pet, and 50% delay leaving an abusive situation due to concern for their pet’s safety. The completed facility safely houses up to eight pets at a time, allowing families to seek refuge without leaving their beloved animals behind. The project was also made possible by a $60,000 grant from Purina and its Purple Leash Project, private donations, and design services donated by project architect, Lawrence Group.

Integrate also champions intentional MBE/WBE inclusion, with a minimum target of at least 15% minority- and women-owned business participation on every project. Integrate supports supplier diversity through early outreach, right-sized bid packages, and fair opportunities for MBE and WBE firms, regardless of contractual requirements. This commitment is demonstrated at scale through Integrate’s work at City Foundry STL, where 32.25% MBE/WBE participation was achieved across $46.8 million in construction costs, engaging more than 50 minority- and women-owned firms.

Additional Integrate Community initiatives have included:

• Sponsoring “Taste of the Town” event in Poplar Bluff, MO to help fund Boys & Girls Club of the Heartland’s new Regional Workforce Development Teen Center
• Hosting students from Cardinal Ritter College Prep. for “Design Day” to introduce students to careers in architecture and construction
• Sponsoring CareSTL Health’s Inaugural Golf Tournament and 54^th Anniversary Gala to help fund healthcare for underserved communities in St. Louis City
• Sponsoring CareSTL Health’s 5K/1 Mile Opioid Awareness Walk
• Participating in KidStruction Week to benefit St. Louis Children’s Hospital
• Making donations to Rung for Women, Lake St. Louis Police Association and SSM Health’s St. Anthony Foundation