Arts Forward Fund Announces $1.7 Million in Grants to 89 Local Arts Groups Impacted by COVID-19

Arts Forward Fund, a partnership between the Greater Washington Community Foundation, The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, and 10 other foundations and individual donors, is proud to announce new grants totaling nearly $1.7 million to 89 arts and culture organizations in the DC region.

These grants will help organizations address the challenges of reopening and recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 60 percent of grants and grant funding will go to organizations that are led by Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) and predominantly BIPOC-serving. Based on feedback from a community advisory committee and last year’s applicants, these grants will support general operations rather than specific projects. Grant recipients include six theaters, nine dance schools and dance companies, five film and music festivals and more than 20 youth-serving organizations across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

In response to a call for applications released in early July 2021, Arts Forward Fund received 131 applications totaling nearly $2.7 million. Thanks to a generous gift of $1 million from billionaire Mackenzie Scott and her husband Dan Jewett, Arts Forward Fund was able to support more than two-thirds of 2021 applicants and award more than 60% of total funds requested.

“Our region’s arts and culture organizations will take years to recover from the impact of this pandemic,” says Calvin Cafritz, President and CEO of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, which made a lead grant of $500,000 to establish Arts Forward Fund in 2020 and contributed an additional $400,000 in 2021. “As the region’s leading funder of arts and culture organizations, The Cafritz Foundation is honored to join so many of our funding colleagues in this remarkable collective effort to help our local cultural organizations reopen and thrive.”

“Through some of the darkest days of this crisis, many of our region’s arts and cultural organizations found innovative ways to inspire, uplift, and support our community. As we continue to recover from this crisis and adjust to a new normal, it is important to acknowledge that arts groups were disproportionately impacted and that recovery will take time and require sustained investment,” says Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “We are proud to be part of this equity-focused funder collaborative investing in the stability of our region’s arts sector to contribute to the vitality of our region.”

Following is a list of Arts Forward Fund grant recipients. All grants support general operations.

1st Stage Theater

826DC

Actor's Center

Adventure Theatre

American Poetry Museum

American Youth Philharmonic

Anacostia Playhouse

Arlington Arts Center

Art Enables

Art of Noize

Art Works Now

Artivate

Arts Fairfax

Arts on the Block

ArtStream

Asian Pacific American Film

Atlas Performing Arts Center

Black Artists Of DC

BlackRock Center for the Arts

Capital Fringe

CapitalBop

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop

Capitol Hill Jazz Foundation

GB Youth Media

Church of the Epiphany

Ciesla Foundation

CityDance Viva School of Dance

Coalition For African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA)

Critical Exposure

D.C. Creative Writing Workshop

Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company

Dance Institute of Washington

Dancemakers

Dance Place

DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative

DC Independent Film Festival

DC Jazz Festival

DC Palestinian Film & Arts Festival

DC Youth Orchestra Program

Docs in Progress

East of the River Boys & Girls Steel Band

Educarte

Encore Stage & Studio

Foundation for the Advancement of Music and Education

Friends Of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

Gala Hispanic Theatre

Girls Rock DC

Greater Reston Arts Center

Heritage Signature Chorale

IN Series

Inlight Magazine

Joe's Movement Emporium

Kalanidhi Dance

Life Pieces to Masterpieces

Live It Learn It

McLean Project for the Arts

Music for Life

New Orchestra of Washington

Northeast Performing Arts Group

One Common Unity

Oyé Palaver Hut

Pan American Symphony Orchestra

PEN Faulkner

Prince George's Arts and Humanities Council

Princess Mhoon Dance Institute

Project Create

Pyramid Atlantic

Ragbaby Exchange

Sandy Spring Museum

Shout Mouse Press

Sitar Arts Center

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts

Sole Defined

Split This Rock

Step Afrika!

The Essential Theatre

The MusicianShip

Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts

Transformer

UrbanArias

Washington Area Lawyers For the Arts

Washington Bach Consort

Washington Chorus

Washington DC International Film Festival

Washington Project For the Arts

Words Beats And Life

Young Artists of America

Young Playwrights Theater

Zora Neale Hurston Richard Wright Foundation

About Arts Forward Fund

Launched in July 2020 with lead grants from The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Harman Family Foundation, the Weissberg Foundation, and and more than a dozen other funders, Arts Forward Fund is an equity-focused funder collaborative housed at and administered by the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Additional supporters in 2021 include Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Diane & Norman Bernstein Foundation, Lois and Richard England Family Foundation, Linowitz Family Fund, Nancy Peery Marriott Foundation, Robin B. Martin Family Foundation, Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation, and other individual contributors.

Historic Investments and New Opportunities to End Homelessness

In July 2021, the city released Homeward DC 2.0, the city’s updated comprehensive plan to end homelessness. The plan outlines lessons learned over the last five years, current needs, and strategies to help us achieve the vision that homelessness in DC will be rare, brief, and nonrecurring and that we will eliminate racial inequities in the homeless services system and create systemic fair treatment for all people.

In order to achieve this vision, the plan outlines roles for key stakeholders including the Partnership to End Homelessness. While federal and local government resources are instrumental in this work, there is also an essential role for private philanthropy including individuals, foundations, and corporations. The Partnership to End Homelessness was created to leverage private philanthropy and align with public resources and strategies to create more nimble, strategic, and sustained investments in the homeless services system.

We are excited that both our federal and local government partners have made substantial and unprecedented investments in this work. However, even with these investments there are gaps that public funding cannot fill. In order to take advantage of these historic public sector investments, we must align the private sector to ensure that we leverage these resources for the future. We have an opportunity this year to make huge strides in our efforts to end homelessness. Join us in ensuring that we take advantage of this moment in time and don’t let this opportunity pass. Contact Jennifer Olney or Silvana Straw to find out how you can get involved today.

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Celebrating Historic Investments in Ending Homelessness

This year, DC passed a budget with historic investments in housing justice. We are celebrating with our nonprofit advocacy partners who were instrumental in fighting for these investments that will end homelessness for 3,500 households including 2,370 individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. In order to quickly turn these investments into housing for our neighbors, we are working with our public and private sector partners to ensure our homeless response system is able to respond to this growth and move people into housing and out of homelessness as quickly as possible.

For more information about this year’s budget and where some of our advocacy partners are focusing next, read our partner Washington Legal Clinic’s budget recap.

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Eviction Prevention: Protecting Low-Income Renters

Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the long-standing housing crisis and inequities in our country, and our right here in our Nation’s Capital. Thousands of tenants in the city are behind on rent and at imminent risk of eviction. It is estimated that 30,000 households are currently at risk of eviction. Both DC and the federal government have eviction moratoriums in place to protect tenants while they apply for available emergency rental assistance and other resources and supports. Unfortunately, those protections are already starting to phase out and evictions will resume.

The Community Foundation, along with the DC Bar Foundation, has been co-convening a group of key stakeholders including nonprofits, the courts, advocates, public officials, and landlords, to prevent immediate evictions and to create systems and policies that are more equitable and that ultimately lead to greater housing stability in DC.

We have also awarded a grant to Housing Counseling Services (HCS) to support a pilot community outreach program in Washington, DC with a priority on Wards 1, 4, 7 and 8. With this support, HCS will assist low-income tenants at risk of eviction in accessing emergency rental assistance and other services to maintain stable housing. HCS will partner with churches, schools, daycare centers, medical offices, and others to meet tenants where they live, learn, pray and play. HCS will also be present in the courts to help tenants apply for rental assistance and avoid evictions.

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Partnership in Action: Preventing Evictions in Ivy City

In our most recent blog post, Leadership Council Co-Chair, David Roodberg from Horning Brothers, talks about an innovative partnership with Empower DC, one of our grantee partners. Together, they are working to support tenants to access rental assistance and maintain stable housing.

“Evictions aren’t good for anyone. STAY DC provides a win-win opportunity for landlords and tenants.”

-- David Roodberg, CEO and President, Horning Brothers

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About the Partnership to End Homelessness

The Partnership to End Homelessness, led by the Greater Washington Community Foundation and the District Government’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH), brings together the public and private sectors to ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring in DC. We believe that all DC residents deserve a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

By joining together, we will increase the supply of deeply affordable housing, help everyone find a home they can afford, and help more people access housing and exit homelessness more quickly.

