Bridging the Health and Wealth Gap Through Guaranteed Income

In September 2022, The Community Foundation announced the inaugural grant round for the Health Equity Fund — a $95 million fund designed to improve health outcomes for DC residents through an economic mobility framework.

A number of those inaugural grantees are currently (or will soon become) part of the growing Guaranteed Income or Cash Transfer movement — a group of initiatives and pilot programs across the country that are using cash payments to provide direct assistance to community members.

As part of our journey to understand the impact that these programs can have in our community, we reached out to some of our partners to understand how providing direct cash assistance helps the communities they serve.

My Sister’s Place

My Sister’s Place (MSP) emergency cash transfer program, RISE Trust, serves 45 families who have experienced domestic violence. Financial abuse goes hand-in-hand with domestic abuse, and is one of the main reasons survivors stay in, and return to, abusive relationships.

MSP is providing $500/month for 24 months to our participants. Equally as important, financial literacy and programs with our partner, Capital Area Asset Builders, will allow our participants to gain financial education, the combination leading to financially empowered and hopeful families.

Just 3 months into the program participants are getting their credit scores for the first time, creating financial goals, and learning about how trauma affects finances. Participants reported being able to drop a part-time job and having more time with their children, paying off credit card bills, feeling a new sense of hope and a reduction in stress. We are excited to see the impact after 24 months.

Mother’s Outreach Network

Mother’s Outreach Network (MON) deploys policy advocacy, legal programs, and community building to address and strengthen the social determinants of health for Black mothers. MON is specifically focused on Black family preservation -- building the economic security of Black mothers involved with Washington, DC’s Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA). These women are some of the city’s most economically marginalized mothers.

In 2019, 4 out of every 5 D.C. cases in foster care stemmed from neglect-based allegations alone. These were cases where parents were charged with harming the “health or welfare” of a child under 18 years of age by failing to accord them “adequate food, clothing, shelter, education or medical care.” 

To combat this, in 2021, MON conceived of a guaranteed income pilot research program to provide monthly unconditional cash payments for three years to DC residents that identify as Black mothers and have current or recent involvement in the child welfare system. Set to launch in three phases starting in early April 2023, MON's program seeks to inform policy around how poverty reduction affects involvement of parents in the child welfare system.

Capital Area Asset Builders

Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) started to be involved in the guaranteed income and cash transfer movement in the Fall of 2017. At CAAB we strongly believe that in order to achieve poverty alleviation, financial stability and long-term prosperity community members need access to information, education, empowerment, and money. No one community member can ever be directly serviced out of poverty. Without access to money one’s dreams and aspirations cannot be converted into goals and actions. With access to money, they can be.

Since early 2018, CAAB has been managing DC Flex, the nation’s first eviction- and homelessness-prevention cash transfer program. DC Flex is funded by the DC Department of Human Services (DHS) for the benefit of low-income TANF-receiving families to be able to pay rent on time and thus avoid eviction and homelessness. Since the creation of DC Flex, we have seen the significant impact the program has in enabling a family to stay housed, avoid financial hardships, and be put on a pathway to financial security. DC Flex goes beyond providing cash assistance. Program participants also receive financial wellness services provided by CAAB: bank accounts, budget management, financial wellness workshops, one-on-one confidential financial coaching sessions, information on the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, as well as access to free tax preparation services.

DC Flex was supposed to be a 4-year long pilot program for 125 low-income families in Washington, DC with total annual cash transfers of $900,000. Because of its deep impact, DC Flex has now grown to benefit 669 low-income families and 125 low-income individuals with total annual cash transfers of over $6.5 million. In addition to DC Flex, over the past 4 years CAAB has also partnered with several private sector and non-profit sector partners to manage 7 other guaranteed income and cash transfer initiatives. We celebrate and applaud all entities offering guaranteed income and cash transfer programs.

Budgeting to End Homelessness: A Letter to DC Mayor Bowser

Dear Mayor Bowser:

I am writing on behalf of the Greater Washington Community Foundation and its Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council. We are very grateful for your ongoing leadership to reduce homelessness, and we applaud your bold third-term goals to advance economic and racial equity. As you work to develop your Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal, we ask that your agenda for equity prioritize ending chronic homelessness and making substantial investments in affordable housing for DC households with extremely low incomes (0-30 MFI). In addition, we urge you to take steps to connect DC residents experiencing homelessness with the substantial number of vouchers funded for this purpose in recent years.

As you know, the Partnership to End Homelessness is a collective effort of private sector business leaders, philanthropists, and national and local nonprofits working to ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring. The Partnership provides direct investments to strengthen the homeless services system and increase the supply of deeply affordable and supportive housing in every ward of the city. We know that the private sector and philanthropy play an important role in supporting and funding efforts to end homelessness. However, we also know the city’s success depends on the leadership of the DC government in both adequately funding and skillfully implementing evidence-based solutions.

Our FY 2024 budget recommendations align with the recommendations of our community advocacy partners. The recommendations below reflect several realities: the ongoing economic instability resulting from the pandemic, the need for continued funding to end chronic homelessness, the challenges DC has faced to implement the vouchers funded in recent years, and the enormous need for deeply affordable housing. Our recommendations are as follows:

Expand Permanent Supportive Housing and Targeted Affordable Housing to end chronic homelessness: We recommend:

• $36.6 million in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) to end chronic homelessness for 1,260 single adults

• $18.9 million for PSH for 480 families and $58.4 million for Targeted Affordable Housing for 1,920 families. These investments would end homelessness for all families who are living in shelters or struggling with the uncertainty and challenges of Rapid Re-Housing.

Support Emergency Rental Assistance for all who need it: One-sixth of DC residents with low incomes are behind on their rent. Meanwhile, rents continue to rise sharply, even in rent controlled units. The pandemic and its ongoing impacts highlight the critical importance of funding emergency rental assistance at much higher levels than before the pandemic. Due to the combination of rising rents, the higher numbers of eviction filings and the higher number of actual evictions, sustained and increased ERAP funding is needed to avert preventable evictions and increases in homelessness and housing instability. We recommend:

• $117 million in FY 202 to fund DC’s ERAP program.

Provide sufficient staffing to put residents into PSH: A shortage of case managers and outreach workers has made it hard for the District to connect residents who are eligible for PSH with housing. This failure contributes to the inability to help residents move from tent encampments to their own home and results in human suffering and widespread frustration.

• We urge you to provide enough funding in the Department of Human Services for the staffing needed to ensure every available unit of PSH is connected with a resident experiencing homelessness.

• We ask you to work closely and urgently with the DC housing Authority to identify and implement collaborative solutions to address long processing times for vouchers.

Preserve Public Housing, Expand Affordable Housing: Housing is the solution to homelessness. We urge you to make a substantial commitment to affordable housing for households earning 0- 30 percent of the Median Family Income (MFI). Expanding deeply affordable housing, paired with targeted funding to end homelessness, will create the long-term housing stability needed to provide security to all DC residents and to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring. We recommend:

• $60 million to repair and preserve public housing.

• $17.3 million for 800 Local Rent Supplement Tenant Vouchers, to assist those on the DC Housing Authority waitlist.

Support safe and affordable housing for targeted populations: The District’s housing investments should take into account the unique needs of certain populations. To that end, we recommend:

• $18.6 million for housing for victims of domestic violence, including building new permanently affordable housing, supporting transitional housing, and providing emergency housing support. Collectively, this will support 166 families.

• $1.3 million to provide tenant vouchers to 60 returning citizens

Create storage options for people experiencing homelessness: One of the traumatizing consequences of experiencing homelessness is the inability to safely secure and maintain one’s belongings. We recommend:

• $1.5 million to create storage options for 600 residents experiencing homelessness.

Expand non-congregate shelter for people experiencing homelessness: The District should take steps to transform its shelter system to make them smaller, safer, and trauma informed. Shifting away from large congregate shelters is essential to supporting the dignity of unhoused residents but also to help them recover.

