Community Foundation Announces $1 million Fund to Support Small Businesses in Prince George’s County

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of a $1 million Legacy Fund for Small Business Development (Legacy Fund). Eligible small businesses may now apply for grants up to $10,000 between August 4-28, 2020.

The Legacy Fund, seeded with a $1 million gift directed by Sam Brin and a $10,000 gift from Meridiam, provides critically needed access to capital for small businesses in Prince George’s County. The fund is part of The Community Foundation in Prince George’s County’s equity and economic mobility initiative. The overall goal of the initiative is to eliminate social and economic disparities and help individuals, families, and collective groups improve their social and economic status.

The Legacy Fund will be administered by FSC First (FSC), the county’s Community Development Financial Institution, which serves more than two thousand businesses each year. The Legacy Fund will provide relief from the impact of COVID-19 to help minimize business vulnerability to closure and bridge the gap to viability. Funds can be used to support operating expenses including payroll, suppliers, rent, and other business critical costs.

Additionally, companies approved for funding will be eligible to apply for FSC’s technical assistance program to help them better navigate new business and economic realities and ensure their long-term development.

“Ninety-five percent of all businesses in the county are small businesses and they contribute nearly half of all jobs in the county. These companies are a critical part of our economic engine and a key driver of economic mobility for county residents,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “Through the Legacy Fund we hope to preserve the small business infrastructure, ensure job retention, drive economic development, and enable the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next, leaving a lasting legacy for families and Prince George’s County.”

“We want to thank the Greater Washington Community Foundation and Sam Brin for helping provide another critical resource for our small business community during these unprecedented times,” said Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. “Prince George’s County is the economic engine of our State, and the Legacy Fund will be another way we can ensure County businesses recover from this pandemic stronger than they’ve ever been before.”

“We are excited to work in collaboration with the Greater Washington Community Foundation to administer this critically needed fund. We have successfully served the small business community in Prince George’s County for more than 40 years providing grants, technical assistance and other financial services to ensure the growth of the county’s small business sector,” say Shelly Gross Wade, President and CEO, FSC First.

“This grant is one of several initiatives to provide relief to a community I called home. Small business is a major driver of the local economy, and I stand behind small business owners and workers of Prince George’s County,” said Sam Brin.

Meridiam, a development and engineering firm, was keen to support Prince George’s County’s COVID-19 response efforts by investing in the small business community. Meridiam, together with its partners, delivers sustainable infrastructure that improves the quality of people’s lives.

For more information on the Legacy Fund eligibility and application, visit fscfirst.com/legacy-fund. Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the pre-qualification checklist prior to submitting an application.

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About the Greater Washington Community Foundation

The Greater Washington Community Foundation exists to Build Thriving Communities by guiding strategic philanthropy, providing leadership on critical issues, promoting civic engagement, and inspiring local giving. Founded in 1973, The Community Foundation is a public charity made up of hundreds of charitable giving funds established by generous individuals, families, and businesses. We work with donors and partners to enhance the quality of life in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Northern Virginia, and Prince George’s County. As the region’s largest local funder, we manage $350 million in assets and have invested nearly $1.3 billion to build more equitable, just, and enriching communities where all residents can thrive.

The Community Foundation’s efforts in Prince George’s County have led to $50 million invested in education, workforce development, health, and safety net services that helped improve lives and build thriving communities. Our new Initiative for Equity and Economic Mobility in the county seeks to partner with Prince George’s County residents and others to increase philanthropy, convene key stakeholders, provide grants to innovative nonprofits and small businesses, and engage new audiences to help ensure that each and every Prince Georgian is afforded the chance to reach their full potential unencumbered by race or ethnicity. For more information, visit www.thecommunityfoundation.org/princegeorges.

About FSC First

FSC First was founded in 1978 in Prince George’s County to serve small businesses through the implementation of a specialized financial program. FSC currently offers more than 12 unique programs to an array of businesses, industries and professions seeking to develop within the county and locations with Maryland. These services include portfolio management, loan servicing expertise, wealth management, financial education, a diverse range of financing programs and revolving loan funds. FSC’s commitment to excellence has generated over $100 million dollars in direct loans to small and minority-owned businesses in Prince George’s County and spurred more than 400 jobs in our local community. We are proud to contribute to the ongoing successes of our economy and encourage new strategic partnerships.

Announcing the 2020 Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Awardees

David Bradt is a quietly effective leader for, and champion of, the Greater Washington region.  In addition to serving as a Managing Director of Andersen Tax, he served as Chair and Member of the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Board, Chairman and Board member of Greater DC Cares, member of the Board of Venture Philanthropy Partners, and as a volunteer and fundraising dinner chair for Share Our Strength.

 A few years ago, Alex Orfinger, Market President and Publisher at Washington Business Journal, wanted to find a meaningful way to salute David’s many years of service to our local community. He teamed up with David’s wife, Diane Tipton, and together they invited friends and family to join them in establishing the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Their vision was to provide an annual award to enable a nonprofit leader in the Greater Washington region to attend an intensive executive training program. 

On July 28, The Community Foundation and the Award Steering Committee announced the third cohort of awardees: Paula Fitzgerald, Shannon Steene, and Tyler Spencer.  Donors, friends, and colleagues tuned in to applaud them during the award reception which featured an interactive discussion.

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Meet our Awardees

Shannon Steene is the Executive Director of Carpenters Shelter which supports Virginia residents struggling with homelessness to achieve independence by providing shelter, guidance, education, and advocacy. In addition to leading the organization through a successful capital campaign, Shannon has been applauded for his creative approach in resolving needs for securing additional housing spaces due to major shelter renovations and COVID-19. 

When asked about how his leadership has changed during the pandemic, Shannon reflected, “If we were on a game show, this would be called the speed round. The leadership required [during COVID-19] has been faster and the rules have been changing much more rapidly. A few things have remained constant for us: the safety of our residents, volunteers, and staff and that shutting down, even temporarily, was not an option. But otherwise, every element of what we know has been shifting.”

Paula Fitzgerald is the Executive Director of Ayuda which provides legal, social, and language services to help vulnerable immigrants in the DMV region navigate immigration and justice systems and access support and justice. Since becoming Executive Director, Paula has provided strategic direction in growing the organization’s budget, collaborating more intentionally with other local nonprofits, and ultimately increasing Ayuda’s capacity to serve the community. 

Paula reflected that adapting Ayuda’s services during the pandemic “has required a lot of flexibility and I’ve been surprised by all we’ve been able to accomplish remotely. I feel really proud of our teams for making that shift and really maintaining the quality of services we provide.”

Tyler Spencer is the Executive Director of The Grassroot Project. Since founding the organization 11 years ago, Tyler has grown The Grassroot Project from a small school-based HIV prevention program into a city-wide comprehensive adolescent health program. He has led his team of staff and volunteers through tremendous growth in recent years, now serving many schools throughout DC.  

In our discussion, he shared his organization’s challenges at the onset of COVID-19: “It is such an uncertain environment and it is so important as a leader to bring some sense of certainty to the situation. I think the thing that has been very certain is our kids need us now more than ever, even though we have not been in this digital space before. We’ve been thinking about the role we can play: Do we just try to shrink and survive this storm or is this our time to really push a culture of health and prevention in a time when it is most needed?”

Tonia Wellons, President & CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, notes, “We are delighted to house and support the Fund’s mission of making an impact in our region by investing in outstanding nonprofit leaders.  Thank you to David for inspiring the award, and to Diane and Alex for dreaming up a such a wonderful way to honor him.  Finally, congratulations to the 2020 awardees!  We are grateful for all you have done and will continue to do to strengthen our region.” 

Quarterly Community Update

Dear Community Foundation Fundholders,

I hope you and your family are safe and well. The past several months have been exceptionally challenging for our region—but the outpouring of support from our community continues to inspire me. Since the start of this crisis, our community has come together to commit nearly $8 million in support to help our neighbors in need—an incredible effort that would not be possible without the generosity and compassion of so many. Thank you for standing with us to support and strengthen our community.

At The Community Foundation, we remain focused on supporting our community’s evolving health and economic needs through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. Last quarter, our work coordinating the region’s philanthropic response to this crisis included:

• Reviewing over 1,300 proposals from nonprofits and small businesses requesting over $60 million in funding, and making investments totaling $6.7 million in local nonprofits working on the frontlines of our region’s COVID-19 response efforts.

• Launching Get Shift Done DMV with Washington Nationals Philanthropies to help displaced hospitality workers earn an income while assisting local nonprofits with preparing meals/packaged food for families in need. So far, over 300 workers have clocked 8,452 cumulative hours to address food insecurity in our region.