Get Involved

Every action, whether large or small, can make a difference in ending homelessness. Visit EndHomelessnessDC.org to learn more.

This blog post is from the Partnership to End Homelessness newsletter. Sign up here to receive these quarterly updates.

Partnership in Action: Preventing Evictions in Ivy City

Since the start of the pandemic, housing stability for tenants has been a focus for the Partnership to End Homelessness and for many of our Leadership Council and nonprofit partners. David Roodberg, co-chair of the Leadership Council and CEO and President at Horning Brothers, recently launched an exciting partnership with one of our grantees, EmpowerDC, aimed at making sure that tenants can access critical rental assistance and remain stably housed. We spoke recently with both David and Parisa Norouzi, Executive Director of Empower DC, about their work together.

How did this partnership start?

David: “We recognized early on in the COVID-19 crisis that our tenants would need support. We invested in a new position on our staff – a housing stability specialist – whose role is to help our tenants connect to resources. Recently, that’s included helping tenants with their applications to the STAY DC program for rental assistance. We’ve had a lot of success with this new position, but there are some tenants who are reluctant to work with staff members hired by a landlord. We knew we needed to find another way to reach that group to ensure everyone got the assistance they needed.”

Parisa: “Empower DC has a longstanding commitment to Ivy City –one of DC’s most historic Black neighborhoods. Our goal at Empower is zero evictions in Ivy City. I’ve worked with David in the past on other tenant issues, and I wanted to make sure his tenants were accessing STAY DC. I decided to reach out to him to see what we could do to help.”

David: “Evictions aren’t good for anyone. STAY DC provides a win-win opportunity for landlords and tenants.”

Parisa: “This is a very clear time when landlords and organizers should also have the same goals. It is important to take advantage of those moments when we have more in common than not, and to leverage our collective ability to make something positive happen. It was great to see a landlord who had already invested their own resources in helping tenants, and who was willing to work with us to do more.”

Your partnership to help tenants apply for rental assistance is a collaboration between property management staff, the Horning Brothers’ housing stability specialist, and Empower DC staff and volunteers. What roles do each of you play?

Parisa: “We take the lead on outreach to the tenants. We also offered up our own space – our Ivy City Clubhouse -- close to the property to meet with tenants and work on applications. We set up appointments for tenants in our space, where they could meet one-on-one with the Horning staff person to complete their application”

David: “We had done everything you can think of to let tenants know about STAY DC – letters, emails, phone calls, door-knocking – but having a nonprofit community-based organization involved was key to reaching tenants who were hesitant.”

Parisa: “When you get a notice from a landlord, your first thought won’t be ‘This is to help me,’ so communication from a third party helps. By collaborating with the landlord, who was able to share information about who needed the assistance, we were able to target our follow up to those tenants who were behind on the rent. Management also understands more about the actual application process and could provide a lot of the necessary information for the applications. Their staff also did a training for our volunteers so they could understand how to help people submit applications for non-Horning tenants as well.”

David: “Spending time on education about the program was important. Some of our tenants thought they didn’t qualify for STAY DC, but they did. By investing in communication and education, we were able to help more tenants apply for and receive more assistance.”

What would you say to others who are interested in setting up a similar partnership?

David: “You also want to make it very easy for tenants to access the assistance. STAY DC is working. The money is getting out to people. This is a great opportunity for landlords and tenants to be on the same side.”

Parisa: “I’d say that it is important to approach potential partners first in the spirit of collaboration and with an interest in creating an equal partnership. If others are interested in working together, I hope that these partnerships can extend beyond STAY DC. We have opportunities to continue these relationships to ensure that there is quality housing for everyone in our city.”

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Parisa Norouzi, Executive Director of Empower DC

Parisa Norouzi has over 20 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations and organizing communities.  Parisa co-founded the city-wide community organizing group Empower DC in 2003, an organization which works to build the confident self-advocacy and organized political power of low-moderate income DC residents with a focus on fighting the displacement of residents amid DC’s gentrification boom. 

David Roodberg, CEO and President of Horning Brothers

David Roodberg is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the business including operations, development and strategic planning.

Our 2020 - 2021 Year in Review

Over the past 18 months, we have all been impacted in some way by COVID-19. Although our experiences may be different, our community came together -– as neighbors helping neighbors -– to support each other through this crisis.

Since March 2020, we have mobilized over $40 million in community support to help our neighbors facing hardship. Thanks to the incredible donors, nonprofit partners, and community leaders who stepped up to meet this challenge, our collective response demonstrated the power of what our community can accomplish by coming together. 

Our Annual Report features the impact that The Community Foundation, our donors, and partners have had on this region from April 2020 – March 2021, and beyond.

Read our Annual Report

Learn more

Deepening Our Impact: 8 Highlights from the Past Year

Along with the release of our annual report, we’re celebrating our most impactful stories from the past year--from helping launch the Black Voices for Black Justice DMV Fellowship, continuing our work to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, to advancing housing justice in partnership with Flock DC’s birdSEED Fund. Read on for stories of meaningful collaboration and coordination that helped make a difference in our community. 

Uniting for Change

We believe true change rises from strong alliances. We’re proud to share stories about how our community partnerships have helped make a difference.

Introducing the Black Voices for Black Justice DMV Fellows

Launched last fall (2020) in partnership with the DC-based nonprofit GOODProjects, and with seed funding from Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the Black Voices for Black Justice DMV Fellowship supports activists, organizers, and leaders who are on the front lines of advancing social justice and racial equity. Each Fellow received a $30,000 grant to support their racial justice work in our region, and beyond. Meet these inspiring change-makers, and learn what fuels their fight for justice.

DC Cares Program: $5M Undocumented Workers Relief Package

Thousands of immigrants in Greater Washington were excluded from federal stimulus efforts due to their documentation status. Together with our partners at Events DC and the Executive Office of the Mayor, we launched the DC Cares Program in summer 2020, disbursing a total of $5 million in direct cash assistance to excluded workers experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19. In January 2021, we launched Phase II of the program, providing over $8 million in relief funding.

$1 Million Arts Forward Fund

In partnership with the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and eight other funders, we launched Arts Forward Fund to provide critical support to local arts and culture organizations impacted by COVID-19. In October 2020, we awarded over $1 million in grants to 43 arts organizations. Currently, we’re reviewing a second round of proposals, supported by a generous $1 million gift from MacKenzie Scott.

Investing for Impact 

Learn about some of our most impactful investments this year.

Legacy Fund for Small Business Development

Seeded with a $1 million gift from a generous donor, the Legacy Fund for Small Business Development provides critically needed access to capital for small businesses in Prince George’s County. It’s part of our work in Prince George’s County’s to advance equity and economic mobility by eliminating social and economic disparities in the County. In November, we awarded relief funding to 173 small businesses in Prince George’s County to help minimize business closures and retain 650 jobs.

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

Fund for Children, Youth, and Families Awards $1.99 Million

At the end of last year, the Fund for Children, Youth, and Families (FFCYF)awarded nearly $2 million in grants to 49 nonprofits serving disadvantaged children, youth, and families. Local WDVM covered the announcement, highlighting the investment’s focus on closing the achievement gap, supporting children in foster care, and helping families experiencing homelessness.

Jana-Lynn Louis, Community Foundation program officer for FFCYF, said:  “It’s all about supporting where our region needs help the most and trying to fill in those gaps that often fall by the wayside.”

Community Connections

Oftentimes, it's our staff and partners who say it best. These guest posts highlight different voices and perspectives in our community on the issues that matter most.

How to reconstruct an equitable future for our region

How can we reconstruct an equitable future for our region coming out of the COVID-19 crisis? In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, our CEO Tonia Wellons and Ursula Wright explore a new framework to respond to emerging needs, re-engage our community, and reconstruct and shape a new normal for this region.

Flock DC: Down payment Grants for a more just future

BirdSEED Fund, launched in partnership with local real estate firm Flock DC, helps advance housing justice by providing down payment grants for first-time Black and Brown home buyers. In her guest-authored blog, Flock DC founder and CEO Lisa Wise shares her passion for justice and why she believes it’s crucial we work together to reimagine a more equitable future.