Continue to invest in homelessness prevention: We urge you to expand programs that help prevent homelessness, including Project Reconnect, an effective and low-cost program that enables people to exit homelessness quickly.

Support efforts to end youth homelessness: We recommend:

• $25 million to increase youth homelessness provider contracts to account for inflation and provide providers the opportunity to administer recruitment and retention bonuses to staff. (DHS)

•  $1.7 million to create a traveling mental health unit to meet the mental health needs of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness. This unit will meet youth where they physically congregate to increase access to mental health support. (DBH)

• $1.1 million to create a targeted workforce development program for unaccompanied youth experience homelessness mirroring the Youth Works model which not only provides workforce supports but wraparound services (DOES)

As the District works to address serious ongoing challenges and the impact of the pandemic, including high levels of housing instability, it is imperative to continue prioritizing actions that will advance racial and economic equity and meet the needs of DC residents with the lowest incomes. Not only is that the right thing to do, but it also is essential to DC’s future. Stable and affordable housing is the key to creating healthy communities, which in turn supports school success, promotes public safety, and narrows DC’s racial income and wealth gaps.

Thank you again for your leadership and commitment to ending homelessness in our city. We urge you to make 2024 the year that DC makes bold and significant investments to end homelessness and to increase the supply of deeply affordable housing for extremely low-income households.

Sincerely,

Tonia Wellons

President and CEO, Greater Washington Community Foundation
Chair, Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council

Housing: A Social Determinant of Health

Neighborhood & Built Environment (Housing) is one of the five social determinants of health, as identified by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

In DC, 80 percent of residents’ health outcomes are driven by socioeconomic factors, compared to just 20 percent driven by clinical care. Access to safe, quality, affordable housing – and to the supports necessary to maintain that housing -- constitute one of the most basic and powerful social determinants of health.

Research demonstrates that housing and health are inextricably linked:

• Poor health is a major cause of homelessness. Chronic physical and behavioral health conditions can lead to loss of income and contribute to the loss of stable housing and episodes of homelessness.

• Lack of stable housing makes people sick. People experiencing homelessness are at higher risk for infectious diseases, injuries due to accident or violence, the exacerbation of chronic physical conditions like diabetes, mental illness, or addiction, and death due to exposure. Homelessness has been found to “age” people up to 20 years beyond their chronological age.

• Homelessness makes it harder to heal. Homelessness complicates efforts for health professionals to successfully treat chronic conditions, illnesses, and injuries. Discharging a patient from a hospital to a safe and stable environment is critical for proper wound care, compliance with recommended treatments and medication regimes, and access to healthy foods and a place to rest and recuperate.

The Partnership to End Homelessness knows that housing is healthcare and that housing increases economic mobility. Access to quality, affordable, supportive housing can prevent illnesses and help successfully treat health conditions

The Partnership works to increase health equity and improve health outcomes for DC residents through its investments in the development and preservation of housing that is affordable to households with extremely low incomes, including Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). PSH is an evidence-based practice that combines permanent affordable housing with comprehensive support services for people who have experienced chronic homelessness.

Through its direct grantmaking and impact investing programs, the Partnership supports the creation of housing for extremely low-income households.

One example of this work is a recent project from Jubilee Housing. The EucKal apartments will create a combined 50 units of housing that will be affordable to very low-income individuals and residents of permanent supportive housing. This project was made possible through a $500,000 recoverable grant from The Community Foundation to support Jubilee Housing’s development of PSH and other housing investments. In addition to the EucKal project, this funding was also leveraged to purchase four buildings in Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights to create 120 new units of housing for residents with low incomes. Jubilee plans to further expand its reach by creating housing to serve families, returning citizens, and individuals exiting homelessness. The organization hopes ultimately to provide housing to approximately 317 individuals annually, across 102 permanent units and 18 single room occupancy units.

Learn more about The Community Foundation’s Impact Investing Programs

Enterprise Community Loan Fund Impact Note

In partnership with Enterprise Community Loan Fund, the Partnership offers an Impact Note - an impact investing option for donors seeking to make a difference in the housing space. To date $14.8 million has been invested through this initiative, which has been leveraged to create and preserve 482 homes affordable to low-income households making less than 50% of the area median income. Projects have also included 96 units with supportive services and 192 units serving senior residents. Check out our 2022 Enterprise Community Loan Fund Impact Report to learn more about our investments and impact.

To learn more about how the Partnership’s investments in ending homelessness improves health outcomes for DC residents, contact Jennifer Olney at [email protected] or Silvana Straw [email protected].

Leading the Charge to Prevent Evictions and Increase Housing Stability in DC

Living in the Greater Washington region is expensive. Nationally, the Greater Washington region consistently ranks in the Top 10 Cities with the Highest Cost of Living – with high rental costs being a primary factor. However, in recent years the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn have exacerbated the issue – leading to widespread housing instability – especially for low-income Black and Brown residents.  

According to a 2021 report by the Urban Institute, almost one in two Hispanic/Latinx renters and more than one in four Black renters are worried about paying next month’s rent. As rental costs continue to rise, so too are evictions – which could lead to increased homelessness.

Through our Partnership to End Homelessness and its housing justice efforts, The Community Foundation has strived to be at the forefront of this issue.

In the summer of 2021, The Community Foundation was invited to participate in the White House Summit on Eviction Prevention, where we had a chance to meet with and exchange experiences with fellow housing leaders across the country.

Following the Summit, we joined with the DC Bar Foundation to convene what would become the DC Eviction Prevention Co-Leaders Group. Facilitated by The Urban Institute, the group is a coalition of key nonprofit, philanthropic, and government leaders that united to help expedite the distribution of emergency rental assistance, reduce the number of evictions, and increase overall housing stability. The overall goal of the Co-Leaders Group is to establish a cross-sector collaborative approach to prevent eviction and displacement of tenants in DC with low incomes and stabilize their housing for the future. Key leaders included representatives from Housing Counseling Services, Inc.; Bread for the City, DC Superior Court, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Department of Human Services, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, the Office of the Tenant Advocate, and others.

The group’s weekly meetings have increased collaboration and produced tangible results to prevent evictions in DC. For example, the group has been able to ensure the presence of housing counselors in courtrooms during eviction hearings. It created a “last-mile” payment system to ensure tenants are not evicted for small remaining balances left after government assistance has been received. These convenings also led to improved communication with the US Marshals Service, which carries out evictions in DC and procured additional federal rental assistance for those at risk of eviction. In addition, the coalition has increased community outreach and door-to-door canvassing to reach tenants at risk of eviction.

Recently, several members of the Co-Leader group co-authored a report released by The Urban Institute titled, A Collaborative Framework for Eviction Prevention in DC. The report outlines current efforts to prevent evictions and recommends areas for strengthening the system of providers and agencies touching the system. The report recognizes that “the high cost of housing in DC relative to what many people can afford to pay requires a long-term commitment to increase affordable housing and economic opportunities in DC alongside the approach presented in this eviction prevention framework.”

However, despite these efforts, there is still much work to be done. Eviction filings and actual evictions have significantly increased since fall 2022. Clearly, the threat of an eviction crisis has not ended.

The Co-Leaders Group continues to serve as a conduit for leaders to come together on a weekly basis and address our community’s specific challenges. Together we continue the difficult but critical work to prevent evictions and increase housing stability.  

For more information on our efforts or how you can contribute, please contact Silvana Straw at  [email protected] or Jennifer Olney at [email protected].

Housing Justice Grants: Building Power to End Homelessness

Photo Cred: Miriam’s Kitchen

The Partnership to End Homelessness (The Partnership) is pleased to announce $395,000 in grants awarded to eight organizations and coalitions leading systems change efforts in DC. Selected nonprofits receive up to $50,000 in funding to support work to end homelessness and increase the supply of deeply affordable housing.

When we launched the Partnership to End Homelessness, we knew that to end homelessness we needed to focus on systems change. While philanthropic resources are limited, they can have an exponential impact when invested in the right places – specifically in efforts to transform structures, systems, policies and power dynamics that perpetuate racial inequities.