• Partnering with Events DC and the Executive Office of the Mayor to administer the $5 million DC Cares Program, providing emergency cash assistance to help DC workers excluded from federal stimulus efforts.

• Partnering with the Montgomery County Council to launch the Montgomery County Food Security Fund to engage the public and private sectors around increasing food access and security for county residents struggling to feed their families.

• Preparing to launch a $1 million small business grants program in Prince George’s County.

The global pandemic has exacerbated many pre-existing inequities and had a disproportionate impact on low-income workers, immigrants, and communities of color. As we prepare for what’s next, we are committed to advancing racial justice and building a more equitable future for our region by using our voice, influence, programs, and initiatives to help end racial disparities. Our goal is not to go back to the way things were before, but to work together to build a new normal and a more equitable future for our region. You can read about our vision in an opinion piece that I co-authored for the Washington Post.

One of the ways we are examining the possibilities is through our VoicesDMV community engagement initiative. In June, we released the findings from our Community Insights survey and launched a series of Social Justice Town Hall conversations that will run throughout the summer. In the fall, we plan to bring neighbors together for virtual community conversations and then fund microgrants to help transform ideas sparked during these conversations into action. You can learn more about VoicesDMV and read the report at VoicesDMV.org.

Finally, the changes and uncertainty brought on by COVID-19 have encouraged us to find more efficient ways to serve our donors and nonprofit partners. We have set up a bank lockbox collection system to ensure faster and more secure processing of your gifts made by check. You can now mail checks directly to PO Box 49010, Baltimore, MD 21297-4910. Our office address has not changed - this PO Box is only for mailing gifts made via check.

Thank you for your continued partnership in serving our community’s needs today, and in building a better tomorrow for the Greater Washington region. 

Sincerely,
Tonia Wellons
President and CEO

The Partnership to End Homelessness Welcomes New Leadership Council Members

The Partnership to End Homelessness is proud to announce the members of its Leadership Council, including leaders in business, health care, philanthropy, and academia; national experts; developers; and advocates for affordable housing and ending homelessness—all committed to ending homelessness in Washington, DC.

The Partnership, launched by the Greater Washington Community Foundation and the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness, is the District’s first-of-its-kind initiative to bring together the public and private sectors to expand DC’s supply of deeply affordable housing and to help people experiencing homelessness obtain and maintain stable housing.

“Homelessness is too big a problem for government alone to solve,” said Leadership Council Chair David Roodberg, CEO and President of Horning Brothers. “As a real estate developer, I’m committed to expanding housing opportunities for people who’ve experienced homelessness, but everyone in the business community has a role to play. This is an issue that affects all of us in one way or another and it is our responsibility together as a community to ensure everyone has a safe, stable home.”

On any given night, nearly 1 in every 100 DC residents experience homelessness, living on the streets or in the city's emergency shelters. Lack of stable housing makes it difficult for people to obtain or maintain employment, address health needs, and keep families together. 

Homelessness and the lack of affordable housing is a systemic challenge, and the Partnership approaches this challenge by aligning public and private sector resources to create systems level changes that allow people to be housed more quickly and to maintain housing stability. 

Homelessness is also an issue of racial justice—86 percent of people experiencing homelessness in DC are Black, compared to 46 percent of DC residents as a whole. We are committed to approaching this work with a focus on how we can address these disparities and make sure that everyone can access safe, stable housing. 

“Homelessness is projected to increase as much as 45% this year due to COVID-19. In DC, we urgently need to increase affordable housing in every ward of the city,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Community Washington Foundation. “The members of our new Leadership Council bring diversity, wisdom, experience, and commitment to ending homelessness in DC. With their support and dedication, the Partnership will work to advance proven solutions to ensure all DC residents have a safe and stable place to call home.”

 The Partnership’s Leadership Council will meet quarterly to advance the Partnership’s work to engage the private sector more deeply in combating homelessness.

The Partnership’s Leadership Council members include:

• Waldon Adams, Consumer Representative

• Neil Albert, DowntownDC BID

• Amanda Andere, Funders Together to End Homelessness

• Natalie Avery, DC BID Council

• Robert Burns, Citi

• David Daniels, Bainum Family Foundation

• Madi Ford, MidCity Developers

• George Leventhal, Kaiser Permanente

• Debbi Jarvis, Howard University 

• Bruce Jones, Howard University

• Nan Roman, National Alliance to End Homelessness

• David Roodberg, Horning Brothers

• Mike Schwartz, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

Partners include:

• David Bowers, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

• Kristy Greenwalt, DC Interagency Council on Homelessness

To date, the Partnership has raised and committed nearly $10 million from partners including the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, Bainum Family Foundation, Diane & Norman Bernstein Foundation, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, and MidCity Developers, along with gifts from individual donors. This includes more than $2 million in support for the Grantmaking Fund to support nonprofits working with individuals, youth, and families experiencing homelessness. Learn more about our grantee partners through our grants announcement and on endhomelessnessdc.org

The Partnership has also secured $7.9 million in investments for increasing affordable housing in our region through the Enterprise Community Impact Note offered by Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Inc. The Greater Washington Community Foundation is proud to have committed $5 million from its own combined investment fund to this program-related investment.

A Year of Impact and the Road Ahead

By Jennifer Olney, Community Investment Officer, Partnership to End Homelessness 

On any given night, nearly 1 in every 100 DC residents experience homelessness, living on the streets or in the city's emergency shelters.

The Community Foundation’s recent VoicesDMV Community Insights report found that nearly one in three residents know someone who has experienced homelessness or who is at risk of becoming homeless - and that many residents are struggling to find affordable housing. Lack of stable housing makes it very difficult for people to stay safe, obtain or maintain employment or an education, address health needs, and keep children in school and families together.  

DC has a plan to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring, and that plan is based on proven solutions; and prior to the current crisis, we know that plan was working. But we know that government alone cannot end homelessness or solve our region’s affordable housing crisis. It will take all of us coming together to do our part to ensure every DC resident has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

Last year, the Greater Washington Community joined forces with the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness to launch the Partnership to End Homelessness. The Partnership is the District’s first-of-its-kind public-private initiative focused on ensuring homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring in DC. By joining together, we aim to increase the supply of affordable housing for extremely low-income households and to help our neighbors obtain and maintain stable housing.

In the Partnership’s first year we have celebrated a number of accomplishments.

• We held a corporate symposium focused on corporate social responsibility strategies to address homelessness and affordable housing. Featured speakers included DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and Rashema Melson, as well as senior executives from Kaiser Permanente, Zillow Group, Salesforce, and Cisco Systems, Inc. The symposium was highlighted in a Washington Business Journal article which called on the private sector and philanthropy to step up its investments and use its convening power to accelerate our community’s response to ending homelessness.

• We announced the first round of grants for “flex funding” programs to support local nonprofits that provide Permanent Supportive Housing: Miriam’s Kitchen, Open Arms Housing, Pathways to Housing and Friendship Place.

• Jennifer Olney and Silvana Straw co-lead the Partnership to End Homelessness and the Housing and Homelessness Working Group. The Working Group was created as a subcommittee of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund at The Community Foundation to address the unique needs of people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. To date, this fund has granted over $1.25 million to support 36 nonprofit organizations working with and on behalf of people experiencing homelessness and housing instability to help maintain housing and access to shelter, medical care, and other critical services.

• We partnered with Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Inc. to help fund the development and preservation of deeply affordable and supportive housing. The first set of investments supported the development and preservation of 448 affordable units providing housing for formerly homeless individuals living with HIV/AIDS and for extremely low-income families in NE DC. Learn more about this initiative.

• We established a Leadership Council made up of private sector leaders and people with lived experience who are committed to ending homelessness. These individuals represent key sectors and will work with us to champion the issue and commit resources to this work.

• We held a Donor Learning Series to bring together our donors with nonprofit leaders and people with lived experience to discuss solutions to address the affordable housing crisis and chronic homelessness.

• With the help of the Daniel and Karen Mayers’ Challenge, we have raised over $2 million for our grantmaking fund to invest in nonprofits working with individuals, youth, and families experiencing homelessness to fill critical funding gaps, support innovative programs, meet emerging needs, build nonprofit provider and developer capacity, and support advocacy efforts.

• We launched a quarterly newsletter for the Partnership which provides updates and opportunities to get involved. Sign up today!

While we celebrate these accomplishments, we also know that with everything that has happened over the past few months – a pandemic, an economic crisis, and a movement for racial justice – if anything, our work to end homelessness is more important now than ever.

With the advent of COVID-19, and the economic crisis, the number of people experiencing homelessness in communities across the country, many for the first time, could rise by nearly 45%.