Food for Montgomery: A Community-Wide Response to the Rise in Hunger

As our community’s need for food skyrocketed during 2020, our Montgomery County leaders, community stakeholders, and The Community Foundation teamed up to create Food for Montgomery. Anna Hargrave, Executive Director for Montgomery County, shares how this remarkable public-private partnership is helping prevent food insecurity in the County, and ensure no residents go hungry.

Hungry for other Community Foundation impact stories? Check out ‘A Year of Impact: Our Top 10 Stories of 2020,’ published as an annual wrap-up last December. 

Eviction Prevention: Working Across Sectors to Ensure an Equitable Recovery

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

Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the long-standing housing crisis and inequities in our country, and even right here in DC. Thousands of tenants in the city are behind on rent and at imminent risk of eviction. Currently, both DC and the federal government have eviction moratoriums in place to protect tenants while they apply for available resources and supports. Unfortunately, those protections are already starting to phase out and evictions in DC are set to resume in October.

The Community Foundation has a long history of supporting housing justice and working to end homelessness in DC. Addressing inequities and supporting our community is at the center of our mission and housing justice is a key component of our work through the Partnership to End Homelessness.

In 2020, the COVID-19 crisis led us to take swift action to address the growing concern for tenants falling behind on rent and at risk of losing their housing in the middle of a global health pandemic.

Even with federal and local eviction moratoriums in place, tenants faced mounting back rent and the severity of the situation continued to threaten the lives and livelihoods of our neighbors. In DC, tens of thousands of households fell behind on rent and we knew that many would be at risk of homelessness if they were evicted.  

In order to prevent a large wave of evictions and increases in homelessness, we convened a group of key partners, including the DC Bar Foundation, for weekly discussions to identify strategic opportunities for private sector investments amid a rapidly changing environment. This group met regularly with our government partners and other nonprofit partners working on the ground to coordinate our learning and response strategies.

From the beginning, our work has focused on creating more equitable outcomes for our Black and Latinx neighbors disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, the economic crisis, and the ongoing housing crisis in the city. Even before the pandemic, 87% of extremely low-income, severely rent-burdened households in DC were headed by a person of color. According to a 2021 report by the Urban Institute, the risk of evictions is greater for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx residents. Almost one in two Hispanic/Latinx renters and more than one in four Black renters were worried about paying next month’s rent.

Through our conversations with partners and by examining new research and data, we identified two key areas for private sector investment that would lead to more equitable access to rental assistance resources.

1. Support outreach to target communities most at risk of eviction. Using the Urban Institute Emergency Rental Assistance Prioritization Tool we identified areas of the city that had high risk of housing instability; high impact from COVID-19; and a high share of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx renters, extremely low-income renter households, households receiving public assistance, and people born outside of the US. 

2. Support trusted partners to answer questions and provide support. Many tenants have questions and need assistance to complete the rental assistance application for government resources. Our partners on the ground are critical to the effort to support tenants and share essential information about emergency rental assistance, legal services, and other available resources.

In response, we invested in Housing Counseling Services (HCS) to help tenants apply for rental assistance by meeting them where they live, learn, pray, and play. At these key locations, HCS is providing outreach and assistance to households behind on rent and most at risk of eviction and homelessness. HCS is also providing support in court to help tenants who face evictions apply for assistance.

We know that our resources are limited and that in order to address the eviction crisis and prevent homelessness, we need everyone working together to create long-term solutions. In June 2021, we were invited to participate in a White House Eviction Prevention Summit as the philanthropic representative from DC. At that summit, we heard Matthew Desmond talk about the devastating impact of evictions and successful diversion efforts across the country. We also heard from leaders in the federal government who were committed to working with communities to help prevent evictions. After meeting with the DC delegation and discussing local opportunities, we agreed to continue convening the group along with our partners at the DC Bar Foundation.

Since the White House Summit, the members of the DC delegation have been meeting weekly to discuss challenges and identify opportunities. This group is comprised of over 65 representatives from nonprofits, tenant advocates, local government agencies, the courts, landlords/housing providers, and philanthropy. Our immediate goal is to prevent evictions by increasing rental assistance to target at risk households and to strengthen legal supports, services, and mediation with the court system.

We have an unprecedented opportunity to support a more equitable recovery and to increase housing stability given the availability of federal resources and this strong partnership with federal government. We have the right people around the table and know that in addition to preventing the immediate eviction crisis, we also have an opportunity to create systems and policies that are more equitable and that ultimately lead to greater housing stability in DC.

If you are interested in this work, please contact Jennifer Olney at [email protected] or Silvana Straw at [email protected].

Quarterly Community Update

Dear Community Foundation Fundholders,

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

Last quarter, thanks to the continued generosity and care of our community of givers, we collectively awarded nearly $24 million in grants to nonprofits working to strengthen our region and beyond.

At The Community Foundation, we remain focused on supporting our community through the COVID-19 crisis and ensuring an equitable recovery now and for the future. Last quarter, our work leading the region’s coordinated philanthropic response effort included:

• Investing $330,000 through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund in nonprofits addressing vaccine hesitancy, mental health, food access, and return to school. 

• Announcing a $1 million gift from MacKenzie Scott that will go towards helping arts and culture organizations stabilize, adapt, and thrive through the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Through the Partnership to End Homelessness, recommitting to a $5 million impact investment, alongside donors and other partners, to increase affordable housing in DC.

• Selecting 10 Black Voices for Black Justice Fellows to receive direct financial support for their work to advance social justice and racial equity in our region and beyond.  

• The Children’s Opportunity Fund being recognized by the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading as a Bright Spot Community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Making $50,000 in initial investments from the LGBTQ+ Fund using a participatory grantmaking process to address the needs of our LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.

• Celebrating our community’s champions — including the donors, nonprofit partners, local individuals, and companies — who helped navigate the COVID-19 crisis.

• Adding new leaders to our Board of Trustees bringing expertise in law, cultural policy, LGBTQ+ issues, and digital technology and communications.

As we are wrapping up our strategic planning process and preparing to release our new strategic vision to the community, we are also updating some of our policies and procedures to ensure greater alignment and clear purpose. As a social justice organization with a mission to build equitable and thriving communities for all, we have adopted an anti-hate group policy that is consistent with how our peers are prohibiting funding to organizations designated as hate groups. We have also updated and clarified our policies and procedures for funds that participate in fundraising to better support your efforts to mobilize resources for the causes that matter most to you. 

In the fall, we look forward to sharing with you our new 10-year strategic plan with the goal of increasing our impact on this community now and long into the future. This moment in time demands that we leverage our leadership capacity and ability to mobilize resources to ensure an equitable recovery and a brighter future for our region.

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

Food for Montgomery Partners with Feed the Fridge and Mary's Center to Fight Hunger

Food for Montgomery, a COVID-19 response initiative co-led by the Greater Washington Community Foundation, has partnered with Feed the Fridge to innovate another solution to solving hunger in the region with a new fridge at Mary’s Center. The new location partners with Jalapeño Mexican Grill from the community kitchen of Crossroads Community Food Network to provide meals for those in need.

Greater Washington Community Foundation Awards Over $330,000 in COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Grants

Ten Local Nonprofits Receiving Support to Address Vaccine Hesitancy, Mental Health, Food Access, and Reopening Schools

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is proud to announce an additional $337,000 in relief and recovery grants from the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. Since March 2020, The Community Foundation has raised and distributed more than $11 million for coordinated emergency response and recovery efforts. These rapid response grants have helped local nonprofits to expand critical services, ensure continuity of operations, transition to virtual service delivery, and counteract lost revenue due to closures or event cancellations. 

The Community Foundation established the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to lead a coordinated regional philanthropic response to the pandemic and resulting economic crisis. Together with our peers in philanthropy, this effort focused on addressing urgent needs and reaching adversely affected communities, especially low-income households and communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by this crisis.

As we continue responding to urgent needs while fostering an equitable recovery, The Community Foundation’s new round of funding will make investments in 10 nonprofits working across four priority areas:

Supporting efforts to overcome vaccine hesitancy and to open vaccination sites in impacted communities:

• Family & Medical Counseling will receive $15,000 to support COVID-19 testing and vaccination targeting residents of DC and Prince George's County, especially those living in Ward 7 and 8 and in the southern areas of Prince George's County.

