Announcing the 2024 David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award Winners

As nonprofit leaders in Greater Washington, Rachna Singal Krishnan, Hugo Mogollon, and Tiffany Williams are invested in improving and advancing their organizations—and themselves. This year, we’re excited to announce them as our fifth annual David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Awardees. Krishnan, CEO & Executive Director of The Women’s Center, Mogollon, Executive Director of FRESHFARM, and Williams, CEO of Martha’s Table, will each receive up to $15,000 to attend an intensive executive training program of their choice.

Launched in 2017 as a salute to former trustee David Bradt and his many years of service to our community, the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund supports senior level nonprofit leaders in advancing their careers and leadership skills. Local business leader Alex Orfinger and Diane Tipton, David’s wife, established the Fund to surprise and honor David. 

Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, extends her congratulations to this year’s class:

“Congratulations to the 2024 awardees!  We are thankful for all you have done and will continue to do to strengthen our community. The Community Foundation is so pleased to support investments in exceptional nonprofit leaders and support the Fund’s impact in our region.  Our thanks to David for the inspiration, and to Diane and Alex for creating such a wonderful way in which to honor him.” 

Read on to meet these inspiring local leaders.  

Rachna Singal Krishnan, CEO and Executive Director at The Women's Center since 2020, leads a dedicated team to significantly improve the mental health and well-being of all members of the community through counselling, education and support - regardless of ability to pay. During her leadership, The Women's Center successfully developed and implemented its first strategic plan that focused on creating a diverse workforce, aligning programs to meet the specific needs in our community, building a sound financial foundation, and evolving infrastructure and operations for sustainability and growth.  Rachna received the 2021 Northern Virginia Leadership COVID19 Hero Award from Leadership Fairfax and The Women's Center received an award from the Human Services Alliance of Greater Prince William. Rachna earned her MBA and BS in Economics from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated with honors. She plans to use the award to attend Harvard Business School's Program on Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. 

Hugo Mogollon is the Executive Director of FRESHFARM, a nonprofit improving food access in the DC Metro Area while creating opportunities for farmers in the mid-Atlantic region. He is a results-oriented leader with 15 years of management experience in multicultural settings. Under his leadership, FRESHFARM has become the country's third-largest network of farmers markets. He also developed an innovative low-infrastructure food distribution model connecting underserved communities to locally grown food, generating significant revenue for family farms. He holds a Master’s degree in Natural Resources and Leadership for Sustainability from Virginia Tech and has completed executive programs at Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Northwestern, Kellogg. Hugo proudly serves on the FARM Policy Committee at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and has held various board leadership positions in regional and national food system organizations. Hugo plans to use the award to attend Kellogg’s executive program on Driving Organizational Change.

Tiffany Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Martha’s Table, is a visionary advocate and community champion with more than 25 years of experience as an education and nonprofit leader. A seasoned strategist, Tiffany has spent her career working to advance equitable and inclusive solutions for communities that have been historically underserved and is driven by the belief that every Washingtonian deserves the opportunity to thrive. Since 2017, Williams has held multiple leadership positions at Martha’s Table, including as Chief Program Officer, where she directed and designed the organization’s expanded offerings. Previously, Williams was Director of Healthy Start Education and Assistant Head of School at the National Child Research Center (NCRC). Originally from Harlem, NY, Tiffany has made DC her home and dedicated her career to community service. Her educational journey includes a Master’s in Organization Development from American University, a BA in Psychology from Lincoln University, PA, and a certification as a coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Tiffany plans to use the award to participate in Leadership Greater Washington’s Signature Program Class of 2025.

Sustainable DC Project: Unleashing the Power of the Green Economy for Communities of Color

DC’s flag may be red and white. However, if you talk to the Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF) or the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing & Economic Development (CNHED), they’ll tell you that the future of DC is green –specifically green economy.

“The green economy presents an incredible opportunity for our community – not just to help our planet; but also to help the people who live in our communities,” explained Shannan Herbert, CEO of WACIF. “We want to make the planet greener, but we also want to help put more green [dollars] in the hands of communities of color who need and deserve this investment.”

Riding the Green Wave –The Economic Windfall of Net-Zero Energy

Over the past decade, as conversations around environmental and climate concerns have grown increasingly urgent, local governments across the country have made investing in green infrastructure an increasing priority – one that comes with a significant economic impact.

In DC alone, a former Director of the Department of Energy and Environment, predicted that the green economy could grow to become a $8-10 billion industry – as contractors and developers work to not only construct, but also update and retrofit the city’s existing infrastructure to meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.

Implementing those plans is expected to create thousands of new jobs in green energy, construction, building maintenance, and other industries — including innumerable opportunities for entrepreneurship and self-employment.

Overcoming the Racial Energy Investment Gap

However, studies show that historically, very few of these opportunities have gone to women or people of color. According to a recent study by the Brookings Institution, less than 20% of workers in clean energy production are women and less than 10% of them are Black.

The study cited a number of barriers including a lack of awareness of the green energy field, but also limited access to the training and resources —such as certification courses, workforce development opportunities, and seed investment—that these groups need to succeed.

“Green energy represents a tremendous economic opportunity,” Steve Glaude, CEO of CNHED shared. “But it requires a lot of money, a lot of resources, and a lot of specialized knowledge to get things started, which is something that many small businesses – especially those owned by women and communities of color – simply don’t have access to.”

“In the push towards net zero emissions, sustainability, and climate resilience, BIPOC-owned and women-owned small businesses are at a competitive disadvantage.”

The Birth of the Sustainable DC Project

From an early stage, CNHED recognized the importance of harnessing the economic impact of the city’s Net-Zero Energy agenda for women and communities of color. A coalition of 180+ nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, CNHED has been actively engaged in community-informed budget and policy advocacy for more than two decades.

“[After DC announced the Net-Zero Energy initiative], my team kept coming to me for the better part of a year – asking for us to get involved in the green economy,” Glaude shared. “But we kept waiting because we wanted to ensure our efforts would have maximum impact.”

The opportunity finally arose when The Community Foundation’s Health Equity Fund put out a call for “innovative and disruptive ideas to increase the economic mobility and community wealth of DC’s most marginalized communities.”

“We purposely wanted to keep the application open-ended,” Dr. Marla Dean, Senior Director of the Health Equity Fund shared. “We are not trying to tell our partners what they should do; we are trying to tap into their creativity and innovation to build new partnerships to transform our communities.”

Within a few weeks, WACIF – a leading community development financial institution in the region – reached out to Glaude to brainstorm ways that they could join forces to impact their community. Over the next few months, WACIF and CNHED began to lay out the framework for a new partnering initiative called the Sustainable DC Project.”

“Sustainable DC is designed to help BIPOC and women-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs harness the power of our region’s green economy,” Herbert explained.

The multimillion-dollar project follows a three-pronged approach:

1. Access to Capital – Sustainable DC will provide up to $300K in grants and $2 million in flexible, non-predatory loans to help entrepreneurs obtain the certifications, equipment, and supply chain adjustments to meet rising demands. Sustainable DC will also ensure entrepreneurs can access catalytic ‘green’ investments, including the EPA’s $27B Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and other local and federal resources.

2. Addressing the Readiness Gap – Sustainable DC will provide advisory services to help small businesses navigate the everchanging landscape of regulations, resources, and buyer expectations surrounding the Net-Zero Energy Initiative and the green economy. This information will allow them to quickly adapt their business model and stay at the forefront of economic growth and opportunity.

   Small businesses can also participate in a cohort-based accelerator – giving them access to thousands of hours of business advisory services and technical assistance, as well as a network of their peers.

3. Connecting Businesses to New Opportunities – Sustainable DC will connect small businesses to new local and federal investment opportunities, as well as green supply chains and other major customers that can take their business operations to the next level.

“It’s not enough to invest in the green energy,” Herbert continued. “We need to make sure that small businesses – especially those owned by women and communities of color – are set up for success, by providing them the resources, the knowledge, and the opportunities they need to thrive.”

In addition to investing in small businesses in the green energy and infrastructure space, Sustainable DC will also serve small businesses looking to promote and implement more sustainable business practices, such as the use of sustainable packaging and eco-friendly cleaning products – opening the door for small business owners and entrepreneurs from across the spectrum to participate in this innovative program.

Herbert and Glaude hope that Sustainable DC will become an economic model that can be implemented in cities across the country.

“We want this project to be catalyst for economic growth,” Herbert shared. “The dream is that through Sustainable DC, these small businesses will hire more women; more people of color, and we’ll be able to see a ripple effect of economic growth that will transform our communities.”

“Ten years from now, people will do studies about the impact of Green Energy,” Glaude shared. “I hope that – as a result of what we’re doing here - they can cite Sustainable DC as a model – not just for strategic execution, but for inclusivity and economic justice.”

The Community Foundation is proud to support Sustainable DC and its work through the Health Equity Fund.

The Health Equity Fund was created to improve the health outcomes and health equity of DC residents. The fund is governed by a seven-member Health Equity Committee in partnership with the Greater Washington Community Foundation. The seven-member committee includes Nnemdi Elias, MD, MPH; Dr. Tollie Elliott; Wendell L. Johns; Lori Kaplan; Juan M. Jara; Kimberly Harris; and Courtney R. Snowden.

For more information about the Health Equity Fund and available funding opportunities, please visit our website!

Leaders of the Future: Building & Empowering Safer and Stronger Communities

In March 2024, The Community Foundation awarded $1 million in grants to organizations from across DC to help promote peacemakers who are working to empower children, youth and adults to build stronger, safer communities. These investments were made in partnership with the DC Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement.

In honor of Gun Violence Prevention Month, The Community Foundation is excited to highlight the work and mission of these incredible organizations and the impact that they've had in empowering and uplifting their respective communities.

• Horton's Kids

  1) Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  We currently serve the Wellington Park, Stanton Oaks and Hunter Place communities.

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  Horton’s Kids empowers children growing up in DC’s most under-resourced communities so that they graduate from high school ready for success in college, career, and life. We serve 600 children and their families living in Wellington Park & Stanton Oaks – neighborhoods that have been profoundly impacted by decades of disinvestment and barriers to opportunity.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  Horton's Kids has a close partnership with the property management company of both properties that we serve and we have biweekly meetings that have a strong focus on the safety of the residents. Members of property security as well as MPD are also present during these meetings.

  4) How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  Horton's Kids is committed to involving and empowering community members in various ways. We understand that the perspectives, experiences, and feedback of community members are invaluable for creating a safe community for them. Some of the ways we involve the community members in the work we do is by creating opportunities for them to volunteer as well providing job opportunities. We also have an active Parent Advisory Council that assists us in making sure our parent's and community member's voices are heard and well respected. We understand that by involving community members in our processes, we build trust and accountability. Community involvement fuels innovation by tapping into the collective expertise and creativity of diverse stakeholders. By empowering community members to contribute to our work, we unlock new ideas, approaches, and opportunities for positive societal impact.

  5) What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  We're excited about the process. A lot of times people fall in love with the outcome whereas we've learned to fall in love with the entire process because there are so many learning opportunities for us all to learn from but that only comes when you go through the entire process.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  Horton's Kids' dreams and aspirations for the future is for our participants, their parents and other community members to have a safe environment where everyone feels connected and everyone is moving on one accord toward the goal of peace and prosperity.

• Negotiation Works

  1) Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  We provide our services in the metropolitan Washington, DC area and surrounding areas in Virginia and Maryland. We serve individuals living in all eight Wards of DC, with a particular focus on Wards 7 and 8.

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  Negotiation Works provides negotiation and self-advocacy training for people emerging from difficult and often traumatic situations–such as incarceration, homelessness, addiction, and domestic violence–so they develop the skills to navigate everyday challenges and live the next chapters in their lives confidently and productively.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  We help build a stronger, safer community by teaching negotiation skills classes to people coming out of homelessness, incarceration, domestic violence, and other challenging life situations. Our curriculum addresses foundational negotiation strategies and self-advocacy skills, such as perspective-taking, identifying both parties’ interests, brainstorming potential solutions, crafting alternatives to negotiated agreements, active listening, and communicating effectively. The individuals who complete the Negotiation Works classes become better equipped to work through the daily frustrations that might otherwise fester and then escalate into gun or other violence. More broadly, when community members have the confidence and commitment to listen to one another, learn each other’s perspectives, and work alongside one another, they can--collectively--sort through their differences in a non-violent manner and contribute to the upward trajectory of the community as a whole.

  4) How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  We engage all our participants in shaping our curriculum. We solicit feedback from program participants about how the role plays and scenarios we use resonate with them and what uses they find in their own lives to implement negotiation strategies. We examine this input with an eye toward either making modifications to our existing scenarios or developing new ones.
  
  Participants who complete the Negotiation Works program are invited to become Ambassadors, an ongoing learning and service community for former class participants with opportunities to serve as informal advisors to Negotiation Works, problem-solving consultants to one another, and role models in the community as effective conflict resolvers and self-advocates. The Ambassadors influence the content, scope, and reach of our work. Their lived experience and stories offer invaluable contributions to how we shape the curriculum, leading us--for example--to provide more scenarios dealing with how returning citizens might negotiate for housing, or work through difficult situations in the workplace. Finally, they are beginning to develop their own dispute resolution programs for youth, through which they seek to teach negotiation strategies to youth, using their experiences to model how to work through conflicts by engaging in conversation, rather than by arguing or, worse, picking up a gun. Their influence is limitless as they spread their problem-solving skills in their families, workplaces, and broader communities.

  5) What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  We see unlimited potential in youth in our Negotiation Works community. They want to play a role in strengthening their communities, and we are excited about supporting them on their journeys.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  My dream is to foster stronger, more resilient communities by sharing conflict resolution, problem-solving, and self-advocacy skills everywhere. When the members of a community have the tools to advocate for themselves and negotiate with each other, they are better able to achieve shared goals, create lasting relationships, and improve the stability of the community as a whole.

• BEST Kids

  1)  Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  We primarily serve at-risk youth residing in Wards 4, 5, 7, and 8.

  2)  In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  BEST Kids empowers youth who are in foster care and at-risk to build healthy and successful futures through mentoring, college and career readiness, and life skills programs. We aim to ensure that youth who are in foster care or at-risk are meaningfully connected to positive adults and provided with the tools to feel confident and valued and placed on a path to achieve success as adults.

  3)  How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  Through regular engagement with positive adult mentors, access to academic resources, career readiness skills, cultural and recreational experiences, leadership opportunities, and mental health support, as well as providing that key stability to support our youth over the long term, BEST Kids addresses the systemic challenges and mitigates the risk factors associated with violence. Our program provides evidence-based solutions to equip our youth with the tools necessary to thrive as successful adults and become youth violence prevention advocates, which in turn will help to build stronger families and create safer communities.

  4)  How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  Community engagement and centering the voice of our youth is a critical element of our organization. We understand that involving the youth we serve in our decision making and programming is vital to the long-term sustainability of our program. The BEST Kids mentor relationship is set up to encourage our youth to name their goals, develop their unique identity, and explore their own potential. In 2020, we created the Youth Leadership Council, a group of mentees who meet bi-monthly to share ideas on how to improve programming and amplify the impact of our organization. Their participation and input have helped us to glean the issues and services that matter to them the most, allowing us to identify improvements and additions to our program. In addition, YLC members build their confidence and leadership skills by speaking and advocating before community leaders charged with making decisions that affect youth experiences in the child welfare system. By providing them with the opportunity to be better and do better, then we are succeeding in our mission of helping to build healthy and successful futures for foster and at-risk youth in the Washington, DC community.

