Honoring Philanthropy in Prince George’s and Montgomery County

This past month, the Greater Washington Community Foundation gathered with donors and partners from across the region to celebrate philanthropy in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County at the 2022 Civic Leadership Awards and the Celebration of Giving. Here are a few highlights from the events:

Igniting the Power of Philanthropy in Prince George’s County
The party started early at the MGM at National Harbor, as friends and supporters of The Community Foundation’s local office in Prince George’s County gathered for the 2022 Civic Leadership Awards. Tracee Wilkins, Prince George’s County Bureau Chief with NBC4, served as master of ceremonies for Prince George’s County’s first major event since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are so excited to be reunited with so many of you in person, after so long,” President and CEO Tonia Wellons shared. “We look forward to sharing a memorable evening with all of you.”

The evening proved to be both memorable and emotionally moving. The program started off with a moving tribute to the first Civic Leadership Award recipient, The Sardelis Family of Sardi’s Pollo A La Brasa. Founded in Prince George’s County, Sardi’s has quickly become a cornerstone of the community – both for the quality of its food, as well as its commitment to give back during the pandemic. The award was accepted by Phil E. Sardelis, whose cousin and co-founder, Phil G. Sardelis tragically passed away last year due to COVID complications.

Mr. Sardelis was followed by the presentation of the second Civic Leadership Award to Rosie Allen-Herring, President & CEO of the United Way of the National Capital Area – a champion for progress in Prince George’s County. Long-time friend Steve Proctor of G.S. Proctor & Associates presented the award via prerecorded message, extolling Rosie’s commitment to family and the region as a whole.

Rosie was followed by the presentation of Nonprofit Leader of the Year Award to Rick & Dawn Collins of the 2nd Lieutenant Richard W. Collins III Foundation. There was scarcely a dry eye in the room, as Dawn Collins tearfully shared how much this recognition meant for their family’s ongoing work against hate crimes – a mission they have undertaken since their son was brutally murdered by a White Nationalist in 2017.

Rick and Dawn were one of four nonprofit leaders nominated for the award. The other three nominees – who were also recognized -- included Lupi Quinteros-Grady of Latin American Youth Center, Deborah Martinez of Mission of Love Charities, and Rob Malone of The Arc Prince George’s County.

After Rick & Dawn, the Corporate Philanthropist of the Year Award was presented to IKEA College Park – in recognition of its investment in the region during the pandemic, when the Swedish-based company invested $1 million to support The Community Foundation’s pandemic response, as a way to “pay it forward” in acknowledgment of the unemployment benefits collected by furloughed employees from Maryland, including the College Park store. The award was accepted by IKEA College Park Market Manager for the DC area, Tony Giacona.

He was followed by the presentation of the Wayne K. Curry Award for Leadership & Public Service to The Honorable Kris Valderrama of Maryland’s 26th District. Named after the first African American to serve as Prince George's County Executive, the Wayne K. Curry Award acknowledges outstanding elected officials who advocate for and champion change in Prince George's County. Kris has served as Maryland's 26th District Delegate since 2006, where she has championed legislation advocating for the rights and needs of Prince George's County's residents in the state of Maryland.

After Kris, Veronica Jeon presented the Chairman’s Award to Prince George’s County Advisory Board Member and Host Committee co-chair Chris Borgal, in recognition of his contributions to The Community Foundation’s efforts in Prince George’s County.

The final award of the evening, the Emerging Leader of the Year Award was presented to John Edward, General Manager of Bond 45. Born in Egypt, John moved to the US to pursue his American Dream in the hospitality industry and provide a better life for his family. His charisma and commitment to quality service has captured the hearts of many in Prince George’s County.

John was one of four Emerging Leaders nominated for the award. The other nominees included Altmann Pannell of Coca-Cola Consolidated, The Honorable Mahasin El Amin, Clerk of Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, and Husein Sharaf of Cloudforce.

Additional information on our honorees – including personalized tribute videos – are available on our website.

Celebrating Giving in Montgomery County

On November 16th, donors and community partners in Montgomery County gathered for the Celebration of Giving, honoring the 2022 Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year, Mimi Brodsky Kress.

A third generation Washingtonian, Mimi Brodsky Kress maintains a deep commitment to her home community of Montgomery County through both her personal philanthropy and as the co-owner of Sandy Spring Builders, where she is one of only a few women builders in the area.

During the program, Mimi joined Bethesda Magazine President Sumindi Peiris onstage for an “Oprah Winfrey”-style interview, where she shared the motivation that compels her to get deeply involved in her community.

“If there’s one thing my parents taught me,” Kress shared, “it was the importance of the Jewish principle of ‘Tikkun Olam’ – that we need to actively engage in action to repair the world.”

Those closest to Mimi know that being actively engaged is something she is very good at. In addition to running a small business, Mimi is volunteers extensively with Habitat for Humanity, leading a group of women called “the Hammer Chicks” who get out into the field and help build affordable homes. Her leadership on the boards of several local charities – including (but not limited to) the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Montgomery County, Jewish Women International, and the Jewish National Fund — has been game-changing, leading to organizational growth and expansion of services to meet increasing demand.

We are grateful to Mimi for allowing us to shine a spotlight on her, knowing her example will inspire many others to give and get involved in our local community.

Additional information about our 2022 Philanthropist of the Year is available in this Bethesda Magazine Article and on our website. You can also view this special tribute video that was debuted at the event.

Quarterly Fundholder Update - FY23 Q2

Dear Community Foundation Fundholders,

I hope you and your family are enjoying the beautiful fall weather!

Thanks to your continued generosity and care, our community of givers collectively awarded nearly $30 million in grants last quarter (quarter ending September 30, 2022) to nonprofits working to strengthen our region and beyond.

In September, we were proud to release our Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 2022 (April 2021 - March 2022). The report features our new vision for change, with stories demonstrating how your support and partnership help us be responsive to all kinds of needs, as we work to strengthen and support communities across the region. In case you missed our 2022 Annual Meeting or the release of our Annual Report, you can find the recording and resources here.

Last quarter, our community impact work included:

• Transitioning the Children’s Opportunity Fund to become the Children’s Opportunity Alliance, a new independent nonprofit organization that will serve as Montgomery County’s Early Care and Education Coordinating Entity. 

• Investing $765,000 to strengthen community and education in DC and Montgomery County through two initiatives — a partnership with Martha’s Table to support and strengthen Ward 8 nonprofit organizations, and the Children’s Opportunity Fund.

• Welcoming seven new staff members and five new Advisory Board members in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. We are thrilled by the vast array of experience they bring and by their drive to help us close the racial wealth gap.

• Hosting our quarterly DMV Community Book Group for a conversation about “What We Get Wrong About Closing the Racial Wealth Gap” with co-author Anne Price, the first female President of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development.

Last month, we were pleased to welcome Richard K. Bynum as the new Chair of our Board of Trustees. As chief corporate responsibility officer for The PNC Financial Services Group and a member of its Executive Committee, Bynum leads the PNC Foundation, Community Affairs, ESG practice, Community Development Banking, and Diversity and Inclusion. Recognized as one of region’s most influential business leaders by the Washington Business Journal, Richard is an accomplished executive with nearly 20 years of executive leadership experience.

I’d like to also share our heartfelt thanks to Katharine Weymouth, our outgoing Board Chair. Katharine has been a tremendous force and a key strategic advisor as we navigated a CEO search, a global pandemic, and the launch of our 10-year strategic framework. As a Community Foundation Trustee for the last 6 years, Weymouth also continued a family tradition and legacy of giving and service to the Greater Washington region.

With the end of year approaching, our staff is available to assist with carrying out your philanthropic goals for 2022. Please be mindful of our December 16 deadline for your yearend grantmaking activities to ensure your nonprofit partners receive their funds by December 31.

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

P.S. I hope to see you next month at one of our signature celebrations – the Civic Leadership Awards in Prince George’s County on November 10 and the Celebration of Giving in Montgomery County on November 16.

2022 Year End Gifts and Grantmaking

Please note: The Community Foundation will be closed for the following federal holidays: Thanksgiving (November 24 and 25), Christmas (December 26), and New Year’s Day (January 2). We will also close at 1 p.m. on December 23 and 30.

As we near the end of the year, we would like to recognize our donors and their generosity throughout 2022. Thank you for standing with us as we worked to support and strengthen our community. You’ve continued to demonstrate the strong philanthropic spirit that empowers our region. 

In an effort to assist you with carrying out your philanthropic goals, please see below for The Community Foundation’s deadlines regarding year-end giving and grantmaking activities.

RECOMMENDING GRANTS FROM YOUR FUND

Grant recommendations submitted by December 16 will be processed by December 31, provided the grantee organization meets The Community Foundation’s due diligence requirements. Due to increased volume, we cannot guarantee that grant recommendations submitted after December 16 will be processed in 2022.

PLEASE NOTE: Grants submitted prior to December 16, 2022 must also meet The Community Foundation’s due diligence requirements to be processed by December 31, 2022.

Grant recommendations should be submitted through your Donor Central account. Questions regarding Donor Central can be forwarded to Emily Davis (202-973-2501, [email protected]).

MAKING GIFTS TO THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

All gifts submitted to The Community Foundation by December 31 will be credited as a 2022 contribution. Please note: The gift must be in The Community Foundation’s account by this day to be eligible for a 2022 tax deduction. 

GIFTS MADE ONLINE:

Gifts can be made online at www.thecommunityfoundation.org/donate.  

GIFTS MADE VIA CHECK: 

Greater Washington Community Foundation 
1325 G St. NW, Suite 480
Washington, DC 20005

Please note: checks sent by US Postal Service mail must be postmarked no later than December 31, or hand-delivered no later than Friday, December 30 at 1 p.m.

GIFTS OF CASH OR SECURITIES MADE VIA WIRE TRANSFER:

Please see the instructions for making gifts via ACH or wire transfer. Make sure to include your or the donor’s name/fund name in the reference section of the transfer. You can contact the Finance Department at 202-955-5890 if there are any questions. Monies must be in The Community Foundation’s account by December 30, to be earmarked as a 2022 contribution.

GIFTS MADE VIA TRANSFER FROM MUTUAL FUNDS:

In order for gifts made from mutual funds gifted to The Community Foundation to be received by December 31 and earmarked as a 2022 contribution, the transfer must be initiated early enough — typically at least two weeks or more — to be posted into our account. Please check with your broker on their internal timelines.

QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTIONS (IRA Charitable Rollover)

As a reminder, qualified charitable distributions from your IRA (if you are at least 70.5 years of age) cannot be used for donor-advised funds. They may be used for designated, field of interest, and other types of funds. Notify your plan administrator no later than December 15 if you intend to make a gift from your IRA. Please contact us for help with these types of gifts.

Illiquid assets and real estate

The Community Foundation accepts gifts of illiquid assets such as closely held stock, partnership interests, and real estate. Gifts must be reviewed and approved by The Community Foundation’s Gift Acceptance Committee. Please allow plenty of time for review and approval.

Quarterly Fundholder Update - FY23 Q1

Dear Community Foundation Fundholders,

I hope you and your family are enjoying a safe and happy summer!

Last quarter, The Community Foundation and our community of givers collectively awarded more than $18 million in grants to nonprofits addressing the most pressing needs of this region.

As a fundholder, you are making a difference in our community now and for generations to come. To help keep you informed and your giving inspired, we are excited to share with you our new Guidebook for Giving with Purpose. We hope this guidebook will serve as a handy reference for your grantmaking and fund management by outlining our policies and procedures and giving you new ideas for how to use your fund to make a meaningful difference. It also details the wide array of Community Foundation services, engagement opportunities, resources, and support available to you as a fundholder. 

If you have an endowed fund at The Community Foundation, your fund’s spendable balance is now available for grantmaking until June 30, 2023. As a reminder, the spendable balance is calculated annually by applying the spending rate (currently 5%) to the average of the fund’s principal value for the previous 12 quarters (3 years). You are not required to grant the full available to spend balance — you may opt to add to the principal balance of your fund.

Like you, we have been closely monitoring the market as it hit steep declines amid extreme volatility during the last quarter. While inflation and recession are the headline risks, SEI, our Outsourced Chief Investment Officer, believes much of the damage has been done, although predicting the future is difficult. SEI has not made radical alterations to our portfolios in response to market turmoil. Now into the second half of 2022, SEI intends to selectively add to positions where they see potential value; maintain allocations to defensive equity, core property, and other inflation hedging strategies; as well as consider other opportunistic, distressed, and private strategies.

Following the launch of The Community Foundation’s new strategic plan last year, we remain committed to building equitable, just, and thriving communities where everyone prospers. Last quarter, our ongoing work to support and strengthen this community included:

• Sharing Community Funds brought donors together to award $1.1 million in grants to foster an equitable recovery.

• Let’s GO DMV!, a 5-year guaranteed income pilot, began its first cash distributions of $1,000 a month to 75 hospitality workers who lost their jobs during COVID-19.

• The historic Health Equity Fund opened its first grant round for up to $10 million in grants to improve the health outcomes and health equity of DC residents.

• Our local office in Prince George’s County brought together faith, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders to discuss opportunities to close the racial wealth gap.

• The LGBTQ+ Fund for Philanthropy renewed its inaugural investments to address the needs of our region’s LGBTQ+ community through providing services and advocacy.

• The 2022 Celebration of Philanthropy brought together our strongest supporters, community partners, and friends to recognize our shared impact on this region.

Thanks to your generosity and the inspiring service of our community partners, I am hopeful about what we can continue to accomplish together.

Sincerely,
Tonia Wellons
President and CEO
Greater Washington Community Foundation

Spring 2022 Grant Round invests more than $765,000 in Greater Washington Region

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is excited to announce more than $765,000 in grants awarded to nonprofits through two initiatives strengthening community and education in the District and Montgomery County.

This was an exciting grant round for both initiatives — the Martha’s Table Community Impact Fund, a partnership between The Community Foundation and Martha’s Table to support and strengthen Ward 8 nonprofit organizations historically excluded from institutional philanthropy — and the Children’s Opportunity Fund, which recently announced it’s launch as an independent nonprofit organization.

Below is the complete list of grant recipients for each of the funds:

Children’s Opportunity Fund

Action in Montgomery (AIM) is a broad-based community power organization rooted in Montgomery County’s neighborhoods and congregations.  They are a non-partisan, multi-faith, multi-racial organization and dedicated to making Montgomery County and the State of Maryland a better place to live and thrive.  This grant will support organizing teams of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) parents to address structural barriers related to access to early childhood education. 

Advancing Black Lives in Education, Inc. (ABLE) was established by a small group of former educators, administrators, school board members and Montgomery County Public School parents to address the needs of Black children and families during the pandemic.  This grant will build ABLE’s capacity to continue developing and improving the tutoring opportunities and supports. 

Arts on the Block (AOB) empowers youth to be creative and encourages them to contribute to the quality of life in their communities.  AOB implements a Youth Arts Movement (YAM) program that provides quality out of school time experiences that support the social-emotional development of young black, brown and low-income students in Elementary Schools.  This grant will support programming that integrates literacy, dual-language exploration, visual arts and STEM elements. 

BlackRock Center for the Arts provides opportunities to explore, celebrate and engage in the arts.  This grant will allow BlackRock to provide summer arts programming to low-income children and their families in the northern part of Montgomery County. 

Comunibuild Foundation, Inc. implements I.S.P.O.T. (Instructional Support Providing Online Training) which includes all-inclusive programming of early literacy, STEM and community engagement activities.  This grant will support an out of school time I.S.P.O.T. program offered for students in K-3 in the Spencerville and Burtonsville communities of Montgomery County.

Empowering the Ages transforms lives through facilitating and nurturing relationships across all generations. Senior volunteers are connected with 4-5 year old children for tutoring, mentoring and providing additional supports to families.  This grant will support the expansion of a school readiness and family engagement program for Pre-K and Head Start students into their kindergarten year.

Imagination Library of Montgomery County is an affiliate of a national, evidence-informed program that provides a free book to any child enrolled between the ages of birth to age 5.  This grant will expand the partnership of COF established in 2020 to strategically and intentionally grow enrollment from 800 students to over 1,500 in 2022.   

Interages is an intergenerational program model that supports seniors to tutor and mentor young people in our community.  This grant will support AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparents program, which matches a senior with PreK-Grade 2 students at three high need Elementary Schools in Montgomery County, and the continuation of the tutoring program at Daly Elementary School, in partnership with Thriving Germantown. 

Kid Museum is an equity-focused educational nonprofit serving Montgomery County and the greater Washington DC metropolitan area since 2014. A pioneer in “maker learning,” KID Museum’s programs build sustained engagement in STEM and creative problem solving, empowering youth of diverse backgrounds to become the next generation of innovators and changemakers. In 2021-2022, this grant has supported the expansion of out of school time programs and programming for students from under-resourced communities on non-school days, including development of a K-3 curriculum for out of school time that integrates literacy, STEM and social-emotional learning. 

Montgomery Housing Partnership, Inc. (MHP) preserves and expands affordable housing, empowers families, strengthens neighborhoods and provides support services to families in their housing units.  This grant will support the Play and Learn program which provides kindergarten readiness opportunities for low-income youth and English Language Learners. 

PEP (Parent Education Program) partners with communities to provide parenting classes.  This grant will serve approximately 100 Latino and African immigrant families and over 250 children to provide virtual parenting classes during the 2022-2023 school year. 

Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington implements the Glasses4Scholars program to address the unmet vision needs of student to increase academic grades and attendance.  In partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), this grant will provide screenings, eye exams and eyeglasses to identified students in grades K-2nd. 

Story Tapestries, Inc.: will focus on programs in the early childhood years that build emergent literacy skills for economically impacted youth, educator and caregivers in Montgomery County, MD.  This grant will  provide professional development for educators to create inclusive learning environments, family support through interactive events and literacy kits. 

The Civic Circle is a nonprofit that empowers young students to understand and participate in democracy through music and the arts.  This grant will increase staff capacity to serve more students in Eastern Montgomery County, MD. 

Thriving Germantown is a community school model that works collectively with various stakeholders to improve outcomes for low-income children in the Germantown area of Montgomery County.  This grant will support the educational, health and social inequities addressed through a community hub model which provides care coordination, community empowerment opportunities, and ensures that the right services are available to reach vulnerable families at Daly Elementary School and other surrounding schools. 

Wonders is an organization creating and advancing high-quality, diverse educational communities to teach children the foundations for life-long learning and social responsibility.  This grant will enable Wonders to increase the number of workshops focused on equity in early learning utilizing a professional development model to address workforce training and retention challenges in the Early Care and Education (ECE) community . 

Community Impact Fund

Anacostia AMP Outreach Empowerment Center is committed to bringing Healing, Opportunity, Provision, and Empowerment to communities East of the River.

Bright Beginnings uses a whole-child, two-generation approach to promote the long-term development and success of children and families experiencing homelessness and housing instability in Washington, DC.  Their early learning centers offer full-day, year-round and developmentally-appropriate early childhood education for children from birth to five years old, at no cost to their families.

 Bright Beginnings offers comprehensive wrap-around services to both children and their parents with the goal of supporting families as they take the brave journey from crisis to self-sufficiency.

Family & Friends of Incarcerated People (FFOIP) is an organization whose primary mission is to foster community support that effectively meets the needs of today’s at-risk children and families of those incarcerated. It operates solely to promote charity, literacy, public safety, and to avoid inter-generational incarceration.

FFOIP serves DC area children of the incarcerated and at-risk youth by engaging them in social, cultural and youth development activities through our various projects, programs, and events.

Healthy Babies Project, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit, community-based support organization that helps the poorest District youth build stable lives.

Horton’s Kids empowers children growing up in DC’s most under-resourced communities so that they graduate from high school ready for success in college, career, and life. They serve 500 children in grades K-12 living in Wellington Park & Stanton Oaks – neighborhoods that have been profoundly impacted by decades of disinvestment and barriers to opportunity.

Inner Thoughts, Inc. was founded to 1) develop, consult and exhibit through creative expression the talents of others and those within the realm of the corporation, utilizing the medium of the arts and media; 2) to foster the development of a stable, diversified and local economy and/or economic activities which through career counseling and referral, promotes potential economic well-being and reduces dependency on social services, and 3) to support local access, by our youth, to programs and services which are essential to a self-sufficient community. 

Project Create provides opportunities for creative youth development through accessible, multidisciplinary arts education to empower young people and amplify their voices. They collaborate with children, youth and families in an inclusive and supportive community where art is healing and transformative.

