Letter from the President & CEO

Friends,

I am delighted to share with you our fiscal year 2018 annual report – covering the period from April 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018. This report offers many reasons to celebrate our donors, partners and community members who are making a real difference every day for our neighbors and communities.

This fiscal year, our community of givers welcomed 47 new funds to The Community Foundation. Thanks to your continued generosity and care for our communities, we brought in more than $80 million in donor contributions. That is the highest amount of annual contributions we have received in the past 10 years! And we granted out more than $96 million to a range of causes including human services, education, the environment, health, the arts and economic development. Together, we are supporting a robust nonprofit sector toward building thriving, enriching, and inclusive communities for all who call the Greater Washington region their home.

We also celebrated the important milestone of our 45th anniversary! During that time, we have led scores of vital community initiatives, granted more than $1.2 billion, funded literally thousands of nonprofit partners, and worked with donors to establish endowed funds to support community vitality both now and in the future. We are proud of our rich history and all that we have achieved over those 45 years. And we are honored to be your trusted advisor and steward, guiding the region’s philanthropic response to our community’s challenges.

In July 2017, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region became the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Our new name and visual identity better reflect the region we serve and are inclusive of our local work. In particular, our new logo was designed to represent the power of generous giving; just as seeds of a plant flourish with proper care, so too does our community flourish when we work together in a spirit of giving. You can read about the transition here.

Although our name may have changed, we remain committed to our community by being the best stewards of philanthropic engagement for Greater Washington’s community of givers and partners to our nonprofit grantees. The following pages share information and stories which demonstrate how our work is supporting safer, more vibrant, and thriving communities for all residents.

This work would not be possible without the generosity of our community of givers across DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Thank you for devoting your time, talent and treasure to this important work.

Best wishes,
Bruce McNamer

President and CEO,
Greater Washington Community Foundation

In Memoriam

Our community of givers recently lost two individuals who each played a role in advancing the work of The Community Foundation and creating a lasting impact for individuals and families locally and around the county.

Mobilizing Philanthropy

Here are a few examples of the myriad ways in which we inspire philanthropy in our community:

Celebrating Philanthropy and Community Leadership

The Community Foundation celebrates philanthropy and shines a light on the organizations and individuals in the region who work tirelessly to improve our communities. Our three signature events combined brought together more than 1,000 leaders from philanthropy, nonprofits, local government, and businesses to collectively raise more than $1 million for the Fund for Greater Washington. The proceeds enable us to provide vital resources to civic and community organizations, develop new ideas and solutions to community challenges, and conduct programmatic initiatives and advocacy across the region.

Celebration of Philanthropy in dc

The region-wide Celebration of Philanthropy honored Carol Thompson Cole with the 2018 Civic Spirit Award for her exceptional contributions to the region throughout her long career in local government, the private sector, and now as President and CEO of Venture Philanthropy Partners. More than 700 people joined us to celebrate the 45th anniversary of The Community Foundation and to take in live performances of music, theater, dance and poetry from local artists and nonprofits supported by The Community Foundation and its donors. Special guests included DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, event co-chairs David Bradt and Katharine Weymouth, and previous honorees Patty Stonesifer, Mario Morino, Joe and Lynne Horning, and Dick Snowdon, among other businesses, philanthropists, and local civic leaders. Read a recap from the evening.

Celebration of giving in montgomery county

The Celebration of Giving in Montgomery County welcomed more than 300 people to celebrate the work of The Community Foundation in Montgomery County and to salute our 2017 Philanthropist of the Year, Cliff White. Cliff and his wife Debbie opened a family fund at The Community Foundation to support organizations that help struggling families and people build pathways out of poverty. In 2008, Cliff also helped establish our Neighbors in Need Montgomery Fund which has galvanized more than $1.5 million in support of safety net services for our lowest income neighbors following the economic crisis. Read about the impact of Cliff’s philanthropy in Bethesda Magazine.