These investments in the infrastrucutre of advocacy and systems change organizations across the city have led to historic public sector investments in deeply affordable housing and ending homelessness. This wouldn’t have been possible without the work our grantees and partners do to build power in communities who have been disproportionately impacted by homelessness and housing instability.

Each year our grants prioritize funding for efforts that are developed and led by people with lived experience. These are people who are or have been directly impacted by homelessness and housing instability. Here’s what some of our grantees have shared about their work to build leadership and power in these communities.

Photo Cred: Miriam’s Kitchen

Miriam’s Kitchen

At Miriam’s Kitchen, we are committed to seeking input from our guests – the true experts on what it will take to end homelessness in our city. We believe that in order to truly create real change, we must move beyond simply gathering advice and feedback from our community. We need to create opportunities for leaders to raise their voices and to be heard. We must create space for our community members to learn, and grow, and feel supported. And, most importantly, we must allow leaders to lead. Community members deserve – and we know our work will improve when – they have true opportunities for leadership and decision making throughout our organization and across DC.

Last month, we launched the Guest Advisory Board, our newest (but certainly not our only) initiative to elevate guest decision making across Miriam’s Kitchen’s advocacy and programmatic work. We’re thrilled that this phenomenal group will meaningfully participate in Miriam’s Kitchen’s Strategic Planning process. With guest leaders comprising roughly half of our Strategic Planning Committee, we’re thrilled to see what comes of this powerful collaboration!

DC Fiscal Policy Institute

DCFPI leverages its analytic, legislative, and strategic capacities for systems change, building collaborative campaigns in partnership with grassroots groups, school leaders, service providers, and movement partners to amplify community voices and build community leadership in impacted communities. We elevate the lived experience of those unhoused, experiencing homelessness, and most harmed by unjust policies, centering them in our research, policy development, and advocacy. We do this to both enrich our work and ensure more unified and powerful voices advocating for collective goals that are reflective of and responsive to the experiences of residents facing racial and economic oppression.

DCFPI has an ambitious vision for the District—one of shared abundance and collective liberation, where Black and brown residents are able to live to their fullest. With our new strategic direction, we’re prioritizing our time and resources for partners rooted in Black, brown, and immigrant communities that have direct experience with the policy issues we work on – like those unhoused or experiencing homelessness – taking the time to deepen those relationships with an eye to longer-term, collaborative campaigns that can power more transformational change.

Housing Justice Grantees

• DC Jobs with Justice

• DC Fiscal Policy Institute

• Empower DC

• Fair Budget Coalition

• Miriam's Kitchen

• ONE DC: Organizing Neighborhood Equity

• People for Fairness Coalition in partnership with Serve Your City

• The Washington Legal Clinic For The Homeless Inc

Helping Nonprofits Navigate the Guaranteed Income Movement

Last month, the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Health Equity Fund hosted its first Lunch & Learn Event with nonprofit partners from its inaugural $9.2 million grant round, and other organizations interested in launching and sustaining guaranteed income pilots. The event was hosted at the offices of Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) and featured a virtual panel of national experts who shared insights about executing successful and sustainable pilots.

“The Health Equity Fund team believes in the inextricable link between health and wealth,” Dr. Marla M. Dean, Senior Director of the Health Equity Fund explained. “That is why we are using an economic mobility frame to address the social determinants of health – in alignment with The Community Foundation’s broader vision to closing the racial health and wealth gap.”

“We believe that guaranteed income pilots are one of the best ways to achieve that.”

Launched in 2017, the Guaranteed Income Movement was designed to provide unrestricted cash transfers to help individuals and families improve their economic stability. Deemed a “quiet revolution in social policymaking”, the Guaranteed Income Movement has quickly taken center-stage in the economic mobility arena. As of September 2022, there were 100 such pilots announced across the United States – including several in the Greater Washington region.

That figure has increased since October, when several Health Equity Fund partners from the inaugural grant round announced they were using their funding to launch their own Guaranteed Income Pilots (also known as Cash Transfer Programs).

“We are delighted to watch the incredible work you all are doing in DC,” Natalie Foster, President and Co-Founder of the Economic Security Project shared with the group. “You all are pioneers in how we think about the social contract in America – one that centers dignity and humanity and freedom and agency for people.”

As part of the event, nonprofit partners had a chance to share their questions with the virtual panel – which included some of the founding funders and organizers of the movement. Questions ranged from how to build the right narrative to how to ensure the financial sustainability of the work.

“We believe that our families know better than anybody else what they need,” Sarah Stripp, Managing Director of Springboard to Opportunities shared in response to a question about program design. Sarah Stripp was the manager behind The Magnolia Mother’s Trust – one of the first Guaranteed Income Pilots founded in Mississippi in 2018.

“We’ve found that the most successful ideas come from an intentional design process where we’re creating something with individuals, instead of just for them; a process where, we’re proactive in engaging those we serve to figure out what works.”

“How we frame our initiatives – the narrative we use – is really key to helping them become sustainable,” shared Halah Ahmad, a Vice President at Jain Family Institute (JFI) shared. In addition to funding some of the Guaranteed Income Pilots, JFI has also conducted research about public perceptions of cash transfer programs.

“We’ve seen a direct correlation between the way a cash transfer program is framed and the amount of support they receive. Is it framed as a poverty-fighting program? Is it framed as a community empowerment mechanism? The language you use to frame your initiative really matters.”

Nick Salazar of the Fund for Guaranteed Income and Katherine Cagat of Mayors for Guaranteed Income added that it’s important to engage and empower the individuals they serve in creating the narrative, rather than building a narrative around them.

“When you have people speak about their own experiences, rather than being presented, you allow them to tell their story in their own way,” Katherine explained. “This is critical to preserving their dignity and humanity, while at the same time giving them a platform to tear down negative stigmas that our society has about people in their situation.”

Panelists also talked about the importance of being purposeful in identifying and connecting with their target audience.

“Beliefs about poverty and those living in poverty run deep in this country,” Nick added. “We can’t fully wait for everybody to change their mind before we begin.”

“We need be bold and intentional in this work, staying focused and being true to the communities we’ve committed to serve; the people we’re striving to serve.”

“As long as you’re doing that, I don’t think you can go wrong.”

The Community Foundation is committed to promoting economic justice throughout the Greater Washington region through strategies like Guaranteed Income Pilots, Children’s Trust Accounts, and Community Wealth Building. For more information, visit https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org/strategic-plan

Join the Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council!

Do you know a private sector leader in DC who is passionate about ending homelessness?

The Partnership to End Homelessness is recruiting for the next cohort of our Leadership Council. The Partnership was created with a goal of leveraging and aligning private sector resoruces (financial and otherwise) to increase the supply of deeply affordable housing and to end homelessness in DC.

Over the past three years, the Leadership Council has been instrumental in our work to align over $14 million in private sector resources and joined our partners in advocating for historic public sector investments.

As we look forward, we know we have more work to do. We also know the private sector must be at the table and coordinated in order to build the system we need to ensure everyone has safe and stable housing.

The Leadership Council has three primary objectives:

• Engage private-sector stakeholders and networks in work to end homelessness and increase housing stability in DC.

• Provide financial investment and other resources to support the strategic priorities of the Partnership to End Homelessness.

• Participate in budget advocacy, policy advocacy, and public narrative change efforts using personal and professional networks.

To learn more about our Leadership Council, please review this document.

If you know someone who is passionate about ending homelessness and can help advance this work, complete this brief form by February 28, 2023.

Advocates Hold 10th Annual Vigil for Dozens who have Died without Housing

On a night when temperatures were expected to drop below freezing, friends and advocates for DC’s Homeless Community huddled around an empty coffin at Luther Memorial Church, honoring of the 70+ DC Residents who have died without housing in 2022.

“Today we say goodbye to over 70 people – 70 people that are no longer with us, but whose memories we will always carry,” Donald Whitehead, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless shared prior to the procession in what could only be described as an impassioned eulogy.

Donald Whitehead, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless addresses friends and advocates at Luther Memorial Church.