Safe Sisters Circle is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free culturally specific, holistic, and trauma-based services to Black women survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault primarily living in Washington, DC's Wards 7 and 8.

Victory Youth Center operates the Mary Virginia Merrick Center, which provides high quality out of school curriculum and recreational programs. It is a safe space in the community where youth and families in Ward 8 can consistently gather to enrich their mind, body and spirit.

William Lockridge Educational and Scholarship Fund - provide financial aid to DC Public School graduating senior interested in pursuing post-high school course of study at either a college/university or other postsecondary institution.

Funding Opportunities through our Summer Grant round are now available! Interested nonprofits should visit our Grant Opportunities page for more information!

A Night of Music, Vision, and Celebration of Philanthropy at The Warner Theatre

Over 200 of Greater Washington Community Foundation supporters, community partners, and friends joined us on May 4 at Warner Theatre for an intimate 2022 Celebration of Philanthropy. The energy in the room and the commitment to this region was truly inspiring!

A huge thank you to the speakers, staff, performers, and everyone who contributed to making this Celebration possible – especially our Community Champions who contributed over $728,000 to support The Community Foundation’s work to advance equity and economic justice by closing our region’s racial wealth gap.

The Celebration was a wonderful opportunity for our community of changemakers to reconnect, enjoy incredible performances from local nonprofit arts organizations, and join an important conversation about economic justice.

During the program, The Community Foundation CEO Tonia Wellons shared a preview of The Community Foundation’s new strategic vision and path to pursue economic justice, with a neighborhood-centered approach. She shared that as The Community Foundation embarks on this journey, it will require a clear vision, strong leadership, and a coalition of the willing that understands the compounding impact of the racial wealth gap. The Community Foundation is ready to step up to that challenge and Tonia invited our community of givers and changemakers to be part of the coalition of the willing, as together we deepen our collective understanding of the racial wealth gap and what it will take to close it.

The program also included a special conversation with two of the country’s leading experts on racial inequality -- Dr. Rashawn Ray, a Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution and Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, and Dr. Thomas Shapiro, award-winning author and Professor of Law and Social Policy at Brandeis University –- to reflect on the causes and consequences of the racial wealth gap, and how can we pursue economic justice for the Greater Washington region. The conversation, which was moderated by Tonia, touched on systemic policies and historical practices that have extracted wealth from Black families and communities –- from redlining, to home loans and appraisals, tax policy, over-policing of Black communities, and beyond –- what this costs all of us, and ways that individuals and organizations can take steps to shift resources, policies, and practices to create a more equitable and just future.

The celebration was also headlined by talented local artists representing nonprofit arts organizations across the region -- including a lively musical performance from the East of the River Steelband, a program that incorporates the history and culture of traditional steelpan music of Trinidad and Tobago with a high-quality arts experience for youth in Wards 7 and 8. The performance, which kicked off the evening, had guests dancing in the aisles to a steelpan rendition of “This is How We Do it” by Montell Jordan.

The program also featured a moving spoken word performance from Fella Morgan-Bey, a writer, spoken word performer, and published author. Presented by BlackRock Center for the Arts, Fella regaled the crowd with an original piece called “Who Done It”.

Following the program, Words, Beats & Life presented a slam poetry performance by Elana Ernst, Kashvi Ramani, and Sarina Patel, three youth poet laureates from DC, Arlington County, and Montgomery County. 

As participants enjoyed cocktails, delicious food from Spilled Milk Catering, they also grooved to a "canvas" of African rhythms from Sahel, a band representing the African diaspora.

Sahel was immediately followed by Gerson Lanza and Friends — a duo composed of Ana Tomioshi and Gerson Lanza, two leading tap dance artists — who led participants on a journey of dance, music, and song. These final two performances were presented by EducArte, Inc, a Prince George’s County-based arts education nonprofit dedicated to fostering diversity and cultural vibrancy in the arts.

Throughout the night, guests participated in a Together, We Prosper polaroid photo wall activation and experienced Life Pieces To Masterpieces’ art gallery displaying its students' artistic masterpieces that tell profound and inspiring stories.

The Community Foundation’s hope is that the Celebration serves not just as a reminder of what our region has already achieved — but also as an exciting preamble to the unlimited potential that we can unlock by working together. As we prepare to celebrate The Community Foundation’s 50th anniversary next year, we are excited about what we can accomplish together for our community over the next 50 years.

Thank you for your continued support of The Community Foundation! Together, we will build more equitable, just, and thriving communities where everyone prospers. 

Basic-Income Pilot Helps Hospitality Workers Affected by COVID

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is excited to share the launch of Let’s GO DMV! – a guaranteed income pilot in the Washington, DC region that intends to give $1,000 a month–no strings attached– to 75 hospitality workers who lost their jobs during COVID. All but one of the workers are individuals of colors. The pilot, which recently began its first cash distributions, is planned to last five years.

“This initiative addresses a glaring reality as it relates to the racial wealth gap: that Black people and other people of color in our region were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 dual health and economic crises, further widening pre-existing disparities,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation.

“Let’s GO DMV! is designed to get cash in people’s hands now – giving them increased flexibility and financial freedom to overcome the systemic barriers they face. Our hope is that this initiative can be used as a case for future government-supported programs and policies that are needed to advance economic justice.”

The launch was funded by a number of regional partners including Greater Washington Community Foundation, Amalgamated Foundation, Meyer Foundation, if, and several others. The Greater Washington Community Foundation is proud to serve as the designated fiscal agent for philanthropic grants and other financial contributions to Let’s Go DMV!.

For more information, visit www.letsgodmv.org

Faces of Sharing – Getting to Know Sharing Prince George's Committee Member, Rufus Lusk III

Sharing Prince George’s Committee Member Rufus Lusk III with Carl Cooper, Manager of the Port Towns Burger King.

Strengthening Community Connections

Rev. Rufus Lusk III has been involved with the Greater Washington Community Foundation for quite some time. A retired pastor and fourth generation Washingtonian, Rufus has been finding ways to give back to his community through The Community Foundation since the mid-90s.

Rufus is a natural connector, something that he uses on a regular basis in his ongoing role as managing partner with Lusk Family, LLC – a real estate firm with strong ties to Prince George’s County.

Unlike some landlords, Rufus loves to interact regularly with his tenants – driving down from his home in Baltimore to Port Towns Shopping Center frequently to visit, hear concerns, and take interest in his tenants’ lives.

 You can often find him enjoying pancakes at the Port Towns IHOP or chatting with the cashier at a nearby CVS. These interactions, he says form the foundation for his philanthropic giving.

“I've always felt that any philanthropy that we do needs to come around to producing a better society. That means creating greater prosperity for everybody.”

So when he was invited to join the Sharing Prince George’s Committee, Rufus was excited to get involved.

“What I really enjoyed about Sharing Prince George’s was getting to actually speak with the people on the front lines,” Rufus shares. “We were able to understand something of the background of the nonprofit staff -- as well as the specific needs that they are addressing.”

Like when Hillside Youth Services, a nonprofit supporting youth in Prince George’s County, came to Sharing Montgomery seeking support for their Work Scholarship Connection program.

Upon doing some research, Rufus realized that Hillside’s sister organization in Syracuse, New York was closely connected to one of his tenants – Carrol’s Restaurant Group, the largest Burger King franchisee in the world, with over 1,000 locations. The relationship allows Hillside to partner with local businesses to place and mentor high school youth in entry-level jobs in Upstate New York.

“I asked the Hillside team if they had a similar relationship, here in Prince George’s County,” Rufus says. “They told me they were hoping to develop something like that, but they hadn’t gotten the right introduction. I thought to myself ‘I guess that’s why God sent me to this meeting’.”

As fate would have it, Rufus had just connected with the new District Manager earlier that week. Thanks to Rufus’ introduction, Hillside is now in conversations to implement a new program which could help place dozens of teens in entry-level jobs.

The Sharing Community Funds bring together donors who share our passion for building more equitable, just, and thriving communities.  With expert facilitation by Community Foundation staff, donors join together to learn first-hand about the challenges facing our community. Thanks to the generosity of this growing community of givers, together we discover and invest in visionary nonprofits working on the frontlines of our region’s most pressing needs.

Want to get involved? The Sharing Prince George’s Fund Committee welcomes new members. Contact Desmirra Quinnonez ([email protected])  to find out more about how you can be a part of this impactful fund!

Faces of Sharing – Getting to Know Sharing DC Committee Member, Renee Licht

Sharing DC Committee Chair Renee Licht

Expanding Your Philanthropic Horizons

“I enjoy participating in Sharing DC because I’m continually learning – which I love!”

Renee Licht is a long-time DC resident and Chair of the Sharing DC Fund Committee. However, she wasn’t always super involved in philanthropy.

“Before I retired, my husband and I would write out checks to our favorite charities at the end of each year, and that was pretty much it. We didn’t think about what kind of impact we were making.”

It wasn’t until she was invited to join a local women’s giving circle, Giving Together, that Renee started to learn about the power of collective giving.

At the time, Giving Together was a relatively young group, made up of community members volunteering their time and resources to support a handful of local nonprofits. Within months, Renee was asked to co-chair the group’s grantmaking committee.

“In the giving circle, we learned as we went – especially when it came to the grantmaking process. There was no professional staff; we were all volunteers.”

Meanwhile, Renee and her husband decided to seek support for their personal philanthropy by opening a donor-advised fund at The Community Foundation. While chatting with their Donor Services Officer, Renee learned about Sharing DC and decided to become involved.

“I found it appealing that there were experts at The Community Foundation who could help inform our charitable giving and expand our thinking about philanthropy,” Renee explains.

While balancing involvement in two different philanthropic groups may seem like a daunting task, Renee says she quickly discovered there were benefits to it.

“I found I was able to bring my Giving Together experience in grant evaluating to the Sharing DC Committee. At the same time, I was able to bring the knowledge I gained from Sharing DC about local nonprofits, trust-based philanthropy, and advancing racial equity to the work we were doing at Giving Together.”

In particular, Renee says she has particularly enjoyed The Community Foundation’s new strategic vision of closing Washington’s racial wealth gap.

“It’s a fresh approach to philanthropy,” Renee says. “One that I find personally meaningful. It’s exciting to look at our grants (both in Sharing DC and Giving Together) with specific goals and objectives in mind.”