• La Clinica del Pueblo will receive $15,000 to support COVID-19 testing and vaccination targeting majority Latinx communities in DC and Prince George's County.

• Latin American Youth Center will receive $27,000 to support engagement and outreach efforts to disseminate information on combating spread of COVID-19 and testing and vaccination options to increase the vaccination rate among Black and Latino populations in the region.

• Mary’s Center will receive $50,000 to replicate its mobile vaccine clinics, currently serving disproportionately impacted communities in DC, and expand into Montgomery County and Prince George’s County with a focus on hard-to-reach populations.

Addressing the mental health needs of frontline workers:

• Wendt Center for Loss and Healing will receive $85,000 to provide emotional support sessions (workshops and process groups) for frontline professionals and social services nonprofits whose staff members have been deeply impacted by COVID-19.

Advancing efforts to increase food access:

• DC Hunger Solutions and Maryland Hunger Solutions will receive $40,000 to deliver critical outreach to prospective and eligible SNAP participants, provide technical assistance on school meal programs, offer education and training, and advance advocacy campaigns to increase access to federal nutrition programs.

• The Mid-Atlantic Food Resilience and Access Coalition (MAFRAC) will receive $45,000 to extend its local food mini-grant program to resource BIPOC-led organizations with funds to purchase food through MAFRAC’s extended network of local food producers, including a number of Black-owned farms.

Ensuring an equitable and safe return to school:

• Community Youth Advance will receive $25,000 to recruit, onboard, and train mentors for 25 students to work on a pathway for re-engagement in school, as part of a partnership with PGCPS and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) focused on re-engaging at-risk and chronically absent high school students.

• DC Action for Children will receive $35,000 to support building strong partnerships between schools and Out of School Time programs to ensure an equitable and safe return to school and advocate for access to high quality learning opportunities beyond the school day that prepare DC’s youth for success in education, careers, and life.

“Due to the deep pre-existing inequities that have been exacerbated by COVID-19, we know that many communities in our region are still struggling—and will be for some time,” said Benton Murphy, Senior Adviser for Impact at the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “As our region’s crisis response leader, The Community Foundation and our partners will continue to respond to the critical needs of our community as we work towards building an equitable recovery and future for our region.”

The COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund was established on March 12, 2020 with support from nearly 1,500 foundations, corporations, and individuals/families. A list of the major partners and contributors to the Fund can be found here.

More than 1,600 nonprofits applied for a total of $60 million in grants – approximately six times the amount of funds raised to date. The Fund has provided support to 300 nonprofits providing food, shelter, educational supports, legal aid, and other vital services to our neighbors facing hardships due to COVID-19. Over half of all recipient organizations are led by people of color. A list of nonprofit partners can be found here.

Celebrating Our Community Champions

On Thursday, May 20, 2021, our community came together for our virtual Celebration of Community Champions: an hour of inspiration to celebrate our collective efforts and impact this past year. Together, we recognized the everyday heroes - including the donors, nonprofit partners, corporate supporters, and local government advisors - who stepped up to help our community navigate COVID-19.

“This evening, I am delighted to celebrate and give special thanks to you, our Community Champions. With your support and partnership, we were able to fund 300 local nonprofits to weather this crisis - over half of which are BIPOC-led.” –Tonia Wellons, President and CEO

“At The Community Foundation, our work is transformative. And it would not be possible without you, our Community Champions.” -Katharine Weymouth, Board Chair

Honoring Our Community Champions

We were proud to honor four incredible Civic Heroes and our Collaborative, Corporate, and Community Heroes - local individuals and companies that have shown up for Greater Washington in exceptional ways.

Civic Heroes

These inspiring individuals have demonstrated outstanding civic leadership and service dedicated to improving the lives of Prince George’s County residents:

• Dr. Monica Goldson, CEO of Prince George’s County Public Schools

• Steve Proctor, President & CEO of G.S. Proctor & Associates, Inc.

• Dr. Alvin Thornton, former Chair of Prince George’s County Board of Education

• Senator Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. (in memoriam)

Collaborative Hero: Food for Montgomery

Community Hero: Feed the Fight

A public-private effort to combat food insecurity in Montgomery County.

A volunteer-driven effort to support local restaurants while feeding frontline workers

Corporate Hero: CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

For committing to distribute 1.6 million units of PPE at no-cost to nonprofit health centers and independent providers on the frontlines of the pandemic.

“I am incredibly grateful for all the work you’ve put into truly helping our community survive and thrive. Tonight is all about celebrating what we can accomplish together” -special guest Abby D. Phillip, Anchor & Senior Political Correspondent for CNN. 

Showcasing Local Talent

The Celebration also featured a cohort of renowned local artists, from four regional arts organizations supported by the Arts Forward Fund. These performers represent some of Greater Washington’s most impactful nonprofit arts organizations, including Arts on the Block, DC Jazz Festival, Joe’s Movement Emporium, and Synetic Theater. 

Arts on the Block: Young Artists from Youth Arts Movement

Students from AOB’s STEAM-centered visual arts program present and discuss their creative works.

DC Jazz Festival: Jazz Pianist Allyn Johnson & Friends

DC-born jazz pianist Allyn Johnson performs with longtime collaborators Herman Burney on bass Carroll V. Dashiell III on drums

Joe’s Movement Emporium: Sainey Ceesay, Youth Poet Laureate of Prince George’s County

Synetic Theater: ‘All the Word’s A Stage’

Sainey Ceesay performs her poem ‘Water,’ commenting today’s social and political climate. 

An excerpt of Synetic’s first film, featuring Scott Brown and Maryam Najafzada

Paying Tribute

The evening concluded with a heartfelt thank you from President and CEO Tonia Wellons to our Community Champions for joining the Celebration and for supporting our community throughout this truly unprecedented year. She offered a call to action for anyone who would like to continue partnering with The Community Foundation to support our community.

Featuring our final performer, @SnyteticTheatre. Tune in for their inaugural short film, “All the World’s a Stage.” #CommunityChampions pic.twitter.com/KNY0fWLr8O

— Greater Washington Community Foundation (@communityfndn) May 20, 2021

Want to catch the full evening? Watch the full event recording

Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Recognizes Children’s Opportunity Fund as a Bright Spot Community During COVID-19 Pandemic

Children’s Opportunity Fund Recognized for Work in Supporting Early School Success

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is pleased to share that the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CLGR) named Montgomery County, Maryland, as a 2021 Bright Spot community for its responses to the COVID-19 crisis last year.

Specifically, CLGR is highlighting communities that developed exemplary or innovative responses to the COVID-19 crisis, including new or adaptive roles, programs, organizational relationships/collaborations, policies and/or resources. In particular, the Campaign is recognizing communities for crafting solutions that seem especially effective, replication-worthy and/or deserving of being sustained during the post-COVID period.

As a co-founder of the Educational Enrichment and Equity Hubs in Montgomery County, we are humbled and proud to be recognized for this COVID-19 response work in the County. Established by The Community Foundation’s Children’s Opportunity Fund (COF), in partnership with certified childcare providers, The Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence, and Montgomery County Public Schools, Equity Hubs offer low-income students grades K-8 a safe place to learn during remote learning due to the pandemic. These enrichment centers continue today, acting as active academic partners in assisting with distance learning and working to ensure that all students can excel.

“We are so thankful for all our community partners who have stepped up to help us close the opportunity gap by addressing racial inequities and expanding opportunities for Black, Brown, and low-income students,” said Anna Hargrave, executive director for Montgomery County at the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “The Equity Hubs are critical in our efforts to support our most marginalized youth and families in Montgomery County and we look forward to continuing this work in the future.”

Since September 2020, the Equity Hubs have welcomed over 1,400 students across 70 sites. Thanks to the support of public and private community partners, COF has raised and administered over $8.3 million to fund the Equity Hubs.

About the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Launched in 2010, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort of funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities across the nation to ensure that many more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship. CGLR focuses on promoting early school success as an important building block of more hopeful futures for children in economically challenged families and communities.

Since its launch, CGLR has grown to include more than 300 communities, representing 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and two provinces in Canada — with 5,000+ local organizations and 510 state and local funders (including 200+ United Ways). To learn more, visit gradelevelreading.net and follow the movement on Twitter @readingby3rd.