“These were unnecessary deaths,” he continued. “Most of them preventable and would not have happened in a safe, decent affordable home. For most of them, there was no funeral; no headstone; no accolades read out – regardless of their accomplishments in life. Because they were forced into homelessness, it is up to us – to this congregation of the willing to say, one last time “we’re glad you were here”.

“It is in their memory – and in memory of thousands of others across the US – that we must change the conditions of this country – and we must do it today! We must end homelessness – and we must end it now!”

On each pew, sat a list of names of those who have died without housing in 2022 (thus far). While many of their stories and pasts remain untold, the data that is available reveals a grim narrative. The average age of the deceased was 55 – with the oldest being nearly 80 years old.

Perhaps most concerning to housing advocates is the number of deaths that were nearly prevented. More than 60% of those on the list had received a housing voucher but died before they could be housed – a troubling statistic that underscores one of the most glaring pitfalls of the current housing system.

“Of the 70 people who died without housing, 81 percent were Black,” explained Jesse Rabinowitz, the Senior Manager of Policy & Advocacy who helped compile the list as part of Miriam’s Kitchen’s The Way Home Campaign.

“As a city, we paint ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the sidewalk – clearly, we need to do more to ensure that Black Lives are not dying on the sidewalk.”

Following the service, the participants filed out onto 14th Street where they followed the empty coffin on a mile-long march towards Freedom Plaza.

For some in the procession of fifty or so participants, this was their first time at the annual vigil – which has become something of a somber holiday tradition in the homeless community.

For those at the front of the procession; the pallbearers – especially those with ‘lived experience’ of homelessness, this was their 10th time – a decade milestone that represents far too many cold sleepless nights and far too many friends needlessly lost.

“I know the feeling of the hard concrete before the cold,” Andrew Anderson, Outreach Director with the People for Fairness Coalition shared. “It’s part of why I do what I do – getting out on the streets and giving hope to those that need it the most. ‘Cuz I know how hard it can be.”

“We’re all outreach directors in our own right,” he added. “Any time you go the extra mile to give hope to the homeless in any way you know how. While many – especially those out in the cold tonight – want to give up hope, we know that housing is a human right. As long as there is a collective of the willing to fight for that right, there is hope.”

People for Fairness Coalition (PFFC) hosts this annual vigil each year and is a partner of The Community Foundation through our Partnership to End Homelessness.

To learn more about our work and how you can get involved visit www.endhomelessnessdc.org. To learn more about PFFC and how to support their work visit pffcdc.org.

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. 

Nonprofit Partners Outline Key Factors in the Fight to End Homelessness in DC

As the Partnership to End Homelessness celebrates its three-year anniversary, the Partnership’s staff and Leadership Council are taking time to reflect on the Partnership’s accomplishments and to begin planning for our work ahead.

In order to better understand what has changed since the Partnership launched and where we go from here, the Partnership invited several partners and experts to join our most recent convening. These experts shared their perspectives on the changing landscape of homelessness in DC and emerging challenges that require the support of private sector leaders.

Here are the top three takeaways from the conversation with Marisol Bello, Executive Director of the Housing Narrative Lab, Lara Pukatch, Chief Advocacy Officer at Miriam’s Kitchen, Theresa Silla, Executive Director of the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness, and Robert Warren, Director of the People for Fairness Coalition.

1. The stories we tell about the causes of homelessness drive the solutions we create and the policies we make. Since the end of the critical phase of the pandemic, there has been an increasing focus in local and national media on homelessness being a result of bad choices made by individuals. This unfortunately has led to more calls for punitive actions against people who are experiencing homelessness, such as criminalization of camping.
   This growing narrative ignores the fact that the primary causes of homelessness are failures in systems like housing, healthcare, and criminal justice. Research demonstrates that by telling this true story, we can focus our collective efforts on supporting proven solutions by addressing the root causes of homelessness. We can all become storytellers and make change by speaking out and influencing our families, friends, and organizations.

2. Advocacy drives change, and we can all be advocates. In the past two years, the District has invested a record number of resources in ending homelessness in our city. This is in part thanks to the advocacy of those with lived experience of homelessness and our advocacy partners – together with members of the private sector -- who have tirelessly lobbied policymakers to make these historic investments. Making a meaningful impact can be as simple as sending an email or making a phone call. We all have a role to play as advocates.

3. We can end homelessness for everyone in the District if we “hold fast and stay true.” The fight against homelessness has made many exciting strides in recent years. Since 2015, family homelessness is down by 80 percent. Veteran homelessness has also fallen – down by 50 percent since 2017. But we cannot become complacent – we need to continue our work to end family and veteran homelessness through tested, proven practices.
   
   At the same time, we need to take what we’ve learned in the family and veteran systems and apply that knowledge and intensity to addressing homelessness among single adults and youth.  

The Partnership to End Homelessness will be continuing the conversation over the coming months.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Partnership’s plans, and how you can support this work, please contact Jennifer Olney at [email protected].

The Community Foundation Applauds Housing Investments in DC Budget; Urges Continued Action

Dear Councilmembers, 

As we begin the new fiscal year, the Greater Washington Community Foundation and its Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council thank you for the substantial progress made toward ending homelessness through the FY 2023 DC budget. Thanks to your efforts, hundreds of individuals and families facing chronic homelessness will have the dignity and security of a permanent home, putting DC on a path to ending chronic homelessness. That is a truly amazing accomplishment that should be celebrated.  

The Partnership to End Homelessness (PTEH) is a collective effort of private sector business leaders, philanthropists, and national and local nonprofits working to ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring. The Partnership members engage directly to end homelessness in DC, but we know that public-sector investment, aligned with private sector resources, is the only way to ensure that everyone in our community has the stability that housing provides.

The progress made in the FY 2023 budget is laudable. We thank you for adopting a budget that provides permanent supportive housing to 500 individuals and 260 families, funding to help 400 families facing expiring Rapid Rehousing subsidies, and $51 million for badly needed repairs to public housing.  We also applaud the provision of $444 million for the Housing Production Trust Fund, with a commitment to meeting the target that 50 percent is used to serve households with incomes below 30 percent of Median Family Income.

The budget is the necessary first step of the process toward ending homelessness, but not the end. It will be critically important to take steps to ensure that funds are put to use effectively, with assertive steps to implement them and with active Council oversight. In particular, we urge you to work with the DC Housing Authority to ensure that new vouchers are made available quickly and that public housing repair funds are used well. We appreciate the legislation adopted by the Council, that allows voucher holders to self-certify their identity, and other efforts to remove barriers to leasing up a unit. We urge you to do even more to ensure that residents can use their voucher quickly and easily to get into a home of their choice.  And we fervently ask you to meet the HPTF requirement to target households with extremely low incomes, which has not been met for years.

Beyond that, maintaining the progress in the FY 2023 budget is critically important and will require greater future investments in deeply affordable housing and eviction prevention, places where the FY 2023 budget fell short.  As we start looking toward the FY 2024 budget – it is never too early – we are concerned that the District’s budget did not provide enough funding for all families with expiring Rapid Rehousing subsidies, and did not create a plan for fixing that program’s serious problems. We urge the Council to pass pending Rapid ReHousing reforms, and for the mayor and Council to fund them in the next budget cycle. The 2023 budget also seriously underfunded emergency rental assistance and provided a very small number of LRSP vouchers compared with the need. These must be priorities as we continue to work toward our shared goal of ending homelessness in DC.

Thank you again for your leadership and commitment to ending homelessness in our city. We look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure everyone in DC has a safe and stable place to call home.

Sincerely,

Tonia Wellons

President & CEO
Greater Washington Community Foundation

Co-Chair Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council 

Quarterly Fundholder Update - FY23 Q2

Dear Community Foundation Fundholders,

I hope you and your family are enjoying the beautiful fall weather!

Thanks to your continued generosity and care, our community of givers collectively awarded nearly $30 million in grants last quarter (quarter ending September 30, 2022) to nonprofits working to strengthen our region and beyond.