Currently, Renee is the Vice President and Co-Chair of the Grants Committee at Giving Together. She also serves as the Chair of the Sharing DC Fund Committee.

“It’s very important for anyone who is philanthropically minded to share the satisfaction of collaborative grantmaking,” Renee says. “If you care about the local community, being a member of Sharing DC will give you a window into the problems the community faces and connect you directly with the nonprofits that are doing the work to address those issues. And you will do so with a collegial group of like-minded people.”

“I really can’t say enough good things about being involved in Sharing DC.”

The Sharing Community Funds bring together donors who share our passion for building more equitable, just, and thriving communities.  With expert facilitation by Community Foundation staff, donors join together to learn first-hand about the challenges facing our community. Thanks to the generosity of this growing community of givers, together we discover and invest in visionary nonprofits working on the frontlines of our region’s most pressing needs.

Want to get involved? The Sharing DC Fund Committee welcomes new members. Contact Gisela Shanfeld ([email protected]) to find out more about how you can be a part of this impactful fund!

Faces of Sharing – Getting to Know Sharing Montgomery Committee Member, Pam Saussy

Pam & Gordon Saussy

Making an Impact from Both Sides of the Table

At the start of 2020, Sharing Montgomery Committee member Pam Saussy and her husband Gordon decided to take their financial giving to the next level. The couple opened a donor-advised fund with the Greater Washington Community Foundation. There was only one problem.

“My husband and I had a particular cause in mind that we wanted to fund, but I needed to get more familiar with which organizations were operating in that area, in Montgomery County.”

Pam is no stranger to the Greater Washington Community Foundation – or the grantmaking process, for that matter.

For ten years, Pam served as the Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Montgomery County – a nonprofit providing literacy and workforce development training to under-served adults. During that time, she applied for – and received – multiple grants from The Community Foundation, including several from the Sharing Montgomery Fund.

So you can imagine her excitement when she was invited to join a Sharing Montgomery Fund Committee – only this time she’d be helping to evaluate and approve grants, instead of requesting one.

“It was exciting to be on the other side of things,” Pam shares. “It gave me a way to dive in and be more purposeful about my giving, while learning about other nonprofits at the same time.”

Because she joined at the height of the pandemic, Pam was able to attend almost all of the virtual site visits. Thanks to the grantmaking process, she was then able to identify two nonprofits that aligned with the cause that she and her husband had chosen.

“Being part of Sharing Montgomery gave me a clearer sense of what my options were in terms of where we could make the biggest difference. We’re excited to support these nonprofits through our Donor-Advised Fund – and are grateful for Sharing Montgomery for helping us make this connection.”

However, Pam told me that one of the most impactful parts of her Sharing Montgomery experience was gaining a new perspective on grantmaking.

“Applying for grants can be a little daunting,” Pam told me. “I think a lot of times as a nonprofit, you feel like you never want to show your vulnerability to a potential funder; which can sometimes prevent you from having candid conversations about the challenges you’re facing, with people who really just want to help you achieve your goals.”

“Being a part of Sharing Montgomery helped me see that the grantmaking process is really supposed to be more of a two-way street.”

The Sharing Community Funds bring together donors who share our passion for building more equitable, just, and thriving communities.  With expert facilitation by Community Foundation staff, donors join together to learn first-hand about the challenges facing our community. Thanks to the generosity of this growing community of givers, together we discover and invest in visionary nonprofits working on the frontlines of our region’s most pressing needs.

Want to get involved? The Sharing Montgomery Fund Committee welcomes new members. Contact Kate Daniels ([email protected])  to find out more about how you can be a part of this impactful fund!

Partnership to End Homelessness Awards Housing Justice Grants in Honor of Waldon Adams

The Partnership to End Homelessness (The Partnership) is pleased to announce $350,000 in grants awarded to seven organizations and coalitions leading systems change efforts in DC. Selected nonprofits receive $50,000 in funding to support work to end homelessness and increase the supply of deeply affordable housing.

Systems change is the intentional process of working to make population level change for whole groups of people by disrupting and dismantling the structures of cultural, social, and economic systems that perpetuate inequities. There are many ways to transform and disrupt systems. We know that in order to end homelessness, we must create systems that center people experiencing housing instability and homelessness and that prevent homelessness in the first place. To do that, we focus on efforts developed and led by people most directly impacted by homelessness and housing instability.

Our second round of Housing Justice Grants are made in memory of our Leadership Council member, Waldon Adams, a fierce advocate for ending homelessness who was tragically killed in 2021.

This grant opportunity provides flexible funding to the seven organizations below to support their advocacy, organizing, and other systems change efforts. This funding can be used for local and federal advocacy efforts, community organizing and education, or even infrastructure to increase the capacity of these organizations and coalitions. It can be used for staffing, messaging and communications, research, or meetings and events. We know these grantees share our goal of ending homelessness and increasing the supply of deeply affordable housing and it is important to us that we support them, as the experts in how to make that happen.

SYSTEMS CHANGE Community Partners

• DC Jobs with Justice

• DC Fiscal Policy Institute

• Empower DC

• Fair Budget Coalition

• Miriam's Kitchen

• ONE DC: Organizing Neighborhood Equity

• The Washington Legal Clinic For The Homeless Inc

Last year, the Partnership awarded our first grants to advance housing justice. Together with tenants and people with lived experience, our community partners led efforts to secure:

• historic budget investments resulting in Permanent Supportive Housing for over 2,300 households;

• $50 million for public housing maintenance and repairs;

• protections for neighbors experiencing homelessness during the pandemic;

• investments in rental assistance to ensure housing instability during the pandemic; and

• more just and equitable housing policies.

These grants were made possible thanks to generous partners and donors to the Partnership’s Grantmaking Fund.

Read on to learn more about a few of our partners, their work, and strategic priorities to transform and disrupt systems and advance housing justice. 

WORKING WITH TENANTS TO BRING ABOUT SYSTEMIC CHANGE

Empower DC’s work emphasizes the housing needs of DC’s lowest income residents, those earning 30% of the Area Median Income or below, including people with disabilities, the retired, low wage earners and people coming home from incarceration or experiencing homelessness. Empower DC received $50,000 to engage in community-led planning to expand deeply affordable housing and to preserve existing affordable rental housing, including public housing.  

“While DC has affordable housing laws that other cities envy – like Inclusionary Zoning (IZ), and the Housing Production Trust Fund – in reality, these programs have not stemmed the tide of displacement or addressed the need for low- income housing. DC’s existing policies and practices systemically fail to address the need for housing at this lowest income level, targeting instead incomes at 60 or 80% of the Area Median Income when units are built with public subsidy from the Housing Trust Fund or set aside by developers through IZ.

Empower DC addresses this inequity by organizing with people who need deeply affordable housing, including public housing residents, to push for greater investment in and protections for low-income tenants. Using policy, budget, planning and even legal strategies, Empower DC centers the expertise of low- income Black and Brown DC residents with lived experience of housing instability, elevating their voices as visionaries and champions for their communities. For more information or to get involved in Empower DC’s work, go to www.empowerdc.org.”

-          Parisa Norouzi, Executive Director, Empower DC

WORKING TOGETHER TO SECURE LIFE-SAVING HOUSING INVESTMENTS

Driven by the truth that housing ends homelessness, Miriam’s Kitchen and The Way Home Campaign community worked together to secure historic investments to end chronic homelessness in last year's budget. Now, Miriam’s Kitchen is working hard to ensure that this funding translates into life-saving housing for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Miriam’s Kitchen received $50,000 to build capacity to push for resources, policies, and implementation that prevents and ends homelessness, and to enhance and expand The Way Home Campaign, a citywide movement to end chronic homelessness.

“Through our leadership of The Way Home Campaign, we continue to convene various stakeholders, including people with lived experience of homelessness, service providers, and advocates, to identify and advocate for policy solutions needed to quickly and effectively implement the over 2,300 new Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) vouchers available this year. Additionally, we, along with local and national partners, have spent much of the past year pushing back against Mayor Bowser’s harmful approach to homeless encampments and ensuring that our neighbors living outside are treated with respect and dignity.  

Mayor Bowser releases her budget proposal on March 16. This is a critical time to ensure that she hears from community members like you! Click here to urge Mayor Bowser to fully fund the recommendations laid out in Homeward DC 2.0, her strategic plan to end homelessness. To read our full budget recommendations and to join the over 7,000 individuals and 110 organizations pushing DC to end chronic homelessness, please visit www.thewayhomedc.org.”

-          Lara Pukatch, Chief Advocacy Officer, Miriam’s Kitchen

Historic Opportunities in the Fight to End Homelessness in DC

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

As the Mayor and City Council are considering the FY2023 budget for DC, we face a historic opportunity to end chronic homelessness in DC. Last year, the DC Budget made significant investments in Permanent Supportive Housing, a proven solution to end housing instability for individuals who have experienced homelessness for an extended period of time and who struggle with complex health challenges such as mental illness, addiction, physical disabilities, or other chronic conditions.

This year, the Partnership to End Homelessness is working with our nonprofit, government, and public sector partners to build on this progress and leverage both federal and local resources available to end homelessness and make even more investments in long-term solutions.

We know that our investments alone will never end homelessness and that public sector resources must be targeted to support our neighbors who are struggling with homelessness and housing instability. That is why we created the Partnership to End Homelessness – to bring together public and private sector around a shared strategy to ensure all our neighbors have a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

We hope you will consider joining us in this critical work. There are three immediate and exciting opportunities to help advance the work of the Partnership in 2022:

1. Securing Public Sector Investments for housing and ending homelessness
   Last week, we sent a letter to Mayor Bowser asking her to use the revised 2022 budget and 2023 budget to continue to address housing challenges — specifically by expanding Permanent Supportive Housing, as well as Rental Assistance and Eviction Prevention.

   In addition to our own advocacy, we’re making our second round of housing justice grants to support our nonprofit partners leading budget advocacy and other essential systems change efforts. Last year their work secured historic investments, including almost 2,300 new vouchers for Permanent Supportive Housing. You can read more about those grants and how to get involved here.

   If you live or work in DC, we encourage you to get involved! Our elected officials need to hear from you. Tell them that increasing access to affordable housing and ending homelessness are a priority and that our future will be stronger if we do these things. Our partners at The Way Home Campaign have made it easy, click hear to send a letter now .
   