  5)  What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  The foster and at-risk youth we serve are incredibly resilient people. They face tremendous challenges and trauma on a daily basis, yet by equipping them with the necessary tools, resources and exposure to positive opportunities that may not otherwise be available to them, we are placing them on a path to thrive and become the best version of themselves. Through our interaction and engagement with our youth, we see them taking the limits off what they thought was possible and embracing their futures with confidence, resilience, and tenacity.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  As a leader, my dreams and aspirations for the future revolve around creating a safer, more peaceful community where every individual feels secure and valued. I envision a world where our collective efforts to prevent violence result in tangible, lasting change, fostering environments where our children can grow up without fear and our neighborhoods can thrive with mutual respect and support. I am committed to empowering our community with the resources, education, mentorship, and support needed to break the cycle of violence. By providing mentorship, we can guide and inspire our youth to reach their full potential and become positive role models for others. Through continued collaboration and innovation, I hope we can build a foundation of hope and resilience that will inspire future generations to cultivate a place of peace and unity.

• The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project

  1)  Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  We serve all of DC

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  We are preventing gun violence through the intersectionality of positive youth development and public health.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  We provide economic opportunities to all youth that we serve and encounter as the CDC reports that economic opportunity is a protective factor that lessens the likelihood of youth violence victimization and perpetration.

  4)  How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project recognizes that the communities that we serve already possess the power necessary to prevent the spread of gun violence. In this light, we include them in our vision and strategy as experts. We inform our people on how to address gun violence through a public health lens as education is the first step to transformation and systemic reform.

  5)  What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  We are most excited that our youth are the long-term plan and approach to preventing future gun violence from spreading. Working with our youth, as leaders of today, equips them to design and implement the sustainable strategies necessary to see a world present in health equity and absent from gun violence.

  6)  As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  We envision a world absent from the disease of gun violence led by public health voices.

• Mother's Outreach Network

  1) Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  We serve residents citywide, with a special focus on communities with high concentrations of poverty in wards 5, 6, 7 and 8.

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  Our mission is to engage Black mothers in the struggle for family preservation through transformation of family and government laws, policies and practices from punitive to empowering.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  We use the following power building strategies for system’s transformation: Community engagement, research, and mobilization; policy advocacy; and legal information, representation and other programs.

  4) How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  Our organization engages community members through training, engagement in policy advocacy, and uplifting their voices to speak truth to, and push the levers of power. Our community engagement, research, and mobilization center the expertise of the community. We show up to support community members in visioning change, crafting solutions and advancing them in the local legislative and executive branches as we seek to defend them and shrink carceral systems that ensnare their families.

  5) What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  We believe strong families build strong futures for youth and their communities. We are excited about building a guaranteed income with a future of economic security for families where youth can grow and thrive and focus on supporting one another. If we pass policies like guaranteed income for youth, which is possible in the capital of the wealthiest nation on earth, their futures and those of their communities, will be secure and free of violence.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  I want to see the elimination of poverty in the District of Columbia through a guaranteed income. We’d like to strengthen the existing safety net and to build new ones. we seek to do so through continued power building and strategic partnerships and execution!

• Paso Nuevo - GALA Hispanic Theatre

  1) Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  Paso Nuevo serves youths from DC, with most students coming from the Columbia Heights neighborhood where the theatre is located, Mount Pleasant, Adams Morgan, Petworth, U Street, Brightwood, and Sixteenth Street Heights.

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  Paso Nuevo is a community-based performing arts program that provides low-income and multicultural youth with critical life and job skills in a creative, bilingual environment. Through Paso Nuevo, Latino youth ages 14-19 have a safe space in which to explore and take pride in their linguistic and cultural heritage, improve literacy and communication skills in both English and Spanish, discover their creative voice, gain valuable academic and job skills, and develop the tools necessary to engage more successfully in their schools and communities.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  GALA Theatre provides a safe space for students to gather after school and during the summer, offering various performing-arts classes, technical training, and mentoring. Through participation in the arts, students in Paso Nuevo explore their cultures and identities and grow their academic skills and self-confidence. After training in several areas of theater, including artistic and technical fields, students engage in volunteer and work opportunities, gaining the leadership skills they need to advocate for themselves, their families, and their community. With internships and stipends, Paso Nuevo provides students an immediate economic benefit, as well as the experience and life skills to improve their short- and long-term career prospects, while imbuing in them a sense of commitment to the surrounding area. Students also learn techniques to manage day-to-day issues that may arise at home, school or in the community through conflict resolution sessions and meet with MPD officers to foster improved relations with the police. Three times a year participants present a free bilingual performance for the surrounding community.

  4) How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  GALA Hispanic Theatre’s free Paso Nuevo afterschool program draws in students from around DC to participate in arts classes, technical training, and mentoring. GALA also invites community members to free Paso Nuevo performances on its mainstage at the end of the Winter, Spring and Summer sessions. The public is engaged in a talkback with students, who share their experiences in the program. The theater also opens its doors to families in January for Three Kings Day, with a nativity procession and play, music, dance, live animals, and free gifts for all children. Additionally, Paso Nuevo students lead the community in a free public celebration of Day of the Dead in the Columbia Heights green.

  In the area of community safety, Paso Nuevo students survey and interview community members about their experiences of crime and violence and their opinions on solutions, while sharing safety information through podcasts and social media. GALA also collaborates with other community organizations throughout the year, and hosts free community events. Sharing Latino theater and the arts with the youth in our afterschool programs and the surrounding community is central to GALA’s mission of promoting and preserving Hispanic culture and heritage.

  5) What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  It is thrilling to see how this generation of youth is so actively engaged in social issues and understands that the problems that affect any group impact us all. Their passionate pursuit of information and their persistence in holding power to account are promising indicators of the progress toward equity and opportunity they will spearhead in DC.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  I hope to see GALA Theatre and the arts continue their role in deepening our youths’ understanding of themselves, their empathy with others, and their pride in their culture and its place in the wider community.

• DC Police Foundation

  1) Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  The Foundation supports and coordinates the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) youth and community outreach programs taking place throughout the city. We are especially proud of our DC PAL programming, taking place in Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8. Our DC PAL football team currently serves: Benning Park Deanwood Marshall Heights Lincoln Heights Projects Clay Terrace Projects

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  The D.C. Police Foundation (DCPF) works to provide resources for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in support of their mission to make D.C. a safer place to live, work, and visit. DCPF seeks to accomplish their mission by: I. Maintaining and spearheading youth programs in D.C.’s most challenging neighborhoods to enhance police and community relationships. II. Supporting the unmet needs of the MPD, identified by the Chief of Police, through both in-kind and financial assistance.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  Our organization helps build a stronger and safer community through our unique offering of varied youth programming. For example, by engaging youth as young as 4-5 years old in programs like Officer Friendly and the Side by Side Band, we are encouraging them to have open conversations with law enforcement officers, to share their stories and to ask questions. By engaging with youth in this open manner, the kids learn from the officers, but the officers learn even more from the youth. Officers learn the needs of the community and can better serve each neighborhood based on what they hear from their mentees. By working together and creating that relationship, everyone feels more comfortable and can better communicate in times of need as well. We have also had many youth become MPD officers over the last 10 years, wanting to make a positive difference in their own neighborhood.

  4) How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  Our organization works directly with community members, schools, businesses, youth and the police department to develop and enhance programming that is felt to be most needed and beneficial to the community. The Youth Advisory Council is incredibly important, where youth meet regularly with the Chief of Police, sharing their visions and goals for police-community partnerships. All programs also include a component of financial literacy, so that we can teach youth and their families how to open bank accounts, budget, save and even invest. We feel that this is incredibly important to build a strong workforce and set all program youth up for success and financial independence.

  5) What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  The youth who participate in our programming are so passionate about making the city a better place and about creating positive change within their neighborhoods. Listening to their ideas, dreams and then watching them work collaboratively with their law enforcement officer mentors on next steps to realize their goals has been incredibly exciting.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  We hope to continue to build out and expand our youth engagement programming, building positive relationships between law enforcement and the community. This will allow for the continuation of the youth program pipeline into career paths not only in public safety, but with partner organizations within the city. We hope to inspire those who live in the city to work hand in hand with law enforcement to make the city a safer place for everyone to live, work and visit.

• Network for Victim Recovery of DC

  1) Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  All communities/neighborhoods in DC!

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  We create equitable healing and dignified experiences for survivors of crime by providing free, trauma-informed advocacy, therapeutic, and legal services in conjunction with strategic litigation, policy advocacy, and education to transform existing responses to harm.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  Survivor-defined justice is the bedrock of NVRDC and guides everything that we do. This means that justice does not look the same for every survivor. NVRDC staff support each survivors unique vision and their chose path towards that goal. We do not say or believe that "we did what was best for our client" That assumes that NVRDC know what is best for them and not themselves.

  4) How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  NVRDC believes that we empower folks by providing them with the tools they need to succeed such as learning how to be trauma-informed. By bringing trauma training to as many diverse sectors as possible, we are one step closer towards ensuring every crime victim has a dignified and empowered experience wherever they may turn for help.

  5)  What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  Youth in our community seem to stand up and be a voice for those who are receiving any sort of injustice. They are not scared to speak up and put actions in place to fight for what they believe in.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  NVRDC's goal is to create trauma-informed spaces everywhere possible.

• Life Pieces to Masterpieces

  1) Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  Life Pieces To Masterpieces serves Black and Brown boys and young men, ages 3 to adulthood, in Wards 7 and 8 of Washington, DC.

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  Life Pieces To Masterpieces develops character and leadership, unlocks potential, and prepares Black and Brown boys and young men to transform their lives and communities, with creative expression and “each one teach one” mentoring at the core. In a world that devalues and threatens the lives of Black and Brown men young and old, LPTM provides refuge for boys to break through negative self-images, tell authentic stories of their life experiences, and build strong bonds of brotherhood.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  LPTM provides over 1,200 hours per year of comprehensive out-of-school-time programming after school, during the summer, and on Saturdays. All programming supports the social-emotional, academic, emotional, physical, and civic development of our boys and young men. LPTM programming is entirely free for all youth and families and includes nutritious meals/snacks and door-to-door transportation in LPTM-owned vehicles between youths’ schools, LPTM’s programming site, and home each day, removing the two most frequently-cited barriers to accessing out-of-school-time programming nationwide: cost and safe transportation (Afterschool Alliance, 2022). Youth at LPTM–from age 3 into adulthood–have a safe, loving environment to express themselves; teach and uplift others as mentors; navigate societal barriers; and contribute positive change in their communities. Our boys see their futures beyond how society attempts to define them, surrounded by mentors–many of whom look like them, grew up in their neighborhoods, and understand their challenges and aspirations. Through their storytelling, self-expression, arts, leadership, and advocacy, our boys and young men change the world’s understanding of our shared humanity. LPTM boys and young men regularly speak up and speak out about issues important to them.

  LPTM is a part of three major coalitions: the DC OST Coalition, which advocates for public and private local investment for community-based out-of-school-time programs; the DC Arts Education Alliance, which advocates for funding and access to the arts for all DC youth, and especially those from marginalized communities; and the Black Coalition for Health, which began as the Black Coalition Against Covid, fighting to get more resources and better, more trustworthy information into Black communities. LPTM’s authentic community relationships enabled us to aid families with important questions, while our commitment to always having a young person in every coalition meeting brought important insights to the coalition’s national leadership. LPTM’s coalitional work allows us to share ideas, best practices, youth voice, and advocacy strategies with 35+ local community-based organizations. Through this work, LPTM has been connected with two additional national organizations, Afterschool Alliance and MENTOR, where our young people have consistently reached national audiences to share the authentic stories of their live, become thought leaders advancing the importance of mentorship and safe afterschool spaces, and build a new narrative about Black and Brown boys and young men.

  4) How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  LPTM’s growth as an organization has been co-designed by our first seven boys, and subsequent Apprentices over 28 years, together with families, schools, and neighborhoods in our communities East of the River. Black-led since our 1996 founding, our staff and leadership team have strongly reflected the DC neighborhoods that we serve. Our team has lived experience that helps our young people connect, feel understood, and develop a sense of belonging within our programs. LPTM youth are planners, decision-makers, and active partners in their own learning. As they grow in the program, they play a part in helping to shape each other’s lives as they become mentors and role models for their peers.

  LPTM’s unique "each one teach one" mentoring model–woven throughout our programming continuum–both fosters leadership skills in mentors and provides a nurturing and relatable support system for mentees: Older peers serve as exemplars to their younger peers, providing social-emotional and academic support in classrooms in which they themselves were once enrolled as young boys. As mentors who share many of the same experiences, challenges, and aspirations as their mentees, and supported by their own peer and staff mentors, our young men develop confidence in their innate goodness and a foundation of self-belief. Through these practices, LPTM youth grow to understand their innate potential and continue to guide the work of LPTM in new ways. LPTM youth and alumni also co-facilitate our signature “Color Me Community” interactive workshop series, which guide participants to explore equity, inclusion, and implicit biases in a safe environment that opens the way to experiencing themselves and others as integral and valued parts of shared humanity.

  5)  What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  At Life Pieces To Masterpieces, we have always believed that it is not about us giving power to our boys and young men, but, rather, we believe that they have the innate creative ability to transform their lives and to enact positive change in their communities and their world. What excites me is that every single one of our boys and young men, when given the right opportunities, have the wherewithal to change challenges into possibilities. All that’s needed is a safe place and space for them to realize their own innate power.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  My dream is captured in the vision of Life Pieces To Masterpieces. It is that our boys and young men become catalysts for positive change throughout their communities, their country, and the world, and that they ultimately have the self-determination and confidence to chart out their own course in their lives.

• Access Youth

  1) Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  Access Youth serves at-risk middle and high school students in DC’s wards 6, 7, and 8.

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  Access Youth’s mission is to keep vulnerable youth in school and out of the justice system through mediation, restorative justice, and positive youth development.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  For 15 years, Access Youth has helped build a safer community with restorative justice-based interventions to prevent violence among at-risk students. Access Youth delivers transformative programming to mitigate the impact of unresolved trauma, systemic racism, gender disparities, and cyclical poverty on student attendance, behavior, and academic performance. Access Youth’s full-time on-site Program Managers deliver individualized supports to 1000+ students yearly across our eight partner schools.

  4) How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  Access Youth’s core programs––Restorative Justice in Schools and Truancy Prevention–– keep students engaged in their school communities and empower them with critical life and leadership skills. Our programs are rooted in equity––we lift up the voices and choices of the youth we serve. We meet each individual student where they are, with evidence-based supports and a trauma-informed approach that works to empower each individual to become the role models they deserve.

  5) What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  Access Youth sees the potential in each and every one of our students. Their exciting accomplishments show the impact of our programs. Just last year we had 200+ Access Youth students on Honor Roll, ALL of our seniors graduated, and two of our students served as President and Vice President of the student body. We are inspired by their dedication and excited for their ongoing accomplishments.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  Every day, Access Youth actively works toward our dream: an equitable education system where every student receives the support they need to stay in school, learn to manage their emotions, and resolve conflicts without violence. We envision our middle and high school conferences growing into an integrated network of students that encompasses students across all DCPS schools and empowers students to advocate for themselves and restorative practices throughout their communities.