In September, we were proud to release our Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 2022 (April 2021 - March 2022). The report features our new vision for change, with stories demonstrating how your support and partnership help us be responsive to all kinds of needs, as we work to strengthen and support communities across the region. In case you missed our 2022 Annual Meeting or the release of our Annual Report, you can find the recording and resources here.

Last quarter, our community impact work included:

• Transitioning the Children’s Opportunity Fund to become the Children’s Opportunity Alliance, a new independent nonprofit organization that will serve as Montgomery County’s Early Care and Education Coordinating Entity. 

• Investing $765,000 to strengthen community and education in DC and Montgomery County through two initiatives — a partnership with Martha’s Table to support and strengthen Ward 8 nonprofit organizations, and the Children’s Opportunity Fund.

• Welcoming seven new staff members and five new Advisory Board members in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. We are thrilled by the vast array of experience they bring and by their drive to help us close the racial wealth gap.

• Hosting our quarterly DMV Community Book Group for a conversation about “What We Get Wrong About Closing the Racial Wealth Gap” with co-author Anne Price, the first female President of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development.

Last month, we were pleased to welcome Richard K. Bynum as the new Chair of our Board of Trustees. As chief corporate responsibility officer for The PNC Financial Services Group and a member of its Executive Committee, Bynum leads the PNC Foundation, Community Affairs, ESG practice, Community Development Banking, and Diversity and Inclusion. Recognized as one of region’s most influential business leaders by the Washington Business Journal, Richard is an accomplished executive with nearly 20 years of executive leadership experience.

I’d like to also share our heartfelt thanks to Katharine Weymouth, our outgoing Board Chair. Katharine has been a tremendous force and a key strategic advisor as we navigated a CEO search, a global pandemic, and the launch of our 10-year strategic framework. As a Community Foundation Trustee for the last 6 years, Weymouth also continued a family tradition and legacy of giving and service to the Greater Washington region.

With the end of year approaching, our staff is available to assist with carrying out your philanthropic goals for 2022. Please be mindful of our December 16 deadline for your yearend grantmaking activities to ensure your nonprofit partners receive their funds by December 31.

Thank you for your continued partnership in serving our community’s needs today, and in building a better tomorrow for the Greater Washington region. 

Sincerely,
Tonia Wellons
President and CEO

P.S. I hope to see you next month at one of our signature celebrations – the Civic Leadership Awards in Prince George’s County on November 10 and the Celebration of Giving in Montgomery County on November 16.

Greater Washington Community Foundation Announces $9.2 Million in Health Equity Fund Grants

The Greater Washington Community Foundation today announced $9.2 million in grants funded by the historic Health Equity Fund (HEF). Grants will support 32 DC nonprofit organizations (see full list of partners below) engaged in economic mobility to help close the glaring and intolerable racial health and wealth gap.

The $95 million Health Equity Fund has the potential to reshape the way DC addresses its long-standing health inequities. Given that 80 percent of DC’s health outcomes are driven by social, economic, and other factors, compared to just 20 percent by clinical care, the strategy for this fund is to use an economic mobility frame to address the root causes that are causing these challenges in the first place.

“Mindful that health and wealth are inextricably linked, the HEF’s first round of grants is boldly investing in economic mobility and wealth building in DC’s historically underinvested communities,” said Greater Washington Community Foundation President and CEO Tonia Wellons. “Achieving this vision puts our city on a trajectory to improve and achieve optimal health outcomes for all DC residents.”

“The Health Equity Fund represents an important opportunity to advance DC HOPE—health, opportunity, prosperity, and equity,” said DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. “We know that by addressing the social determinants of health, we can attack disparities in health outcomes, empower families, and transform communities.”

“At CareFirst, we recognize that social and environmental factors have a greater impact on health outcomes than factors within our healthcare system,” said Brian D. Pieninck, President and CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst). “By supporting community-based efforts to improve the economic mobility of District residents, this first round of funding aligns with our mission to advance accessible, affordable, equitable, and quality healthcare for people and communities in the District.”

Nonprofit Partners

A committee composed of Community Foundation staff, community members, and representatives of local foundations and think tanks reviewed proposals from 101 eligible applicants. The 32 selected grant recipients include diverse organizations and projects, including:

• Bread for the City will pilot their CashRx program, a direct cash assistance program that focuses on the social determinants of health to reach those most impacted by poverty.

• Capital Area Asset Builders will address the social determinants of health by providing BIPOC individuals living in DC’s lowest-income neighborhoods emergency savings and access to mainstream financial resources.

• First Shift Justice Project will support working mothers and Latinx and BIPOC people in low-wage jobs to assert their rights to reasonable workplace accommodations and accessing paid leave benefits leading to job retention and stability that increases economic mobility.

• The National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens will support the creation of a new holistic wellness and wealth creation program for women of color returning from incarceration. The program will also feature an innovative matched savings accounts program to enable financial security and wealth creation, and access to housing and job readiness training.

• Mothers Outreach Network will pilot Mother Up, a guaranteed income cash transfer initiative for low-income mothers who are at risk of involvement with the child welfare system. The goal of the pilot is to provide evidence of whether additional money reduces the likelihood of involvement with the child welfare system.

• Tzedek DC will support advocacy to change the way medical debt is collected, educate the community, and litigate high-impact and individual medical debt cases.

• Yachad will support its Healthy Housing Remediation Program to preserve and rehabilitate existing homes for low-income Black and Brown multi-generational households in Wards 7 and 8, so that families can remain in their homes and benefit from increased property value.

About the Health Equity Fund

The Health Equity Fund was created to improve the health outcomes and health equity of DC residents. One of the largest funds of any kind focused on community-based nonprofits that serve District residents, the Health Equity Fund is also the largest in The Community Foundation’s nearly 50-year history. Over five years, the fund will support and advance a sustainable network of people, organizations, and projects that will ensure equitable health outcomes for Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color and other marginalized populations in Washington, DC.

The Community Foundation was independently selected to manage the Health Equity Fund because of its track record of working with individual donors, businesses, and local government to manage effective community investments and create tangible, lasting change in the region. Health Equity Fund goals align with The Community Foundation’s ongoing work and 10-year strategic vision to close the racial wealth gap by eliminating the historic, racialized disparities in our region.

The Community Foundation is working in partnership with a Health Equity Committee mandated by the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the District of Columbia and GHMSI. The seven-member committee includes Nnemdi Elias, MD, MPH; Dr. Tollie Elliott; Wendell L. Johns; Lori Kaplan; Juan M. Jara; Dr. Djinge Lindsay, MD, MPH; and Courtney R. Snowden. Together, The Community Foundation and Health Equity Committee are ensuring the Health Equity Fund is managed according to guidelines outlined in the Memorandum. 

About the Greater Washington Community Foundation

The Greater Washington Community Foundation ignites the power of philanthropy, catalyzes community impact, and responds to critical needs. For five decades, The Community Foundation has connected caring donors with nonprofits creating lasting change in DC, Montgomery County, Northern Virginia, and Prince George’s County. As the region’s largest local funder, we have invested more than $1.4 billion since 1973 to build racially equitable, just, and thriving communities where everyone prospers. Today, our strategic focus is to close our region’s racial wealth gap so that people of all races, places, and identities reach their full potential. For more information, visit thecommunityfoundation.org.

# # #

2022 Health Equity Fund Partners

Asylum Seeker Assistance Project

Beloved Community Incubator

Bread for the City

Calvary Women’s Services

Capital Area Asset Builders

Capital Youth Empowerment Program

Communities in Schools of the Nation's Capital

Community Family Life Services

Council for Court Excellence

DC Affordable Law Firm

DC Central Kitchen

Dreaming Out Loud

Equality Chamber Foundation

First Shift Justice Project

Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop

Generation Hope

Healthy Babies Project

Honoring Individual Power and Strengths (formerly Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive)

Latin American Youth Center

Mamatoto Village

Martha's Table

Mothers Outreach Network

My Sister's Place

The National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens

Organizing Neighborhood Equity

Rebuilding Together DC Alexandria

Rising for Justice

Shaw Community Center

So Others Might Eat

Tzedek DC

Yachad Incorporated

The Young Women’s Project

COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is a Model for Future Crises

By Benton Murphy

Almost every facet of our everyday lives were deeply, fundamentally, and permanently changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ripple effects of the pandemic have impacted the places we choose to live, how we work with our colleagues, how our children learn, and how we interact socially. Our world now is so different than the one we experienced when the pandemic first hit in February 2020. Now with two and a half years’ worth of hindsight, we can say that some of these changes are for the better and many are for the worse, while it will take years to fully understand the impact of these changes.