2. Investing in our nonprofits to leverage federal resources to end homelessness
   DC has an opportunity to leverage up to $20+ million in annual federal resources for Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) services in DC. This year, DC will launch a new Medicaid Benefit that will provide higher reimbursement rates for nonprofit providers and new and ongoing federal resources for ending homelessness in DC.

   In order to successfully leverage these resources, nonprofits will need to adopt new practices, quality control checks, and new or updated internal systems related to human resources, accounting, and compliance functions. We are working with our partners to raise critical funds to invest across the system to ensure all nonprofit partners, including smaller Black and Brown-led organizations, are ready to make this transition and leverage these new resources.

   Learn more in our recent blog post or support this work now by contributing to our Grantmaking Fund.

3. Ensuring housing stability through rental assistance and eviction prevention

   One of the key roles that we, as philanthropy, can play is that of convener. In response to the devastating effects of the pandemic and economic crisis, for over a year now, The Partnership has been working with Urban Institute and The DC Bar Foundation to convene key partners – including local government, philanthropy, legal services, landlords, and housing counseling organizations – to prevent evictions and connect tenants to available rental assistance.

   We know that our Black and Brown neighbors have faced higher rates of unemployment and eviction during the pandemic With 21,000 DC residents currently unemployed, we cannot stop working to ensure tenants can stay in their homes. We will continue to advocate for additional resources for tenants and to work with our partners to develop new systems that support tenants and their landlords to increase housing stability.

We know that increasing housing stability and ending homelessness will pay off, in stronger families, stronger communities, and a stronger future for this region. Research confirms that housing instability harms a child’s development and an adult’s ability to get and retain employment, and that providing housing stability creates better health and better futures for children, their families, and single adults.

This year presents an opportunity for DC. How will we respond? Ending homelessness will take everyone working together and doing their part. We hope you will join us.

The Partnership to End Homelessness works to ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring in Washington, DC. By joining together, we can increase the supply of deeply affordable housing, bolster our response system to help more people obtain and maintain stable housing, and ultimately end homelessness in DC

Letter to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser from the Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council

Dear Mayor Bowser:

We are writing on behalf of the Greater Washington Community Foundation and its Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council to thank you for your commitment to addressing homelessness in DC. As you work to finalize your budget proposal for fiscal year 2023, we ask you to take bold action to end homelessness and make substantial investments in housing that is affordable to DC households with extremely low incomes.

As you know, the Partnership to End Homelessness is a collective effort of private sector business leaders, philanthropists, and national and local nonprofits working to ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring. We are committed to doing our part to end homelessness in DC. However, we know that we cannot do it alone. Public sector investment and commitment, aligned with private sector resources, is the only way to ensure that everyone in our community has the stability that housing provides.

The pandemic has emphasized how critical the role of housing stability is to everyone’s health and security. It has reminded us that far too many DC households are faced daily with housing instability and little or no financial cushion. And it has shown us what we can accomplish as a community when we commit to finding the resources to end homelessness.

As leaders in the business, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors, we all want to live in a community that has worked to end homelessness, and we know that the District’s future will be stronger if we do. Ending homelessness and ensuring housing security will help children succeed in school, help workers be more present and productive, improve the overall health and well-being of residents, and reduce stresses on DC’s social safety net.

We are deeply appreciative that the budget for the current fiscal year took a major step toward ending homelessness, with funding to help thousands of people to move from homelessness to permanent affordable housing, and that you and the Council devoted a substantial amount of federal pandemic aid to address immediate housing security needs and create more long-term affordable housing opportunities. It is investments like these, sustained year after year, that will bring us to the place we all want: a District of Columbia where everyone has stable, secure, and decent housing that they can afford.

This is why we are asking you to use the revised 2022 budget and the 2023 budget to continue to address pre-pandemic as well as pandemic-driven housing challenges faced by so many, and to make continued progress toward ending homelessness and creating deeply affordable housing. We align with the recommendations of our community advocacy partners in calling on the District to use the Fiscal Year 2023 budget for bold action on our deepest inequities, especially homelessness and affordable housing for extremely-low income and very low income households.

Increased Rental Assistance and Eviction Prevention: The District has done an outstanding job of getting federal emergency rental assistance to those most at risk. Unfortunately, given the major lack of affordable housing, rising rents, inflation and ongoing unemployment, the need is so great that the District is running out of this resource. An estimated 40,000 DC residents remain at risk of eviction. We echo the concerns outlined in the letter submitted by DC Fiscal Policy Institute and 37 other organizations on January 27th, and urge you to invest:

• Necessary resources – estimated to be $200 million in rental assistance and $20 million in utility assistance – through ERAP or other programs. We urge you to do this now, through a supplemental budget for FY2022 or other means to tap the $566 million FY2021 surplus and higher-than-expected revenues this year.

• Substantial funding for rental assistance and emergency rental assistance in the FY2023 budget.

Expansion of Permanent Supportive Housing to end chronic homelessness: Even with the substantial investments in the FY2022 budget, under your new comprehensive plan, Homeward DC 2.0, we know that nearly 500 individuals and 260 families still face chronic homelessness. We urge you to implement your plan’s recommendation and invest:

• $25.9 million in permanent supportive housing for 500 individuals and 260 families

Investments to make homelessness truly rare, brief and non-recurring: The challenge of homelessness is not static, meaning that we cannot house those currently facing homelessness and expect the problem to end. Homelessness is affected by the continued and significant loss of affordable housing and the relentless increase in rents throughout DC– including the increase this year for rent-controlled units. In order to prevent homelessness and the long-term impacts of homelessness on our neighbors and our communities, we urge you to invest:

• $700,000 to prevent homelessness for 400 additional individuals through Project Reconnect

• $6.3 million in well-targeted Rapid ReHousing, including high-quality case management, for single adults

• $27.7 million in Targeted Affordable Housing for 1,040 households

• $24.2 million toward ending youth homelessness

• $1 million in workforce programming for homeless youth

• $558,000 to create a mobile behavioral health team than can meet youth where they are

• $1.8 million to continue the ReEntry Housing Pilot for Returning Citizens

• $1 million to fund B24-0106, the “Fair Tenant Screening Act of 2021,” and B24-0229, the “Human Rights Enhancement Amendment Act of 2021”

• $12.5 million to provide 65 units of transitional housing and 15 affordable housing units to survivors of domestic violence

Outreach and Other Services: While we work to ensure everyone has safe and stable housing, we must:

• Continue to provide PEP-V, non-congregate shelter options for residents experiencing homelessness who are at high risk of contracting and dying from COVID-19

• Fund robust street outreach, focused on housing

• Invest $300,000 in additional capital funds to build two 24-hour, 7-day public restrooms

Preserve Public Housing, Expand Affordable Housing: We urge you to use the FY 2023 budget to make a substantial commitment to deeply affordable housing for households earning 0- 30 percent of the Median Family Income (MFI). Housing that is affordable to households with extremely low-income households is the only real long-term solution to ending homelessness. This includes:

• At least $12.9 million in Local Rent Supplement Program vouchers to ensure that half of the Housing Production Trust Fund units will be affordable to people below 30 percent MFI, as required by law.

• Maintain stable funding for the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) and strengthen transparency and reporting requirements to ensure the fund is meeting statutory affordability requirements.

• $17.3 million for 800 Local Rent Supplement Tenant Vouchers, to assist those on the DC Housing Authority waitlist.

• $60 million to repair and preserve public housing.

• $20 million to preserve affordable housing though the Housing Preservation Fund.

• $1.3 million to expand and provide tenant vouchers to 60 returning citizens .

In a community where over 85% of individuals experiencing homelessness are Black, addressing homelessness and investing in deeply affordable housing is a matter of racial equity and social justice. Our city and nation’s history of denying access to economic opportunity to Black people and those in other marginalized communities – relegating Black people largely to lower-paying occupations, denying access to federally guaranteed mortgages, allowing restrictive covenants and more – created the conditions we now see, where median Black household income is less than one-third median white household income and median wealth for Black households is less than one-eightieth the average white household wealth. The large majority of Black households are renters and thus subjected to the relentless increase in rents as the District develops, and most do not have the finances needed to move to homeownership, leading to displacement and/or homelessness. We have an obligation to reverse these conditions– especially as the Nation’s Capital.

Opening up opportunities to affordable housing and wealth building will pay off, in stronger families, stronger communities, and a stronger future. Research confirms that housing instability harms a child’s development and an adult’s ability to get and retain employment, and that providing housing stability creates better health and better futures for children, their families, and single adults.

Thank you again for your leadership and commitment to ending homelessness in our city. We urge you to make 2023 the year that DC makes bold and significant investments to end homelessness and to increase the supply of deeply affordable housing.

Sincerely,

Tonia Wellons
President and CEO, Greater Washington Community Foundation
Partnership to End Homelessness, Leadership Council Co-Chair

David Roodberg
CEO and President, Homing Brothers
Partnership to End Homelessness, Leadership Council Co-Chair

Donor Update: The ACE Act and Donor Advised Funds

You may have noticed that donor-advised funds have been featured more prominently over the last few weeks. That’s in part because the Accelerating Charitable Efforts Act was reintroduced in the House of Representatives on February 3, 2022.

Portions of the bill are designed to address concerns that donor-advised funds are not required to make distributions to charities according to any timeframe or monetary level.

Donor-advised funds are excellent charitable planning tools for many situations, including for individuals and families who want to organize a regular stream of giving to community organizations and unlock illiquid assets to do so. The proposed legislation recognizes special categories of donor-advised funds established at community foundations, referred to as Qualified Community Foundation Donor Advised Funds, which are treated favorably for tax deduction purposes.

We’re tracking closely the various conversations surrounding this proposed legislation, including a proposal by some community foundations that calls for a five percent aggregate minimum payout and other measures to address concerns while also maintaining the characteristics of donor-advised funds that motivate more charitable giving overall.

As with any proposed legislation, no one can predict whether or when new laws impacting donor-advised funds will be enacted, and if they are, what parts of the proposed legislation will be included in the version that becomes law. What we can tell you is that we are watching this legislation very carefully, just as we do with any proposed legislation that could significantly impact your charitable giving strategies. 

Our team at The Community Foundation has decades of experience working with professional advisors and donors to evaluate whether and how to adjust their charitable giving. We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you!