• Building Futures

  1) Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  Ward 8 & Ward 1

  2) In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe the mission of your organization

  Building Futures is a year long youth empowerment program designed to equip young individuals with the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to thrive in the modern workforce and become future leaders in their communities. Through a carefully structured three-phase approach, participants will engage in educational, practical, and entrepreneurial activities that foster personal growth, professional development, and community impact.

  3) How does your organization help build a stronger, safer community?

  Our youth co-op program can help build a stronger, safer community in a number of ways: Building Futures programs provide young people with valuable skills and experiences that will help them become more responsible and engaged members of the community. By providing young people with positive outlets for their energy and creativity, our program can help reduce the likelihood of them engaging in risky behaviors or criminal activities. Engaging in meaningful activities and building positive relationships can steer young people away from negative influences and towards a more positive path. Youth who participate in co-op programs often become more engaged in their communities. They may volunteer, participate in community events, or take on leadership roles, all of which contribute to building a stronger and safer community. Engaged youth are more likely to care about the well-being of their community and take action to improve it. Lastly , building future leaders. Our program can help identify and nurture the leadership potential of young people. By providing opportunities for youth to take on responsibilities, make decisions, and solve problems, these programs can help develop the next generation of community leaders who will work to make their communities safer and more vibrant. Overall, youth co-op program play a valuable role in building stronger, safer communities by empowering young people, fostering social connections, reducing crime, promoting community involvement, and developing future leaders.

  4) How does your organization involve and empower community members in the work that you do? Please help us understand how this is important to your work.

  By actively involving and empowering community members in their work, a youth co-op program can build stronger connections, foster collaboration, and create a more vibrant and inclusive community that benefits both youth participants and residents alike.

  5) What excites you about the future for youth in your community?

  The future is exciting for youth because of the opportunities for technological advancement, global connectivity, social change, entrepreneurship, education, diversity, inclusion, and climate action. With their energy, creativity, and passion, young people have the potential to shape a brighter and more sustainable future for themselves and generations to come. Lastly, Building a solidarity economy by participating in the cooperative movement to transform our perspectives and practices in economics.

  6) As a leader, what are your dreams or aspirations for the future?

  Creating intentional spaces for healing is essential to empower us to generate prosperity for the benefit of future generations. Safe communities with minimal crime.

New Community Listening Survey Shows DMV Residents Are Significantly Less Optimistic Now Than They Were in 2020

Worries about being able to pay rent or a mortgage in the Greater Washington region have soared; fewer residents believe changes where they live will benefit them

A new community listening survey conducted by Gallup in partnership with the Greater Washington Community Foundation shows that DMV residents are now significantly less optimistic about the future of the region than they were in 2020. DMV residents have become less positive in their views about who will benefit from changes in the area, and a staggering 85% of residents believe they have little to no influence on local government decision-making.

The number of residents who expect living conditions in the Greater Washington region to get “better” in the next five years dropped by nearly half, from 29% in 2020 to 16% in 2023, while the number of people who think living conditions will get “worse” in the region has increased from 24% to 32%. In 2020, 27% of respondents said changes in the area would benefit “more people like me,” but this is now down to 19%.

“Our last survey, conducted just before the pandemic, documented wide disparities in income and opportunity that were preventing many residents from accessing the region’s economic growth and prosperity. Today, many of these hardships remain, and have been exacerbated by the health and economic trauma of the past few years,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “Recognizing the challenges many people face, we’re redoubling our efforts to facilitate deeper engagement with residents and are investing in microgrants for individuals and organizations with ideas for improving neighborhoods to ensure every person has the opportunity to thrive.” 

The Voices of the Community (VoicesDMV): Community Insights survey is one of the only large-scale community listening and engagement tools in the region that seeks to understand how residents are experiencing key quality of life indicators across a wide range of topics: economic opportunity, wellbeing, safety, influence in our democracy, and general perceptions about livability in the region. Through VoicesDMV, The Community Foundation has committed to engaging our community every three years to help keep a finger on the pulse of the community by deeply and authentically listening to the voices, experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of people who are generally not heard from in philanthropy.

This year’s publication reveals that while the DMV is outpacing the growth of other northeast regions, and more than half of residents are thriving, many people still lack access to basic needs. Nearly one in five DMV residents say there were times in the past year when they didn’t have enough money to pay for healthcare or medicine or food for themselves or their family, while 11% say they were unable to provide adequate shelter. Black and Hispanic residents are more likely than other racial subgroups to report struggling to afford basic needs — including more than a third who say there were times in the previous year when they did not have enough money to buy food and more than a quarter who experienced not having enough money for healthcare or medicine.

“Economic precarity has been a consistent theme throughout Gallup’s and the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s research across pre- and post-pandemic measures, revealing inequalities that could persist or even expand if gone unaddressed as the DMV region continues to change,” said Camille Lloyd, Director of the Gallup Center on Black Voices. “These findings demonstrate the need for programs and services that help residents catch up and keep up financially, move up the economic ladder, and ultimately build wealth.”

Additionally, worries about being able to pay rent or a mortgage in the DMV have soared since 2020. The percentage of people who are “very” worried about not being able to pay their rent or mortgage has more than tripled – from 8% in 2020 to 27% in 2023. When asked which amenities are “good” or “excellent” in the region, across all geographies, the availability of affordable and accessible housing was ranked last. 

Results for the survey are based on a mail survey of adults living in Washington, DC, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Arlington County, Alexandria City, Fairfax City, and Falls Church City. Gallup mailed a total of 27,000 surveys, available in both English and Spanish, 2,832 of which were completed between May 5 and June 26, 2023. Previous iterations of the survey were completed in 2017 and 2020.

Along with the release of the new report, The Community Foundation will relaunch its Community Action Awards, a microgrant program for nonprofits, as well as the new VoicesDMV Fellowship, a leadership opportunity for residents. The full report and an online dashboard with further geographic and demographic breakdowns of the VoicesDMV survey data is available at VoicesDMV.org.

Announcing the 2023 David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award Winners

As nonprofit leaders in Greater Washington, Erica Beal, Jared D. Cohen, and Matt Gayer are invested in improving and advancing their organizations—and themselves. This year, we’re excited to announce them as our fifth annual David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Awardees. Beal, Executive Director of School Leader Lab (SLL), Cohen, President & CEO of the Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area(PFNCA), and Gayer, Executive Director of Spur Local (formerly the Catalogue for Philanthropy), will each receive up to $15,000 to attend an intensive executive training program of their choice.

Launched in 2017 as a salute to former trustee David Bradt and his many years of service to our community, the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund supports senior level nonprofit leaders in advancing their careers and leadership skills. Local business leader Alex Orfinger and Diane Tipton, David’s wife, established the Fund to surprise and honor David. 

Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, extends her congratulations to this year’s class:

“Congratulations to the 2023 awardees!  We are thankful for all you have done and will continue to do to strengthen our community. The Community Foundation is so pleased to support investments in exceptional nonprofit leaders and support the Fund’s impact in our region.  Our thanks to David for the inspiration, and to Diane and Alex for creating such a wonderful way in which to honor him.”  

Read on to meet these inspiring local leaders. 

MEET OUR AWARDEES

Erica Beal is the Executive Director of School Leader Lab (SLL). SLL collaborates with educators to dismantle racism, inspire staff, and champion rigorous learning. SLL develops school leaders at all levels through cohorts, 1:1 coaching, and tailored support projects. Under Erica’s leadership, SLL has established new partnerships with DCPS, TFA, TNTP, and GreenhouseE3. SLL will launch a new Executive Leader Cohort in Fall 2024. Erica was named Teacher of the Year at KIPP DC and was selected as a finalist for TFA’s Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award. She led at a Tier 1, Bold Improvement School in Ward 7. SLL has supported nearly 75% of the school networks in Washington DC and 400+ educators in the DMV. Erica has a BA from Georgetown and a ME in Educational Leadership from Columbia. Erica plans to use the award to attend Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program on Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management.

Jared D. Cohen, President & CEO of the Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area (PFNCA) since 2013, oversees management, strategic-planning and implementation of comprehensive programs and services for people impacted by Parkinson’s Disease. During his tenure, PFNCA has received honors and recognition for excellence and innovation from the Center for Non-Profit Advancement, the Public Interest Registry and software provider CVENT.   PFNCA has also been honored as one of the Best Small Non-Profits in the Greater Washington Region by the Catalogue for Philanthropy since 2013. Under his leadership, PFNCA has grown services and strengthened its financial position. He previously served as Executive Director of Multicultural Community Service, a Washington, D.C. non-profit fostering community engagement.  He earned his MBA from Johns Hopkins University and his MA and BA from American University. He hopes to use his award to attend Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program on digital excellence.

Matt Gayer, Executive Director of Spur Local, formerly the Catalogue for Philanthropy, joined the organization in 2017. Matt leads Spur Local’s dedicated team of staff in supporting local nonprofits and driving community engagement. He grew Spur Local’s capacity building program to have about 5,000 annual nonprofit participants and has personally led training opportunities for over 20,000 nonprofit participants. Spur Local has also raised over $57M for DMV nonprofits since its founding, with about $5M now raised annually. Prior to Spur Local, Matt worked in healthcare consulting and public health. Matt received his BA in Public Policy and Political Science from Southern Methodist University, where he also studied economics and human rights, as well as a Masters of Public Administration from Syracuse University. Matt is a Truman Scholar, and a 2022 recipient of the Washington Business Journal’s “40 under 40” leadership award. He hopes to use his award to participate in Leadership Greater Washington.

¡Fuerza, Mi Gente! Celebrating Diversity & Ethnic Pride During Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 - Oct 15) is a month-long celebration of the many diverse cultures and nationalities within the Latino community that call our region home.

As part of that, we're excited to share experiences from some of our partners working to serve this vibrant community.

• Identity, Inc.

  1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the Latino community in the Greater Washington region.

  In pursuit of a just, equitable and inclusive society, Identity creates opportunities for Latino and other historically underserved youth to realize their highest potential and thrive. Like an extended family, Identity teaches and models for thousands of young people and families across Montgomery County the social-emotional, academic, workforce and life skills they need to thrive in the modern world. Our programs are provided at two dozen schools, in the community and on playing fields and are complemented by life-saving family case management, mental health and substance abuse counseling, non-clinical emotional support groups, and recreation. Through a two-generation approach, we also work to empower parents to engage in their child’s education and be a champion for their success and the success of the community. Like family, we celebrate their victories and offer help when something extra is needed.

  2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the Latino community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most proud of?

  Identity is so proud of the growth and resilience of our client community. Identity youth report real improvements in their ability to manage difficult emotions; resolve conflict; speak up for themselves; connect to school, the workforce and the community; and avoid substance abuse and other harmful behavior. Identity youth show improved school attendance and achievement, and their families report improved communication and more involvement in their children’s lives after participating in our programs. Lifesaving safety-net support and caring human connections stave off hunger, homelessness and despair in families during times of extreme crisis. This is especially meaningful because of Identity's deep commitment to ensuring community members are full and authentic partners in our work. More than 85% of staff are bi-lingual and bi-cultural and immigrants or children of immigrants.

  3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received that has helped you achieve this?

  The Greater Washington Community Foundation has been with Identity at every critical juncture, providing funding when and where it is most needed. Most recently, through Neighbors in Need, we were able to provide lifesaving safety net support during the pandemic and stayed with us in order to help those whose recovery has been slower and more difficult. The Foundation also provided early support for our innovation Encuentros emotional support groups which have helped more than 2000 community members develop the skills to manage difficult emotions and help friends and family cope with stress and anxiety.

  4) What do you wish that more people understood about the Latino community?

  Our region’s Latino community is growing! In Montgomery County it has increased 27% between 2010 and 2021; 35% of MCPS students and almost 40% of kindergarteners are Latino. We hope others appreciate that "the Latino community" is made up of many communities and cultures, from North, Central and South America. And despite many obstacles including language and geographic isolation, deep poverty and disproportionate traumatic experiences, with the right support at the right time, this is a tremendously resilient community that is strives and thrives in school, in business and in community.

• Tzedek DC

  1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the Latino community in the Greater Washington region.

  Tzedek DC’s mission is to safeguard the legal rights and financial health of DC residents with low incomes dealing with the often-devastating consequences of abusive debt collection practices and other consumer related issues. We offer DC residents free legal and financial counseling services (regardless of immigration status). In addition, through our Sin Deudas, Sin Dudas outreach project (“No Debts, No Doubts”), we provide bilingual community educational programs on issues like knowing your rights when dealing with debt collectors; avoiding (or recovering from) scams and fraud; overcoming shame for getting in debt or scammed; understanding, managing and building credit; and why it’s so important to get legal help when facing debt-related problems.

  2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the Latino community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most proud of?

  We engage with the community at the very grassroots via our work with CBO partners that have long been anchors in the DC Latino community, as well as via Iglesia Sagrado Corazón / Sacred Heart Church; Following Francis on the Hill; two branches of the DC Public Library; and the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs. From the very beginning, our most meaningful work has been connecting with community members who are experiencing food insecurity at food distribution lines. We roll up our sleeves tirelessly and consistently on this front, reaching out and contributing to those who are among our most vulnerable.

  3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received that has helped you achieve this?

  Funding that we have received from foundations and individual donors has enabled us to hire Spanish-speaking staff – a Senior Attorney, a Financial Counselor and our Community Outreach and Communications Consultant; to produce a bilingual “tool kit” with individual flyers on credit, debt and scams that we distribute widely at community events and presentations; and to hire INK, a strategic communications firm, to help us with our media outreach to the Latino community.

  4) What do you wish that more people understood about the Latino community?

  First, the wealth of its diversity. Although Salvadorans make up DC’s largest Latino group, there are also Dominican, Mexican, and Puerto Rican communities in the District. And the DMV as a whole counts with a large Bolivian and Guatemalan population. Second, that language access must not only be about making available translated information, but also about making available culturally-appropriate communications—that is, those that reflect a nuanced understanding of the culture of the target population.

• La Clinica Del Pueblo

  1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the Latino community in the Greater Washington region.

  La Clinica Del Pueblo's mission is to build a healthy Latino community through culturally appropriate health services, focusing on those most in need. Since 1983, La Clínica del Pueblo has been addressing the distinct health needs of our community through comprehensive primary medical care with wrap-around services across the life spectrum; mental health and substance use treatment; medical interpretation and language access advocacy; community health including health education and safe spaces; and advocacy strategies to increase inclusion and health equity for Latino immigrants.

  2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the Latino community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most proud of?

  Recognizing health is a human right, not something that should be determined by our citizenship or type of employment.

  3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received that has helped you achieve this?

  We are looking to expand healthcare access to the Latino Immigrant community by eliminating barriers and creating policies that are culturally and linguistically appropriate. The design of our actions will engage the community at various levels from capturing needs to designing advocacy strategies through political engagement.

  4) What do you wish that more people understood about the Latino community?

  The diversity that exists within the community and the stories of migration have shaped the DC area. A great place to witness the diversity and richness of our community is at our La Fiesta Del Barrio (Free Neighborhood Block Party) on Oct 14th which will celebrate 40 years.

