Investing in Innovative & Disruptive Models that Increase the Economic Mobility
and/or the Community Wealth of DC’s Most Marginalized Populations & Communities

Note: Due to concurring funding opportunities, the HEF team will not be available for consultations
or to review LOI submissions until late September 2024.

Applicants may continue to submit LOIs - LOIs will be reviewed after the announcement of
the fostering networks for economic mobility funding opportunity in September 2024.

Achieving health equity requires more than improving individual health outcomes and expanding access to services. A vision for health equity demands that we directly engage the social determinants of health —societal factors that have been shaped by centuries of laws, public policies, behaviors, and practices that have worked together to produce the disparate outcomes we see today.

The Health Equity Fund will offer grant opportunities for demonstration projects that provide proof of concept and determine potential for scalability. The projects must consist of two or more partner organizations working collaboratively in a new and targeted way to implement economic mobility models that increase strategic economic participation and build community wealth for people and communities with the greatest economic and health disparities.

Grants will be awarded to select partner organizations that meet the following minimum eligibility criteria:

• At least two partner organizations must work together to execute the proposed project.

• All members of the partnership (defined as the organizations that will receive a grant agreement and funds, if awarded) must have current status as a 501(c)(3) public charity designation. Organizations that have not yet received a 501(c)(3) designation must have a fiscal sponsor (an entity will need to have an EIN or the EIN of their fiscal sponsor in order to access the application in the online portal). The fiscal sponsor must meet all eligibility requirements at the time of submission. For profit entities such as LLCs and sole proprietorships are not eligible to apply for funding.

• Each partner organization must not be listed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals or the Southern Poverty Law Center Hate Group lists.

• Each partner organization must be both based in and primarily implementing in the District of Columbia.

• Each partner organization should approach their work through a racial equity lens.

• Each partner organization’s staff and board leadership should reflect the communities served by the organization and have a demonstrated track record of community engagement as demonstrated by the existence of community advisory boards, community listening sessions, community representation on the board of directors, or other measures defined by the organization.

• If previous funding has been received from The Community Foundation, each partner organization must be current in reporting to The Community Foundation as specified in the grant agreement. 

Organizations who have previously received a Health Equity Fund grant cannot submit an LOI in the same year an initial award was made.

Qualified respondents are invited to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) until March 2026 (or until funds have been exhausted). All respondents are strongly encouraged to watch the recording of the FAQ webinar held on October 10, 2023.

For additional information, please review the LOI Guidelines below, as well as the Health Equity Fund webpage.

Martha’s table community impact fund
summer 2024

For more than 40 years, Martha’s Table (MT) has worked to support strong children, strong families, and strong communities in DC so that every Washingtonian can stay and thrive. Knowing that one’s neighborhood influences access to resources, MT is doubling down on its investments in the communities we stand alongside.

MT believes community members know best what their communities want and need to thrive. In 2020, over 1,000 neighbors shaped MT’s 5-Year Strategic Plan. What we heard loud and clear from them is the need for direct investments to help grassroots organizations build capacity.

Martha’s Table created the Community Impact Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation in response. The purpose of the fund is to support and strengthen grassroots organizations in Ward 8 that have been historically excluded from institutional philanthropy and whose leadership and staff reflect the demographic composition and lived experiences of the communities they serve.

In the past three years, the Community Impact Fund issued two rounds of grants to high-impact organizations. In 2024, the Fund will accept applications for the next round of grants for a two-year cycle.

At the time of proposal submission, applicants must:

• Be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or operate under the fiscal sponsorship of a tax-exempt nonprofit, AND status must be in good standing by having filed a form 990 or 990N in the last three years.

• Be based in, or primarily serve, Ward 8 as defined by the 2022 Ward boundaries map for at least one year.

• Have an annual operating budget of less than $1,000,000.

• Cannot be listed on the OFAC Sanctions List or be a registered hate group with the Southern Poverty Law Center

Sharing Prince George’s - Letter of Inquiry
summer 2024

Over the years, the Sharing Prince George’s Fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation has supported high-impact nonprofits serving Prince George’s County’s most vulnerable residents. We are proud of the ways these organizations have responded to the community’s needs and worked in partnership toward our shared vision for a more equitable, just, and thriving Prince George’s County.

As part of The Community Foundation’s 10-year strategic plan, the Sharing Prince George’s Fund is focused on addressing urgent community needs, advancing economic justice, and, ultimately, working to close the racial/ethnic wealth gap which undermines the health and stability of our entire community. Therefore, Sharing Prince George’s grantmaking priorities for this year include: Economic mobility resources that enable people to chart a pathway out of poverty (e.g., access to higher education, training, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, etc.); and Individual and Community Wealth Building opportunities which empower people with the financial and social capital needed to build wealth so they can weather crises and pursue their dreams.

Questions?

Reach out to Eliza Tolbert-Howard, Development Officer, at [email protected] prior to the deadline.