Black-led organizations share impact of last year’s sustainability investments

For many nonprofit organizations in our region, the COVID-19 pandemic tested them in ways they had never imagined. Faced with the combined challenges of an uncertain environment, limited availability for volunteerism and an overwhelming demand for services, many organizations and their staff were pushed to the limit.

But perhaps none have been tested so severely as Black-led nonprofits.

Historically, philanthropy has woefully underinvested in Black-led organizations. A report by Echoing Green and The Bridgespan Group found that even in areas where work targeted Black communities, Black-led organizations had 45 percent less revenue and 91 percent less unrestricted net assets than white-led organizations.

With a mission to advance equity and prosperity, the Greater Washington Community Foundation is working to close the racial wealth gap and mindful of our obligation to change how we look at our approach to philanthropy.

So last year when Facebook approached us with a generous gift intended to support BIPOC communities, The Community Foundation was eager to invest it in Black-led nonprofit organizations working in the critical area of Systems Change, serving Greater Washington. Grants were awarded to address immediate infrastructure needs such as leadership development, human resources and technology – areas that are traditionally difficult to fundraise for, yet incredibly vital to the sustainability of an organization – especially during a pandemic.

Recently, we reached out to them to understand the impact this funding had on their organization. Here are quotes from a few of those sustainability grantees:

Mamatoto Village is a DC-based nonprofit devoted to serving Black womxn and providing perinatal support services

"Receiving the Sustainability of Black-led Organizations grant has helped Mamatoto Village bolster our data and social impact initiatives. With this grant funding, our organization was able to purchase the SoPact Impact Cloud–– an innovative resource that is helping our organization accurately describe the social impact of our services.”

“The Greater Washington Community Foundation grant funding was instrumental in bolstering our advocacy and organizing efforts by allowing us to train and pay community members who are interested in advocating for maternal health rights and equity.

The Community Foundation grant funding has helped our organization meet necessary infrastructure needs as we continue to serve womxn, families, and communities in the Greater Washington region."
-Jordan McRae, Grants Manager, Mamatoto Village

“Racial Justice NOW is grateful for the support we've received from the Greater Washington Community Foundation's sustainability fund. This support has helped us with our strategic planning efforts as we work to map out our work and desired impact over the next few years. Without this support, it would've been extremely difficult to move forward with this process. The work we do in Montgomery County is very important because we center Black people unapologetically, that's self-determination!”

– Zakiya Sankara-Jabar, Co-Founder & Director, Racial Justice NOW!

"Facing the challenges of COVID, the Greater Washington Community Foundation grant allowed us to add a social media advisor to our team to help us expand our presence across the community.  With the funds, we established a virtual classroom to 1) support our middle student tutoring program, 2) produce a series of issue-focused public service announcements, and 3) deliver our monthly community forums to address critical issues facing our families. "

-- Jim Paige, Executive Director, Concerned Citizens Network of Alexandria

The Sustainability Grant allowed CCNA to bring on a social media advisor, who helped the organization to expand their community awareness, through social media graphics like this one.

2021 Sustainability of Black Led Organizations Grantees

• African Communities Together

• Bread for the City

• Collective Action for Safe Spaces

• Community Grocery Co-Op

• Concerned Citizens Network of Alexandria

• Critical Exposure

• DC Justice Lab

• Dreaming Out Loud

• Harriet’s Wildest Dreams

• Life After Release

• Mamatoto Village

• Many Languages One Voice

• ONE DC

• Progressive Maryland

• Racial Justice NOW!

• Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid

• The National Reentry Network of Returning Citizens

2022 Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year Award Nominations Now Open!

Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year, Kevin Beverly with Montgomery County Advisory Board Vice Chair, Catherine Leggett, at the 2021 Celebration of Giving.

Nomination Guidelines

Purpose: To honor an individual who has made a positive impact in our community through giving, and whose philanthropic leadership sets an inspiring example for us all. 

Nomination Process

Complete the official nomination form and submit a letter (2 pages max) explaining why your nominee should be selected as the Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year. 

Please note: The cover form must be completed in its entirety. The 2-page letter must convey that the nominee meets all the eligibility criteria. Nominators are welcome to submit attachments that will help convey the impact of the nominee’s giving and philanthropic leadership. However, the Selection Committee will not accept nominations which rely solely on resumes, newspaper articles, annual reports, or the like in substitution for concise responses to the criteria outlined above.  

When feasible, nominators are welcome to team up with other organizations to submit a joint nomination that will more fully articulate the nominee’s philanthropic leadership and impact. 

Pending review by the Philanthropist of the Year Selection Committee, The Community Foundation staff may contact you for additional information. 

For inspiration, look no further than our past Philanthropist of the Year honorees.

Eligibility Criteria

All nominees must:

• Be a resident of Montgomery County

• Have a demonstrated track record of charitable giving to one or more nonprofit organizations based in and working in Montgomery County*

• Have made a positive impact in the lives of county residents through their giving*

• Encourage/motivate others to become philanthropic

Please note: We encourage nominators to give special emphasis to any extraordinary giving and/or leadership over the past year which helped your organization adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or advance work related to racial equity and inclusion. Please know, the level of charitable dollars given is secondary to its impact and potential to inspire others to follow suit. Creative approaches to philanthropy are welcome! Nominees may be of any age.

In exceptional circumstances, the Selection Committee may consider a former resident, a family unit, or a philanthropist who is deceased. 

Deadline: Wednesday, March 16, 2022

The nomination form, letter, and any additional attachments must be submitted via email by close of business on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 to:

Kate Daniel
Donor Services Associate, Montgomery County
[email protected]

All nominators will receive confirmation that the nomination has been submitted within 24 hours of receipt. The Community Foundation will contact the selected awardee(s) and their nominator by June. All other nominations will remain confidential.

Questions: Contact Kate Daniel at [email protected] or 301-495-3036 x169.

Quarterly Community Update

Dear friends of The Community Foundation,

I hope you and your family had a safe and healthy holiday season and a happy new year!

Thanks to the continued compassion and care of our community of givers during a time of deep uncertainty, 2021 was another record year for generosity in Greater Washington. In 2021, we welcomed more than 51 new funds to our Community Foundation family and our donors collectively invested more than $86 million to support nonprofits responding to critical needs, nurturing an equitable recovery, and working to strengthen our region and beyond.

If you plan to continue or grow your giving in the year ahead, please make sure to follow our updated gift transmission guidelines for a variety of ways to contribute to your fund at The Community Foundation. It is crucial that you follow these instructions – especially including the fund name along with your contribution – to ensure timely processing of your gift. If you have any questions or need assistance with your gift, please contact us at 202-955-5890 or [email protected].

At The Community Foundation, we are grateful to be your trusted philanthropic partner and proud of what we have accomplished together for our community. In 2021, your support enabled us to:

• Develop a new strategic vision to close the racial wealth gap in our region's underinvested neighborhoods.

• Direct investments toward equitable recovery strategies – including feeding families facing personal crisis, closing the opportunity gap, supporting survivors of domestic violence, and building stability for more families.

• Make historic investments in Black-led social change work to build political and economic power to transform systems.

• Lead eviction prevention work in DC, expand educational equity in Montgomery County, and increase economic mobility in Prince George’s County.

• Enhance our investment management services and pursue mission-driven investments that are aligned with our values.

As we embark on our new 10-year strategic vision, we plan to engage our entire community in discussions about how we will work together to co-create a brighter future for our region where people of all races, places, and identities reach their full potential and prosper. From our quarterly book club convenings to our grantmaking and investment strategies, we are committed to fully embodying the values of racial equity and inclusion in all aspects of our work and operations. For example, our new Investment Policy Statement outlines our approach to exercising competent and socially responsible stewardship in managing financial resources in alignment with our vision for a just and equitable region.

Thanks to your generosity and the inspiring service of our community partners, I am hopeful about what we can accomplish together in the year ahead. There will be challenges still to come, but I am confident we can continue to get through them together.

Sincerely,
Tonia Wellons
President and CEO

P.S. In case you missed it, our OCIO recently recorded this video to share an investment outlook and performance update.

Top 10 Milestones to Remember: 2021 in Review

Now that 2021 is over, we’re reflecting on and celebrating our most impactful stories from the past year – from releasing our new strategic vision, to historic investments in Black-led change, to a $1 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott that boosted our recovery work for local arts groups. Here are some of our most meaningful milestones from 2021. 

Together, We Prosper: Launching a New Strategic Vision for Closing Our Community’s Racial Wealth Gap

In October, we shared the culmination of months of deep heart work: our 10-year strategic vision to close our region’s racial wealth gap. First unveiled at our annual meeting, the vision centers on three core leadership pillars: leading with racial equity and inclusion, aligning business with values, and closing the racial wealth gap. We envision a future where all have the opportunity to prosper – and know together, we can realize this vision as reality.

Celebrating Our Community’s Champions

View a recording of our Celebration of Community Champions program.

In May, our virtual Celebration of Community Champions lifted up our collective COVID-19 response efforts and the everyday heroes – local individuals and companies – who stepped up for our region in exceptional ways. We were proud to highlight Feed the Fight as our Community Hero; Food for Montgomery as our Collaborative Hero; CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield as our Corporate Hero; and Dr. Monica Goldson, Senator Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. (in memoriam), Steve Proctor, and Dr. Alvin Thornton as our Civic Heroes. The evening also featured special performances from Arts on the Block, DC Jazz Festival, the Prince George’s County Youth Poet Laureate, and Synetic Theater.

Historic Investments in Black Leaders and Black-Led Nonprofits

Jawanna Hardy, a US Air Force veteran, leads an outreach program providing resources to communities affected by youth homicide, suicide, and mental health illnesses.

We were proud to make several historic investments in Black-led change impacting our region. Through our Black Voices for Black Justice Fellows, an initiative launched in 2020 with Bridge Alliance Education Fund and GOODProjects, we selected 10 inspiring Black leaders and activists on the frontlines of advancing racial equity and social justice. Additionally, a generous gift from Facebook enabled investments of nearly $1 million in 17 Black-led organizations leading systems change work. These awards supported the immediate infrastructure needs of grantees, including staffing, strategic planning, marketing and communications, professional development, and more. 