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

The Children’s Opportunity Fund is a component fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Funded jointly by the government of Montgomery County, Maryland, and Montgomery County Public Schools to leverage public funds to attract private investment, the Fund champions, plans and funds strategic investments that improve the lives of low-income children and families in the county. With a focus on innovative, evidence-informed efforts targeted at closing the opportunity gap, the Fund identifies priority areas for investment based on unmet need, aligns resources toward effective multi-sector collaborations serving the county’s most marginalized youth and their families, and seeks new funding sources.

Community Foundation Announces $500,000 Gift from Howard Hughes Medical Institute To Children’s Opportunity Fund

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is pleased to announce a new $500,000 contribution from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to the Children’s Opportunity Fund (COF). The gift will help the Educational Enrichment & Equity Hubs to close the opportunity gap by addressing racial inequities and expanding opportunities for Black, Brown, and low-income students and families in Montgomery County, Maryland. This gift recognizes HHMI’s support of the hubs concept and the work of the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence and its partnership with COF.

COF, an impact initiative of the Greater Washington Community, champions, plans, and funds strategic investments that improve the lives of low-income children and families in the county. The Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence focuses on eliminating systemic barriers for student to thrive. In response to the pandemic and school closures, COF along with the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence, with certified childcare providers, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), and community members came together to establish the Equity Hubs program in Montgomery County. Since September 2020, the Equity Hubs have welcomed over 1,300 students across 70 sites. Through the support of public and private community partners, COF initially raised over $4.2 million to fund the Equity Hubs for low-income students through the first semester. In February 2021, MCPS and Montgomery County Council provided another $3.6 million to continue this effort into the second semester.

“We are so thankful for partners like HHMI and others who have stepped up to help us close the opportunity gap by addressing racial inequities and expanding opportunities for Black, Brown, and low-income students,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “These contributions help bolster our ability to support our most marginalized youth and families in Montgomery County as schools begin to reopen.”

Recent news coverage has highlighted how the pandemic has exacerbated the documented achievement gap in Montgomery County. The efforts of the Children’s Opportunity Fund and the Black and Brown Coalition and its partners to support the county’s most vulnerable students came to the attention of HHMI President Erin O’Shea, who reached out to explore how HHMI could contribute.

O’Shea notes the value of targeted interventions that leverage school community member expertise to provide students with resources they need.

"We're pleased to support the innovative equity hub model catalyzed by the Children’s Opportunity Fund and the Black and Brown Coalition in Montgomery County," said O'Shea. "By ensuring that students have access to learning tools and support services, the hubs directly address systemic inequities in education that have widened during the pandemic."

Even as schools begin to reopen, the need to support our community’s children and families will continue, especially as the implications of the pandemic are more fully understood. COF will continue working with the community partners to understand the evolving needs of the most vulnerable youth and families to close the steadily increasing opportunity gap in Montgomery County.

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About the Greater Washington Community Foundation

Since 1973, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has been a champion of thriving communities and a catalyst for change through local philanthropic engagement, effective community investment, and civic leadership. We work with donors and partners to enhance the quality of life in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Northern Virginia, and Prince George’s County. As the region’s largest local funder, we have invested more than $1.3 billion to build more equitable, just, and enriching communities where all residents can live, work, and thrive.

About the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence

Cofounded in 2019 by Identity and the NAACP Parents’ Council, the Coalition’s mission is to ensure by 2025, all students, and particularly Black and Brown students, have equitable access to the resources, opportunities and supports they need to be successful in college, career, and life. The Black and Brown Coalition harnesses the power of two historically disenfranchised communities who have not traditionally advocated together. By joining forces, the Black and Latino communities leverage the influence of 54% of the MCPS student body to push to undo the deeply embedded impact of systemic inequity.

About the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

HHMI is the largest private biomedical research institution in the nation. Our scientists make discoveries that advance human health and our fundamental understanding of biology. We also invest in transforming science education into a creative, inclusive endeavor that reflects the excitement of research. HHMI’s headquarters are in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Celebrating A Year of Leadership

On April 2, 2020—just one day after DC’s official COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were announced—Tonia Wellons was named President and CEO of The Community Foundation. This followed a half-year search during which she served as interim CEO of the organization. 

Today, on Tonia’s one year anniversary, we celebrate her steadfast leadership and vision. Throughout 2020, Tonia remained determined to care for our community with urgency and with care - and the community took notice. 

Through her many media features, awards and accolades this past year, we are so humbled and appreciative of all the positive support she’s received. Below, get to know Tonia better, and learn about some of this year’s top highlights. 

Introducing Tonia: ‘A Steadfast Vision Offering Us Hope’

Read about Tonia’s background and experience, and her vision for The Community Foundation. Hear what it was like starting as CEO during a pandemic and how she is shaping The Community Foundation’s priorities in response to the evolving crisis. 

• ‘Greater Washington Community Foundation Named Permanent CEO,’  Washington Business Journal

• ‘Meet Tonia Wellons, appointed CEO of a regional nonprofit the day after stay-at-home orders were put in place,’ Washington Business Journal 

• ‘Community Foundation Leaders Talk Rapid Response and Evolving Roles During Crisis,’ Inside Philanthropy 

Celebrating Her Leadership: ‘A Collaborator On The Journey Toward Solutions’

Learn about two significant awards Tonia received this year, which honored the incredible community leadership she’s provided amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

• Washington Business Journal’s Nonprofit Leader of the Year Award

• Named one of Washingtonian Magazine’s ‘Heroes of the Crisis’

Thought Leadership in Action

Last summer, Tonia wrote a Washington Post op-ed with Ursual Wright, Managing Director for FSG, where she referred to the pandemic as a ‘trifecta of crisis:’ health, economic, and democratic. Read more about her views on this crisis - and her perspective from being on the frontlines of philanthropy.

• ‘How To Reconstruct An Equitable Future For Our Region,’ Washington Post 

• “From the Frontline: How a Philanthropy Professional Views the COVID-19 Experience,” Washington Life Magazine

Equity Hubs Help MCPS Students Plug into Learning through Pandemic

Equity Hub students hard at work with their virtual studies.

When COVID-19 forced Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to close in March 2020, families found themselves struggling to adjust to remote learning. As a school district serving 160,000 students, MCPS is comprised of a diverse student body, with students from 164 countries speaking 184 languages. One-third of students benefit from Free and Reduced-Price Meals, and many receive English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) support and in-person special education courses -- all services that changed dramatically when schools closed. 

Due to the closures, students throughout Montgomery County lacked technical support, internet access, and daytime supervision. Students also had to adjust to distractions at home, as well as the social isolation from being away from peers and teachers. 

A Community Approach to Distance Learning

In fall 2020, certified childcare providers, The Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence, MCPS, The Children’s Opportunity Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation, and community members came together to establish Educational Enrichment and Equity Hubs in Montgomery County. These enrichment centers, open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and located in schools throughout Montgomery County, served kindergarten through 8th grade students and offered a safe learning environment for young people from low-income households to receive one-on-one support. All providers followed strict health and safety guidelines, provided meals and exercise/play activities, and assigned two staff members for each group of 13 students.

The Equity Hubs were also active academic partners, monitoring and assisting with distance learning and working to ensure that students excelled. Before joining the Equity Hub, Eduardo, a first grader with community-based partner Kids Co., struggled with number and letter identification, making it difficult to complete homework assignments. 

“With help from staff, [Eduardo was] able to complete more assignments,” said Chantelle Miller, Director of Kids Co. “His teachers identified a new academic plan to measure his academic skills, specifically pertaining to math, and he seemed happier and more comfortable doing coursework.” 

Community partners—from parents to childcare providers—have said the social aspects of the Equity Hubs improved students’ engagement, social-emotional skills, and overall mental health. Social interaction also helped younger students develop their sense of self and reach developmental milestones. 

“All of our students [were] successful once they enrolled in our Hub,” said Jay Gerson, President of Kids Co. “They [were] coming every day and being consistent -- they [had] this fuel and motivation to go to school each day.” 

Enrollment Assistance for Equity Hub Students

Quickly working to support families during a crisis comes with a price. Equity Hub providers initially charged $1,200 per month per child to support technology, certified staff, transportation, meals and snacks, and other resources.  

The Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Children’s Opportunity Fund connected with concerned community partners and worked collectively to mobilize funds, raise awareness and began providing scholarships for students. In August and September 2020, the Children’s Opportunity Fund raised $500,000 in private philanthropy, allowing for the opening of four sites in September. In partnership with the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence, The Children’s Opportunity Fund began advocating to MCPS and the Montgomery County Council for additional funds to expand the Hubs to serve more students. Since September, an additional $550,000 in private philanthropy has been raised—leading to a total of over $1 million in private funds to support Equity Hubs. 

Pat Ruppert, a Children’s Opportunity Fund donor and Montgomery County resident, said that she first considered supporting the Equity Hubs when she started watching her five grandchildren in spring 2020.

“I kept thinking to myself, what about working parents who don’t have the resources or support from family and friends?” Rupert said. “I reached out to The Children’s Opportunity Fund to figure out what was being done to support these families, and that’s when I learned about Equity Hubs and felt inspired to be a part of [their] crucial work.”

The Power of Collaboration

The Children’s Opportunity Fund coordinated the work of many community partners, which created a single point of entry for families to help them navigate finding an Equity Hub that was a good fit for each family and student. Participating Partners worked to spread the word about the Equity Hubs: sharing flyers in English and Spanish, setting up a hotline to receive phone calls, and bringing on family engagement specialists to help get students enrolled.

Also, in close collaboration with MCPS, Equity Hubs were able to enroll students who were struggling the most with distance learning. Collaboration and coordination enabled this effort to reach students who would benefit from the Equity Hubs the most. 

By blending public and private funds to complement efforts, The Children’s Opportunity Fund and its partners were able to utilize private funds to quickly pilot a new program and then acquire public funds to expand its reach to students throughout the community. In October 2020, the Montgomery County Council contributed $1.8 million to expand the Hubs throughout the County’s elementary schools, and MCPS committed another $1.8 million to support Equity Hubs.

The Children’s Opportunity Fund raised over $4.6 million to help the Equity Hubs enroll 1,500 students across 70 sites. In January 2021, MCPS and Montgomery County Council provided another $3.6 million to support them through March 2021, when in-person learning resumed.  

Dr. Daman Harris, Principal at Wheaton Woods, said the Equity Hubs produced numerous benefits for students and the community.

“Before The Children’s Opportunity Fund got involved and alleviated concerns about costs, there were eight children signed up for our hub,” Harris said. “By February 2021, there were over 50 students enrolled.”

This work is not new to The Children’s Opportunity Fund. Started in 2016 by the Montgomery County Council and then established as a funding initiative led by the Greater Washington Community Foundation, The Children’s Opportunity Fund aims to close the opportunity gap by addressing racial inequities and expanding opportunities for marginalized children and families. The Fund brings together community members and government leadership to plan with, advocate for, and fund strategic investments that improve the lives of children and families. 

Looking Toward the Future

The Equity Hubs successfully served thousands of students throughout the pandemic. Even as schools begin to reopen, the need to support our community’s children and families will continue, especially as the implications of the pandemic are more fully understood. The Children’s Opportunity Fund aims to continue working with the community and its partners to understand the evolving needs of the most vulnerable youth and families in order to close the steadily increasing opportunity gap in Montgomery County.  

The Children’s Opportunity Fund can only do this work with the help of cross-sector partners across Montgomery County. You can play an active role in ensuring that young people continue to have access to safe, quality learning opportunities and enrichments that support their academic and personal development, regardless of socio-economic status, race, or housing situation. Join us to ensure that all children have access to the essential services and growth opportunities they need to thrive.

A Reflection on a Year of COVID-19

By Tonia Wellons, President & CEO

In March 2020, our world shifted before us. COVID-19 had arrived—and with it, came an unprecedented health and economic crisis for our region, our country, and our world. 

As a regional Community Foundation, we were resolute in our duty to care for our community as quickly, and compassionately, as possible. On March 12, less than a week after the onset of the pandemic in our region, we established the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to deploy emergency assistance to those most adversely affected.

And today, to mark the one-year anniversary, I want to start off by acknowledging the families and people in our region who have experienced loss of life as a result of COVID-19; or during the pandemic period. Our work has targeted those living through the pandemic, but many didn’t make it. For those people and their families, we offer our respectful condolences and hope for brighter days. 

Since launching the Fund, we’ve been able to mobilize $10.5 million from more than 1,300 contributors including corporate partners, local foundations, and individual donors. We are so humbled by and proud of our network of partners and donors, who have stepped up in incredible ways to support our neighbors in need.

I am proud to share some key data points with you on our collective impact, which helps tell the story of our coordinated COVID-19 response. What we were able to accomplish together for our community is truly inspiring—and would not have been possible without our generous community partners. 

Here are a couple of stories that I found especially inspiring: 

Future Harvest advances agriculture that sustains farmers, communities, and the environment through mini-cash grants to farmer entrepreneurs who do not qualify for federal stimulus programs. Future Harvest combined its Greater Washington Community Foundation grant funds with other sources to create the “Feed the Need” Fund, which awarded more than $60,000 to 22 small-to mid-sized, financially struggling family farm operations—14 of whom were BIPOC farmers.

Sophie Felts, a Community Foundation donor and owner of Sophie Felts Floral Design, launched a flower drive to help fundraise for our COVID-19 Response Fund. All proceeds from her locally-grown flower arrangements supported our efforts, helping funnel additional funds into the community when it was needed most. 

Or, take the CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield PPE Response Fund, one of our aligned COVID-19 response partnerships. Through this public-private endeavor, we partnered with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to establish a $5 million fund to procure and distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) at no-cost to healthcare and social service organizations on the front lines of the pandemic. 

This equated to 1.6 million units of PPE to local frontline health workers—one of our region's most impacted populations. In this way, we were able to not only recognize, but support, the frontline workers who helped our community through this pandemic.

We know that our pre-COVID world was one rife with deep inequities in housing, employment, and education, among many areas. As we work toward an equitable recovery, we know we cannot return to the status quo. At The Community Foundation, we are focused on emerging from this crisis as a stronger, more equitable, and resilient community that offers equal opportunity for all residents to thrive. 

Right now, we are working on this in several key ways. We are in the midst of retooling our strategic framework so that every aspect of our work is aligned with what our region needs to move forward as an equitable community. We will focus on building a community of support and accountability that will advance our region’s role as a champion for racial equity and justice.  

We believe that everyone has a role to play in shaping a “better normal” for the Greater Washington region—one where who you are, and where you were born, does not determine your success in life.  We look forward to continuing to explore ways we can engage community voices, and better support Black leaders and organizations led by, or serving BIPOC communities.

Together, with our community and  local government, we will continue to foster long-lasting change, especially for our region’s low-income families and communities of color. 

Thank you for partnering with us to pursue an equitable recovery strategy that lifts and prioritizes the needs of everyone in our region, but especially those who have been the most negatively affected in the Greater Washington Region.

Equity Fund Awards $440,000 to Address Critical Needs in Prince George’s County

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is pleased to announce $440,000 in grants from the Equity Fund to 19 nonprofit organizations serving Prince George’s County, MD. Selected nonprofits will receive up to $25,000 in funding to support work to advance food security, affordable childcare, and workforce equity in Prince George’s County. These grants were made possible thanks to a generous gift from the Ikea U.S. Community Foundation. 

Nourishing A Community In Need

Senior citizens have been among our region’s most impacted populations—especially in terms of food security. Through our Equity Fund, we awarded $115,000 to six food assistance programs serving seniors and families in Prince George’s County. Thanks to these providers, families have access to healthy food through prepared food from local restaurants, fresh food from local farmers, and shelf-stable food.  

“This grant has helped Hyattsville Aging in Place (HAP) maintain and expand its services during the pandemic,” said Lisa Walker, Chair of the HAP Board of Directors. “As we struggled to provide services while guarding the health of our neighbors, the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s grant not only helped HAP deliver needed support and services to seniors in need, it also spurred HAP to build deeper connections with other programs in our community.”

Ensuring Affordable Childcare for Families

COVID-19 has devastated the childcare provider community, forcing the closure of 40% of childcare programs, and resulting in the loss of more than 8,000 childcare slots. The Prince George’s Child Resource Center received a $25,000 grant from the Equity Fund to help ensure the sustainability of childcare providers in the County.