• DC Affordable Law Firm

  1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the Latino community in the Greater Washington region.

  DC Affordable Law Firm (DCALF) is an innovative nonprofit legal services organization striving to close the civil justice gap in DC. At DCALF, we believe everyone deserves justice and that income should not be a barrier to a family’s receipt of high-quality legal representation. DCALF provides low-cost and free immigration, family, and probate legal support to modest income clients who do not qualify for traditional forms of free legal aid, and others for whom access to justice is out of reach. DCALF understands the significant access to justice gap within our city’s Latinx and immigrant communities and fosters development of DC's Latinx population by often providing free, grant-funded representation to Latinx community members from low and modest means households. Additionally, DCALF partner with the Mayor's Office on Latin American Affairs (MOLA), regularly engage in community outreach, and conduct workshops to inform the broader Latinx and immigrant community living in DC about their family law, immigration, and probate and estate planning rights.

  2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the Latino community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most proud of?

  At DC Affordable Law Firm (DCALF), we share the belief that lawyers have a special obligation to the administration of justice; therefore, our attorneys represent clients in immigration, family law, and probate matters at low-to-no cost to the client. Thanks to grant funding and generous donors, we proudly serve more than 90% of our clients for free and the services we offer are available to Latinx DC residents living in households across all 8 Wards. Additionally, we engage in deliberate and intentional outreach efforts to ensure a broad reach and visibility of our services to Latinos regardless of where they live within the city.

  3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received that has helped you achieve this?

  At DC Affordable Law Firm (DCALF), we are committed to accessible justice and understand the importance of expanding access to legal services for modest-income Latinx DC residents. The funding we received from the Greater Washington Community Foundation and our partnership with GWCF has been transformative for DCALF. We now serve more than 90% of our clients, primarily Latinx and Black DC residents, for free through grant- and donor-funded representation, delivering the same high-quality services, but in a way that acknowledges, respects, and safeguards our clients’ economic realities and fixed household budgets.

  4) What do you wish that more people understood about the Latino community?

  End-of-life planning is key to preserving intergenerational wealth and helping families plan for their futures with dignity, yet these conversations occur far too infrequently, particularly within Latinx and BIPOC communities. In the United States, only 31% of adults have a will, and wills and estate planning documents are far more prevalent in higher-income households. DCALF believes all individuals deserve to plan for their futures, and estate planning should not be something only accessible to those with wealth. By educating Latinx community members and staff from community-based organizations, we are able to break down barriers and help Latinx families avail themselves of services that are often out of reach for modest-income individuals.

• Upcounty Hub

  1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the Latino community in the Greater Washington region.

  The Upcounty Hub was founded with the philosophy of providing individuals and families with food and other essentials, without requiring documentation to prove necessity, allowing them to maintain their privacy and dignity.

  The idea that “we rise by lifting others” has been a central principle of our organization because helping others is nutrition for the soul. Our work for the community by the community unites us in the fight against food insecurity because people, especially children, should not have to worry about one of their most basic needs. The residual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a greater demand for food and healthcare assistance, and our goal is to connect the most vulnerable and impoverished populations to fundamental, culturally-competent resources.

  2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the Latino community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most proud of?

  Prior to the pandemic, the Latino community and much of the upcounty areas of Montgomery County did not have access to the resources they need. At Upcounty Hub, we are proud to serve as a bridge to various resources and to continue to be a voice for all the clients that we serve.

  3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received that has helped you achieve this?

  The funding that we receive goes towards food and essential items as well as staffing which has allowed us to expand our services to help clients beyond just food.

  4) What do you wish that more people understood about the Latino community?

  The Latino community was one of the most drastically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and is still struggling. Montgomery County has a very fast-growing population of Latinos. We are very proud of that growth, and we are very proud to help them continue to grow and pursue their dreams in Montgomery County.

• Latin American Youth Center (LAYC)

  1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the Latino community in the Greater Washington region.

  Since our founding in the late 1960s, Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) has grown from a small grassroots recreation center into a nationally recognized agency serving all low-income youth. Each year LAYC serves over 4,000 youth and families through youth centers, school-based sites, and public charter schools in the District of Columbia and Maryland’s Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties as the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers (MMYC). Our mission is to empower a diverse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood through multi-cultural, comprehensive, and innovative programs that address youths’ social, academic, and career needs. We believe in a future where all youth pursue their dreams, reach their goals, and acquire the skills and self-confidence to live a life of purpose, connection, contribution, and joy. Our bilingual programs and services are designed to address the multiple needs of the young people and families in the communities we serve. Through opportunities in academics, arts and recreation, job readiness, safe places to live, and health and wellness, LAYC strives to address many of the barriers to success low-income youth face. fundamental, culturally-competent resources.

  2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the Latino community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most proud of?

  •We want to highlight the resiliency, determination, courage and perseverance in the face of adversity – qualities we see every day in the youth and families who walk through our doors.

  •We are very proud of the high percentage of staff who are members of the very communities we serve, with many cases being former youth participants of our programs, including our CEO.

  •While the pandemic disrupted so much, we never closed our doors despite the challenges.

  •LAYC’s close connection with the community developed over decades, founded on trust.

  •LAYC’s Promotor Pathway®, our signature youth development model, removes barriers facing youth, proactively encourages participation in a broad set of LAYC services, and connects them to resources within the community. Through rigorous long-term evaluation, participants in the Promotor Pathway have shown marked improvements in education, employment, job stability and earnings compared to their peers.

  3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received that has helped you achieve this?

  As a nonprofit partner of GWCF, we have continued and expanded our Promotor Pathway® model in the DC community, providing critical support to young people who may be disconnected from school or employment, in need of more caring adults in their lives. The support allows us to work alongside youth who face the most extreme challenges—from raising children to homelessness, from gang activity to substance use and mental health disorders. Our promotores, or youth advocates, provide intensive, long-term, one-on-one mentoring and case management. They work intentionally and deliberately to build relationships designed to transform a young person’s life and are committed to the relentless pursuit of the youth’s success.

  4) What do you wish that more people understood about the Latino community?

  The Latino community has overcome challenges and continues to do so. They recognize the importance of education as a pathway out of poverty. The Latino community is very family oriented, and those familial relationships are key to dealing with the challenges they face.

• Central American Resource Center (CARECEN)

  1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the Latino community in the Greater Washington region.

  CARECEN’s mission is to foster the comprehensive development of the Latino population in the Washington metropolitan region by providing direct legal services, housing counseling, citizenship education, and community economic development. Just as fundamentally, the organization aims to promote grassroots empowerment, civic engagement, and civil rights advocacy.

  CARECEN programs include: (a) Immigration Legal Services: provides direct legal services and counseling at low or no cost for immigration matters, including work authorization, permanent residence, family reunification, and citizenship; (b) Civic Participation: conducts citizenship classes to prepare participants for the U.S. naturalization examination, and promotes informed community participation in local civic and democratic processes through education and training; (c) Housing Counseling: helps to maintain safe and affordable housing by informing tenants of their rights, providing financial literacy training, and counseling participants to prevent displacement.

  In addition to offering direct services to more than 3,000 community residents every year, CARECEN provides education and outreach on vital issues to thousands more Latinos in the greater Washington area through local and regional campaigns both in the field and across multiple media platforms.

  2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the Latino community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most proud of?

  CARECEN's close ties to the Latino community, allow us to respond effectively to the comprehensive needs of immigrants in the D.C. metropolitan area and provide timely and appropriate services through our Legal- Citizenship, and Housing while also taking up initiatives to advocate for the rights of the immigrant community. Our approach focuses in understanding the "push and pull" factors of the community's migration to the U.S. and their needs for services to help stabilize families, provide economic security, and facilitate integration; allowing CARECEN to provide a mix of direct services and advocacy.

  3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received that has helped you achieve this?

  Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, our community has seen an increased demand for rental counseling. While the Latino community in DC has been one of the most adversely affected by the Coronavirus economically, CARECEN’s is only one of a handful of housing programs in the DC area with bilingual staff in English and Spanish.

  In addition to the increased caseload, the COVID-19 crisis also required our housing team to play a more active role in relief efforts and advocacy. CARECEN participated in an advocacy effort to ensure $5 million of local funds were allocated and dispensed to undocumented residents of the District of Columbia - many who were excluded from other pandemic related emergency funds.

  Thanks to the Community Foundation, the Housing Program was able to secure more than $770,136 in COVID-19 rental relief through Stay DC and Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) for more than 157 tenants. The program was also able to preserve six affordable housing buildings help 50 homeowners avoid foreclosure on their homes.

  Additionally, thanks to the Community Foundation, CARECEN distributed $1.1 million of DC Care funds to 1,100 residents in the community, helping those most affected by the pandemic meet some of their most urgent financial needs. We also secured an additional $9 million for excluded workers that were not able to access unemployment or did not receive the federal stimulus funding. Last year the city council approved $41 million which we helped distribute to DC residents that qualified.

  4) What do you wish that more people understood about the Latino community?

  We are a diverse community made up of 19 Spanish countries and one U.S. Territory. This high number of countries with the official language of Spanish puts the language in fourth place in the topmost spoken languages in the world following English, Mandarin Chinese and Hindi. However, when it comes to the languages with the most native speakers, Spanish occupies an incredible second spot (following Mandarin Chinese). The country with the largest representation in the U.S. is Mexico and, in most states, Mexican nationals make up the largest foreign-born population. There are exceptions such as Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC, where Salvadorans make up the largest foreign-born population.

  The Latino population includes immigrants both legal and undocumented, and native born. As previous immigrant waves, Latinos by the third generation born in the U.S. are like the nonimmigrant population. Although we are newer in this region, (approximately 40 years) we contribute to the development of the region, with our labor, culture, food, that make the region better for everyone.

Let's Talk Endowments - Helping Nonprofits Invest for the Future

Earlier this month, The Community Foundation hosted a group of nonprofit leaders to talk about how to help nonprofit organizations prepare for their financial future through an endowment.

“For years, we at The Community Foundation have talked about what it would look to design a product that would allow nonprofits to coinvest in their future,” President and CEO Tonia Wellons shared with the group.

“Through this nonprofit endowment product, we’re excited to provide our partners with the infrastructure and investment support to sustain their mission and organization for years to come.”

An endowed fund is invested for long-term capital growth – rather than going directly towards a specific program. This allows the fund to accrue value over time, while a predetermined portion is set aside each year for distribution. Depending on market performance, these distributions have the potential to exceed the original value of the gift – providing the organization with a steady, reliable stream of income, as well as a nest egg that can be accessed in case of emergencies.

“At The Community Foundation, we want to make it easier for our nonprofit partners to provide for their long-term financial stability,” Tiffanie Purvis, General Counsel and Senior Philanthropic Advisor said.

The Community Foundation’s nonprofit endowment fund is designed to eliminate many of the traditional barriers that can prevent nonprofits from setting up an endowment - including limited investment expertise or capacity. Endowments set up through The Community Foundation are managed by our professional investment team – allowing nonprofits the freedom to focus on their mission rather than their long-term financial investments. Endowments have a $25,000 minimum and can be set up as a permanent long-term endowment or a quasi-endowment with an option to withdraw under limited circumstances).

The Community Foundation also provides services including planned giving expertise to help donors understand the value of an endowment over a short-term gift.

“Donors love creating endowments,” Rebecca Rothey, Senior Advisor explained. “However, sometimes they need a little more help before they grasp the concept.”

Participants heard from Mike DiMarco, Executive Director of Horizons Greater Washington, which recently set up an endowment fund with The Community Foundation in preparation for its 25th Anniversary coming up in 2025.

“For us, at Horizons, we make a long-term commitment to our students. We need sustainable long-term funding that’s there in perpetuity,” DiMarco shared. “Being able to budget the steady income from an endowment not only puts us in a stronger position in the long-term but also in the short-term as we’re able to get annual returns on that endowment.”

“Throughout the process, the Greater Washington Community Foundation was really helpful and patiently answering our questions and helping us understand the benefits and implications of starting this endowment account.”

“As we enter 2025, celebrating our 25th Anniversary, we look forward to taking this opportunity to grow the endowment and solidify Horizons’ future going forward.”

The discussion about endowments comes at a time when large bequests from donors to nonprofit organizations is on the rise. According to the latest Giving USA Report, the number of bequests from wills and living trusts increased by 2.3% in 2022 for a total of $45.6 billion dollars.

“There’s a temptation with surprise bequests to put it directly into the operating budget – put it straight into the community all at once,” Mary Pat Alcus, a financial planner and experienced nonprofit board member shared. “But if you and your board have the discipline to put that money in an endowment, you not only provide for the longevity of your organization – you also provide an easy answer to what can sometimes be a contentious question - ‘what do we do with this money?’”

“It’s about planning for the future,” Wellons concluded. “It’s about having the foresight to let your money work for you, while you continue to work for the community.”

The Community Foundation’s team stands ready and eager to help our nonprofit partners achieve their long-term investment goals. For more information about our nonprofit endowment services, visit our website for details or contact Tiffanie Purvis at [email protected].

The Faces of Health Equity: Meet Our Nonprofit Partners

On June 13, The Community Foundation announced $12. 5 million in Health Equity Fund grants to 14 DC-based nonprofits working on health advocacy, policy, and systems change initiatives that address the social and structural determinants of health.

We invited our partners to highlight their experiences working to address the social and structural determinants of health in the Greater Washington region.

• THE NATIONAL REENTRY NETWORK FOR RETURNING CITIZENS

  1. Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  We represent the criminal legal community in regards to incarcerated individuals and returning citizens coming back into our community. The issues that we advocate for are eliminating barriers to reentry, record sealing, expungement, and relief from fines/fees/restitution. We seek to change hiring practices that exclude returning citizens.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  The thing we find most meaningful about the work we do is evening the playing field, educating the public, and changing the criminal legal system. We are more proud of our longevity and being a one-stop-shop in terms of resources for returning citizens. We are proud to be a source of evidence of the success possible for returning citizens, and demonstrate the outcomes possible for people in the criminal legal system who are given an opportunity to thrive.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  We will be using funding to support our personnel and expand our programming. We will be hiring a community organizer and program manager, and will also utilize funding to cover training costs, event planning, meeting costs, program supplies, outreach and campaign materials, and to conduct evaluation of our work.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  We want people to understand that we have to stop throwing people away, as if they were human waste. We want them to understand that we need to take a closer look at the impact of the criminal legal system and its collateral consequences. If we do that, we will see that it is necessary to move in a different direction and to invest in supporting communities, families, and returning citizens.

  80% or more of people incarcerated are there for a non-violent crime. We can't incarcerate our way out of this. We have to address trauma, mental health, and underserved communities. Taking time to understand and acquire this knowledge will allow us to come up with effective alternatives and solutions.