Direct Cash Transfer as a Vehicle for Speed, Inclusivity, and Equity

During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Community Foundation and many of our philanthropic partners embraced giving directly—transferring cash to people—as an effective and efficient means of providing relief to those hit hard by the sudden economic and health emergency. Since the onset of the pandemic and in partnership with donors, nonprofit organizations, and local government agencies, we facilitated the administration of approximately $26 million in funds, distributed in increments of $50 to $2,500 to approximately 60,000 residents across the Greater Washington region. Urban Institute published a report chronicling the goals, strategies, and short-term achievements of our effort to develop and implement cash transfer strategies at the height of the pandemic. 

Advancing Housing Justice and Preventing Evictions

Housing Counseling Services received a grant to help tenants apply for rental assistance by meeting them where they live, learn, pray, and play.

Our Partnership to End Homelessness continued its critical eviction prevention work in response to the pandemic and economic crisis. Its work to advance housing justice included more than $300,000 in grants to address our region’s housing crisis and inequalities by funding seven nonprofits leading advocacy and organizing efforts. Hear from our Community Investment Officer Jennifer Olney on the Partnership’s eviction prevention work and her explanation of common misperceptions about homelessness – and how you can get involved in helping more people obtain and maintain stable housing during a crisis and beyond.  

Improving Equity and Economic Mobility in Prince George’s County

Jacob’s Ladder was selected by ELIF members to receive a microgrant for its Academic Enrichment Program that provides tutoring, basic literacy skills, and mentoring to students.

Our Emerging Leaders Impact Fund (ELIF), a new giving circle for young professionals in Prince George’s County, announced its inaugural grants to five Prince George’s County nonprofits working to combat chronic absenteeism in County schools. ELIF is currently recruiting new members for 2022; Interested candidates can apply here. While our Equity Fund, which works to eliminate social and economic disparities in Prince George’s County, awarded $440,000 in grants to help 19 nonprofits advance food security, affordable childcare, and workforce equity. These grants were made possible thanks to a generous gift from the Ikea U.S. Community Foundation. 

Increasing Food Security and Educational Equity in Montgomery County

Food for Montgomery received our Collaborative Hero Award for its public-private effort to coordinate and expand food distributions, support local farmers and small businesses, and improve food systems to combat food insecurity in Montgomery County.

Our Children’s Opportunity Fund was recognized by the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading as a 2021 Bright Spot community for its COVID-19 response work, including the launch of Educational Enrichment and Equity Hubs. Equity Hubs offered a safe place for low-income students to participate in remote learning during school closures, welcoming more than 1,400 students across 70 sites. Our Food for Montgomery initiative has marshaled the resources of nonprofits, faith communities, local businesses, farmers, and county agencies to increase food access and help families recover from crisis. It has raised and deployed over $2.1 million to double the number of food distribution sites, help sustain local farmers and small businesses, and improve the hunger relief system to meet today’s challenges and future crises. 

Gift From Mackenzie Scott Enables Additional Relief Funding For Local Arts Groups

Dance Institute of Washington received a grant to support its facility renovation and a program evaluation with a focus on racial equity.

Arts Forward Fund was established in partnership with The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation to help struggling arts and culture organizations to adapt their programming to survive and recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic. In 2021, the initiative was recognized by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott with a $1 million gift as part of a cohort of equity-focused efforts. Thanks to Scott’s generosity, we were able to award a second round of grants in September 2021, investing in nearly 90 local arts groups. In total, the fund has made nearly $2.7 million in grants to 130+ organizations – 60% of which are BIPOC-led or BIPOC-serving.

Turning Ideas Into Action for Community Change

Learn about several of our Community Action Awards supported projects in this video produced by our partners at Comcast.

As the last step in our three-part VoicesDMV community engagement initiative, we awarded our inaugural Community Action Awards microgrants to 50 local activists, artists, and advocates leading neighborhood-based projects which advance equity and inclusion. Projects included public murals in Brookland, Forest Bathing in Maryland, yoga and dance accessibility, and more. In December, our former Senior Advisor for Impact Benton Murphy reported back how grantees are doing – and the collective impact of these projects - read his post for several inspiring videos and photos. 

Aligning Our Business With Our Values: A New Partnership With SEI

Check out this video featuring our OCIO providing an update on your investment options and their performance.

We believe to truly affect change, our values must inform and drive our actions – and this was the impetus for partnering with SEI as our outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO). The leading global investment firm is known for its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, values we wholeheartedly share. As an OCIO with 450+ clients worldwide – more than 170 of which are nonprofits – SEI serves as an extension of our staff, providing world-class investment expertise and constant focus on managing the charitable funds you have entrusted to us. Check out this new video featuring our OCIO providing an update on your investment options and the performance of our investment portfolio.

In Memoriam: Diane Bernstein, Jane Bainum, Milt Peterson, Senator Mike Miller, Waldon and Rhonda

As a member of our Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council, Waldon Adams was instrumental in our work to ensure everyone has housing they can afford.

Last year, we lost several special members of The Community Foundation family. We pay tribute to former Trustee, donor, and friend Diane Bernstein; Jane Bainum, co-founder of the Bainum Family Foundation and longtime philanthropic partner; Milt Peterson, trusted donor and founder of Peterson Companies; and the beloved Senator Mike Miller, one of our 2021 Civic Hero honorees. We also remember and honor our friends Rhonda Whitaker and Waldon Adams, two tireless advocates for ending homelessness who passed away unexpectedly in April. 

---

From Crisis to Recovery: A Pivotal Year

You can also view our FY 2021 annual report for more highlights from our crisis to recovery work in 2020-2021.

The Community Foundation Invests $6.2+ Million in 70 Nonprofits Nurturing Equitable Recovery

Grants aim to increase food security, close the opportunity gap, support survivors of domestic violence, and build stability for more families.

The region’s largest local funder has announced more than $6.2 million in grants to 70 nonprofits addressing issues facing families and communities in the Greater Washington region as they adapt to a post-pandemic life. 

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is investing in equitable recovery targeting a wide range of challenges, from helping families facing food insecurity, to advancing educational equity, supporting survivors of domestic violence, and building stability for more families. 

These grants represent initial investments that lay the groundwork for The Community Foundation’s new 10-year strategic vision to close the region’s racial wealth gap. The Community Foundation’s new strategy focuses on increasing economic mobility by prioritizing historically underinvested BIPOC neighborhoods that have been systematically denied access to wealth building opportunities. The Community Foundation is specifically interested in neighborhoods and census tracts that are experiencing the highest incidences of system-induced inequities in the areas of health, homeownership, education, employment, income, and life expectancy. 

“The pandemic not only increased demand for housing, food, and educational supports, it also exacerbated and brought longstanding inequities into focus,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “These grants will help our nonprofit partners sustain and continue to adapt their services to support equitable recovery by providing individuals and families with what they need to survive and thrive today and for the long-term.”

Food Security

With 1 in 10 Montgomery County residents facing food insecurity due to COVID-19, The Community Foundation’s Food for Montgomery initiative is marshaling the resources of nonprofits, faith communities, local businesses, farmers, and county agencies to increase food access and help families recover from crisis. Grants totaling $959,590 will build the resiliency of 14 nonprofit and faith-based partners to more effectively and efficiently meet the needs throughout Montgomery County.

Afrithrive to support its two-acre farm and community gardening program to engage African immigrants in growing culturally specific produce which is hard to obtain through most food distribution providers. 

American Muslim Senior Society to support staffing, equipment, and cold storage necessary to strengthen its food security work and maximize the power of its volunteer network.

BlackRock Center for the Arts / Up-County Consolidation Hub to hire a bilingual social worker to connect vulnerable families to sustainable food resources and supports that are vital to their recovery.

Celestial Manna for staffing needed to advance food recovery efforts that prevent food waste and save thousands of dollars.

Charles Koiner Center for Urban Farming to support the development of an urban farm and community gardening program in Wheaton, MD that will enable residents to grow their own culturally appropriate food.

Community Health and Empowerment through Education and Research (CHEER) to support community-garden work that will engage Long Branch area residents to grow their own food for their community.

Guru Gobind Singh Foundation to support expanded storage that will enable this volunteer-driven effort to sustain its food security work.

Kingdom Fellowship CDC / East County Consolidation Hub to support the development of an innovative cold storage resource to help hub partners prevent waste and distribute food more efficiently. Hub partners include Kingdom Fellowship, Rainbow Community Development Center, Kings & Priests Court Int'l Ministries, and People's Community Baptist Church. 

Manna Food Center, A Place of Hope, Co-Health, Ethiopian Community Center Maryland, Identity, Kings and Priests’ Court International Ministries, and Southern African Community USA to enable outreach partners to connect residents with Manna Food Center’s resources and provide vouchers to purchase culturally specific foods to meet their needs.

The Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland and its partners, the Crossroads Community Food Network and FRESHFARM, to build the capacity of local farmers markets so they can more effectively reach and serve customers that rely on federal nutrition benefits, thereby increasing access to healthy food from local farmers.

Rainbow Community Development Center for staffing necessary to foster resiliency in the East County region through collaborative work with key partners and to sustain the organization’s expansion spurred by the pandemic.

Red Wiggler Community Farm to employ adults with developmental disabilities to grow healthy food for group homes and food distribution partners throughout the county.

Shepherd’s Table to support the necessary equipment and kitchen improvements to sustain and deepen collaborations bringing prepared meals to individuals and families facing food insecurity.

WUMCO for expanded cold storage that will enable the collection of more donations from local farmers and hunters to distribute in the rural, Up-County area. 

Education and Literacy

The Community Foundation’s Children’s Opportunity Fund (COF) is a public-private partnership that invests in innovative, evidence-informed efforts targeted at reducing educational disparities to close the opportunity gap in Montgomery County. Reading mastery is a key predictor of a student’s career attainment, and the most critical time to gain these skills is between birth and third grade. Recent grants of $200,000 will further COF’s strategy to improve third grade literacy rates by supporting early literacy programs, tutoring programs, and out of school time activities. 

Kid Museum to create an intentional curriculum for students in Grades K-3 that integrates STEM, literacy, and social emotional learning at Rolling Terrace and Strathmore, two Title 1 Elementary Schools -- in the spring the program will be piloted at additional elementary schools. 

Imagination Library to expand its program developed for children from birth to age 5 in seven zip codes to receive free, high-quality, age-appropriate books delivered to their home every month. 