civic leadership awards in prince george's county

The Civic Leadership Awards in Prince George’s County brought together more than 300 people to celebrate “Unity Through Diversity” as we recognized, honored, and promoted outstanding community leadership in Prince George’s County. We were proud to honor an amazing cohort of local philanthropic, business, and government leaders by presenting the Civic Leadership Award to Timothy Adams and the Honorable Sheila R. Tillerson Adams, Tracye Funn, and Reverend Dr. Jonathan Weaver, the Wayne K. Curry Award for Leadership and Public Service to the Honorable Dorothy Bailey, and the Lifetime Achievement Award to the Honorable Albert Turner. Learn more about the honorees.

Responding When Disaster Strikes

When Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria devastated several parts of the country last summer, The Community Foundation quickly mobilized to advise concerned donors and fundholders on how best to support large-scale disaster relief and recovery efforts. We were proud to work with individuals and families and support several corporate fundholders, including Capital One, Fannie Mae and Marriott International, to disburse grants to over 3,000 employees of those companies, collectively, in the greater Houston area.

Connecting Donors with Doers

The Community Foundation regularly convenes donors to explore the needs of our region, discover great organizations serving those needs, and share ideas with other donors looking to make a greater impact together. Last year, our Philanthropic Engagement team expanded donor site visits to more than 50 local nonprofits driving positive change throughout the region. One particular site visit brought Sharing DC Advisory Committee members to Sasha Bruce’s Teen Drop-In Center to learn about its workforce development program offering mentoring services and skills training for homeless youth. While another introduced Sharing Prince George’s members to a partnership between the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and the Police Athletic League which is building bonds between vulnerable youth and law enforcement through mentoring, education, recreation and athletic activities. And in Montgomery County, donors participated in a Youth/Police Dialogue, part of a series enabling students from communities of color and police to make real connections and build trusting, healthy relationships with each other. Additional donor engagement events included:

• Donors at the inaugural Learn! DC event aboard the Bea Hayman Clark participated in a demonstration on the health of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers. Also, at a Philanthropy Roundtable donors heard from the Horning Family Fund about its philanthropy focused on east of the river and lessons learned along the way.

• Funders in Montgomery County came together around several roundtable discussions exploring topics such as how to build strategic partnerships to help children thrive, fostering healthy communities, and empowering low-income neighbors to have a voice around shaping our community’s future..

• Executives from The Walton Group of Companies experienced firsthand the services that nonprofits provide for Prince George’s County residents through visits to several organizations receiving investments from the Walton Prince George’s Community Fund at The Community Foundation.

Establishing a legacy fund with the Greater Washington Community Foundation is an excellent way to create lasting impact by supporting its efforts to improve the region for current and future generations. One such fund will be established as part of a $10 million bequest by James W. Lewis of Washington, DC in honor of his deceased parents – J. Vance Lewis and Blanche B. Lewis. As a financial advisor and private real estate investor, he found his passion for libraries after being appointed twice by Mayor Anthony Williams to the DC Library Board of Trustees. Mr. Lewis is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. His legacy intention is to create a scholarship fund at The Community Foundation, which represents the community where he has lived and worked for more than 40 years, that is focused on libraries because of their extraordinary value to education and inspiring learning. Once the fund is active, The Community Foundation will identify students whose financial circumstances make attending graduate school nearly impossible, but whose academic performance and commitment to service make them ideal candidates for a $50,000 scholarship in the area of library sciences. Mr. Lewis’ generosity and care will forever change the course of these students’ lives, and it will continue to create a positive impact for years to come.

Helping Professional Advisors Maximize their Clients' Giving

Our Development team members, Rebecca Rothey and Joanne Pipkin, have been locally and nationally recognized for their expertise in the field of philanthropy and planned giving.

• Last fiscal year, Rebecca and Joanne conducted meetings and presentations for more than 150 advisors from leading financial, law, accounting, and other advisory firms across the region.