• DC FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE

  1. Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  DCFPI serves as central resource to advocates and community members, providing research, analysis, and strategy to inform just policy solutions and reform inequitable systems. We take aim at the compounding effects of structural racism, which have led to vast racial and ethnic inequities in education, housing, employment, income, wealth, and health, privileging white residents while leaving Black and non-Black residents of color more likely to struggle to get by and care for their children. We strive to root out anti-Blackness, promote economic mobility, and repair racist harms that set the conditions for consistently poorer economic and health outcomes for Black and brown communities.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  DCFPI leverages its analytic, programmatic, and legislative expertise for collaborative campaigns, helping to design both policy and strategy. DCFPI utilizes the power of progressive policy to support the economic liberation of Black and brown people in the District. We are most proud of our 22-year track record that has lifted up and protected economically struggling DC families.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  DCFPI, in collaboration with partners rooted in impacted communities, will pursue two critical areas of policy change: Establishing Guarantees for A Liberation Economy and Building Black Wealth. We will develop a pilot jobs guarantee for young workers, pursue a child tax credit and expansion of guaranteed basic income pilots, and spearhead a campaign for a more racially just tax code that pays for targeted investments that reduce Black debt, increase access to Black homeownership, and provide capital to support Black entrepreneurship.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  The District is home to incredible prosperity that is not equitably shared. Despite high incomes and high-paying jobs, too many residents—disproportionately Black and Latinx people—struggle to pay for basics or access good jobs. More than 100,000 DC residents live in poverty, the lion’s share being women and people of color. Centuries-long oppression of Black people through enslavement, segregation, and Jim Crow legislation has led to vast racial and ethnic inequities in education, housing, employment, income, and wealth creation. The legacy of these inequities and long-standing divestment from communities of color carries racial and economic exclusion forward today. However, before us stands a great opportunity to foster change that creates healthy, thriving communities where everyone has the nurture, sustenance, and safety every person inherently deserves.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  The power of tax justice as racial and economic justice. As a tool for liberation, tax policy should take aim at the anti-Blackness embedded within our tax systems by raising taxes on the predominantly white, wealthy households that have been economically privileged through the historic and ongoing oppression of Black and brown people. The revenue raised would be dedicated to public investments that predominantly aid Black households that are struggling to get by and are systematically denied, over generations, the fruits of their labor.

• MOTHERS OUTREACH NETWORK

  1. Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  MON supports the inclusion and empowerment of Black mothers in the struggle for family preservation and advocates for the transformation of government income and child welfare laws, policies and practices from punitive to empowering. Our primary initiatives seek to empower Black families by working to enact publicly funded guaranteed income programs for low-income mothers, advocating for existing social safety net programs such as the 2021 Child Tax Credit, and transforming the $200 million DC Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) family regulation and foster system budget.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  Some of the most meaningful work that we do at MON involves working directly with Black mothers through programs such as our Legal Tax Clinic and our guaranteed income pilot program, Mother Up. This program is a cash transfer initiative for no- and low- income Black mothers in Washington, D.C. who are involved with the child welfare system. We plan to explore whether extra cash can cut family involvement with the child welfare system and to achieve narrative change that can transform policy in this field. We seek to ultimately enroll 100 mothers or more, in total in this: for 3 years, 50 mothers receiving $500 a month and an additional 50 mothers survey incentive stipends.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  We will utilize funding to support our guaranteed income program. These funds will provide for the following: mothers in our program receiving $500 a month; mothers in the control group receiving $40 a month; benefits counseling for the mothers; and hold harmless payments for the mothers to offset any benefit reductions.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  Black families in Washington, DC suffer over-involvement in the intersecting paradigms of racialized poverty and its poverty-driven government family regulation. Our goal is to transform the family regulation system to prioritize Black family economic security, racial equity, and family preservation.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  Our work confronts the child welfare system's role in failing to address Black family poverty and the system's policies that traumatize and rip apart Black families. Studies have demonstrated that alleviating poverty reduces reports of abuse and neglect, or child maltreatment. Our goal with the Mother Up program is to explore whether extra cash can cut family involvement with the child welfare system and to achieve narrative change that can transform policy in this field.

• COUNCIL FOR COURT EXCELLENCE

  1. Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  The Council for Court Excellence (CCE) brings together an interdisciplinary group of D.C. residents, advocates, and members of the legal and business communities to collaborate and advance equity-focused changes to D.C. criminal and civil laws, regulations, court practices, and agency policies. Our work seeks to help D.C. residents who interact with the legal system, especially justice involved and impacted individuals.

  Throughout D.C.’s legal system, people of color are disproportionately impacted. While Black people make up 47% of D.C.’s population, they make up 86% of the people arrested, 90% of the people jailed, and 95% of the people in prison.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  CCE’s work has resulted in fewer D.C. children being funneled into the school-to-prison pipeline, fewer people in our community facing incarceration, and a decrease in the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction in the District. We are proud to increase awareness and thoughtfulness around justice system issues and spur a spirit of change to engage more people in the community who care about these issues, broadening the pool of those who are aware, engaged, and fighting for equity.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  CCE will utilize our model of interdisciplinary alliance to develop and implement strategic advocacy campaigns. We will convene partners and impacted people, conduct research, and collect data and feedback to ensure our priorities are community guided. CCE will develop policy reform campaigns from start to finish, and conduct activities to cultivate community and grassroots advocacy. Finally, we will educate the public on our campaigns, put public pressure on policymakers to enact reforms, and sustain community mobilization.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  One in seven adults in the District has a publicly available criminal record. The impacts of D.C.’s criminal legal system are not felt by all D.C. residents equally. Roughly 90% of people incarcerated at the D.C. Department of Corrections were Black, despite Black people making up a little less than half of D.C.’s population. Racial disparities persist in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), with Black people accounting for 95% of people incarcerated in the BOP for a D.C. Code offense.

  Legal system or court involvement – whether as a person who has faced a criminal charge or incarceration, as a victim of crime, or even as a litigant in a civil matter – can have dramatic impacts on a person’s well-being. Decisions made by judges, police, caseworkers, and others with power in the legal system can change a person’s life in positive and negative ways – which means it is vital that D.C.’s laws and policies are equitable, healing-focused, and anti-racist.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  It is important for people to know that the lack of statehood significantly affects D.C.’s criminal legal system and presents challenges in the pursuit of community-led justice.

  In D.C., the federal government plays several important roles in the local administration of justice but has no accountability to District residents. Presently, people convicted of D.C. offenses are sent to federal prisons, local Courts are funded by the federal government, and adults are prosecuted by federal prosecutors, among other powers.

• DC JUSTICE LAB

  1. Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  DC Justice Lab is a team of law and policy experts researching, organizing, and advocating for large-scale changes to the District of Columbia’s criminal legal system. We develop smarter safety solutions that are evidence-driven, community-rooted, and racially just. We aim to fully transform the District’s approach to public safety and make it a national leader in justice reform.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  The most meaningful aspect of our work is the ability to change the way people think about who we punish, how we punish, and why we punish. Helping Black people thrive is why we’re here – and reforming the criminal legal system is how we do it. We’re most proud of how we do the work. We lead with integrity and justice, engaging with and understanding the needs of the community where we live and work; forging strong connections; and prioritizing community-centered approaches to reform.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  As a proud Black- and woman-led organization, we plan to utilize funding to not only grow our impact, but the impact of other pro-Black organizations who are working to effect policy change, training the next generation of local advocates on the District's lawmaking process. Leveraging and lifting each other requires an intensive effort – including multi-day workshops that provide support, resources, and strategies that work to make the collective more effective in less time.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  Almost 90% of arrests in the District disproportionately target Black residents, and over 90% of those who are sentenced are also Black. Year after year, research has consistently shown that marginalized communities facing poverty, substance abuse issues, and high crime rates are disproportionately impacted by the consequences of the criminal legal system.

  Despite this evidence, our country and local leaders continue to prioritize tough-on-crime laws and policies that have fueled mass incarceration and worsened the conditions of our Black and brown communities. This is why we advocate for lawmakers to implement solutions that address the root causes of crime and violence, while reducing our nation's excessive reliance on police, prosecutors, and prisons in order to promote safety and freedom for all.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  We wish more people understood that mass criminalization actually causes more crime, making us all less safe. Not only does it perpetuate poverty, but it breaks apart (and breaks down) families who create thriving communities with generational wealth.

• LA CLINICA DEL PUEBLO

  1. Briefly describe (in 2-3 sentences) the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  La Clínica del Pueblo represents the low-income, Limited English Proficient, immigrant, Latinx communities in Washington, DC, facing health inequities and healthcare access barriers. We advocate for policy changes and system transformation to address these issues, including eliminating exclusionary policies, guaranteeing Medicaid-level coverage, and ensuring linguistically and culturally appropriate service provision.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  Through our advocacy efforts, such as involvement in passing the DC Language Access Act, we have played a pivotal role in ensuring equal access and participation in public services for individuals with limited English proficiency. Our contributions to establishing the DC Healthcare Alliance Program and, more recently, simplifying its recertification process have also been sources of pride. This program, available to all residents regardless of immigration status, has reduced disparities and expanded access to healthcare for marginalized groups.

  La Clínica's ability to effect positive change through advocacy efforts demonstrates our dedication to creating a more equitable and inclusive healthcare system, making a meaningful impact on the lives of low-income immigrant communities in the region.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  We plan to utilize the funding to expanding our advocacy campaigns to raise community awareness and engage policymakers, enhancing our community mapping efforts to better understand the needs of low-income immigrant communities, and strengthening our partnerships and coalitions to drive systemic change. The funding will enable us to allocate resources for capacity building, staff training, communication strategies, and community engagement initiatives to advance our mission of improving healthcare access and addressing health inequities.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  One thing we wish more people understood about the community we represent, with a specific focus on health access as a human right, is that healthcare is essential for everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic background, immigration status, or language proficiency. Access to healthcare is not just a privilege but a fundamental human right. Low-income immigrant communities, who often face additional barriers to accessing healthcare, deserve equitable and dignified care.

  Recognizing health access as a human right means understanding that everyone deserves equal opportunities to lead healthy lives, and it requires addressing systemic inequalities and ensuring that healthcare services are accessible, culturally competent, and affordable for all.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  We wish more people understood the intersectionality and complexity of the barriers faced by low-income immigrant communities in accessing healthcare. It is crucial to recognize that these barriers extend beyond immigration status and language proficiency. Systemic racism, social determinants of health, limited financial resources, and cultural differences contribute to health disparities.

  By understanding the multifaceted nature of these challenges, we can develop comprehensive solutions that address the underlying structural and systemic issues. It is essential to move beyond simplistic narratives and stereotypes and instead embrace a holistic perspective considering the interconnected factors impacting healthcare access for marginalized communities.

• WHITMAN-WALKER INSTITUTE

  1. Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  Whitman-Walker envisions a society where all people are seen for who they are, treated with dignity and respect, and afforded equal opportunity to health and wellbeing. The Whitman-Walker Institute combines clinical and public health research, public policy advocacy, and professional and community education, with the goal of expanding the body of knowledge and science needed to advance health and wellness, particularly for sexual and gender diverse communities.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  For almost fifty years, Whitman-Walker has been woven into the fabric of DC’s diverse community as a first responder and trusted resource for those living with and affected by HIV; a leader in LGBTQ care and advocacy; a research center working to discover breakthroughs in HIV treatment and prevention science; a fierce advocate for health equity and inclusion; and one of DC’s dependable healthcare partners throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  As a nonprofit, grant funding is pivotal to expanding our capacity to advocate, research, and educate about the health needs of LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV. Funding supports our research into the bio-psycho-social drivers of ill health and the interventions to address these causes. Grant funding supports the many services we provide that are not covered by insurance.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  As a community health center embedded in Washington, DC, I wish more people understood that DC is more than just nation’s capital, but it is home to a vibrant and thriving community. Far too often our community is used as a political tool, and this is disrespectful to the families that live and work in the District.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  WWI leverages the expertise across Whitman-Walker’s family of affiliates to advocate for structural interventions in local, regional, and federal law and policy. Much of our advocacy works to address the social determinants of health for our patient population.

• BLACK WOMEN THRIVING EAST OF THE RIVER

  1. Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  Black Women Thriving East of the River (BWTEotR) collaborates with Black women who live and lead organizational change in Wards 7&8. Together, we advocate for health and economic justice for Black women and their families and the collective wellbeing of Black people living east of the river. The systems we seek to disrupt and improve are the workforce development and healthcare systems in order to improve key social determinants of health for Black women in our community.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  We are most proud of working in authentic partnership with the community. BWTEotR works directly with community residents and leaders of Wards 7 & 8 who coalesced in pursuit of innovative solutions to the health and economic crises prevalent within the community. We continue to embrace an inclusive approach for engaging the community and reflecting its voice, that intentionally avoids employing tokenism and instead implements ongoing engagement to mitigate intractable issues.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  Black Women Thriving East of the River will use data, training, and advocacy to disrupt and create change in workforce development systems impacting Black women living East of the River. Our initiative will develop employer assessment tools and implement Employer Best Practices Thought Leader Forums, workgroups, and conferences. We will disseminate best practice employer tools and strategies for driving equity, inclusion, and sustainability in hiring and retention practices — better positioning Black women East of the River to acquire and maintain employment in health-related careers.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  There are many well-known challenges in our community. The way to solve them is by listening to those who are experiencing them daily. Our community is full of caring, insightful and brilliant experts. Let’s look to them first and often to inform strategies, programs and policies for lasting change.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  We wish that more people understood the magnitude of health disparities that Black women face, and that these disparities are a direct result of structural racism embedded in our healthcare, workforce, and other systems.

• MANY LANGUAGES ONE VOICE

  1. Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  Many Languages One Voice (MLOV) is a Washington, DC-based movement organization, empowering immigrant and refugee communities of color with the tools to promote their own liberation. Our mission is to foster leadership and greater civic participation of immigrants and refugees who do not speak English as a primary language.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  We believe an actively engaged community that challenges existing inequities by dominant power is key to achieving systemic change. We are most proud of the leadership our community members display everyday for themselves and their communities.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  Through this project, we aim to contribute to greater health equity for all DC residents. With support from this grant, our BIPOC-immigrant-led community leadership development, power building, and advocacy will strengthen and advance language justice in DC, and consequently will promote improved health outcomes.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  As an immigrant and refugee organization, MLOV sees the day-to-day realities of health inequity and how various social factors contribute to creating and compounding barriers to health. Despite the 2004 Language Access Act being on the books, our DC immigrant neighbors continue to face language barriers in accessing services from DC government agencies, which negatively impacts numerous social determinants of health. Data collected by MLOV and our partners demonstrate that immigrants who do not speak English as a primary language are more likely to face barriers to healthcare, affordable and safe housing, and job security.

• Tzedek DC

  1.Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  Tzedek DC’s systemic Advocacy Reform program attacks at scale the structural economic underpinnings of health equity. We seek to reform debt-related laws in DC that in effect criminalize poverty, impose disproportionate burdens on Black and Latino residents and, by perpetuating DC’s vast racial wealth gaps, pose formidable roadblocks to health equity.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  The magic happens in the moments when our work both impacts the present and future of a community member's life and makes them feel heard, respected, and valued.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  Tzedek DC will use funds from this partnership to hire staff and consultants to build organizational capacity to mount winning advocacy campaigns that will increase wealth and health equity. We will expand our Policy, Organizing, and Communications capacity in this way.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  Poverty is not a crime. DC residents are hard-working, passionate people of many wonderfully diverse backgrounds and all deserve full economic citizenship.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  Systemic racism has produced a legacy that includes massive racial wealth gaps and a system of private debt collection and public fines and fees debt collection that has a disparate impact on Brown and Black residents. Our choices about allocating resources and changing the rules need to account for these realities. This approach can lift up the entire community.