We have seen the housing crisis deepen and a growing number of households worried about how they will pay rent next month. As with the pandemic and economic crisis, we know that systemic racism continues to mean our Black and African American neighbors are disproportionately impacted.

As we move forward in our work to ensure everyone in DC has a safe, stable home that they can afford, we commit to continuing this work with a focus on how we can address the disparities in the homeless service system and in the housing systems in DC. We feel the urgency and we know that the time is now to work together and step up to make sure that everyone in DC has a safe, stable place to call home. 

We hope you will join us. 

Community Foundation Invests $6.7 Million in Local Relief and Recovery Efforts

The COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, a coordinated fund established by the Greater Washington Community Foundation, has issued new investments of $2.8 million as part of phase two of rapid response grantmaking. To date, the Fund has made total investments of $6.7 million in 192 nonprofits helping local residents adversely affected by the coronavirus public health and economic crisis.

These general operating grants — ranging in size from $10,000 to $50,000 — are intended to help vital nonprofits across the region to fulfill their missions and expand critical services during a time of unprecedented need. Flexible support is crucial for stability as our nonprofit partners work to shift operations online, purchase essential supplies and equipment, cover staff salaries and hazard pay, and pursue ways to offset lost revenue and volunteer resources.

Since launching the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund on March 13, The Community Foundation has mobilized more than $8 million from 700+ contributors, including corporate partners, foundations, and individual donors (with individual contributions ranging in size from $10 - $100,000).

In times of crisis, The Community Foundation is the region’s philanthropic first responder, bringing people and resources together to address community needs. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, The Community Foundation is convening weekly meetings with local philanthropic leaders, donors, and government advisors to raise funds, discuss needs and priorities, and guide strategic investments.

The Fund has received more than 1,340 requests from nonprofits seeking approximately $60 million in funding, which is more than seven times the amount of dollars raised. For phase 2 of grantmaking, priority was given to nonprofits with deep roots in the community and a demonstrated ability to address urgent needs and reach historically underserved populations. Phase 2 also included funding for advocacy and community organizing projects focused on improving systems for food security, violence prevention, medical care access, affordable housing, childcare, and more.

Phase 2 investments include:

Workforce and Small Business

To support individuals through direct cash assistance, including hourly and gig economy workers, contractors, and immigrant workers excluded from federal stimulus; and to support advocacy and community organizing efforts focused on policies affecting workers impacted by COVID-19, such as entry level workers and excluded workers in retail, food service, and hospitality.

• Academy of Hope

• Center for Nonprofit Advancement

• Congregation Action Network

• DC Bar Pro Bono Center

• DC Jobs with Justice

• District Bridges

• Future Harvest

• Nonprofit Village Center

• People for Change Coalition

• Per Scholas

• Samaritan Ministry

• Sunflower Bakery

• The Training Source

• Unite Here

• Upwardly Global

• Urban Ed

Education and Youth

To bridge the digital divide and expand resources for youth disconnected from school or work and students transitioning from middle to high school.

• Advocates for Children and Youth

• The Alliance of Concerned Men

• Best Kids

• City Gate

• Covenant House

• Community Bridges, Inc.

• Community Support Services, Inc.

• Crittenton Services of Greater Washington

• The District of Columbia Association for the Education of Young Children

• DC Fiscal Policy Institute & DC Action for Children

• Family Services, Inc.Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop

• Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection

• KID Museum

• Latino Student Fund

• Nonprofit Montgomery (MMF)

• Reach Education Inc

• Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (MD Women's Business Center)

• Total Family Care Coalition

• The Young Women's Project

Medical Care and Access

To support the purchase of PPE and other equipment for frontline workers, expand medical care for marginalized communities, increase access to mental health support services, and pursue advocacy addressing local health issues.

• Abraham and Laura Lisner Home for Aged Women

• Access to Wholistic and Productive Living Inc.

• Breast Care for Washington

• Care for Your Health, Inc.

• Community of Hope

• Cornerstone Montgomery, Inc.

• HIPS

• Joseph's House

• La Clinica del Pueblo

• SOME, Inc.

• Volunteers of America Chesapeake Inc

• Wendt Center for Loss and Healing

Housing and Homelessness

To support advocacy and community organizing around universal testing in shelters, rent relief and assistance, housing for returning citizens, and increased funding for homeless services; as well as direct services to protect individuals, families, and youth experiencing homelessness and to prevent community spread.

• Bethesda Cares

• Central American Resource Center

• Central Union Mission

• The Church of the Epiphany

• Community Development Network of Maryland

• Empower DC

• FAIR Girls, Inc.

• Hearts and Homes for Youth

• Mary House

• Mi Casa Inc

• Miriam's Kitchen

• National Coalition for the Homeless

• The National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens

• ONE DC - Organizing Neighborhood Equity

• The Platform of Hope

• Rainbow Place Shelter for Homeless Women

• St. Ann's Center for Children, Youth and Families

• University Legal Services

• Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

Food Security, Legal Services, and Domestic and Community Violence

To provide critical infrastructure and coordination support and emergency food assistance; to address the uptick in domestic and other forms of violence; and support the civil legal aid needs of individuals and families.

• Bread for the City

• Capital Area Food Bank

• Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition

• Community Family Life Services

• Community Support Systems, Inc.

• Community United Methodist Church

• DC Affordable Law Firm

• DC Volunteer Lawyers Project

• District of Columbia Center for Law and Justice

• District of Columbia Forensic Nurse Examiners

• Dreaming Out Loud

• Fair Budget Coalition

• FRESHFARM Markets, Inc.

• Germantown Cultural Arts Center/ BlackRock Center for the Arts

• Greater Mount Nebo A.M.E Church

• Greater Riverdale Cares/Central Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization Community Development Corporation

• Homeless Persons Representation Project

• JCADA

• Jews United for Justice

• Kings & Priests Court International Ministries

• Life After Release

• Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations

• Maryland Center on Economic Policy

• Montgomery County Food Council

• Mutual Aid Movement

• Rising for Justice, Inc.

• Shepherd's Table

• St Camillus Church Food Pantry

• The Safe Sisters Circle

• Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs

A generous contribution from PepsiCo, Inc. and its philanthropic arm, The PepsiCo Foundation, allowed for additional investments to aid Black and Latino communities by providing food, cash assistance, medical care and support for small female-led businesses. Recipients include:

• African Communities Together to provide emergency cash support for the African immigrant diaspora in the Greater Washington region.

• Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative to provide emergency support for children and families in Wards 7 and 8.

• Identity, Inc. to provide emergency cash assistance to low-income families in Montgomery County.

• Impact Silver Spring to provide emergency cash assistance for undocumented workers.

• Jubilee Jobs to provide an emergency cash assistance program for returning citizens.

• La Cocina Virginia to provide support for low-income, immigrant, mostly food-focused female-led small businesses.

• THRIVE East of the River Partnership to support 500 families in Wards 7 and 8 with emergency assistance.

• Voices for a Second Chance to provide support for incarcerated individuals and their families.

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A full list of the organizations receiving assistance through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is here

Anyone interested in contributing to this collective effort can make a tax-deductible gift here.

How to reconstruct an equitable future for our region

In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Tonia Wellons and Ursula Wright explore a new framework for for reconstructing a more equitable future for our region.

Survey Spotlights Inequities Impacting Lives of African American Residents in the Greater Washington Region

Greater Washington Community Foundation’s 2020 VoicesDMV Survey provides snapshot of life in the weeks immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic

A new survey of 1,600 households across DC, Maryland, and Virginia offers new insights about inequities and the impact of systemic racism on African American residents and people of color throughout the Greater Washington region.

The survey – conducted by Gallup in early 2020 as part of the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s VoicesDMV initiative – shows that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the region’s African American community was experiencing economic inequality and hardship, facing discrimination in their neighborhoods, and expressing deep concerns about the quality of education and health care available to their families.

Key findings on these inequities include:

• Nearly one in 10 black residents (9%) felt discriminated against in interactions with the police in the past year compared with less than one in 100 white residents (0.7%).

• During the past 12 months, six times the percentage of blacks relative to whites in the DMV said they experienced discrimination when trying to obtain housing and nearly four times the percentage of black residents compared to white residents reported facing discrimination when banking or applying for a loan.

• Even before COVID-19 plunged our region into the worst recession of most of our lifetimes, more than one in three black residents reported that the overall economic conditions in the Greater Washington region were getting worse. By comparison, more than four in five white residents said the local economy was getting better or staying the same.