• They were invited to lead education sessions at several conferences, including the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners Conference, on the topics of planned giving, donor-advised funds and philanthropy. Joanne was also invited to join the board of the National Capital Gift Planning Council.

• Following the passage of the 2017 tax act, which doubled the standard deduction and is expected to reduce giving in the years ahead, Rebecca Rothey wrote an article for Bloomberg Tax on a surprising benefit of the new law. In it, she offers advice on how donors can maintain or increase their charitable giving while preserving the tax benefits of such giving under the new law.

In addition to sharing expertise with local and national audiences, the team launched several new events and initiatives for professional advisors and continued the very popular PAC luncheon.

• The PAC luncheon welcomed over 100 professional advisors in October 2017 for an update on tax reform from Russell Sullivan, a former staff director for the Senate Finance Committee turned Partner at McGuireWoods. Russ was introduced by two of his adopted sons who he was connected to through his continued support of Covenant House. The event also honored outgoing PAC Co-Chair Nancy Fax for her years of leadership and service to the PAC, The Community Foundation’s board, and our Sharing Montgomery Advisory Board. Sadly, Nancy passed away on June 4 after a brief illness. She will be remembered for her dedication to her clients and to her community in Montgomery County.

• Last June, we launched the Young Professional Advisors Committee (YPAC) for professional advisors of the next generation interested in partnering to expand and deepen philanthropic influence in our region. The YPAC will function as both a powerful branch of The Community Foundation and a beneficial resource to young professionals in the region. It provides opportunities for members to connect and network, participate in site visits or volunteer opportunities, and receive training and education so they can remain active in philanthropy.

• In 2017, we partnered with the Estate Planning Journal Club to take on facilitation of the group and to keep philanthropic giving as its central focus. The once informal study group sponsored by Suburban Hospital, has grown into a formal group of 40 members with interest in convening regularly for high-level discussions about current estate planning topics and trends, techniques, and best practices. The EPJC is now led by a volunteer committee and convenes for events between four to six times a year.

Leading in the Community

Below are some examples of our grantmaking and community leadership work:

Community Leadership and Engagement

Capturing Voices of the Community

The Community Foundation’s most recent initiative has helped expand our focus to meet new challenges and the most pressing needs of our region. Voices of the Community: DC, Maryland, Virginia (VoicesDMV), launched last spring, as a community engagement initiative designed to lift up residents’ stories and perceptions of the quality of life in the region. In partnership with Urban Institute, we spent last summer hosting a series of community conversations, focus groups, and an online survey of more than 3,000 people to gather residents’ diverse attitudes and perceptions regarding the challenges and opportunities facing our region. The result is a collection of rich, local data offered as a public good to influence more strategic investments. The resulting report and data tool were released in December in front of a crowd of nearly 150 people at a launch event held at the Shakespeare Lansburgh Theater. We were excited to have the report featured twice by WAMU, on a segment for the Kojo Nnamdi Show and in a separate on-air piece. It has already served as a catalyst for more effective community investments to ensure a more equitable, just, and thriving region – including changes to The Community Foundation’s own Community Leadership Framework.

A Partnership to End Homelessness in DC

The Community Foundation has focused on homelessness prevention and intervention and increasing access to affordable housing, particularly for vulnerable and low-income populations, since releasing the landmark study, Housing Security in the Washington Region in 2014. Last spring, in partnership with the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH), The Community Foundation hosted a special event to release the District’s first-ever strategic plan to prevent and end youth homelessness, which is also the first data-driven youth homelessness plan in the country. In continued partnership with ICH, The Community Foundation is preparing to launch a public-private partnership focused on ending homelessness in the District by ensuring that homelessness is a rare, brief, and non-recurring event. The partnership will build off The Community Foundation’s Housing Security in Greater Washington study and the District’s own plans (Homeward DC and Solid Foundations DC).  As part of our planning process for this new initiative, we conducted a listening tour of key stakeholders -- including providers, advocates, funders, government, and developers. We researched how private philanthropy invests in homeless services in other jurisdictions/cities in order to hone in on how the private sector can bring its own resources to bear, and where they will count the most. The partnership will officially launch in the in fall/winter of 2018.