• Emerald Cities Collaborative

  1. Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  ECC works with community organizations, government, the private sector, and directly with small, minority and women-owned firms to ensure that BIPOC and other underrepresented businesses/contractors benefit from major investments in clean energy. In addition to planning and technical assistance to improve public procurement systems, ECC offers training, coaching and support services so that these firms are committed to ECC’s high-road mission to strengthen the environment, economy and equity, especially within low-income communities of color.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  ECC has a 13-year track record helping city officials develop and implement economic inclusion policies, including community workforce and community benefit agreements in a range of green energy and infrastructure projects. This system-level work includes developing implementation tools to ensure public investments benefit communities most in need, such as establishing hiring/contracting targets by demographic groups, contractors’ selection criteria and requirements for solicitations/bid documents, and monitoring and evaluation tracking and reportings.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  The “BEPS BIPOC Contractor Incubator” will engage contractors to work on projects to improve building energy performance of affordable housing, public housing and community buildings in disadvantaged communities in Washington DC. Contractors will be recruited from across Washington, DC with particular focus on Wards 5, 7, and 8. Contractors will receive training on business opportunities and follow up support for their businesses.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  ECC’s focus on community contractors addresses both wealth and income inequality. Our labor market study revealed that neither minority businesses nor workers are well-represented in the emerging green economy in DC or elsewhere. A focused attention on increasing access for small, minority businesses, however, is foundational to inter-generational wealth generation. Moreover, research shows that minority businesses offer the most accessible and effective pipeline to job opportunities for minority workers.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  America’s economy was specifically designed for inequality. Low-income and communities of color are burdened by a legacy of discrimination with respect to access to home and home improvement loans, business loans and investments, job opportunities in high wage and unionized jobs, as well as business and hiring networks. The negative impacts are clear: poor health, poor housing conditions, rent burdens, utility burdens, income and wealth disparities, to name a few. America’s transition to a new ‘green economy’ to green our communities and our buildings provide a new opportunity to get it right.

• DC Reentry Housing Alliance

  1) Briefly describe the community your organization represents (and/or the issue(s) you advocate for), and/or the policy and systems you seek to change.

  The DC Reentry Housing Alliance is a collective of local reentry and housing leaders who are dedicated to addressing the ongoing housing challenges experienced by individuals returning from incarceration in the District of Columbia. They represent and advocate for the needs and rights of returning citizens, aiming to improve their access to safe, affordable, and supportive housing options. The alliance seeks to bring about policy and system changes that will result in a significant increase of at least 500 new housing units dedicated to DC returning citizens by 2025. By prioritizing the voices of those directly affected and collaborating with housing providers, service providers, and advocates, the alliance aims to enhance housing options, support services, and opportunities for successful reentry and community integration.

  2. What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do? What are you most proud of?

  At the DC Reentry Housing Alliance, we are most proud of centering the expertise of reentry leaders with lived experiences. By engaging the public, influencing advocacy, and prioritizing the needs of men and women returning from incarceration in Washington, DC, we strive to propose innovative solutions for improved opportunity, access, and equity. Our Advisory Council guides our strategy and approach, ensuring that we amplify the voices of those closest to the challenges and foster meaningful change for individuals transitioning back into the community.

  3. As a nonprofit partner, briefly describe how you plan to utilize funding to support your work?

  As a collective impact initiative, we utilize funding to drive community empowerment and foster collaboration. Together, we will catalyze the creation of 500+ new supportive housing units by 2025, establish a stakeholder community dedicated to our mission, build sustainable infrastructure, and launch a compelling public campaign. Through data-driven efforts, community summits, a returning citizen advisory group, and advocacy activities, we will create transformative change and ensure the housing and economic mobility of returning citizens. Your support is instrumental in our collective journey towards a more inclusive and thriving society.

  4. What do you wish that more people understood about the community you represent?

  It is essential for people to understand the challenges and needs of individuals returning from incarceration. Incarceration forces individuals to make drastic adjustments for survival, and upon release, the struggle to reintegrate becomes apparent. The lack of support and government assistance, particularly in areas such as housing and employment, creates significant barriers for successful transition. There is an urgent need to address the disregard and stigma faced by justice involved individuals, and by providing proper safety nets and assistance, we can witness the transformative potential and achievements of these individuals in our society.

  5. What do you wish that more people understood about the issue(s) you seek to change?

  • Engaging relevant stakeholders is crucial: Advocacy led by individuals with lived experience, along with collaboration with state and government officials, is necessary to secure funding, policy changes, and insights for effective reentry programs.

  • Sustained support is crucial during the reintegration process: Reintegrating into society takes time and assistance, and simply releasing individuals without support can lead to setbacks and challenges.

  • Wrap-around services are vital: Comprehensive support services, including housing, employment assistance, mental health support, substance abuse treatment, education, and counseling, are essential for successful reentry.

  • Programs should prioritize asking individuals about their needs: Instead of assuming what people need, actively listening and empowering individuals with lived experience to lead ensures that support aligns with their actual needs.

  • Rehabilitation benefits individuals and society: By investing in rehabilitation programs, formerly incarcerated individuals have the opportunity to positively contribute to the economy, support their families, and participate actively in their communities.

• Fair Budget Coalition

  The mission of the Fair Budget Coalition (FBC) is to advocate for budget and public policy initiatives that address systemic social, racial, and economic inequality in the District of Columbia.

  More Information Coming Soon!

• Empower DC

  The mission of Empower DC is to build the power of DC residents through resident-led community organizing to advance racial, economic, and environmental justice.

  More Information Coming Soon!

Pride at the End of the Rainbow: Celebrating LGBTQ+ Identity and Intersectionality

In celebration of Pride Month, The Community Foundation invited some of our nonprofit partners to highlight their experiences working with the Greater Washington region’s LGBTQ+ community.

La Clinica Del Pueblo

1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the LGBTQ+ community in the Greater Washington region.

La Clínica del Pueblo's mission is to build a healthy Latinx community through culturally appropriate health services, with a focus on those most in need. La Clínica was founded in 1983 to address the emerging health needs of DC's Central American immigrant population. Today, it serves the Latinx community in the Greater Washington region, providing linguistically and culturally appropriate, as well as LGBTQ+-friendly, health services.

The Empodérate Program, specifically designed for LGBTQ+ Latinx youth, has been a part of La Clínica's services since 2006. It operates two drop-in safe spaces in the region, one in Washington, DC and another in Prince George's County, MD. The program focuses on culturally and linguistically appropriate HIV prevention services. Annually, the Empodérate Program serves approximately 2,350 MSM (men who have sex with men) members of the Latinx community.

2)  What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the LBTQ+ community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most ‘proud’ of?

In addition to providing essential healthcare services, we recognize the importance of representation and visibility. One of the aspects we are most proud of is providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals within the Latinx community, advocating for their rights, and actively participating in events like the DC Pride parade. We understand the unique challenges and barriers they may face, such as cultural stigma and language barriers, and strive to create an inclusive and welcoming environment where they can access the healthcare services they need. By doing so, we contribute to a more inclusive society where all individuals, regardless of their cultural background or sexual orientation, can live with dignity and access the healthcare services they deserve.

3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received from The Community Foundation  has helped you achieve your goals?

The funding we have received has been instrumental in expanding our programs, enhancing our service delivery, and improving health outcomes for the Latinx LGBTQ+ community in the Greater Washington area.

4) What do you wish that more people understood about the LGBTQ+ community?

People must understand the intersectionality and unique struggles experienced by low-income, immigrant, Limited English Proficient (LEP), LGBTQ+ Latinx individuals.

Low-income members of this community often confront multiple barriers to accessing healthcare, housing, education, and employment opportunities. Discrimination and systemic inequalities exacerbate their challenges, making achieving economic stability and social well-being even more difficult. Furthermore, being an immigrant and identifying as LGBTQ+ introduces additional hurdles. Immigrants within the LGBTQ+ Latinx community may face discrimination, prejudice, and even legal challenges related to their immigration status.

Addressing these intersectional challenges requires a comprehensive and inclusive approach. It involves creating safe spaces that embrace diverse identities and experiences within the LGBTQ+ Latinx community. It also necessitates developing tailored programs and services that account for economic disparities, immigration concerns, language access, and cultural sensitivity. This entails advocating for policies that address systemic inequalities, promoting cultural competency training for service providers, and supporting initiatives that uplift and empower LGBTQ+ Latinx individuals in low-income and immigrant communities.

The Equality Chamber Foundation

1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the LGBTQ+ community in the Greater Washington region.

The Equality Chamber Foundation (ecf) was founded in 2019 to create a united community. United by a common purpose to enhance our community’s culture, evolve its economy, and create safe spaces for the entrepreneurial spirit to thrive.

We are an essential conduit between community, culture, and enterprise. We help our community do more, be more, and grow more, so that they may continue to enrich our LGBTQIA+ family and evolve our community to meet their economic potential.

2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the LBTQ+ community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most ‘proud’ of?

All of the work we do is for the LGBTQ+ and allied community. Through our work we are able to help individuals, business leaders, business owners, and the community as a whole grow.

3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received from The Community Foundation has helped you achieve your goals?

The funding we have received has provided us with a vehicle to do safe space training for employers.

4) What do you wish that more people understood about the LGBTQ+ community?

The LGBTQ+ community is the most intersectional community - you can be a member of any other identity or affiliation and also be LGBTQ+

Whitman-Walker institute

1) Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the LGBTQ+ community in the Greater Washington region.

Whitman-Walker Institute expands the body of knowledge and science needed to strengthen our foundation of care, advocacy, research, and education. Through our work, we empower all people to live healthy, love openly, and achieve equity and belonging. Today, Whitman-Walker Health lives out its mission statement by offering affirming, community-based health and wellness services to all with a special expertise in LGBTQ+ and HIV care. WWH has the expertise to address numerous health disparities, including providing services to the largest cohorts of transgender and gender expansive patients in the country.

2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the LBTQ+ community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most ‘proud’ of?

For almost fifty years, Whitman-Walker has been woven into the fabric of DC’s diverse community as a first responder and trusted resource for those living with and affected by HIV; a leader in LGBTQ+ care and advocacy; a research center working to discover breakthroughs in HIV treatment and prevention science; a fierce advocate for health equity and inclusion; and one of DC’s dependable healthcare partners throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received from The Community Foundation has helped you achieve your goals?

As a nonprofit, grant funding is pivotal to expanding our capacity to advocate, research, and educate about the health needs of LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV. Funding supports our research into the bio-psycho-social drivers of ill health and the interventions to address these causes! Grant funding supports the many services we provide that are not covered by medical insurance.

4) What do you wish that more people understood about the LGBTQ+ community?

While LGBTQ+ people are subject to the bias and stereotypes that permeate our culture, the LGBTQ+ community is an invitation to questioning many of these assumptions that are woven into the fabric of our society. Liberation from sexual norms and gender roles provides us with an insight into how we can build a more expansive and inclusive society where more people can flourish. This process is fun and exciting!

AsylumWorks

1)  Briefly describe the mission of your organization and the services you provide to the LGBTQ+ community in the Greater Washington region.

Founded in 2016, AsylumWorks is a regional 501(c)3 nonprofit created with the awareness that asylum seekers and other immigrants seeking safety from violence often arrive in the United States with many needs but few resources.

Rebuilding one’s social support network is an important component of feeling at home in a new place. Unfortunately, LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers are not always welcomed by members of their diaspora when they arrive in the U.S. To address this need, AsylumWorks formed PRISM (Pride Refugee & Immigrant Support Meet-Up) to build an alternative inclusive, safe, and affirming peer community for LGBTQ+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants seeking safety from violence. PRISM works to foster spaces in which LGBTQ+ immigrants feel comfortable being themselves and can also participate in community-building activities that expand their social support in a new country and support their mental health and well-being via a facilitator-led psychosocial peer support group.

2) What do you find most meaningful about the work that you do with the LBTQ+ community in the Greater Washington area? What are you most ‘proud’ of?

PRISM is open to all AsylumWorks clients who identify as LGBTQ+, including alumni, waitlisted clients, along with other local LGBTQ+ asylum seekers who reside in DC, Maryland, or Virginia. This impact is far-reaching and enables group members to connect with the greater DMV community, as well as fellow group members. With each new member, our PRISM group inches closer to our vision of community-based support group where members with shared identities connect, grow, and support each other.

3) As a nonprofit partner, tell us about how funding that you’ve received from The Community Foundation has helped you achieve your goals?

The funding that we have received has made it possible to offer metro cards to PRISM group members to remove the cost barrier for attendees to move around the city, especially for our monthly dinners and in-person Pride Month events, such as tie dye t-shirt making and marching in the DC Pride Parade. An attendee reflects: “Hi! I want to thank you again. The metro card is helping me a lot. I started meeting the [immigration] lawyers and I am using it to go to school like to keep my visa status active till I submit my asylum applications. Thank you so much.”

4) What do you wish that more people understood about the LGBTQ+ community?

A person fighting to explore their identity is so brave. In addition to the complexity of navigating their identity, LGBTQ+ asylum seekers face significant challenges to overcome in new cultural, linguistic, and societal contexts as they seek to navigate complex immigration systems. There are innumerable barriers, and everyone has their own unique journey.

Community Foundation's Sharing Community Funds Announce $810,000 in Funding for Regional Nonprofits

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is excited to announce $810,000 in grants awarded through its Sharing Community Funds this past cycle.

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

In alignment with our Strategic Vision, the Sharing Community Funds focused on the three intervention areas of the racial wealth gap — Basic Needs, Economic Mobility, and Community Wealth Building.

See Below for a complete list of our nonprofit partners for 2023, sorted by category.

Photo Courtesy of Montgomery County Food Council

2023 Sharing Community Fund
Nonprofit Partners - Basic Needs

• Sharing DC Grant Recipients

  Dreaming Out Loud (2022 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to create economic opportunity for DC’s marginalized communities through creating a healthy, equitable food system by driving a new framework for sustainable economic development for Black and Brown DC residents, food entrepreneurs, and farmers in our region.

  DC Greens to advance health equity and systemic change through advocacy and direct service programs, including Food is Medicine and urban farming.

  DC Kincare Alliance (2023 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to provide legal, financial, and related services to relative caregivers who step up to at-risk DC children in times of crisis when their parents are not able to care for them.

  Safe Sister Circle to provide holistic, trauma-informed services to Black women and girls from DC Ward’s 7 and 8 who are survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

• Sharing Montgomery Grant Recipients

  AfriThrive to empower African immigrants to grow and share healthy, culturally appropriate produce with residents facing food insecurity.

  Black and Brown Coalition (2022 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to engage underserved families to advocate for federal, state, and local supports of intensive and research-based academic interventions targeted toward students with the greatest need.

  Care for Your Health for culturally sensitive in-home health care for seniors.

  Community Bridges, Inc to empower girls in elementary, middle and high schools through leadership development, college and career readiness, and family support and mentoring.

  Crittenton Services of Greater Washington to help teenage girls achieve academic and personal success through virtual and school-based cohort programs.

  Crossroads Community Food Network to provide training and support for startup food businesses, healthy eating education, and farmers’ market nutrition incentives at the popular Crossroads Farmers Market.

  Horizons Greater Washington to support students from low-income families with academic, artistic, and athletic activities for nine years, from kindergarten through eighth grade.