"Through The Community Foundation's Equity Fund, we are able to provide advocacy and support for the childcare workforce. Ensuring strong, high quality childcare means employment for thousands in Prince George's County; children are in safe environments where they are learning; and parents can go back to work with confidence,” said Jennifer Iverson, Executive Director, Prince George’s Child Resource Center. “Access to childcare is essential for families seeking employment and absolutely critical for those still fortunate enough to have a job.”

Curbing the Impact of Unemployment

Fifty percent of the jobs created in Prince George’s County over the past five years were lost in the first two weeks of COVID. Through the Equity Fund, we awarded $300,000 to 14 organizations to help mitigate the impact of unemployment, reduced wages, and lost work. These grants will help prepare workers for meaningful employment and ensure that people facing barriers to employment can access high-quality education and job opportunities, which pay a family-sustaining wage. 

Kim Rhim, Executive Director of The Training Source, said:

“The Equity Fund grant was a life saver for us and so many already marginalized people who were further impacted by COVID-19. Many workers will never return to their jobs, and those who previously struggled to find work will find it much more difficult to secure employment. They will have to learn new skills and adapt to entirely new work environments, including the now vast telework environment. [This support from The Community Foundation] will help them do just that.” 

2020 Equity Fund Grantees

Asylum Seeker Assistance Project to provide wraparound employment services and support to asylum-seeking adults residing in Prince George’s County.

Community Outreach and Development CDC to purchase food and support food pantry operations including food deliveries and assisting persons to apply for SNAP food benefits. 

Community Support Systems, Inc. to support food pantries that benefit residents in Southern Prince George’s County. 

Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/ Prince George's County, Inc. to help youth overcome the hurdles they face as a result of the traumas they endured as children by focusing on workforce readiness, education, and skills development.

Eckerd Youth Alternatives to mitigate barriers, attain critical workforce skills, and navigate a pathway to gainful employment for youth who are disconnected from employment or educational opportunities.

Food & Friends to provide health and nutrition education workshops, individualized assessments, and the preparation and delivery of medically tailored meals to individuals who are living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, or another critical illness, as well as children and caregivers. 

Hyattsville Aging in Place, Inc. (HAP) to help seniors by delivering food, providing transportation to food sources, and assisting with access to financial resources. 

Joe's Movement Emporium to create a pipeline of diverse, skilled workers by providing young adults with training in digital media and technical theatre, experience with regional employers, and one-on-one coaching and counseling.  

Laurel Advocacy and Referral Services, Inc. to support households living at or below the poverty line that are working to increase their earnings and achieve economic mobility.

Life Asset, Inc. to create temporary and seasonal jobs by providing microloans coupled with ongoing business training to low-income entrepreneurs.

Mission of Love Charities, Inc. to help people become Water Treatment Technicians and Certified Nursing Assistants by providing requisite training and employability skills and job search assistance. 

Ourspace World, Inc. to recruit, train, and mentor young people to be competitive in the green jobs sector. 

Prince George's Child Resource Center, Inc. to provide support to family childcare providers to ensure the provision of a safe and nurturing environment for children and the sustainability of the childcare sector. 

Prince George's Community College to support curriculum design and digital literacy training for students and faculty.

Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland Inc. to provide consumer protections to help individuals avoid crippling judgments, wage garnishments, and impossible choices between rent, medical care, and food for their families.

Solutions In Hometown Connections Corp. to connect low-income refugee and immigrant women with critical services and resources that minimize barriers to self-sufficiency. 

Sowing Empowerment & Economic Development, Inc. (SEED) to serve as a food hub providing supplemental food to seven pantries in Prince George’s County.

The Training Source, Inc. to help residents secure and retain well-paying employment through comprehensive training, job readiness, and community supportive services.

TranZed Apprenticeship Ventures, LLC to secure new employer partnerships and placement in Prince George’s County for apprentices.

University of Maryland SAFE Center for Human Trafficking Survivors to initiate a “First Step into Employment” program that includes an hourly stipend for young adult trafficking survivors in need of meaningful employment experience, training, skills development, and a supportive mentor.                                                            

About The Equity Fund

The Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Equity Fund seeks to eliminate social and economic disparities in Prince George’s County by ensuring that every Prince Georgian is afforded the opportunities necessary to reach their full human potential. The focus areas for the 2020 grant round were food security, childcare, and workforce equity. Grants were awarded to high impact organizations and innovative programs working to create pathways to success for county residents.

Visit us at https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org/princegeorges to learn more about our impact and work in Prince George’s County

Quarterly Update to the Community

Dear friends of The Community Foundation,

I hope this finds you enjoying a happy and healthy start to your new year. Thanks to the continued care for our community, last quarter our community of givers awarded more than $23+ million in grants to organizations serving our region and beyond.

The Community Foundation remains focused on meeting our community’s evolving needs through leading critical community impact initiatives. Last quarter, our activities included:

• Issuing an additional $2 million in grants from the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, for a total of $10 million to address the public health and economic crisis.

• Funding equity hub scholarships through the Children’s Opportunity Fund for low-income families in Montgomery County to receive childcare and remote learning support in a safe environment.

• In partnership with FSC First, distributing more than $1 million in emergency relief to support 173 small businesses in Prince George’s County through the Legacy Fund.

• Celebrating the Power of Our Community with virtual convenings reflecting on the heart and spirit of our communities in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

• Welcoming experts on racial equity and community building to our board and staff, including new Trustee Dr. Rashawn Ray and new Managing Director of Community Investment Ronnie Galvin.

Our collective efforts have been recognized with several notable awards. I was proud to represent all of you when accepting the Washington Business Journal’s Nonprofit Leader of the Year award and I was humbled to be named a Hero of the Crisis by Washingtonian Magazine. And, our partnership with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield received the Washington Business Journal's 2020 Citizenship Award for our efforts to distribute thousands of PPE units to frontline workers at qualified health clinics across the region.

As our community continues to recover from this crisis, we are working to build a more equitable and resilient future for our region. With this in mind, we have embarked on a strategic planning process to identify ways to develop a fresh roadmap for the organization and how we serve this community.

Over the next several months, we will examine and fine-tune our organizational processes to serve our fundholders and our community with strengthened excellence and efficiency. We will also get crystal clear about our strategy, how to best center racial equity, and what it means to be a regional organization with the need for local, jurisdictional, and community nuance. And we will look at how we partner with our donors and fundholders so that we can fully and thoughtfully leverage your philanthropic passions into lasting community impact. 

I look forward to sharing an update with you soon. Thank you for being our partner in strengthening our communities now and for the future.

Sincerely,
Tonia Wellons
President and CEO

COVID-19 Partners Advance Food Security and Equity in Region

More than 15% of residents in our region struggle with food insecurity—and we anticipate this only getting worse as the cold winter months continue. In response to this emergency community need, we recently distributed an additional $2.04 million in phase 3 grants from our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, helping support local nonprofits that are providing food assistance, as well as childcare, eviction prevention, and unemployment support.

Our nonprofit partners have stepped up to feed our community, and we are excited to share a few of their stories. Read on for more.

Community Outreach and Development CDC

Community Outreach and Development CDC, a Prince George’s County-based nonprofit, works to provide quality services so residents can become self-sufficient, productive members of our community. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization has expanded their food assistance program to deliver to over 1,000 households who are homebound, including seniors and those who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. 

“Elderly individuals called our agency thanking us for our delivery service, especially during a time when persons were anxious about being in the public and they had underlying medical conditions. One family called stating that they tested positive for COVID-19 and had no groceries. We were able to assist that family with two weeks' worth of food while going through isolation, and provided a tub of cleaning products to help with disinfecting their home.”  -Community Outreach and Development CDC staff member

 In the below, short impact video, Corae Young, Assistant Director of Community Outreach and Development, shares more of their story.

Dreaming Out Loud

Since the onset of COVID-19, Dreaming Out Loud (DOL) quickly pivoted their program model to include meal preparation for vulnerable populations, as well as supporting mutual aid programs for residents across Wards 1, 7, and 8. This directly supports this local nonprofit’s mission—creating economic opportunities for the DC metro region’s marginalized communities through building a healthy, equitable food system.