Survivors of Domestic Violence

In partnership with the Prince George’s County Department of Family Services, The Community Foundation administers the Domestic Violence Community Grants Fund to support nonprofits assisting families and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking to achieve a greater level of independence and self-sufficiency, cope with healing, and rebuild the family unit. Grants of $120,00 to four organizations will support counseling services, housing and transportation, and legal services.

Community Advocates for Family and Youth to support the recently launched Begin Again and Thrive program to address housing needs by providing emergency accommodation, permanent relocation, and financial assistance. 

Community Crisis Services to provide shelter transportation, limited rental support, and to meet individual needs such as school lunches or school supplies for a family or student. 

Community Legal Services of Prince George’s County to continue funding a staff attorney position and program offering legal assistance.

House of Ruth Maryland to support the provision of counseling/therapy services including IPV education, safety planning, and trauma reduction. 

Children, Youth, and Families

The Community Foundation administers the Fund for Children, Youth, and Families, a five-year initiative, to invest in effective organizations working to make the community more vibrant, healthy, and stable. The 2021 cycle includes nearly $4.8 million in multiyear grants to 50 nonprofits offering housing services, permanency support, academic support, and early career development programs.

826DC to help students improve writing skill development and increase fluency with writing based on the National Writing Project standards.

Adoptions Together to provide training for families interested in fostering and to place foster children in permanent homes.

The Arc of Prince George’s County to support participants of the Ready@21 Program, which helps young adults through career coaching and resume development to increase job readiness, improve college awareness, and develop self-advocacy skills.

Aspire! Afterschool Learning to improve reading instructional level by one grade or more for students in its afterschool care program.

The Barker Adoption Foundation to provide older foster child adoption training and facilitate the placement of older foster children and/or sibling groups.

Bread for the City to support advocacy efforts for families at risk of housing displacement and to provide direct services to families through the Food Program, Clothing Program, Medical Clinic, Social Services Program, and Legal Clinic.

Bright Beginnings to support early childhood development for children ages 0-5.

Carpenter's Shelter to help families who enter shelter to gain stability and transition to permanent housing and sustain independent living.

CASA for Children of DC to provide advocacy support for reunification, adoption, or guardianship for foster youth and workforce development activities for older foster youth.

Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) to provide trainings and support for pre-adoption and post-adoption guardians.

Central American Resource Center to provide financial training and planning to support stable housing for Latino immigrants.

Children's Law Center to provide legal representation for child welfare cases to ensure children are growing up in permanent, stable families.

Community Crisis Services, Inc. to assist households experiencing homelessness and/or domestic violence to access safe, permanent housing.

Community Family Life Services to provide intensive financial coaching, financial case management, and wrap around supports for women seeking housing stability.

Cornerstones, Inc. to provide rental assistance services for at-risk tenants.

Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/ Prince George's County, Inc. Support the Job Readiness and Transitioning Youth program, which ensures that at youth participants who emancipate will do so with stable housing

Voices for Children Montgomery to provide placement in safe homes for clients at case closure.

DC SAFE to help clients move to safe transitional or permanent housing after their stay in SAFE Space.

DC Volunteer Lawyers Project to offer advocacy and referrals, including enforcing victim rights in housing, employment, and public benefits, as well as provide legal assistance and advocacy with victim legal rights.

DC127 to help teen parents who are aging out of foster care be prepared for a life of independence with stable housing, jobs, and increased access to supportive services.

District Alliance for Safe Housing to help families transition from emergency shelter to more permanent housing with increased economic and housing stability.

District Of Columbia Grassroots Empowerment to help secure long-term housing for residents displaced and impacted by public housing redevelopment.

Doorways for Women and Families to provide re-housing supportive services to help participants achieve stability and transition to permanent housing.

The Dwelling Place, Inc. to help program residents remain stably housed and maintain compliance with program requirements through case management, increasing financial stability, and home visits.

Family & Youth Initiative to assist participant teens in foster care with finding an adoptive family and provide continuing support to participant youth who age out of foster care.

Fihankra Akoma Ntoaso to provide afterschool and summer programs for children in the child welfare system to allow them to develop positive relationships with adults and peers.

Crittenton Services of Greater Washington to increase school attendance, academic engagement, and grade point average for Goal Setting Girls participants.

Foster and Adoptive Parent Advocacy Center (FAPAC) to provide training, peer support, financial stability, and individual advocacy to foster families in DC.

Homeless Children's Playtime Project to provide ongoing play programs and supportive services for homeless children in DC.

Hope And A Home, Inc. to help resident families increase financial stability and make progress towards transitioning into and/or maintain permanent, stable housing.

Horizons Greater Washington to provide literacy and math academic enrichment support for students.

Housing Up to provide employment support, rental assistance, and financial support services for affordable rental housing buildings.

Interfaith Works Inc. to help families experiencing homelessness achieve stability and transition to permanent housing with the assistance of case management and supportive services.

Martha’s Table to support academic enrichment for the six developmental domains — early literacy, early math, language, cognition, physical development, and socioemotional development.

Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care, Inc. to support the Home Visiting Program, which encourages early childhood development through reading, storytelling, and singing with young children daily.

Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. to help residents maintain on time rent payments and permanent, stable housing.

My Sister's Place to help residents increase income, provide case management, and transition to transitional or permanent housing.

National Housing Trust Enterprise to help NHT households participate in financial programs and maintain stable housing.

Neighborhood Legal Services Program to host “Know Your Rights” presentations and represent clients in cases involving housing discrimination, illegal eviction, rent increases, housing conditions, voucher termination, and loss of subsidies.

Neighbors Consejo to assist low-income families in transitioning from shelter to rental housing, while helping them improve their personal and financial stability.

Northern Virginia Family Service to provide foster care pre-service training and Resource Parent certification.

One Common Unity to improve course grades, increase class attendance, and reduce punitive disciplinary actions for students in the Fly by Light program.

One World Education to increase research and writing skills as well as social and emotional learning for students.

The Platform of Hope to provide housing, education, employment, family stability, finances, and health support services for low-income families at risk for homelessness.

Prince George's Child Resource Center, Inc. to improve language and cognitive abilities through participation in child development and parent/child learning activities.

Reading Partners to help students meet or exceed their primary, individualized end-of-year literacy growth goal.

Right Beginnings Inc. to provide career development, mentoring, and career counseling to homeless women seeking to increase financial stability to find housing.

Rising for Justice to provide tenant rights educational trainings and legal services for tenants in need of improved housing conditions or facing eviction.

Sasha Bruce Youthwork to help at-risk youth achieve safe and stable living environments.

Stepping Stones Shelter to help resident families increase their income during stay and move on to stable housing utilizing a subsidy program.

Philanthropy is a journey: Our Tips for Giving With Confidence

By Rebecca Rothey, Chief Philanthropy Officer

As I was listening to a presentation by the author of a new book, In Defense of Philanthropy by Beth Breeze, it struck me that the need to defend philanthropy may come as a surprise to some readers. However, as Beth pointed out, there is a growing effort to denigrate philanthropy and the value it brings to our communities. At The Community Foundation, we have the privilege of  working directly with generous individuals and families who care about their community, and seeing firsthand the impact that philanthropy can and does accomplish for our region and beyond.

As we enter a new year with continued uncertainty about the pandemic, our economy, and even the very future of our democracy, philanthropy remains more important now than ever. I remain heartened by the many ways in which our donors have stepped up in response to community challenges – from combating gun violence to supporting animals, the arts, and the environment. Notable examples include:

Peace For DC was established by a grieving father to address the rise of gun violence in DC. Peace for DC will build community capacity and fund evidence-based gun violence intervention solutions to drastically reduce DC homicides over the next 5 years—and help bring racial and economic justice to DC’s most under-resourced communities.

Ann Manheimer established her legacy to provide a way for people to prepare for service-oriented work that will meet future societal needs. Her inspiration grew from her career at the US Department of Education, volunteer work with seniors and animal rescue, and travel to places of both great natural beauty and stunning man-made art.

On July 4, 2020, 11-year-old Davon McNeal lost his life to gun violence as he was leaving a Stop the Violence cookout with his mother. After consulting Davon’s mother, DC residents Mary Grace and Al Rook founded the Davon McNeal Memorial Fund to give at-risk youth in Wards 7 and 8 a respite from potential violence through pro-social programs in sports, the arts, and education.

We are proud to partner with these donors to help pursue their philanthropic goals by making the set up and administration of their charitable giving simple and convenient for them -- including suggesting the best structure for the charitable fund, providing staff expertise, receiving gifts, making grants, and covering accounting.

While the word “journey” has become over-used, through the course of my career I have learned that those moved to address concerning challenges or to preserve valued purposes engage in an ongoing learning process. Philanthropy does not have all the answers. What it has is a commitment to asking questions and to acting in response to current answers. Answers inevitably lead to more questions. Better to generate a new set of questions, and possibly more effective answers, than to do nothing.

We are grateful that you have chosen to partner with The Community Foundation on your philanthropic journey. As we approach the end of another unprecedented year, I want to leave you with a few of my top tips for the most effective way to maximize your giving and philanthropic work, now and in the future:

• Gift appreciated stock that you have owned for more than one year. With the possibility of capital gains tax rates going up next year, this year may be an especially advantageous time to gift assets held long-term. With the past year and a half’s market gains, you may still have long-term gains in your portfolio and there is an opportunity to capture the gains into a philanthropic fund. Donating appreciated securities to your fund may mitigate the impact of capital gains taxes. As a reminder, always let us know when you are making a gift of stock.

• If you are over 70.5 years old, make a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA. While these gifts may not be granted to a donor-advised fund, there are several other ways for you to directly transfer up to $100,000, including your required minimum distributions, from your IRA to minimize your reportable taxable income . Ask us how!

• Bundle your giving into a donor-advised fund. With the currently higher standard deduction and limitations on SALT deductions, only approximately 8% of tax filings now itemize. A large gift in one year to a donor-advised fund can potentially lead to a larger charitable income tax deduction in the year given and the grants can be made over a period of two or three years.

• Maximize your gifts of cash to take advantage of the opportunity to deduct up to 100% of your adjusted gross income through the end of this year. These gifts may not be made to a donor-advised fund.

I encourage you to speak with your financial advisor or accountant about the most tax efficient ways to give.

As always, feel free to reach out to us if you have questions or want more information about any of these options. You can reach us Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Please note our holiday closures on December 24 and 31, and special hours on December 23 and 30 when we will close at 1 p.m.

I wish you a safe and connected holiday season.