Centering Race Equity and Inclusion at The Community Foundation

Last fall, we launched a new President’s Forum series for donors and fundholders by welcoming Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward, for a training and discussion on advancing racial justice. This conversation was inspired by our ongoing work to refresh our understanding and institutional commitment to race equity and inclusion. Building on a rich history of social justice grantmaking and initiatives, we seek to center racial equity at The Community Foundation by ensuring that our leadership and staff have a full appreciation for what it means to apply a racial equity lens to our day-to-day work. This has included revisiting our internal processes and institutional infrastructure to make sure they reflect our values for racial equity in pay, voice, contracting, hiring, governance, and in our grantmaking process. Similarly, we looked at our programmatic and community leadership work to ensure they acknowledge the systems and policies that have led to disproportionate negative outcomes for people of color. This is a work in progress, but our commitment remains steadfast.

Beating the Odds Summit with First Lady Michelle Obama

The Community Foundation joined the New Jersey & H Street Educational Foundation to sponsor the Beating the Odds Summit at Dunbar High School in DC on July 27, 2017. The Summit was hosted by Michelle Obama and her Reach Higher initiative to celebrate and support DC students on their way to college this fall and inspire high school students to attend college. Mrs. Obama shared her experiences and lessons learned during her college career and life. The students had the opportunity to sit down with Mrs. Obama and Michael Wilbon from ESPN to ask questions about college. Read more about the event here.

Community Investment and Impact

Our Community Investment team successfully implemented a new streamlined grants management process and conducted 15 separate RFP grantmaking programs on behalf of The Community Foundation, our partners and donors. The team also managed grantmaking for $10.9 million in discretionary funds dedicated to achieving economic security for our most vulnerable neighbors through access to education, workforce training opportunities and safety-net services. In total this last fiscal year, we granted out more than $96.5 million in investments focused on a diverse set of issues ranging from our economic security framework to the arts and preserving the natural environment. See a list of FY18 grantee organizations, and read about a few of our grantmaking programs below:

Supporting Strong and Resilient Communities  

The Resilience Fund was created in partnership with the Meyer Foundation, with contributions from other foundations and individuals, as a rapid response vehicle to address changes in federal policies and budget priorities and the increasing climate of intolerance and anti-other sentiment disproportionately impacting local people of color, and immigrant and refugee communities. Since its launch more than a year ago, the Fund has raised more than $630,000 from institutional and individual donors across the region and leveraged as much as $450,000 through parallel commitments from donors to organizations funded through the Resilience Fund. Initially the Fund focused on changes to immigration and deportation policies by supporting work to ensure community members understand their legal and civil rights, take precautions to stabilize their families in the event they are detained, and receive legal representation. The next round of grants addressed increases in instances of hate and intolerance in the region by supporting grassroots community engagement and expanding national education programs in local schools to combat bullying, bigotry and anti-other sentiment.

Closing the Achievement Gap in Montgomery County

The Children’s Opportunity Fund is a component fund of The Community Foundation in Montgomery County. The Fund champions and supports strategic investments to improve the lives of low-income children and families in Montgomery County. It was launched jointly by the Montgomery County Government and Montgomery County Public Schools to identify priority areas for investment based on unmet need and to help align resources toward effective multi-sector collaborations serving the County’s most vulnerable youth and their families. In July 2017, the Fund made its inaugural grants which were leveraged against matching dollars to launch and expand innovative, evidence-informed programs throughout the county. Read about how grants from the Children's Opportunity Fund enabled BELL’s Summer program to provide educational services to 1,134 rising 3rd-5th graders,  Family Service’s Thriving Germantown Collaboration to conduct 99 comprehensive family risk assessments and facilitated referrals, and Urban Alliance to expand its High School Internship Program into Montgomery County.