• Thirty-five percent of black households reported that they did not have enough savings to survive for a month if they lost their current sources of income – a figure that is 2.5 times higher than their white neighbors.

• Black residents were less than half as likely as white residents to rate the availability of arts and cultural opportunities, availability of good jobs, quality of public schools, or availability of healthcare as excellent in the place where they live.

“The VoicesDMV data offers a sobering look at the stark differences in quality of life for our African American neighbors. While we pride ourselves on being an inclusive community, this new research highlights just how far we have to go to address the deep inequities experienced by many residents and families. These disparities have only been heightened by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, and laid bare through the community response to the tragic and senseless death of George Floyd,” said Tonia Wellons, president and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “One thing is for sure, our goal should not be to return to the status quo but to reconstruct what exists and build a stronger and more resilient community where racial justice is prioritized and everyone has equal opportunity to thrive.”

VoicesDMV is a community listening and civic engagement initiative, which launched in 2017, that seeks to better understand the diverse experiences of the people who live and work in the Greater Washington region. More than 1,600 residents from Washington, DC; Prince George's County, MD; Montgomery County, MD; and Northern Virginia participated in the survey. Additional highlights from the survey include:

• Personal experiences with homelessness are widespread across the region. Nearly one in three residents know someone who has experienced homelessness or who is at risk of becoming homeless. Further, three-quarters of respondents agree that ending homelessness is a priority and more than half view housing as the solution, while almost two-thirds would even be willing to pay more in taxes to support additional affordable housing.

• The impact of the 2019 government shutdown is still being felt. While fifteen percent of workers throughout the region were negatively affected by the 2019 government shutdown, more than half of those negatively affected were not government workers or contractors. Those who were negatively affected financially by the shutdown were nearly twice as likely to currently feel very worried or somewhat worried about not being able to pay their rent or mortgage.

• Addressing Barriers to Quality Employment. Nearly a quarter of all workers (24 percent) and nearly half of the unemployed who are looking for work (49 percent) cited level of education as a barrier to finding and keeping a job. Across the region, two-thirds of all parents with children ages five or younger find it difficult or very difficult to pay for high-quality childcare for their family.

• Many residents across the DMV region report inadequate access to benefits through their job – especially those in low-paying or essential positions. Of those making less than $22,000 a year, more than three-quarters are not offered health insurance through their job. Fewer than one-half of those with a high school diploma or less report having paid maternity/paternity leave.

The full report and an online dashboard with further demographic breakdowns of the VoicesDMV survey data is available now at www.VoicesDMV.org. Additional analysis – including overviews of survey data for the region as a whole and by local jurisdiction, will be available later this summer.

As part of the initiative, The Community Foundation will present a virtual town hall series beginning Friday, June 19, that will explore the most pressing challenges facing the region, and solutions for collectively building more equitable communities where everyone can thrive. The series will culminate in an opportunity for our entire region to come together for On the Table conversations to consider how these issues impact our families and communities. The Community Foundation will then fund Community Action Awards to help transform ideas sparked during these conversations into action – committing at least $100,000 for community organizing, action, and social justice projects that can be implemented individually or collectively.

Rebuilding a Brighter Future

By Benton Murphy, Associate Vice President, Community Investment

Benton Murphy, AVP, Community Investment

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, much of our region was struggling. Nearly one in five of our neighbors reported that they could only make it by for less than one month if they lost their current sources of household income. Even more worrisome, nearly one-third of residents reported being very or slightly worried about being able to pay their rent or mortgage on a good day. Three months ago, these were answers to hypothetical questions. Now as we face the ongoing COVID-19 public health and economic crisis, these statistics are a stark reality for so many.

These report findings, collected by Gallup for the Greater Washington Community Foundation, were intended to serve as a point in time snapshot of our region for our VoicesDMV initiative. The Community Foundation leads this community engagement initiative every few years with a focus on listening to our community in a deep and authentic way. As a community foundation, we want to ensure our community investment and community leadership strategies are informed by the needs of real people in the community—especially those whose voices are left out of important conversations about community needs and priorities.

In 2017, our first VoicesDMV survey revealed a region in which residents may be separated by income, education or geographic boundaries, but share similar hopes and dreams. We all want a better overall quality of life for ourselves and our families, including the opportunity to live in a safe and welcoming environment, obtain a quality education, earn a living wage, and build assets for a secure future.

And yet, as prosperous as our region is, our survey found that deep disparities in income and opportunity persist and that these gaps continue to widen. Due to historical discrimination, this prevents many of our neighbors, particularly people of color, from accessing the region’s economic growth and prosperity. We are so thankful and grateful to the community for their participation in VoicesDMV in 2017. Your perspective gifted The Community Foundation with insight to shape our Building Thriving Communities framework with updated priorities for our grantmaking, which focus on preparing for the future of work, disrupting poverty, and deepening human connections.

The 2020 report offers unique insight into how the region looked and felt in the months immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic and massive civil unrest following the killing of George Floyd. The report reveals a Greater Washington community with a lot to celebrate. Across our region, the survey identified bright prospects across many issue areas, including education and the state of the economy.

The report also revealed striking findings that again illuminated a deeply inequitable region, which we see this in COVID-19’s devastating effect on our region’s low-income households and communities of color. These individuals are much more vulnerable to the economic and health shocks exacerbated by this crisis because of these pre-existing inequities.

While the sentiments expressed in the survey have certainly shifted since it was fielded, the data provides us insights into how we looked pre-COVID. This hopefully offers direction on what we can do differently as we look beyond emergency recovery and relief toward rebuilding a more equitable and resilient region.

What’s Next?

Another critical component of our VoicesDMV initiative is convening and conversation. In 2017, we held community conversations and focus groups discussing a range of issues and challenges, including quality education for our children, fear of the police, and perceptions of race and racism. As we worked to prepare our VoicesDMV initiative for 2020, we wanted to incorporate new elements to deepen the extent to which we engaged communities, reached “unusual suspects,” and enabled authentic dialogue.

This fall, we hope to host a series of virtual On the Table community conversations – a nationally-known community engagement initiative first piloted by the Chicago Community Trust – to challenge our region to think about how we can rebuild after the pandemic toward a more equitable future. On the Table brings together friends, colleagues, neighbors, and strangers to discuss what matters to them in their community over a meal.

Our focus for these conversations will be on equity and how it intersects with a range of issues that are important to our community, including education, workforce development, housing and homelessness, the arts, the environment, and many more issue areas. From these conversations, we plan to make community micro-grants from the VoicesDMV Community Action Awards grant program to support grassroots and neighborhood-level projects and initiatives that will help us to re-envision our region in a more equitable light.

As we begin to look beyond responding to the immediate crisis at hand, our region’s recovery cannot be a return to the status quo as previously captured by our survey. We all have a role to play in shaping a “new normal” and rebuilding as a community that offers equal opportunity for all residents to thrive. I am convinced we will overcome this crisis and period of uncertainty by standing together—neighbors helping neighbors—to build a more equitable region for the future.

Community Foundation Announces $500,000 Gift from Lockheed Martin to COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund

Contribution will Boost Local Relief and Recovery Efforts

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is pleased to announce a new $500,000 contribution from Lockheed Martin to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, which will help support both coordinated local response to urgent needs and longer-term recovery efforts focused on building a stronger and more resilient region.

This coordinated rapid response fund was established to quickly raise and deploy critical resources to nonprofits helping residents adversely affected by the coronavirus public health and economic crisis. In 10 weeks, the Fund has garnered $7.5 million in community support from 700+ contributors, including corporate partners, local foundations, and individual donors (with individual contributions ranging in size from $10 - $100,000).

A list of donors and regional partners is available here.

“We are so thankful for partners like Lockheed Martin and others who have stepped up to help us respond quickly to the evolving needs of our communities and to plan for what comes next,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “These contributions help bolster our ability to empower our nonprofit partners working tirelessly to help our neighbors facing hardship during this crisis.”

“We’re proud to address the local needs in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and the Greater Washington region at this critical time,” said Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin. “We are committed to our local communities and the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund will be instrumental in assisting frontline workers, small business, nonprofits, and individuals in the hour of need."

“We are in great need of additional resources in the Greater Washington region, particularly food, for our growing rolls of vulnerable families," said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. "We are grateful that our corporate citizens are recognizing their role as partners and contributing to help those in need.”

“We are Prince George’s Proud of community partners like Lockheed Martin and the Greater Washington Community Foundation who have stepped up to support Prince Georgians in need during this pandemic,” said Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. “While we are still trying to weather this storm, I can promise you that COVID-19 will not have the final say. Through partnerships like these, we will get through this crisis together and we will be able to build an even stronger Prince George’s.”