Looking back on the past two years, we now have a better sense of how our efforts to support and protect this community made a lasting impact.  The Community Foundation's COVID-19 emergency response effort began in March 2020 when the pandemic was just unfolding, and quickly grew into the largest coordinated philanthropic response focused on the Greater Washington region. Thanks to an outpouring of support from our donors, partners, and broader community, we ultimately distributed more than $91 million in support of COVID-19 emergency response impacting disproportionately impacted communities all throughout Greater Washington. Our funding supported critical efforts across a number of different issue areas ranging from housing to education to emergency food and healthcare.

Our investments were not only aligned to address the pandemic's immediate impacts, but we were also able to support organizations through a race equity frame. We concentrated resources in neighborhoods with disproportionate number of individuals impacted by COVID-19, primarily people and communities of color. Additionally, 57% of the organizations supported through our Emergency Response Fund were led by people of color. 

Our staff and partners also sought to align our investments around initiatives and projects intended to support system change in the face of the pandemic. We collaborated with healthcare providers to make PPE available to hundreds of local, smaller healthcare clinics and providers. We supported parents and children's ability to learn remotely in a safe and impactful environment in Montgomery County. We supported hundreds of small and local businesses and entrepreneurs in Prince George’s County to whether the economic impacts of the pandemic. These are just a handful of examples of the ways in which The Community Foundation provided support to help strengthen the region to be better prepared to face our next crisis, together. 

As we start to close this chapter and move from crisis to recovery, we are thrilled to report that more than 330,000 individuals in our region benefited from your generosity. Thanks to you, nearly 850,000 meals were provided; more than 100,000 people received tools to enable them to work or learn from home, safely; and nearly 45,000 people directly received cash assistance to help them weather the pandemic. You can read our final impact report to the community here.

At the Community Foundation we are always striving to make an immediate impact as well as lasting systemic change, and our COVID efforts proved to be excellent examples of how were able to accomplish this. Moving forward, we will be using our COVID effort as a template to respond to disasters that impact our region. This has led us to establish an Endowment for Disaster Recovery so that we can be prepared to help our region remain resilient in the face of future crises.

Book Group Recap: Redefining Racial Wealth with Anne Price

Our quarterly DMV Community Book Group met in August for a deep dive into the insightful article “What We Get Wrong About Closing the Racial Wealth Gap.”

“Nothing tells us about economic well-being more than the racial wealth gap,” Anne Price, the first female President of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development and co-author of the article, shared to a group of thirty friends and partners of The Community Foundation.

“But before we tackle the racial wealth gap, we have to come to terms with just how little we understand it and the conflicting narratives that surround it.”

In the article, Price and her co-authors address ten commonly held myths about the racial wealth gap – conventional ideas including “greater educational attainment, harder work, better financial decisions, and other changes in habits and practices on the part of Blacks.”

The article goes on to explain that “while these steps are not necessarily undesirable, they are wholly inadequate to bridge the racial chasm in wealth.”

Price explained that one of the reasons these ideas often fall short is because they follow a narrow, individualistic approach rather than recognizing the necessity of the need for broader systemic change.

“We have taken a deeply structural problem that is hundreds of years in the making and overlaid it with very small individual solutions, based on flawed and often false narratives.”

Some of those attending the discussion were surprised by some of the narratives that Price addressed – including widely accepted narratives such as the ideas that access to higher education or homeownership can close the racial wealth gap.

“The data clearly shows that wealth creates equalized educational outcomes and opportunities for homeownership – not the other way around,” Price explained.

While tackling higher education and homeownership may help close the gap somewhat, they are not “one-size fits all” solutions. In addition, Price pointed out that both approaches are riddled with systemic obstacles – such as student debt, predatory lending and racial bias-- that policymakers and changemakers alike often overlook.

“When we talk about building Black wealth, too often we get stuck behind these blinders that limit our perspective to just four areas – education, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, & homeownership,” Price explains. “There is so much more to wealth than that.”

Ronnie Galvin, Managing Director of Community Investment for The Community Foundation, echoed Price’s assertion:  “Black people will not be able to build wealth in the same ways that White people have built wealth.  If we are serious about doing this work, we need to be willing to expand our horizons and work with Black communities to identify and adopt more innovative and systemic approaches.”

One of the approaches that Price suggested was to seek to eliminate wealth extraction. She shared several simple, short-term solutions such as advocating for the end of garnishment policies and forgiving criminal legal debt.

“We need to seek for solutions that not only put more money in people’s pockets, but also give them piece of mind,” Price added. “Because wealth is more than just financial outcomes. We need to consider the social, mental, and emotional aspects as well.”

Rather than seeking a programmatic “silver bullet” to close the racial wealth gap, Price suggested taking a step back and re-examining what wealth means. She described wealth as “allowing us to live and retire with greater dignity, freedom and peace of mind” and providing “future generations with the freedom to dream big and become all they truly can be” with a focus on being “healthy, spiritually whole and contributing.”

Price explained that wealth (and wealth building solutions) are far more complex and distinct than most people realize.

“I’m so thankful that we have this space to expand our horizons and our imagination, as a foundation,” President and CEO Tonia Wellons shared. “We do not know everything – we’ve said that from the beginning – which is why we continue to build this ‘coalition of the willing’ – people who are willing to join us on this learning journey.”

“Together we will continue to learn, discover, and refine new ways to think about the work that we get to do in philanthropy, as we center our efforts around closing the racial wealth gap.”

Click here to watch a full recording of the August 2022 DMV Community Book Club. Our next DMV Community Book Club will be in December 2022 when we will discuss ‘Solidarity Economics: Why Mutuality and Movements Matter’ by Chris Benner & Manuel Pastor.

If you would like to join our discussion, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive information on how to register!

Black Voices for Black Justice Fellow Spotlight: Xavier Brown

As the Fall approaches, Black Justice Fellow Xavier Brown has one thing on his mind. Getting back to the land.

“I’m excited to get out there and get my hands dirty,” Brown shares.

Brown is part of a growing movement of Black agriculturalists who are working to reconnect Black people to their roots – literally.

Farming and agriculture is something that is deeply ingrained in the history of the Black community. Many African-Americans today only have to go back a few generations to find a relative who worked the land.

Yet, today Black people make up less than 2% of farm producers – a result stemming both from decades of discriminatory land-ownership policies that denied land ownership to Black Farmers, as well as an effort by some to distance themselves from a lifestyle that holds painful memories of slavery and racial oppression.

But for Brown and his fellow Black Agriculturalists, the future is far brighter than the past.

“I want to help my people reconnect to the land,” Brown says. “When you’re out in nature, together with other agriculturalists, you get this feeling of peace that you can’t find anywhere else. It’s an amazing thing.”

Brown first got into gardening – or gardening got into him (as he likes to say), while living with his parents in DC. After taking a master gardening class at UDC in 2011, Brown developed an interest in Urban Agriculture. He soon joined the newly formed Black Dirt Farm Collective – a collective of Black agriculturalists from across the Mid-Atlantic region. Inspired by this community and his new-found love of farming, Brown founded Soilful City in 2014 to bring farming to DC.

“I enjoy the process of working with the land, nature and the people,” Brown says. “It’s easy to start a garden, but it’s harder to work with the community to sustain that garden. It’s a whole process of organizing people, having discussions, building and connecting with folks to get the garden going. I enjoy that process.”