  Manna Food Center to work to eliminate hunger through food distribution, healthy eating education, and advocacy.

  Mary's Center for health care, education, social services, and ongoing COVID-19 response that builds a healthier and stronger community.

  Montgomery County Food Council (2022 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to build a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable local food system. Its leadership helps the many county food providers strategically work together to better serve the 100,000+ residents who do not know where their next meal will come from.

  Montgomery Housing Partnership, Inc (MHP) to develop affordable rental housing and offer Community Life programs that support young children and their families at home, ultimately strengthening neighborhoods.

  National Alliance on Mental Illness of Montgomery County (NAMI MC) to provide comprehensive support, education, advocacy and public awareness to promote recovery for those affected by mental illness.

  Rainbow Community Development Corporation to fund food security relief and other services including eviction and utility cutoff prevention, and temporary shelter, job search and resume assistance.

• Sharing Prince George's Grant Recipients

  Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Prince George’s County (2022 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to partner with the juvenile court to improve the lives of children living in foster care who have suffered from abuse and neglect. With a strong commitment to diversity, CASA/ Prince George’s County trains and supervises volunteers from the community who advocate for the best interest of children, recognizing and respecting each child’s individual needs. By providing a voice to children in the foster care system, it’s goal is to help children and promote the timely placement of those they serve in safe, permanent homes.

  Community Crisis Services Inc. (2022 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to provide compassionate crisis support through its hotline, safe-shelter programs and information and referral services.

  Community and Family Youth Services (CAFY) (2022 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to guide child crime victims in Prince George’s County through the process of testifying in court. CAFY empowers victims and their families to gain the confidence to help hold offenders accountable, restore families and educate the community. They are the designated victim services provider for the four largest law enforcement departments in Prince George’s County. Their mission is “to embrace, educate, and empower those impacted, affected or harmed by crime or trauma on their journey to justice and healing”. All victims are embraced – irrespective of age, gender, religion, ethnic background or sexual orientation.

  Hillside Work Scholarship Connection (2022 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to provide compassionate crisis support through its hotline, safe-shelter programs and information and referral services.

  Sowing Empowerment & Economic Development (SEED) to provide food, education, and training while promoting self-sufficiency and empowerment directly to low-to-moderate-income families.

Photo Courtesy of CollegeTracks

2023 Sharing Community Fund
Nonprofit Partners - Economic Mobility

• Sharing DC Grant Recipients

  Beloved Community Incubator (2023 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to help workers create and maintain their own businesses through worker owned cooperatives, collective projects, and business ownership.

  Young Doctors DC to provide mentoring, educational programming, and service-learning opportunities to encourage high school boys in Southeast DC to pursue healthcare careers.

• Sharing Montgomery Grant Recipients

  Career Catchers (2023 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to provide personalized employment and job skills counseling for low-income and chronically under-employed residents.

  CollegeTracks (2023 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to improve college access and retention rates for students at risk of not attending college, primarily first-generation, low-income, minority, and immigrant youth.

  Future Link to provide career counseling, mentoring, tutoring, academic advising, scholarships, and internships to help connect disadvantaged youth to post-secondary educational opportunities.

  Generation Hope to mentor and provide scholarships for teen parents pursuing college degrees. It also delivers early childhood resources so scholars’ children begin kindergarten with a strong academic foundation.

  Identity, Inc to serve Latino and other historically underserved youths and their families. Identity helps youths develop social and emotional skills, excel in school, and get ready to enter the workforce.

  Interfaith Works to provide emergency assistance and counseling, vocational services, food distributions, clothing, and shelter for those experiencing homelessness.

  Kingdom Global Community Development Corporation to distribute food, diapers, and COVID-19 support at the East County Services Consolidation Hub, along with other public-private partnerships that address food security, health and wellness, education, employment, and housing.

  Montgomery College Foundation to support the Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) program that provides underrepresented students with a seamless and supportive pathway to a bachelor’s degree.

  Per Scholas National Capital Region (NCR) to run an intensive technology training course that empowers individuals – especially people of color, women, and young adults – to pursue high-growth tech careers.

  Red Wiggler Community Farm to support on-farm training and education for adults with developmental disabilities. Half of its organic produce is donated to low-income households throughout the county.

  Sheppard Pratt (formerly Family Services) for clinical health services, rehabilitation services, services to children youth and families, and community and family services, such as Linkages to Learning and domestic violence supports.

  The Upcounty Hub to supply families with food, healthcare assistance, and connections to other essential resources, while maintaining their privacy and dignity.

• Sharing Prince George's Grant Recipients

  CASA de Maryland, Inc. (2022 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to create a more just society by building power and improving the quality of life in working class and immigrant communities. Their vision is for a future in which immigrants stand in their own power, their families live free from discrimination and fear, and diverse communities thrive as they work with partners to achieve full human rights for all.

  Community Outreach & Development CDC to provide resources that meet the varying needs of households in a compassionate center approach, that focuses on the needs of individual households. Particular focuses of this grant will be to expand partnership with Oxon Hill Elementary School, increase healthy food options and emergency financial support.

  Ivy Community Charities to provide community outreach through education, health, leadership development, cultural arts and economic empowerment. Economic self-sufficiency programs cover financial literacy, budgeting, banking, investing, scholarships, career planning and work transition skills

  Joe's Movement Emporium to offer creative cultural experiences supporting arts education, job training, and building a creative community. Recently, the nonprofit’s work has included establishment of a Suitland location and expansion of their presence in the area.

  The Training Source to provide education, training, and services that promote positive economic mobility for residents. A priority of this grant would be to better meet the demand for services by expanding to serve additional clients.

Photo Courtesy of IMPACT Silver Spring

2023 Sharing Community Fund
Nonprofit Partners -
Individual & Community Wealth Building

• Sharing DC Grant Recipients

  Empower DC (2022 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to enhance, improve and promote the self-advocacy of low- and moderate-income DC residents through grassroots organizing, popular education style training, leadership development, and member-led campaigns strategically designed to influence pressing social issues impacting our constituency.

  Marshall Heights Community Development Organization to increase economic equity through advancements in homeownership, employment, entrepreneurship, healthcare, and public safety.

• Sharing Montgomery Grant Recipients

  Capital Area Asset Building Corporation to provide financial literacy and matched savings programs, enabling low-income residents to become financially stable and pursue their dreams.

  IMPACT Silver Spring (2023 Multi-Year Grant Recipient) to fund community-building work for a racially and economically equitable community in which people can take collaborative action to enact lasting change.

  Montgomery Moving Forward to convene leaders from government, business, philanthropy, education, and nonprofits to solve complex problems facing the county. Through capacity building programs, MMF’s leaders advocate around pressing issues of economic opportunity and early childhood education.

  Nonprofit Montgomery to support local organizations with government relations, advocacy, strategic communications, financial management, metrics tracking, and cross-sector problem solving. With this support, grantees of Sharing Montgomery can access personalized support and connections to help deepen their impact.

• Sharing Prince George's Grant Recipients

  Central Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization (CKAR) to implement projects in the Greater Riverdale community, including community and economic development, workforce training, environmental sustainability, business retention, and advocacy efforts. In part, this grant will support a café training program focused on financial stability for participants.

  Housing Initiative Partnership to provide neighborhood revitalization through innovative, green housing development and counseling – including bilingual housing counseling and financial coaching.

Mutual Aid Groups: Preparing for Tomorrow’s Crises by Investing in Today’s Problem Solvers

Ever since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a tremendous mobilization in the social services sector. Within weeks, nonprofit organizations across the country scrambled to shift their operations to meet community needs – organizing new programs, experimenting with new technologies, and seeking new ways to connect and collaborate with community members.

Yet perhaps the most impressive mobilization has come from a different source – Mutual Aid Networks -- a growing movement of neighbors helping neighbors on a grassroots level.

“Mutual aid is a critical part of our region’s social safety net,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “When neighbors help neighbors meet their basic needs, it strengthens the whole community’s ability to address current crises – and weather future ones, as they continue along the path to economic progress.”

While the concept of mutual aid has been around for a long time, the pandemic saw a dramatic increase in the organization and mobilization of networks throughout the Greater Washington region. Neighbors mobilized to help each other with issues that ranged from food and transportation needs to utilities assistance.

“The heart of our work is to redistribute wealth and resources to Black communities in DC who are facing rapid displacement,” one organizer with Serve Your City, Ward 6 Mutual Aid shared. “When a community can care for itself from within, leaders are developed, and new power models are created.”

In addition to greatly increasing the efficiency and reach of ongoing relief efforts, these power models can provide vital infrastructure and partnership opportunities for future community-wealth building initiatives.

“Our dream is to create sustainability within Black neighborhoods so that the city's most long-standing residents can maintain homes within thriving communities,” another organizer added. “We are all best served when our community is safe and healthy, and when communities have agency over decision-making.”

Recognizing the critical role of mutual aid networks in responding to current and future crises, the Greater Washington Community Foundation recently awarded $250,000 in grants to help meet the basic needs of low-income residents, bridge diverse communities, support vaccine education/access, strengthen political education and organizing, and more.

These investments also marked a milestone for The Community Foundation as they represent the final grants issued from the organization’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund established at the onset of the pandemic.

“We are grateful for the donors and nonprofit partners who have stood by us and our community during one of the most trying and transformative periods in its history,” Wellons said.

“Though this concludes our immediate crisis response work, we will continue working together with our partners to prepare for future crises and to support pathways to economic mobility so more people can overcome everyday crises that prevent them from thriving in our region.”

Grant Recipients include:

East of the River Mutual Aid (EORMA/Grassroots DC)

To support the work of East of the River Mutual Aid in Wards 7 and 8 to provide residents with basic needs such as groceries, hot meals, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, school supplies, transportation, emergency housing, clothing, baby formula, diapers and more. EORMA will also provide support related to grief/loss, elderly resident support, political education/organizing, and operates a COVID-19 hotline to help neighbors with vaccine education/access.

Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid (SYC/W6MA)

To support the work of Serve Your City/ Ward 6 Mutual Aid Network in Wards 5,6, 7 and 8, including food and supply distribution, providing critical supplies and advocating alongside unhoused neighbors for access to resources, youth education and workforce programs, digital divide program, and political organizing and advocacy.

Silver Spring & Takoma Park Mutual Aid (SSTPMA)

To support mutual aid efforts in the Silver Spring, Takoma Park, and Kensington areas of Montgomery County that includes grocery store gift cards and financial assistance for utility bills. Funding will help expand the capacity of ongoing work as well as assist with the backlog of requests for assistance.

Ward 3 Mutual Aid (W3MA)

To support food assistance programs including buying /delivering groceries to neighbors, grocery gift cards, Ward 3 Food Pantry and household cleaning supplies, and financial assistance to other mutual aid groups in the city. W3MA has an ongoing commitment to providing support to East of The River Mutual Aid and to supporting a hot meal program for low-income people in other wards.

Ward 5 Mutual Aid (W5MA)

To support mutual aid efforts in Ward 5 and help neighbors with basic needs including groceries, personal and household items. W5MA operates a grocery delivery system and supply hub which is staffed by volunteers and has a storehouse of canned/dry food items, some fresh produce, diapers, and clothing. Funding will help meet the consistent inflow of grocery requests, and growing backlog.

The Hope Collective

To support a group of nonprofit organizations in Prince George’s County that utilize their resources collaboratively to provide school-based and community wraparound services in areas where violent crime is an issue. The Hope Collective will support up to 5 nonprofit organizations that will provide youth and their families with mental health, workforce development, after-school programming, and re-entry services specifically to address rising crime and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Announcing the 2022 David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award Winners

As nonprofit leaders in Greater Washington, Roopal Mehta Saran and Jim Knight are invested in improving and advancing their organizations—and themselves. This year, we’re excited to announce them as our fourth annual David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Awardees. Saran, Executive Director of Literacy Council of Northern Virginia (LCNV) and Knight, President and CEO of Jubilee Housing, will each receive up to $15,000 to attend an intensive executive training program of their choice.

Launched in 2017 as a salute to former trustee David Bradt and his many years of service to our community, the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund supports senior level nonprofit leaders in advancing their careers and leadership skills. Local business leader Alex Orfinger and Diane Tipton, David’s wife, established the Fund to surprise and honor David. 

Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, extends her congratulations to this year’s class:

“Congratulations to the 2022 awardees!  We are thankful for all you have done and will continue to do to strengthen our community. The Community Foundation is so pleased to support investments in exceptional nonprofit leaders and support the Fund’s impact in our region.  Our thanks to David for the inspiration, and to Diane and Alex for creating such a wonderful way in which to honor him.”  

Read on to meet these inspiring local leaders. 

Meet Our Awardees

Jim Knight has led Jubilee Housing as its President and CEO since 2002, guiding strategic direction for the organization’s mission and vision. He leads a staff of more than 60 employees developing and managing affordable housing communities and supportive services for residents. In his tenure, the organization has completed development of ten properties totaling nearly $150M in investments, grown services for youth and families, and established housing and services for people returning from incarceration. Knight spearheaded the launch of two Justice Housing Partners Funds, impact investment funds that Jubilee used to acquire seven new properties. He also helped establish collective impact efforts with community partners, including the Platform of Hope. Knight currently serves on the board of Recovery Café DC and previously served on the Housing Production Trust Fund Advisory Board assisting two mayors in their strategic investment in affordable housing. He hopes to use his award to attend Stanford's Executive Program for Growing Companies.

Roopal Mehta Saran, Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia (LCNV), oversees strategic planning, management, and implementation of beginning-level English language and literacy programs for adults to help them find jobs, support their families, and participate more equitably in the community. She previously served as the Director of Account Management at KaBOOM!, a non-profit dedicated to bringing balanced and active play to the daily lives of all kids and as Senior Director of Community Development at First Book, a non-profit focused on children’s literacy. Roopal received her BA in English and MA in Education from Stanford University and her JD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She hopes to use her award to participate in the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program on Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management.

Coming Out Strong: DC’s LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition Builds Community That Goes Beyond Pride Month

By Jesse Steinberg, SMYAL Communications and Development Youth Fellow

At its inception three years ago, the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition was a way for local LGBTQ+ organizations to collectively petition the DC Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and City Council for funding where it mattered most.

Organizations like SMYAL, the DC Center for the LGBT Community, Whitman-Walker Health, the Wanda Alston Foundation, HIPS, Planned Parenthood of Metro Washington, DC, and many more have joined forces in this coalition to ensure that our local government is investing in the future of the LGBTQ+ community, especially our low-income residents and trans people of color–not just during Pride month, but year-round.

In practice, though, the Budget Coalition has become much more than that- it’s a space to build community, coordinate efforts, and strategize how to move our local LGBTQ+ movement forward.

“Thanks to the support of the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s LGBTQ+ Fund and Partnership to End Homelessness, 25 LGBTQ+ community-focused organizations have been empowered to advocate for the people they serve as well as one another, and ensure the District allocates specific funding to meet needs identified by organizations on the ground,” adds SMYAL Deputy Executive Director Jorge Membreño, MSW, LICSW. “SMYAL is proud to be a leader in this effort in partnership with many other community organizations.”

In its weekly meetings, the LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition brings together leadership from across the city to identify our community’s most pressing needs, develop programmatic solutions, and advocate for funding of these programs to local government officials. The Budget Coalition has secured over $4.7 million in funding for 2022, and continues to engage members of the Mayor’s office and DC Council to identify areas for improvement.