In times of crisis, The Community Foundation is the region’s philanthropic first responder, bringing people and resources together to address urgent community needs. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, The Community Foundation is convening weekly meetings with local philanthropic leaders, donors, and government advisors to discuss needs, review requests, and guide the Fund’s strategic investments and priorities.

To date, the Fund has made investments of $4 million in 97 nonprofits, with additional funding expected to be issued over the coming weeks. Priority is given to nonprofits with deep roots in the community and a demonstrated ability to address both urgent needs and reach historically underserved populations. The Fund has received more than 1,300 requests from nonprofits seeking a total of $55 million in funding, which far exceeds available dollars.

A full list of the organizations receiving assistance through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is here.

Investments have been made across five issue areas:

• To provide relief to small businesses and displaced workers (hourly, gig economy, contractors), especially those who do not qualify for unemployment or stimulus funds.

• To expand parental supports and resources for youth disconnected from school or work and students distinguished by disabilities.

• To support frontline workers and providers and to expand medical care for low-income communities, older adults, and people who are immunocompromised, undocumented, or uninsured.

• To support and protect individuals, families, and youth experiencing homelessness and to help prevent people from losing stable housing.

• To bolster our region’s food security, address the uptick in domestic and other forms of violence, and support the civil legal aid needs of individuals.

Our Commitment to Racial Justice

By Tonia Wellons, President & CEO

On Mother’s Day weekend, I received a call from the parents of 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III, the Bowie State University student who was killed at the hands of University of Maryland senior, Sean Urbanski. This devastating hate-linked, race-based crime happened in 2017 around Mother’s Day weekend. I have been humbled by the opportunity to get to know the Collins family and work with them to honor their son’s legacy by confronting the challenges represented by hate and bias violence. Yet the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and now George Floyd immediately triggered the Collins family and reignited their quest to address domestic terror, police brutality, and other forms of anti-black racism.

These senseless and intolerable tragedies remind us that structural racism continues to deny our Black brothers and sisters the opportunity to live their lives completely free and without fear of the institutions intended to serve and protect them. It reminds us that racism is built into many US systems and carried by individual actors in overt and covert methods.

Even in our Nation’s Capital in 2020, pre-existing inequities in education, housing, healthcare, and employment opportunities continue to create deep disparities and divides that threaten the vibrancy and health of our communities. Take for example the drastic way in which COVID-19 has hit African American communities the hardest – while roughly half of Washingtonians are African American, they make up more than three-quarters of the deaths from COVID-19.

At the Greater Washington Community Foundation, we see it as our responsibility to uplift and amplify the voices of communities that have been systematically unheard and silenced. Through VoicesDMV, we have engaged our entire community to understand racial tensions in our region along with other needs, attitudes, and perceptions of our neighbors often left out of conversations about community development. What we have learned from these conversations has shaped our approach to Building Thriving Communities that are more equitable, healthy, and vibrant. We continue to focus on racial equity in our grantmaking and have committed at least half of our funding for COVID-19 response efforts to organizations led by people of color that are supporting historically underserved communities.

We believe now is the time for more than just words, our communities deserve action that will lead to real tangible change in inequitable systems. The Community Foundation will continue to support ending racial disparities through our voice, influence, programs and grantmaking initiatives.

We stand in solidarity with peaceful protestors who have the courage to speak up and share their anguish, frustration, fear, heartbreak, and anger to push for action. We hear you, we see you, and we stand with you in raising our fists and shouting Black Lives Matter. History has to be our teacher. These issues will not casually go away – not without effort or a deliberate attempt to be anti-racists.

"These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative. A riot is the language of the unheard." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

We encourage our community to stand with us, our partners, and advocates in calling for an end to police brutality and anti-black racism.

If you’d like to learn more, and hear from the parents of Lt. Richard Collins III, we invite you to watch our Social Justice Town Hall: From Grief To Action. This special discussion, held on June 19, 2020, examined racial justice and the concrete ways we can take action to support the Black community.

Rebuilding Our Region With Racial Equity and Inclusion

By Brittany Owens, Community Investment and Donor Services Associate

The United States has made a lot of progress towards racial equity—but, even in today’s world, there are still stark injustices. Take the recent shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25 year-old black man, killed by two white men while he was jogging in his south Georgia neighborhood. He was targeted because he allegedly “looked like a man suspected in several break-ins in the area.” It took months for local authorities to address the case.

It’s tragic and shocking incidents like these that continue to fuel my passion for racial equity and inclusion (REI) work, and inspire our REI focus here at The Community Foundation. Racial equity and inclusion, according to Center for Assessment and Policy Development, is “the condition that would be achieved if one's racial identity no longer predicted.” This means that, through REI, we are not only addressing the root causes of inequities—we’re also eliminating policies or attitudes that reinforce them.

Ignited by Experience
My own experience with REI, and inspiration to focus my career on it, goes back to my college years.

Owens (pictured top row, third from the left) with leaders at her university

For my undergraduate studies, I went to a small school in Tennessee—quite the change from my native Washington, DC. I’ll never forget one incident during Black History month, when some students wrote racial slurs on an internet site during the celebratory program my school was hosting. One of them especially striking: “Blacks should be grateful for whites because we freed them.”

After these posts surfaced, the school decided to address these issues by blocking the website and holding a school wide convocation. For some students, though, this wasn’t enough. We demanded that they take more concrete action to prevent similar situations from happening.

I gathered students to come and speak with the leaders of our institution and we crafted a list of ideas and actions the university could take. We wanted to see more diversity in faculty and staff and for the university to add a diversity officer and an African American history class. While it took time, some of the suggestions were fulfilled – though others have still not been offered, such as classes focusing on African American history.

While this incident was challenging, it was also motivating. I wanted to help inspire change through REI. And today, at The Community Foundation, I’m honored to be doing just that.

Britney Owens, at her pinning ceremony for social work during college

A Renewed Commitment to REI
At The Community Foundation, where I now work as a Community Investment and Donor Services Associate, we are working to build on a rich history of social justice grantmaking and community leadership initiatives. We have led funding collaboratives, like the Washington Area Partnership for Immigrants, the Resilience Fund, and the Common Ground Fund (which originated our acclaimed “Putting Race on the Table” discussion series) - and President & CEO Tonia Wellons felt it was time to refocus our commitment to REI.  

One key way we’ve done this is by forming an REI Working Group, which leads discussions for staff at our organization. We meet once a month to read articles and discuss different REI issues, with the goal of continuing to grow into an organization that understands and can more fully center REI principles and practices in both our internal and external work.

In a recent meeting, we read and discussed The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates. We also watched his testimony on House Bill HR 40, legislation that would allow the exploration of reparations for African Americans. This has really set the tone for what we want to accomplish as an organization: providing equity and liberation to groups that continue to be impacted by systemic racism.

We are also working with external partners to educate and encourage an REI focus for the nonprofit and philanthropic sector in this region. We’ll participate in the inaugural Race, Equity and Future of Greater Washington Region Summit, tentatively rescheduled for this fall, to convene 800 regional leaders to examine existing disparities and co-create a new path toward a racially just and equitable region.

And, we are, more and more, infusing REI into our grantmaking. We recently made a commitment to ensure that at least 50% of our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund nonprofit partners are organizations led by people of color. We hope this will inspire greater equity in the Greater Washington region; and, ultimately fuel the change we want. 

What’s Next?
It’s been an honor to be part of our REI work at The Community Foundation, and I’m looking forward to continuing to help lead the conversation and engage our broader community. This is especially exciting as our region begins to stabilize after the COVID-19 pandemic. Those most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic have been people of color who were already marginalized before COVID-19 hit.

We want to help address the pre-existing inequities this pandemic has shone a spotlight on. We don’t want to just return to the way things were before; instead, we will re-focus on how we can rebuild our communities to be more equitable and resilient.

While we’re still figuring out what this will look like, I know that REI will be a part of it. And, so will I.

Building Resilience in the Face of COVID-19

By Melen Hagos, Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships

We are incredibly grateful for this cash assistance that will benefit our ‘forgotten ones’ who are facing health problems, evictions, and hunger during this difficult time. –Maria Gomez, President & CEO, Mary’s Center

Since 2017, The Resilience Fund has been at the forefront of responding to the changing needs and priorities in our region. Following a brutal campaign season that contributed to a rise in instances of hate and intolerance, specifically towards immigrants and people of color, The Greater Washington Community Foundation and its partners came together to create a mechanism to ensure that our local communities were resilient and supported despite federal policy shifts that could adversely affect our neighbors.