“BELL gave my child a new perspective on learning. Not just in an academic classroom setting but through play and recreational activities. The added activities brought positivity and excitement to everyday learning.”

- BELL Summer 2017 Guardian

Improving the Quality of Life in Prince George’s County

The Community Foundation in Prince George’s County partners with government, corporations and nonprofit organizations to make a difference in the lives of youth and their families. A few examples of our work in the County include:

Partnering with corporations to provide benefits to County residents: When PSEG Power selected Prince George’s County as the site for its new PSEG Keys Energy Center LLC, the company wanted to show its commitment to providing support to the County and its residents. The PSEG Keys Southern Aquatic and Recreation Complex Fund was established at The Community Foundation to provide $3 million toward the construction of a new Southern Area Aquatic and Recreation Complex (SAARC) in Brandywine, Maryland.  The SAARC will include indoor aquatic space, a gymnasium, a fitness room and flexible programmable space. 

Partnering with government to support small community-based groups: The Transforming Neighborhoods Initiative (TNI) Fund for Community Innovation was established in 2014 by The Office of the Prince George's County Executive and Prince George’s County Public Schools to support community-based organizations providing quality free and/or affordable out-of-school time programming for youth, ages 0-18, and families living in the Prince George’s County’s TNI communities. A total of $125,000 in grants were awarded to 7 organizations located in and serving Prince George's County. Read about these organizations and how they plan to positively impact County residents.

Building a Stronger Workforce

The Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative is a coalition of local foundations, individual philanthropists, and businesses who share a common commitment to addressing poverty and income inequality by helping workers advance their skills and credentials. Since 2007, the Collaborative has helped more than 6,500 workers in the region earn credentials, get promotions and raises, and ultimately launch family-sustaining careers. In December 2016, it released Greater Washington Works: IT and Health Careers with Promise a report focused on how our region can address the skills gap and lift more of our neighbors out of poverty through careers in IT and Healthcare. These findings provided the foundation for a new funding initiative to invest nearly $1 million over two years in work to bridge the skills gap that is keeping workers in low-wage jobs, reinforcing income inequality, and keeping local business from finding the best local candidates for open job opportunities. In 2017, Greater Washington Works issued multiyear investments in three employer-led regional consortia to support local workers to launch living-wage careers and help meet the talent needs of local IT and Healthcare employers.

Partnering with District Government to Support Safer, Stronger Communities in DC:

Since 2013, The Community Foundation has partnered with District Government and served as Administrator of The City Fund, investing $15 million over 5 years as part of the District’s overall public safety and violence prevention agenda. The initiative supports local community-based organizations focused on improving the lives of individuals and families in District neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by inequities related to social determinants of health, including access to educational, economic and job opportunities, access to health care services, quality of education and job training, and recurring exposure to violent crime. In July 2017, The Community Foundation facilitated a rigorous, independent and competitive grant review process as part of the City Innovation Fund’s Safer, Stronger DC Community Opportunity Grant Competition, which awarded $1.5 million in grants to 33 nonprofit organizations.

Supporting Underserved Children, Youth and Families

The Community Foundation began administering the Fund for Children, Youth and Families five-year grantmaking strategy with the inaugural round in 2016. It was established to invest in the betterment of underserved children, youth, and families in the region. The 2017 Fund for Children, Youth, and Families Grant Cycle awarded grants (totaling 1.93 million) to 47 nonprofit organizations for work addressing the following issue areas: Stable Homes and Stable Families, Foster Care and Adoption, and Academic and Career Success. Through its grantmaking, the Fund supports effective organizations working to make the community healthy and stable.