Brown has partnered with organizations across DC to help promote and strengthen urban agriculture in Black communities. Together with groups like Project E.D.E.N, Hustlaz 2 Harvesters, and Green Scheme, Brown has helped set up neighborhood gardens throughout Wards 7 & 8.

“The purpose of the gardens is to create a healthy green space in the community,” Brown shares. “It may not be able to feed everybody, but what it allows is for each neighborhood to come together and organize based on their needs.”

Last year, Brown was selected as one of The Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Black Voices for Black Justice Fellows – an initiative to invest in local Black leaders in the Greater Washington Region. The grant allowed Brown to invest in a new food cooperative, South Eats – an initiative that is improving access to healthy, affordable prepared meals for families East of the River in Washington DC.

“As we were helping communities set-up gardens, we realized just how many families didn’t have access to healthy meals,” Brown explains. “We recognized an opportunity to fill a need, while also creating a new local-based business.”

But perhaps most impactful was that Brown was able to contribute to the longevity and future legacy of the Black Dirt Farm Collective.

In 2021, together with other members of the Collective, Brown purchased a 24-acre plot in Prince George’s County, MD. For the first time in the organization’s history, the Collective has land that it can call its own – a home, where members can farm, host workshops, and continue to build the Black agriculturalist Community.

“This land will be such an important healing space for the Black community,” Brown says. “By creating this space for Black women, Black males, and Black youth to exist and connect to the land, we can help create a brighter future for everybody.”

Xavier Brown was one of our Black Voices for Black Justice Fellows. Launched in Fall of 2020 in partnership with Bridge Alliance Education Fund and the DC-based GOODProjects, the Black Voices for Black Justice fund supported activists, organizers, and leaders who are on the front lines of advancing social justice and racial equity.

For more information about this initiative, visit https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org/news/introducing-the-black-voices-for-black-justice-dmv-fellows

Quarterly Fundholder Update - FY23 Q1

Dear Community Foundation Fundholders,

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

Last quarter, The Community Foundation and our community of givers collectively awarded more than $18 million in grants to nonprofits addressing the most pressing needs of this region.

As a fundholder, you are making a difference in our community now and for generations to come. To help keep you informed and your giving inspired, we are excited to share with you our new Guidebook for Giving with Purpose. We hope this guidebook will serve as a handy reference for your grantmaking and fund management by outlining our policies and procedures and giving you new ideas for how to use your fund to make a meaningful difference. It also details the wide array of Community Foundation services, engagement opportunities, resources, and support available to you as a fundholder. 

If you have an endowed fund at The Community Foundation, your fund’s spendable balance is now available for grantmaking until June 30, 2023. As a reminder, the spendable balance is calculated annually by applying the spending rate (currently 5%) to the average of the fund’s principal value for the previous 12 quarters (3 years). You are not required to grant the full available to spend balance — you may opt to add to the principal balance of your fund.

Like you, we have been closely monitoring the market as it hit steep declines amid extreme volatility during the last quarter. While inflation and recession are the headline risks, SEI, our Outsourced Chief Investment Officer, believes much of the damage has been done, although predicting the future is difficult. SEI has not made radical alterations to our portfolios in response to market turmoil. Now into the second half of 2022, SEI intends to selectively add to positions where they see potential value; maintain allocations to defensive equity, core property, and other inflation hedging strategies; as well as consider other opportunistic, distressed, and private strategies.

Following the launch of The Community Foundation’s new strategic plan last year, we remain committed to building equitable, just, and thriving communities where everyone prospers. Last quarter, our ongoing work to support and strengthen this community included:

• Sharing Community Funds brought donors together to award $1.1 million in grants to foster an equitable recovery.

• Let’s GO DMV!, a 5-year guaranteed income pilot, began its first cash distributions of $1,000 a month to 75 hospitality workers who lost their jobs during COVID-19.

• The historic Health Equity Fund opened its first grant round for up to $10 million in grants to improve the health outcomes and health equity of DC residents.

• Our local office in Prince George’s County brought together faith, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders to discuss opportunities to close the racial wealth gap.

• The LGBTQ+ Fund for Philanthropy renewed its inaugural investments to address the needs of our region’s LGBTQ+ community through providing services and advocacy.

• The 2022 Celebration of Philanthropy brought together our strongest supporters, community partners, and friends to recognize our shared impact on this region.

Thanks to your generosity and the inspiring service of our community partners, I am hopeful about what we can continue to accomplish together.

Sincerely,
Tonia Wellons
President and CEO
Greater Washington Community Foundation

New Faces at The Community Foundation

Over the past few months, we’ve been excited to welcome seven incredible members to The Community Foundation family — as well as five new Advisory Board Members! We are thrilled — not only by the vast array experience that they bring to the organization, but also by their dedication and drive to help us close the racial wealth gap. If you haven’t already, please join us in welcoming them to The Community Foundation!

Meet Our New Staff Members

Dr. Marla Dean, Senior Director, Health Equity Fund

Marla M. Dean is a native Detroiter. For over a decade, she has lived East of the River in Washington, D.C. With nearly 30 years of teaching and leadership experience in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia, Marla is a recognized national leader and expert in the two generational and whole child approaches.

Most recently, Marla has served as the executive director and chief executive officer of Bright Beginnings Inc. (BBI), a non-profit, community-based organization that operates two-generation programming for children and families experiencing homelessness and housing instability in Washington, D.C.

Marla is a proud Ward 7 resident where she lives in the PennBranch community with her husband, Steve. She has one son who graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in Cinema, Television and Emerging Media Sciences.

Yorman De La Rosa, Donor Services Associate, District of Columbia

Yorman joined The Greater Washington Community Foundation in April 2022 as the Donor Services Associate for the DC office of Philanthropy and Donor Services.

Yorman comes to The Community Foundation with more than 5 years of project management experience in the economic and community development sector. He is a passionate advocate of greater education access for low-income, first-generation students. Prior to joining The Community Foundation Yorman spent 4 years working in youth development at a local DC-based nonprofit organization and with the Peace Corps in Morocco.

Olivia Hsu, Donor Services Associate

Olivia Hsu, CFP® joined The Community Foundation in May 2022 as a Donor Services Associate. She is currently working with the Montgomery County team to support donor requests and initiatives.

 Olivia is a Certified Financial Planner™ and previously spent three years working in wealth management at Wealthspire Advisors (previously Bronfman Rothschild) in Potomac, Maryland. In this role, she developed an interest in coordinating philanthropy and planned giving for her clients and also served on the firm’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee.

Tiara Isom, Events & Marketing Coordinator

Tiara Joined the Community Foundation in June 2022 as the Events and Marketing Coordinator. In this role, she supports both event planning logistics and promotion. Tiara has over 8 years of experience planning and coordinating events for the DC community. She also spent the last 4 years as a marketing coordinator at a MCO (Managed Care Organization) health plan that services the DC community.

Tiara is extremely passionate about giving back to the community and loves being a difference maker. Tiara found her love for events and marketing after working with the promotions department at CBS Radio for WPGC 95.5 station. Since then, she has volunteered and worked community outreach/marketing jobs. Tiara is a Bowie State University graduate who completed her Certificate of Bachelor Studies with a degree in Communications (Broadcast Journalism).

Mary Robinson, Interim Managing Director, Development

Mary Robinson joined The Community Foundation in 2022 as the Interim Managing Director, Development.  Mary has pursued her passion for building thriving communities as the founder of Capacity Partners, a consulting firm in its 20th year serving nonprofits in Greater Washington.  Mary and her team have worked successfully with The Community Foundation on the Children’s Opportunity Fund and Food for Montgomery. 

Mary is deeply committed to helping people get to the heart of challenges and achieve their goals.  An expert in nonprofit fundraising and management, she brings extensive experience in capital campaigns and major donor programs, comprehensive strategic planning, and board development. Prior to founding Capacity Partners, she was president of the electronic screening division of national consulting firm Marts & Lundy, director of prospect screening at Bentz Whaley Flessner, and product manager at Wealth ID, a Thomson Financial company. Previously she was the co-owner of DataPlus Inc., a software company serving nonprofits nationwide.