Fast forward to 2020 and our world looks a bit different. We’re dealing with a global pandemic that has taken the lives of many individuals, most of which are people of color. And it’s no surprise that low-income communities and hourly wage workers, particularly people of color, have been disproportionately impacted through this crisis. While legislation has been passed to support our friends and neighbors in the region, undocumented immigrants have largely been left out of the conversation.

Staying True to Our Mission

Given our new reality, it is important to stay true to our mission. A key focus of the Resilience Fund has always been to support the critical needs of nonprofits responding to federal policy shifts on behalf of our most marginalized neighbors. Immigrant communities in particular have faced many hardships exacerbated by these changes, and the effects of COVID-19 are no different.

Due to the changing nature of our environment, we have decided to shift our strategy to reflect the current reality. We have decided to redirect the Resilience Fund’s remaining resources to make grants to nonprofit partners serving immigrant communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Following this final distribution of grants, we will shift our focus and efforts to COVID-19 response and prioritize meeting our community’s needs related to the pandemic through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

We have made 7 final grants totaling $340,000 to organizations responding to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on immigrant communities:

• African Communities Together: To engage in rapid response activities to support African immigrants.

• Ayuda: To support low-income immigrant clients by providing the resources needed for food medical needs, and housing.  

• CASA de Maryland:  To support immigrant communities in Montgomery and Prince George’s County, Maryland, whose immigration status puts them in danger of extreme economic hardship.

• Mary’s Center: To provide health services to immigrant communities in DC and Maryland. 

• National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC): For an emergency fund providing support to undocumented individuals or individuals in mixed status households, and other individuals expressly excluded from federal relief.

• Northern Virginia Family Services:  To support the Immigration Legal Service (ILS) program and its impact on immigrant communities in Northern Virginia as it relates to the uptick in domestic violence and sexual assault during this pandemic.

• Prince George’s Child Resource Center: To support Prince George’s Child Resource Center in their ability to provide guidance and assistance to the childcare provider community in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Grateful for the Past, Hopeful for our Future

We're very proud of the work we have been able to accomplish together with our nonprofit partners, which we could not have done without the help of our committed donors. Together, we’ve raised more than $1.3 million and made grants to 46 nonprofit organizations across the region since the Fund’s inception.

We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the Steering Committee, which included the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the Harman Family Foundation, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, June Linowitz, Elaine Reuben, Rob and Sheri Rosenfeld, Mauri Ziff, and Jeff Hamond

This core group of individual and institutional donors worked with us to advise grant decisions and future Fund priorities, ultimately providing us with the thought partnership and accountability needed to ensure the Fund was successful. 

I will miss being part of the Resilience Fund Steering Committee, where the members' experience and expertise were shared in service of local need. We learned from grantees, our consultants, The Community Foundation’s supportive staff, and each other. I believe it was truly a success. –Elaine Reuben, Steering Committee member since 2017

At a difficult time for our country and our community, I felt the Resilience Fund was doing important work to alleviate suffering and to combat negative trends. I was truly honored to be helping and, in a time, when it was easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated, it gave me a sense of purpose and agency.” –June Linowitz, Steering Committee member since 2017

As we begin to return to our daily routines, we know we won’t be returning to normal. In fact, I would encourage us to question if our “normal” was even good enough in the first place. The very same systems and structures that existed prior to the global pandemic have only been exacerbated during COVID-19. And, we anticipate the issues facing our most marginalized communities will only continue after we transition back to re-opening our country.  

COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund

If you’d like to continue to support our region’s immigrant communities, The Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is one way to help. The Fund helps mitigate the impact on disproportionately affected communities in our region—including many immigrant populations that the Resilience Fund previously served.

Join us and, together, we can continue to help and empower our most marginalized neighbors towards a tomorrow that is more resilient, equitable, and just.

RFP Re-Opens for COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund Grants

Over the past several weeks, we’ve watched our region’s needs evolve in response to COVID-19. As the community’s priorities have shifted, so have ours to match.

Since temporarily closing our RFP for the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, we have carefully re-evaluated our funding priorities and continued to review all submitted applications. We received 700+ proposals totaling more than $40 million in requests during phase I of our grantmaking. To date, we have awarded 95 grants totaling nearly $4 million.

Today, we have re-opened our Request for Proposals online application form for local nonprofits to apply for support through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

For this second phase of grantmaking, we are now accepting requests for advocacy efforts that seek to improve food security, domestic violence prevention, health care access, childcare systems, and more. We have refined our funding priorities to better support a set of target populations disproportionately impacted by the COVID pandemic.

You can read more about our updated priority issue areas and priority populations here.

Several additional, important points to note include: 

• Eligible applicants may only submit ONE application for funding for this round

• Organizations that did NOT receive funding in round I will be prioritized for funding in round 2

• Nonprofits may apply for grants up to $50,000

• At least 50% of the organizations selected for funding will have board and senior leadership of color

Applications will be accepted until May 29 at 5 p.m., with final funding decisions made in June 2020.

If you have any questions about how to apply, including what the fund will support, how your organization can apply, and what geographic regions will be considered, please read our FAQs.

For general inquiries, please contact Melen Hagos at [email protected]

Thank you. We look forward to receiving your proposals and continuing to respond to our community's needs, together.

Building Critical Capacity for Nonprofits in Need

By Glen O’Gilvie, CEO, Center for Nonprofit Advancement

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many nonprofits are struggling to survive. 501c3’s face a host of challenges as they seek funding to cover losses and maintain their programs—one of which is navigating the complexities of local and federal funding programs.    

This is one of many reasons why, when I received a call in March from The Community Foundation with an innovative partnership idea, I was immediately on board. Silvana Straw, Senior Community Investment Officer and Philanthropic Advisor, who also helps lead the Partnership to End Homelessness, wanted to work together to support and help build the capacity of housing and homelessness nonprofits on the frontlines of battling COVID-19.

Our plan was to help these organizations develop proposals for the DC Small Business Recovery Microgrants program, which provides grant funding to help small, local businesses and nonprofits to cover employee wages and benefits, fixed costs, inventory, rent and utilities. The Community Foundation would identify nonprofit partners in need and the Center for Nonprofit Advancement would provide encouragement, technical assistance, and grant writing support to participants.

Glen O’Gilvie (pictured far right) with Martha’s Table at the Center for Nonprofit Advancement’s 2019 Board Leadership Reception.

Jumping into action, we organized our capacity building specialists (part-time and consultant team members) to work with housing and homelessness nonprofits in the region. After reaching out to dozens of local nonprofit homeless services providers identified by The Community Foundation, we received interest from Casa Ruby, DC Doors, Everyone Home DC (formerly CHGM), Homeless Children’s Playtime Project, Jubilee Housing, Miriam’s Kitchen, and SMYAL. 

The Center’s Capacity Building Specialists used available public information (e.g. website, Form 990s, etc.) to draft proposals for each participating organization. We then worked directly with nonprofits to review proposals, collect additional information, and submit their applications.

We are proud to report that every organization we worked with submitted an application. While award notifications are still pending, we remain hopeful that each nonprofit will receive the support they need.

We were honored to receive enthusiastic feedback from our nonprofit partners:

We could not have done this without you.” – Jamila Larson, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Homeless Children’s Playtime Project

I am so grateful for your help with the recovery microgrant! Your assistance on this was so valuable, especially with the really quick turnaround time. Whatever happens, it feels good to have the support of our nonprofit community as we focus on helping our clients through this scary time and try to anticipate what it means for all of us long term.” – Karen Cunningham, Executive Director, Everyone Home DC

“Thank you so much. This really meant a lot. I’m really hopeful we’ll be able to keep our doors open for those in need. And I truly believe people put their hearts into all Ruby’s work. Thank you!” – Holly Goldmann, Director of External Affairs, Casa Ruby

The COVID-19 pandemic has created tremendous uncertainty for many organizations—and we are proud that by working together with The Community Foundation we could help ensure nonprofits have the support they need to focus on their critical missions. Our hope is to build this program out to serve additional nonprofits with administrative needs including assistance with proposal development for future public and private funding opportunities. 

It’s inspiring to work in partnership with another philanthropic organization, especially the Greater Washington Community Foundation, who we have a long history of partnering with for community impact. This spirit of collaboration and service helped ensure housing and homelessness organizations had the opportunity to access funds during this critical time—and that’s something we can all celebrate.  When funders, direct service nonprofits, and local capacity building organizations collaborate, our communities win.

Learn more about the Center for Nonprofit Advancement, and The Community Foundation’s Partnership to End Homelessness.