With support from The Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, DOL provided logistics and coordination support to provide more than 200,000 meals. And, they procured produce from Black BIPOC farmers, and helped maintain community-based hires to pack and distribute food. In total, their direct COVID-19 food support has served an average of 2,000 people per week to DC residents.

“This grant allowed DOL to add capacity to support food aid to thousands of DC residents,” said Christopher Bradshaw, Executive Director. 

“It was very important the way that the food aid resources were deployed. They supported Black food makers and workers and farmers, hiring from within the community – while reaching vulnerable residents with healthy, delicious food. This is in line with our mission of creating economic opportunities within marginalized communities, while building a health equitable food system.” 

Institute for Public Health Innovation

The Institute for Public Health Innovation is focused on improving the public’s health and well-being, across Northern Virginia, Maryland, and DC. And with our region’s current food security crisis, that includes providing urgent food assistance to those in need. In response to COVID-19, the Institute has:

• Provided grant writing and development support for food assistance providers

• Developed an extensive COVID-19 resource hub for food access on their website

• Developed a partnership with La Clinica Del Pueblo that allows us to refer requests for food assistance support form Spanish speaking residents to support staff at the organization

• Acted as a liaison between donors, food providers, and Council members to help coordinate large donations

…among many others. In partnership with World Central Kitchen and National Philanthropies, the Institute was able to provide county partners with over 10,000 meals served weekly from April to June, and 8,000 weekly for the months of July and August.

“We were able to leverage our deep relationships with food and farm stakeholders, regional organizations, and county agencies to lead the County’s COVID-19 emergency food response. Support from the Greater Washington Community Foundation enabled us to quickly build staffing capacity and launch new initiatives,” said Sydney Daigle, Food Equity Council Director. 

“The programs we have launched during our grant period will support residents during the pandemic and during our County's recovery.” 

Food for Montgomery: A Community-Wide Response to the Rise in Hunger

By Anna Hargrave, Executive Director for Montgomery County

Can you picture yourself waiting in the cold for hours to get enough food for your family? Or taking multiple buses only to discover the food distribution event ran out long before you arrived? Worse, can you imagine being sick with COVID-19 but realizing that you must go to the food bank because otherwise your kids will go hungry?

This is the reality facing thousands of our neighbors. But, with a small twist of fate, it could be any of us.  

As our community’s need for food skyrocketed last spring, our Montgomery County leaders, community stakeholders, and the Greater Washington Community Foundation teamed up to create Food for Montgomery. This remarkable public-private partnership is marshalling the resources of county government, the knowledge and connections of food providers, the organizing power of our Montgomery County Food Council, and the donations of individuals, businesses, and foundations to prevent thousands of children, adults, and seniors from going to bed hungry.

Check out the video below to hear directly from leaders behind the Food for Montgomery initiative.

Thanks to the hundreds of people and businesses who gave early to Food for Montgomery, our partners have quickly scaled innovative solutions to address the staggering increase in food insecurity affecting 1 in 10 of our neighbors.

Here are a few inspiring examples.

Between March and November 2020, Manna Food Center provided more than 112,050 packages of food to people throughout Montgomery County, responding to a 64% increase in need, compared to the same period in 2019.

• The Manna Food Center, Capital Area Food Bank, local wholesalers, other nonprofit and faith-based distribution partners, and the County are working together to coordinate bulk purchases, maximizing every dollar devoted to addressing the urgent need. 

• Many organizations simply did not have the capacity to distribute more food. Thanks to grants from Food for Montgomery, our partners were able to buy or lease trucks, cold storage, technology, and other key resources which helped them increase the quantity and quality of food distributed.

Last April, Kingdom Fellowship AME Church hosted its first family food distribution, which helped 300 families. With support from Food for Montgomery, they are now leading the East County Consolidation Hub which brings together several organizations and county agencies to serve more than 1,000 families each week. 

• In the spring, restaurants were at risk of closing while local farmers were concerned their food would end up in the trash. Thanks to creative collaborations, their fresh local produce and prepared meals have been able to support people in need, particularly seniors and COVID-positive households that need to remain in quarantine. 

While we are proud of what this incredible partnership has accomplished, we know there is still much work to be done. Feeding America estimates that the number of people facing food insecurity could grow to 120,000-140,000 by the end of 2021. 

As Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando said:

“This is an all-in effort to build a stronger, resilient system and support Montgomery County. We want to take care of each other, and it starts with ensuring that everyone has food.”

 If you share our concern, join us.

Give. Make a gift to Food for Montgomery today!  The strength of this partnership will maximize your impact by helping thousands of people across our community. 

Learn More. You would be amazed by the creative problem-solving and tireless dedication of the partners behind this effort.  Contact us to sign up for opportunities to hear directly from the leaders on the ground and see their work in action.  

Get Involved. Many people still don’t realize how many of our neighbors are struggling to put food on the table.  If you want to be part of the solution, sign up to help educate others and inspire them to become part of the solution. 

Partnership to End Homelessness Update: A Year in Review

This year, our work to end homelessness in DC has been more critical than ever, as our neighbors without housing were at greater risk of contracting COVID-19, on top of the risks people experiencing homelessness face every day. Throughout 2020, and always, our focus has been on working with our partners to look at the efforts happening across the city and to identify strategic opportunities for investment.

So, this holiday season, as we reflect on our first full calendar year of the Partnership to End Homelessness, we want to say thank you. Thank you to our donors who trusted us to stay informed and to make strategic investments that will result in fewer people experiencing homelessness and more people maintaining safe and affordable housing. Thank you to our nonprofit partners on the frontlines working to make sure our neighbors have food, shelter, medical care, and other basic necessities, in such a scary and uncertain time. And finally, thank you to our government partners who are working tirelessly to respond and direct resources where they are needed most.

Volunteers for Church of the Epiphany, a COVID-19 Response Fund partner, hand out food and supplies topeople experiencing homelessness

a year in review

With your help, this year we have provided over $1.25 million in grants to organizations supporting individuals and families experiencing homelessness and housing instability during the pandemic. These grants included COVID-19 response partners Mi Casa Inc., which provides long-term support and critical housing resources; the Church of the Epiphany, which provides food to people experiencing homelessness in the community; and Bethesda Cares, which provides case management and counseling services. You can learn more about these partners and others here.

In addition to our grantmaking, since 2019 we have supported the development and preservation of over 530 affordable homes through our partnership with Enterprise Community Loan Fund. These investments will create long-term housing options for our neighbors and help to preserve and increase the supply of deeply affordable housing in DC.

Together, we have continued to invest in the strength of our system and helped to provide our neighbors without housing access to healthy meals and medical care when they needed it most. Even in uncertain times, we remain committed to supporting the creation of processes and systems that will help people exit homelessness more quickly or avoid homelessness altogether.

As we head into the new year, we know that tens of thousands of our neighbors are behind on rent and at risk of eviction. We know we must continue our emergency response, while also investing in long-term solutions and systems change that will mean less people experiencing homelessness and a more equitable response for those that do.

COVID-19 Response Fund partner Mi Casa Inc. works with Girard House Co-op to preserve affordable housing

Ways to join us

Next year, keep an eye out as we ramp up our advocacy work and continue to coordinate with our public and private sector partners. As Congress appears to be moving forward on a new COVID-19 relief package, join us in sending a message to your Members of Congress to let them know that now, more than ever, we must make investments that ensure everyone has housing where they can isolate to stay healthy, continue their education, and work to address other needs.

We hope this year, in addition to supporting the amazing frontline providers in our community, we can count on you to support our work as we continue to identify strategic investments to ensure everyone has safe and stable housing.

So once again, thank you. Thank you for all you have done this year and for joining us in our efforts to make sure that no one in DC experiences homelessness and that everyone has housing they can afford.

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About the Partnership to End Homelessness

The Partnership to End Homelessness, led by the Greater Washington Community Foundation and the District Government’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH), brings together the public and private sectors to ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring in DC. We believe that all DC residents deserve a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

By joining together, we will increase the supply of deeply affordable housing, help everyone find a home they can afford, and help more people access housing and exit homelessness more quickly.

Get Involved

Every action, whether large or small, can make a difference in ending homelessness. Visit EndHomelessnessDC.org to learn more.

This blog post is from the Partnership to End Homelessness newsletter. Sign up here to receive these quarterly updates.