Partnering with Donors to Pool Resources for Local Impact:

Sharing Funds in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County represent strategic, donor-led funding efforts which facilitate education and civic engagement around local issues and encourage more residents and businesses to collectively give where they live. Individuals come together to learn first-hand about the challenges facing the region’s most vulnerable residents, combine their resources, and invest in organizations working to make a difference in the lives of children and families around the region.

Sharing DC

Sharing DC supports nonprofit organizations based in and directly serving low-income children, youth, adults and families in the District of Columbia. The focus area for the last Sharing DC grant cycle was on youth post-secondary success. The primary goal was to help District of Columbia youth access and be successful in post-secondary education and training, including traditional college and university credentials and industry recognized certifications. A total of $140,000 in grants were awarded to 7 organizations. Read about the work they will do to support youth in DC.

Sharing Montgomery

The Sharing Montgomery Fund provides grants to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations with programs or services which directly serve low-income children, youth, adults, families, and/or seniors living in Montgomery County. In addition to giving over $375,000 in grants, the Fund's Advisory Board and many friends completed a two-year challenge match that boosted Sharing Montgomery’s Endowment from $1.6 million to $2.1 million.  This increase will help expand our giving in perpetuity, enabling us deepen our investments in high-impact programs that help our neighbors striving to lift themselves out of poverty. Learn about our 2018 grantees.

Sharing Prince George’s

Sharing Prince George's supports quality nonprofit organizations addressing the economic security needs of Prince George’s County residents through education, workforce development and safety-net services. It currently consists of the Prince George’s Neighbor to Neighbor Fund and the MGM National Harbor Fund. The Sharing Prince George’s Fund granted a total of $188,000 in awards to 15 nonprofits. Read about these organizations and their programs.

Operating with Excellence

Below are a few examples of how we operate efficiently and effectively in service to our donors, partners, and communities:

Award Honors A Rising Star in Montgomery County

Last spring, Montgomery Women presented the 2017 Rising Star Award to Anna Hargrave, Executive Director of The Community Foundation in Montgomery County. Anna was recognized as a woman who has shown outstanding leadership, is a role model for others, and has made significant contributions to the community. This award honors the life of visionary activist and founding member Phyllis Campbell Newsome, and annually recognizes outstanding community leaders. In her address to the more than 100 women leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, Anna said, “I realize that this award is not recognition of past accomplishments, but rather a call to action.  I understand that it’s my job to lift up and support women throughout our community, the same way you all have supported and inspired me.”

An MVP for Generation Hope

The Community Foundation was honored to receive the 2017 MVP Award from Generation Hope at its 6th Annual “Pep Rally Under the Stars” gala. Back in 2010, as a fledgling nonprofit, Generation Hope participated in The Community Foundation’s incubator program, sharing our office space and resources to support the organization during its critical first years. Since then, Generation Hope has been able to provide emotional and financial support to 120 parenting teens as they pursue a college degree. We are so proud to have supported Generation Hope’s growth and success in supporting teen parents attending colleges across the region to complete their college education.

Achieving National Standards for Financial and Operational Excellence

Last fall, we were proud to receive our 5th consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. Recently, we renewed our accreditation with the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations, a voluntary and rigorous program administered by the Council on Foundations to represent the highest standards of operational excellence and integrity in community philanthropy. This affirms our commitment to excellence, accountability and impact. And it confirms that we go above and beyond the norm to perform due diligence, assess the impact of our grantmaking, and educate and engage donors in addressing community issues to improve the lives of individuals and families across our region.

Welcome to the Board

In the second half of 2017, we were proud to welcome several community leaders to our Board of Trustees, adding new and diverse experience to our leadership.

Financials

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is committed to transparency and accountability. We take seriously our responsibility to operate with the highest standards of integrity and stewardship to ensure donor funds are effectively reinvested in improving the economic and social well-being of our community. 

• Combined Investment Fund Performance
  • FY 2018 - Q1
  • FY 2018 - Q2
  • FY 2018 - Q3
  • FY 2018 - Q4