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