The Community Foundation is unique in its commitment to local advocacy, as one of the very few grants that allows community organizations to directly advocate for what they need. The LGBTQ+ Fund and Partnership to End Homelessness has allowed SMYAL, a DC based nonprofit that serves LGBTQ youth ages 6-24, to deepen meaningful engagement with other LGBTQ+ organizations in the District, offer a broad range of additional resources to SMYAL youth, and expand its network of referral sources through implementation of new programs.

SMYAL has referred youth to multiple programs funded by the coalition’s advocacy, including the city’s trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) low-barrier shelter and TGNC youth workforce program. Other new programs, such as the LGBTQ+ Domestic Survival Housing, meet specific needs of young people in crisis and provide another avenue for SMYAL youth to access critical resources. By growing the network of support that exists for LGBTQ+ people in DC, SMYAL can continue to expand its offerings through a city budget that prioritizes the needs of our community.

The LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition’s number one priority is addressing housing insecurity for queer and trans people in DC. We’re immensely proud of the LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition’s work in securing almost $1.5 million in recurring funding for designated LGBTQ+ housing programs in 2021, including vouchers for LGBTQ+ seniors, extended transitional funding for LGBTQ youth, and more.

Our work won’t stop here. DC can do more to protect vulnerable populations of LGBTQ+ residents, and the LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition will continue to use The Community Foundation’s support to petition the local government for additional funding. In the three short years since the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition began its work, we’ve successfully secured almost $5 million in additional funding for the coming year.

It’s clear that our voices have been heard, and with the support of The Community Foundation and the other organizations involved in the Budget Coalition, SMYAL intends to continue speaking truth to power.

Writer Bio: Jesse (they/them/theirs pronouns) is a writer, photographer, embroidery artist, and SMYAL Youth Fellow from Manassas, Virginia. As a recent graduate of Northeastern University’s MA Media Advocacy program and alumni of American University’s Justice and Law program, Jesse is passionate about supporting and uplifting LGBTQ+ youth nationwide. They can usually be found at the Old Town Alexandria waterfront with an iced chai. Jesse’s current Spotify top artist is Orville Peck.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Local Nonprofit Leaders Explain Impact of Sharing Community Funds

The Greater Washington Community Foundation recently announced close to $1.1 million in grants awarded through it’s Sharing Community Funds this past cycle.

Sharing Community Funds are designed bring donors together to invest in the issues and organizations that make the most impact in their neighborhood. We facilitate education and civic engagement around local issues – allowing donors to learn, first-hand, about the challenges facing the most marginalized residents in their communities. Donors then have the opportunity to join other donors and Community Foundation staff for a grant review process, as together we identify and fund the organizations working to resolve those challenges.

We reached out to Sharing Community Fund Nonprofit Partners to ask them what impact this funding will have on their organization. Here are quotes from a few of those organizations. Click here for the complete list of Sharing Community Fund Nonprofit Partners.

Sharing DC

“Sharing DC will allow Dreaming Out Loud to continue building capacity towards transforming the regional food system and food economy to benefit communities that have traditionally been excluded from both access and economic opportunity. With new staff, including a Sales Manager and Wholesale Manager, we’ll be able to procure more produce and products from Black farmers and sold into our Black Farm Community Supported Agriculture Program, DC school food, and other channels that reach communities where they live, work, and play — meanwhile creating living wage jobs within the community. 

This next year we look forward to growing our capacity to better communicate our impact in bringing good food jobs to communities that regularly face double-digit unemployment. Our impact will contribute to modeling an equitable recovery that forces a conversation and deeply needed, radical policy initiatives to repair communities — like holistic and comprehensive reparations.”

— Christopher Bradshaw, Founder & Executive Director, Dreaming Out Loud, Inc.

“Support from Sharing DC allows Empower DC to build on recent successes in the areas of equitable development, environmental justice and racial equity. Policy victories are hard fought and deserve to be celebrated - but the often less visible work to fund, implement and enforce new policies is just as critical.

Over the next year Empower DC will be organizing to ensure that Ivy City's long awaited Crummell School Community Center and the community's first ever Small Area Plan reflect the needs and priorities of longtime residents to secure affordable housing and address environmental issues. We'll also be working to ensure meaningful implementation of the new policies we secured in the city's Comprehensive Plan requiring racial equity analysis in planning and zoning.

This work, and our ongoing grassroots organizing efforts to improve public housing and advance environmental justice, is not possible without the support we are receiving from Sharing DC and other likeminded funding initiatives.”

— Parisa Norouzi, Executive Director, Empower DC

Sharing Prince George’s

“Community Crisis Services Inc. (CCSI) would like to thank The Greater Washington Community Foundation and the Sharing Prince George’s County Fund for their continued support of CCSI programming.

Funding from the Sharing Prince George’s Fund has allowed CCSI the ability to support those in crisis through rental assistance; meals, clothing, transportation and personal needs for the guests at our Warm Nights Homeless and Safe Passages Domestic Violence Safe House shelter programs; the expansion of our domestic violence and suicide prevention ‘Chat’ services and our ability to launch the CrisisMInd Mobile Crisis Unit in Prince George’s County.

CCSI could not continue the life-changing programming we offer without funding from organizations such as The Greater Washington Community Foundation, and grants such as Sharing Prince George’s. We understand what a privilege and honor it is to receive funding, and work diligently to create an empathetic, compassionate experience for our shelter guests, callers and ‘Chat’ responders.”

-– Bill Leary, Development Director, Community Crisis Services, Inc.

“The objectives of the Sharing Prince George's Fund align directly with the strategic vision and work of CASA as we jointly endeavor to address the racial wealth gap and ensure an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The essential support CASA will receive through the Fund will provide critical employment, legal and educational services to BIPOC communities within Prince George's County that have long experienced structural barriers that impeded their full potential to thrive. Working together and thanks to these resources, we expect to significantly contribute to strengthening the resiliency of this community.”

–-George Escobar, Chief of Programs and Services, CASA

Sharing Montgomery

“Sharing Montgomery and The Community Foundation in Montgomery County have been incredibly powerful and generous partners for CollegeTracks as we have grown and thrived.  Their support has given us a strong, local partner who understands the communities we are serving and shares our vision of a more just and equitable future for our County.  Not only have our Sharing Montgomery grants been a great asset in our work, but their grants process puts us in touch with stakeholders across our community who have become supporters, partners, and transformative Board members for CollegeTracks as well.  We would not be in the strong position we are in without Sharing Montgomery and The Community Foundation in Montgomery County, and we are deeply grateful to the Community Foundation's team and community!”

-- Mecha Inman | Chief Executive Officer, CollegeTracks

“The Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Sharing Montgomery and other COVID-related relief grants were the catalysts to CareerCatcher’s ability to offer expanded services to more clients at the start of the pandemic. In 2020, with their support, we added staff to help Montgomery County residents address their immediate and critical needs, assisting residents with receiving cash payments through the County’s Emergency Assistance Relief Payment program; filing for expanded Unemployment Benefits; improving their skills through training; increasing our outreach; and serving 50% more people than the year before. This initial and ongoing support from GWCF allows CareerCatchers to continue to offer expanded services to more residents as COVID-19 economic restrictions are eased and to help clients get back into the workforce.”

-- Mariana A. McNeill, Executive Director, The CareerCatchers, Inc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2021 Sustainability of Black Led Organizations Grantees

• African Communities Together

• Bread for the City

• Collective Action for Safe Spaces

• Community Grocery Co-Op

• Concerned Citizens Network of Alexandria

• Critical Exposure

• DC Justice Lab

• Dreaming Out Loud

• Harriet’s Wildest Dreams

• Life After Release

• Mamatoto Village

• Many Languages One Voice

• ONE DC

• Progressive Maryland

• Racial Justice NOW!

• Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid

• The National Reentry Network of Returning Citizens

Top 10 Milestones to Remember: 2021 in Review

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

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

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

Celebrating Our Community’s Champions

View a recording of our Celebration of Community Champions program.

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

Historic Investments in Black Leaders and Black-Led Nonprofits

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

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

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

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

Advancing Housing Justice and Preventing Evictions

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

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

Improving Equity and Economic Mobility in Prince George’s County

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

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

Increasing Food Security and Educational Equity in Montgomery County

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

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

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

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

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

Turning Ideas Into Action for Community Change

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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From Crisis to Recovery: A Pivotal Year

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Food Security

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Education and Literacy

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

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

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

Survivors of Domestic Violence

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

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

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

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

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

Children, Youth, and Families

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Following up with our Community Action Award Winners

By Benton Murphy, outgoing Senior Advisor for Impact

Earlier this year, the Community Foundation issued $100,000 in small grant awards to community partners across the region through our Community Action Awards. The Awards were provided to a cohort of 50 activists, artists, and advocates leading neighborhood-based projects that would spark change in their communities. 

The Community Action Awards are part of our three-part VoicesDMV series, a powerful community engagement initiative launched in 2017 to explore our region’s most pressing challenges and opportunities. In 2020, VoicesDMV tapped into Community Insights through a regional survey and convened hundreds of residents from across the region to discuss ways to make our communities stronger through On The Table conversations.

While many of our Awardees are still working to finalize their programs, we are thrilled to share some highlights of some excellent programs that have taken place over the past year.

American University and EL Haynes Public Charter School received an award to support their Action Research for Community Change project. The project, sparked by a conversation that took place as a part of our On the Table day of dialogue in 2020, was an innovative and impactful partnership that paired AU college students and high schoolers at EL Haynes Public Charter School in conversations on race and equity. Students at both institutions participated in virtual classrooms together, co-learning and co-designing a community action research project. AU students developed a curriculum and guide for community action research. EL Haynes students conducted a bilingual survey of the student body with more than half of student responding. Based on student responses, the action researchers made a series of recommendations that yielded commitments from school leadership to hire a new social worker, offer two new elective courses focused on centering Black lives, and a commitment to using student surveys to inform future teacher professional development. What’s more—AU students developed a workbook on action research that the students can use in future years to continue to lift up student voices for change!

The Brem Foundation received an award to provide funding for its Wheels for Women program which helps connect women to breast care appointments. The District of Columbia has the highest death rate for breast cancer in the United States, and despite being diagnosed at the same rate, Black women have a 40% higher death rate from breast cancer than white women. Brem used funds to support 76 one-way rides for women to get to their breast care appointments, the majority of recipients were Black women. Brem also was able to use funds to expand from 8 to 9 community partners for rides, which will be useful for the many recipients who live very far from their health care provider.

IMPACT Silver Spring used its award to support its Sewing Academy for Latina Women. The Academy was the brainchild of IMPACT’s Women’s Empowerment Collective, composed mostly of parents of IMPACT’s youth programming or who became interested through direct outreach at local schools. The award funded the purchase of sewing machines and supplies, as well as compensation for experienced seamstresses who served as instructors in the program. Twenty women registered for the Academy over a six-month period. The women of the Academy both built their sewing skills as well as strong bonds and a new support network. Participants were also supported to participate in civic actions, including providing testimony at Montgomery County Council hearings on the importance of affordable vocational education. When the Academy students gathered with their family, friends, and IMPACT staff for their graduation in July they held a fashion show to showcase the students’ work, with one participant noting: “I made three dresses. I never thought I could do this. I’m making my dreams come true.”

This has been an especially meaningful program for me to take on as I wrap up a 17-year stint here at The Community Foundation to move on to other opportunities. Having led our inaugural Community Action Awards program, it is so wonderful to see how impactful these small-dollar grant awards can be. It is instructive for us as funders and individual donors that even a small gift can be meaningful for those who are striving to make the world a better place for everyone. I am hopeful that you will find our next crop of Awardees as inspiring as I have found this one!

View the Impact of Several Projects

Got You Covered Diaper Bag Project

Live It Learn It for Drew Elementary School

DC KinCare Alliance Relative Caregiver Community Board Outreach and Education Project

Zoom Pals, an intergenerational pilot project in a partnership between American University and Hyattsville Aging and Place

Mamas Together Mutual Aid Community Survey Project

Mamas Together Mutual Aid Community Survey Project

Baños de Bosque and Defensores de la Cuenca "forest bathing"

AALEAD Overcoming Gentrification in Chinatown

Book Club for Kids podcast

Young, Black and Giving Back Institute'sYoung, Black & Working from Home Community

Emerging Leaders Impact Fund Awards Inaugural Grants to Combat Chronic Absenteeism

The Emerging Leaders Impact Fund (ELIF), a new giving circle for young philanthropists in Prince George’s County, recently completed its inaugural cohort and culminating grant round. ELIF members – 40 young professionals from area colleges, businesses, and civic organizations – selected 5 Prince George’s County nonprofits to receive $11,500 in micro-grants to provide a broad range of services that are designed to address chronic absenteeism and high truancy rates in Prince George’s County schools.

School absenteeism, a problem that leads to learning loss and other negative outcomes, has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis and the need for a transition to remote learning. Children who are chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade are less likely to be proficient readers by third grade. By sixth grade, those who miss more than 10 percent of school are more likely to drop out altogether. Frequent school absenteeism has long-term negative effects on academic performance, income, and health. The ELIF has partnered with five nonprofit organizations to address this pressing issue:

• Jacob’s Ladder to support the Academic Enrichment Program that provides tutoring, basic literacy skills, one on one instructions, small group sessions, confidence building and mentoring to students that have low grades, high rates of truancy, absenteeism, suspensions, and behavioral issues.

• L.E.E.P. to College Foundation to support pilot learning pods to enrich student learning, increase student engagement, and provide mentoring and emotional well-being support.

• Mentoring Through Athletics to support tutoring services in mathematics, reading comprehension, and writing as well mentoring and physical activities.

• S.E.A.C., Inc. (Seaton Empowering Action in the Community) to support the Math Achievers Program that provides individualized and/or small group instruction, consistent relationships between instructors and students, parental involvement, and reinforcing that learning math can be fun. 

• Sisters4Sisters, Inc. to support the Daughters of Destiny mentoring program for girls which provides workshops focusing on leadership skills, career mentoring, developing self-esteem and avoiding peer pressure.

Jacob’s Ladder Founder and Executive Director Jarriel Jordan, Sr. talks about the organization’s mission and its Academic Enrichment Program.

L.E.E.P to College Foundation Founder and Executive Director Lisa Rowe talks about how ELIF funding will help create an academic enrichment program.

Mentoring Through Athletics supports kids and families on and off the field with mentoring, tutoring, food support, and athletic programming.

“School absenteeism and truancy threatens to undermine our children’s success. We’re pleased to be partnering with so many great organizations to address the issue. These grants will help ensure that every Prince Georgian has the opportunities necessary to reach their full potential,” said Davion Percy, Co-Chair, ELIF.

The strength of ELIF lies not just in how many grants it awards, but more importantly in its ability to bring a diverse group of people together to learn about issues affecting Prince George’s County residents and make investments in programs that can help transform our communities.

The ELIF enrollment period is now open to all emerging leaders (45 years of age and under) and others that support the County’s future leaders. If you’re interested in joining a diverse group of passionate people who use the power of philanthropy to make a positive difference in Prince George’s County, click here to learn more about ELIF and become a member today!