To help support nonprofits responding to COVID-19 in our region, consider giving to our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

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About the author

Glen O’Gilvie has served as chief executive officer of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement since 2008, providing education, networking, advocacy and back office services to nearly 1,000 organizations. A leader with more than 24 years of management experience in the National Capital region’s nonprofit sector, Glen is passionate about addressing the issues affecting people and communities.

Before joining the Center, Glen served as President and CEO of Earth Conservation Corps, Program Officer at The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and National Coordinator at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial. During his tenure at each organization, he strengthened programmatic and administrative infrastructure and forged partnerships with nonprofits, government, foundations and corporations to advance each mission and increase outcomes.

Glen holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a master’s of education and has completed various nonprofit management and leadership training and certification programs, including Harvard University Kennedy School’s Leadership in the 21st Century. In 2015, he accomplished the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation. He also serves as a nonprofit management, fundraising, and leadership and management adjunct professor.

Glen resides with his wife and two children, Delaney and AJ, and is active in youth sports and education enrichment.

Community Foundation Announces $3.9 Million in Grants to COVID-19 Emergency Response Efforts

The COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation has completed its first round of coordinated rapid response grantmaking. To date, the Fund has made a total of $3.9 million investments in nonprofits helping local residents affected by the coronavirus public health and economic crisis.

These general operating grants – ranging in size from $10,000 to $100,000 – are intended to help vital nonprofits across the Greater Washington region to fulfill their missions and expand critical services by moving operations online, purchasing essential supplies and equipment, covering staff salaries and hazard pay, and help with offsetting lost revenue.

Given the disproportionate impact on the African American community, the Fund made it a priority to support nonprofits represented by and serving people of color. As a result, 52% of the Fund’s grantee organizations are led by people of color.

Since launching the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund on March 13, The Community Foundation has mobilized $6.6 million in commitments and support from more than 500 contributors including corporate partners, local foundations, and individual donors (with individual contributions ranging in size from $10 - $50,000). The Fund is administered by The Community Foundation with working groups comprised of regional philanthropic leaders and local government advisors helping to guide its efforts. Throughout this process, working groups and steering committee members continue to meet weekly to review requests and approve awards on a rolling basis to meet significant demand.

A full list of donors and regional partners is available here.

In less than three weeks, The Community Foundation received more than 730 requests from nonprofits and other small businesses seeking a combined total of $41 million in funding. To date, 97 nonprofits have received assistance through the Fund. For this initial round of grantmaking, priority was given to direct service providers aligned with the Fund’s strategic priorities, who have deep roots in this community and demonstrated an ability to both address urgent needs and reach historically underserved populations. Additional funding is expected to be issued to more organizations over the coming weeks.

A full list of the initial organizations receiving assistance through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is here.

Round 1 Investments were made across five issue areas and included the following organizations, among others:

• To provide financial assistance to impacted workers — Community Services Agency of the Metro Washington AFL-CIO to focus on workers who have lost their jobs, Restaurant Opportunities Center of Washington DC on low-wage restaurant workers, and CASA for immigrants and undocumented workers not eligible for unemployment benefits or assistance.

• To support the most vulnerable children and families — The DC Association for Special Education (DCASE) to serve students with special education needs who are at risk of falling behind, Identity, Inc. to help low-income families access internet and digital devices for distance learning, Community Youth Advance to provide a virtual tutoring and instruction. 

• To expand medical care and access for marginalized communities — CCI Health & Wellness Services to purchase PPE kits and COVID-19 Test Kits for minority, immigrant, low-income, and uninsured or underinsured populations; La Clinica del Pueblo to provide comprehensive primary care for Latino immigrants and low-income families; and Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC to implement care through a telehealth system.

• To support and protect individuals, families, and youth experiencing homelessness — Unity Health Care, Inc to provide health care to people in shelters and congregate settings, Calvary Women’s Services to serve women experiencing homelessness in Ward 8, and Stepping Stones Shelter to continue operating emergency shelter for families.

• To provide general operating support to help stabilize critical nonprofits— Gaithersburg HELP, Inc. to provide families with nutritious food from its food pantry, The Arc of Montgomery County to provide virtual supports to people with disabilities, and House of Ruth to serve women and survivors of domestic violence.

“Far too many of our neighbors are struggling and turning to our region’s nonprofit sector to help cover basic needs for food, shelter, and medical care,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “The fact that this crisis has hit our region’s marginalized communities the hardest is one of the long-term consequences of inequities that existed long before the current situation. As we continue to respond to the immediate crisis at hand, we are also planning for reconstruction efforts to ensure our community does not go back to the way things were before. We must focus on coming out of this crisis as a stronger community that is more equitable and resilient.”

More information about the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is available here. Anyone interested in contributing can make an online donation here.

Leading Our Community's Response

Our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund has now been in operation for one month. Over that time, we have provided more than $3.8 million in grant funds to local nonprofits providing critical relief supports across our region and across five issue areas—education and youth, employment and small business, medical care and access, housing and homelessness, and general operating support.

Our RFP is currently on pause as we absorb the information from 750 applications on the evolving needs of our community and learn more about communities and populations that are being impacted disproportionately. We plan to reopen our RFP later this month reflecting an updated set of giving priorities.

Over the last few weeks, we have formed working groups for each of our five issue areas to review proposals and make grant recommendations. Below, read about what we are doing and learning in each area - and how our community is organizing to fight the COVID pandemic.

Employment and Small Business

We have made a set of investments in local service providers working to provide emergency cash assistance to our region’s low-income workers that do not have the resources to wait for Federal or State unemployment benefits to kick in, or communities (like undocumented workers) that do not qualify for this type of support.

Education and Youth

We have been singularly focused on supporting the most vulnerable children and families who are struggling as a result of this crisis. Many organizations are stretching themselves to support the youth and families they already have built strong connections with to address basic needs.  Parents are a child’s first teacher and now that schools are closed education is not solely in the classroom.  Despite what schools, local government and philanthropy are doing there are still many families that are not able to connect to services and education opportunities for the children in their homes. 

Medical Care and Access

We are providing support services for health care and frontline workers while also addressing the health access needs of the more vulnerable populations in Greater Washington area. Their focus has been to support efforts to source PPE for frontline workers, increase COVID-19 testing for vulnerable and marginalized communities, and support clinics and health centers providing support and care in response to COVID-19.

As the pandemic response continues to grow on a statewide and national level, we know that our response will have to adapt as well. This working group is continuously monitoring changes, sharing resources, and adjusting its priorities directly in response to needs.

Homelessness and Housing

We have been working to support local providers whose doors are open and who are actively providing direct services to the most vulnerable and disproportionately impacted populations during the COVID crisis - specifically people living in shelters or on the street. Priority populations include: women and children facing increased instances of domestic violence and abuse, families, youth including foster care and LGBTQ youth, older/chronically ill individuals, and undocumented people and immigrants.

As we continue to see increasing numbers of people experiencing homelessness testing positive for COVID and deaths amongst this vulnerable population, our investments will help organizations provide essential services and resources to protect these individuals, families, and youth and to prevent community spread.

General Operating Support

Investments also included grants to nonprofits addressing the dramatic uptick in intimate partner violence and other types of abuse, grants to organizations supporting at-risk communities including those living with disabilities, and grants to support the ability of legal services providers to continue to provide critically needed services to local residents as courts continue to convene.

What’s Next?

We anticipate re-opening the RFP by the end of April. In the meantime, for more information on our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, please visit www.thecommunityfoundation.org/covid-19 for a list of our grantee partners and funding priorities.

Greater Washington Community Foundation and Nationals Philanthropies Partner to Launch Get Shift Done for DMV

The Greater Washington Community Foundation has teamed up with Washington Nationals Philanthropies to launch the Get Shift Done DMV initiative.

With unemployment claims spiking to record levels, Get Shift Done is helping people earn a basic income while also meeting the needs of the food insecure. The initiative will coordinate, schedule, and pay adversely affected hourly workers in the hospitality industry to work shifts for local food access providers.

Get Shift Done DMV, with founding investments from The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Capital One, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, and the Bainum Family Foundation, will provide wages of $15 an hour to workers left jobless by the coronavirus pandemic. These workers are filling the critical roles of providing meals for neighbors in need that, prior to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, were performed by volunteers. The first batch of workers will report for their first day of work on Saturday, April 25, and more shifts and partners will be added on a rolling basis.

Get Shift Done was originally launched by Communities Foundation of Texas and Dallas business and community leaders in partnership with Shiftsmart and the North Texas Food Bank to fill the gap between the reduction of volunteers and the increased need among food banks and other nonprofits with those from the food and service industry in need of supplemental income. The platform has been able to serve 1 million meals per week while providing more than $250,000 of wages to 1,000 workers per week. Get Shift Done is now launching in other cities, municipalities, and counties across the country. Bringing this successful initiative to the DMV will fill a critical gap as food access providers face unprecedented demand for their services while also struggling with a shortfall in volunteers.

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Your gift, no matter the size, will have a deep impact in our community. By contributing to the Get Shift Done DMV Fund, you help local restaurant workers help nonprofits, who in turn help our neighbors in need.

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“We know that missing even one paycheck can mean members of our community, especially the region’s lower-wage and hourly workers, struggle to pay rent, afford groceries, and otherwise provide for their families,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “Our nonprofit partners and other organizations have stepped in to fill huge gaps created by this crisis, but there is more that we can and must do as a community. We are proud to partner to bring Get Shift Done to DMV in order to connect impacted workers directly to emergency food distribution providers throughout the region.”

“Food insecurity is both a systemic problem and an ever-increasing concern for families across the DMV. Through our work to open Nationals Park as a cooking and packaging site for meals and delivering grants to on-the-ground partners getting food to those who need it most, it was evident that even more was needed to meet demand,” said Nationals Philanthropies CEO Tal Alter. “Get Shift Done complements and extends the incredible coordination of food banks and providers across the region while simultaneously filling critical packaging, preparation, and delivery roles with members of our local hospitality community who are out of work.”

“The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation is proud to be a seed funder of this innovative effort which connects our colleagues in the hospitality industry with the critical and growing need for labor in our region’s food system. Food security was a crisis before the COVID-19 pandemic and has since grown to staggering levels. Concurrently, the hospitality workforce has suffered tremendously and we are thrilled to have an opportunity to address two of the Foundation’s top priorities through this investment,” stated Mieka Wick, Executive Director, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.

“As part of Capital One’s broader community response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been working closely with our nonprofit partners to address crucial needs of the most vulnerable populations, including hunger relief and supporting the food and dining community,” said Andy Navarrete, Head of External Affairs, Capital One Financial. “We are proud to support Get Shift Done’s DMV initiative that is providing jobs, filling the much-needed gap in volunteer shifts and getting food to those in need. We will continue to marshal our resources – our funds, digital tools, reach and expertise during these uncertain times to help in the collective recovery.”

"The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation is eager to support innovative programs that solve today's problems. As we collectively grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are pleased to join with our local partners and the Get Shift Done team to launch the program in the Washington, DC region," says Joe Del Guercio, President and CEO, A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation.

“The shortcomings of our regional food system ― which already make it difficult to get fresh, healthy, affordable food to communities that need it most ― are being intensified by the COVID-19 crisis,” says David Daniels, CEO and President of the Bainum Family Foundation. “As part of our food-security work, we are pleased to support the Get Shift Done DMV effort. It will have an immediate impact, providing both much-needed jobs to displaced workers and nutritious meals for families and individuals who are struggling financially right now.”

Today Get Shift Done DMV launches with Shiftsmart technology to register workers for shifts with local food access providers. The Shiftsmart platform and operations team manage the onboarding, matching, scheduling, dispatching, and routing of workers to perform shifts. Interested restaurants, nonprofit partners, and individual workers can visit getshiftdone.org/dmv to access sign-up portals.

About Washington Nationals Philanthropies
The Washington Nationals strive to become a civic partner to every Washingtonian interested in making a positive difference in our region and a leading philanthropic organization in professional sports. As the official charitable arm of the Washington Nationals, Nationals Philanthropies is a new entity that replaces the Dream Foundation. Building on the success of the foundation’s first decade in Washington, we aspire to an even bolder, more ambitious philanthropic vision that continues to align with the work of the Youth Baseball Academy while building an enhanced and cohesive platform for civic engagement that extends far beyond the Academy walls. This new platform will catalyze the energy of Nationals fans, and the generosity and philanthropic goals of Nationals players, corporate champions, and community partners to invest philanthropic dollars with, through, and to Nationals Philanthropies – fueling even greater good for a better Washington region. More details coming soon at nats4good.org. Follow us to stay up to date on the latest news and events.

About Greater Washington Community Foundation
The Greater Washington Community Foundation exists to Build Thriving Communities by guiding strategic philanthropy, providing leadership on critical issues, promoting civic engagement, and inspiring local giving. Founded in 1973, we are the region’s largest local funder and have invested nearly $1.3 billion to build more equitable, just, and enriching communities where all residents can thrive. We recently launched the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to rapidly raise and deploy critical resources to nonprofits addressing the urgent health and economic needs of disproportionately impacted communities. To date, we have mobilized more than $6.5 million in community support and made nearly $4 million in grants to relief and recovery efforts that are supporting our most vulnerable neighbors. 

The Power of Unrestricted Impact

“I believe that the measure of our lives is how we impacted others”

For John Terry Beaty, philanthropy is in his blood. A native New Yorker, he grew up watching his mother work at the city’s Community Trust, later volunteering for United Way for nearly 15 years.  

“We were all encouraged to, when we had the time or money, help other people,” he said.

Beaty, an investment advisor with Brown Advisory, first learned of The Community Foundation from one of his clients who held a fund with us. He was intrigued by the organization’s ‘multiplier effect:’ our ability to amplify positive impact in the community.

Fast forward several years, and Beaty has his own family fund at The Community Foundation, since 1995; eventually, he even served as Chair of our Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee.

Recently, Beaty and his wife Anne Mehringer, made an even longer-term commitment to The Community Foundation. They established a bequest, entrusting one-third of the Beaty Family Fund to us.

“We wanted to help strengthen the organization,” Beaty says. “It is like leaving our legacy to the community as a whole.”

Their bequest is completely unrestricted, meaning funds can be used for core operating expenses—a resource that’s essential as we work to address the greatest needs facing our community. Beaty wanted to provide this flexibility because “I think [many donors] don’t think about this [being so important].”

He hopes this money will help us remain financially strong, and help donors give to those in the community who need it the most. Beaty says that, while funding core operations can be somewhat unglamorous, he knows it is necessary. And, it will allow other donors to fund more immediate programming.

The Beatys are also regular donors to The Community Foundation’s annual Celebration of Philanthropy, and to the Celebration of Giving in Montgomery County, where they live.

When Beaty isn’t working at Brown Advisory or with The Community Foundation, he is feeding his passion for history. He serves as a board member for the American Battlefield Trust and Fort Ticonderoga; and is a former board member at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and History Montgomery. He is also a former advisory board member for Princeton’s history department.  

Beaty plans to continue giving to The Community Foundation, and staying engaged as an active part of the community.

“I believe that the measure of our lives is how we have impacted others,” says Beaty. “I want to have a positive influence on our community, our families.”

Creating a Lasting Legacy for Impact

By: Rebecca Rothey, Vice President, Development and Senior Philanthropic Advisor

I will admit that, initially, I wasn’t completely comfortable writing an article about planning one’s philanthropic legacy during the coronavirus pandemic. I began to feel differently, though, after speaking with some of our generous donors who are planning their legacies. They have reminded me that legacy planning isn’t about your life ending—it’s about living life well and continuing what is most important to us, even after we are gone.

We are helping many of our donors find creative ways to plan for their philanthropic legacy. Three recent examples that come to mind include:

• Providing flexibility now and for the future.  A long-time donor who has co-funded many Community Foundation initiatives is leaving money to The Community Foundation’s discretion to give where most needed in the region.

• The Importance of Giving Back. A couple is creating a fund for their two children to have discretion over where the charitable distributions will go and over what time frame. Their goal is to share their belief in the importance of “giving back” with the next generation of their family and to introduce them to the importance of stewarding wealth wisely.

• A Gift of Service to Others. One donor spent her entire career in public service augmented by travel, animal rescue and service to seniors. She came to value the importance of attracting and training talented and passionate people to the fields of public administration, veterinary assistance, senior care, environmental education and the arts. She is establishing an endowed fund to encourage future generations to pursue careers in these fields by providing tuition assistance and research funding.  

Having gone through this process many times, I can share with certainty that, even though legacy planning can initially feel daunting, in the end everyone is happy once it has been completed.

It is not about the end of one’s life—it is about exploring what is most important in our lives and then building a legacy that is rooted in those values.

All of us have benefited from important people and organizations in our lives—whether it is our families, our communities, our schools, our faith, and our cultural institutions. There is no better way to live life to the fullest than to continue to foster and support these most important aspects of our lives into the future. And, as these times have so powerfully reminded us, to demonstrate that we’re all in this together.

Learn more about The Community Foundation’s planned giving options at https://thecommunityfoundation.giftlegacy.com/