Isabel Spake, Program Officer, Health Equity Fund

Isabel joined the Greater Washington Community Foundation in June 2022 as a Program Officer. She has over 10 years of project and grants management experience in the DC area.

Isabel’s interest in community-based work started while she served as an AmeriCorps VISTA for DC government, where she later became the AmeriCorps Program Officer. In addition to her experience in local government, she has also worked for local non-profits focused on teacher quality issues and public land efforts.

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Meet our New Advisory Board Members - Prince George’s County

Dr. Marcia Robinson, M.S. Robinson Construction

Dr. Marcia Robinson is a visionary leader with over 25 years of successful collaboration with business and community leaders in Prince George’s County. Dr. Robinson is a Certified Natural Health Professional (CNHP), author, ordained minister, and entrepreneur. She is the author of several books including “Inside Out Your Body Is Talking” and “Peaceful Existence, Warfare of the Mind”.

Dr. Robinson serves as President and CEO of M.S. Robinson Construction working to improve housing conditions in Prince George’s County. Prior to that she worked as a statistician for the U.S. Census Bureau for more than 20 years.

Dr. Robinson received her Doctorate of Health Sciences from University of Berkeley. She also received a Masters in Project Management from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Health Education from North Carolina Central University.

Marcia is married to Rev. James J. Robinson, Pastor and Founder of The Tree of Life Christian Ministries in Clinton, Maryland. She is the mother of two children, Nicole and Christopher; and three grandchildren, Akkirah, Khylee, Kouture, and Christopher Jr. She is also a proud member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Meet our New Advisory Board Members - Montgomery County

Alisha Griffey, Daintree Capital

Alisha Griffey spent over a decade as COO/CFO of several high-growth companies, helping to position them for successful exits either through private sale or IPO.

During her time as a start-up operator, Alisha saw firsthand the lack of diversity in both the founders and types of companies that receive investment capital. In 2020 she founded Daintree Capital to address these problems head on. Daintree provides working capital loans to female, and other underrepresented, founders. Daintree has more than 40 loans in its portfolio and currently enjoys a 0% default rate.

Daintree is now scaling its lending program and has partnered with innovators at the intersection of for-profit and not-for-profit capital to design an investment instrument that enables the use of philanthropic capital to invest in companies led by under represented founders.

Alisha received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Stanford University. She lives with her husband in Chevy Chase, MD where she spends her evenings and weekends as a professional youth sports spectator following her two sports addicted teenage sons from field to field.

June Linowitz

June Linowitz has been engaged with art her whole life. While pursuing an active studio practice, she has been, at varying times, an art teacher, a gallery director, an exhibition curator and an art consultant with her own business, ArtSeen. Her artwork, which started out as personal narrative paintings, has evolved into her current mixed media political work focusing primarily on climate change. June Linowitz’ work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. In 2015 she was honored by the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center as one of the 50 women included in “Images and Expressions – Maryland Women in the Arts.”

June Linowitz is an active member of the greater Washington art community. She has served on numerous boards and independent projects supporting the community. Most recently she was board president of Arts on the Block and a member of both The Resilience Fund and The Arts Forward Fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. She currently serves on the board of the McLean Project for the Arts where she heads up the Art & Education Committee.

Barbara Mulitz, Sandy Spring Trust

Barbara Mulitz is a Vice President and Senior Trust Officer at Sandy Spring Trust. Her expertise includes: estate and trust planning, special needs planning, aging issues, wealth management, women and retirement, elder financial abuse and financial education.

Serving for six years as a Commissioner on the Montgomery County Commission on Aging, Barbara advocated for legislation to protect older adults, co-produced the internet series "Seniors Today", and chaired the Communications Outreach committee. Her awards and honors include: The MD Bankers’ Assn. Council of Professional Women in Banking and Finance Achievement Award; the Sandy Spring Bank Principle award (twice); the Sandy Spring Bank, Take the Long View Award; and, The Sidwell Friends School, Newmyer Award. 

A native Washingtonian, Barbara is an attorney, with a JD from The American University, a Master in Medical Science from Emory University School of Medicine and a BS from the University of MD. She is an active member of her community and volunteers in various organizations, including: Charles E Smith Life Communities, ELDERSAFE Advisory Council; Montgomery County, MD, Aging in the Community Advisory Committee; Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Women’s Journey, Advisory Board; Sidwell Friends School, Graduated Parents, Alumni Board; Maryland Bar Association, Co-Chair, Law Day Advance Directives Program; and the Montgomery County Voter Hotline.

Sumindi Peiris, Bethesda Magazine

Sumindi Peiris is the President of Bethesda Magazine and Bethesda Beat, published by Z-Pop Media. These award-winning publications’ purpose is to strengthen community and empower individuals through trustworthy journalism that serves, connects, and celebrates the depth and diversity of Montgomery County, one the nation’s most populous and affluent counties.

Peiris spent the past 25 years helping build iconic brands at international organizations spanning media, hospitality and consumer goods sectors. Prior to joining Z-Pop Media, she was the Global Chief Marketing Officer at Time Out Group, a global media publisher that reinvented itself when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and went on to win multiple international awards for its innovative response to supporting community. Her past roles included executive and leadership roles at Hilton Worldwide, Diageo, LVMH, Bacardi and Unilever. Her successful work has been recognized in top media publications across the globe, including Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

Born in Sri Lanka, she grew up in Kensington, traveled the world and now lives in North Bethesda with her husband, Sam, their son Daveeth, who also attends Walter Johnson High School, and their 4-yearold Bichon Frise, BooBoo. Since her return, she has been involved in supporting Kids In Need Distributors (KIND), providing meals for kids in need in Montgomery County, and the Buddha Meditation Center of Greater Washington DC, providing free meditation services to build an inclusive, happy and healthy community.

Spring 2022 Grant Round invests more than $765,000 in Greater Washington Region

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is excited to announce more than $765,000 in grants awarded to nonprofits through two initiatives strengthening community and education in the District and Montgomery County.

This was an exciting grant round for both initiatives — the Martha’s Table Community Impact Fund, a partnership between The Community Foundation and Martha’s Table to support and strengthen Ward 8 nonprofit organizations historically excluded from institutional philanthropy — and the Children’s Opportunity Fund, which recently announced it’s launch as an independent nonprofit organization.

Below is the complete list of grant recipients for each of the funds:

Children’s Opportunity Fund

Action in Montgomery (AIM) is a broad-based community power organization rooted in Montgomery County’s neighborhoods and congregations.  They are a non-partisan, multi-faith, multi-racial organization and dedicated to making Montgomery County and the State of Maryland a better place to live and thrive.  This grant will support organizing teams of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) parents to address structural barriers related to access to early childhood education. 

Advancing Black Lives in Education, Inc. (ABLE) was established by a small group of former educators, administrators, school board members and Montgomery County Public School parents to address the needs of Black children and families during the pandemic.  This grant will build ABLE’s capacity to continue developing and improving the tutoring opportunities and supports. 

Arts on the Block (AOB) empowers youth to be creative and encourages them to contribute to the quality of life in their communities.  AOB implements a Youth Arts Movement (YAM) program that provides quality out of school time experiences that support the social-emotional development of young black, brown and low-income students in Elementary Schools.  This grant will support programming that integrates literacy, dual-language exploration, visual arts and STEM elements. 

BlackRock Center for the Arts provides opportunities to explore, celebrate and engage in the arts.  This grant will allow BlackRock to provide summer arts programming to low-income children and their families in the northern part of Montgomery County. 

Comunibuild Foundation, Inc. implements I.S.P.O.T. (Instructional Support Providing Online Training) which includes all-inclusive programming of early literacy, STEM and community engagement activities.  This grant will support an out of school time I.S.P.O.T. program offered for students in K-3 in the Spencerville and Burtonsville communities of Montgomery County.

Empowering the Ages transforms lives through facilitating and nurturing relationships across all generations. Senior volunteers are connected with 4-5 year old children for tutoring, mentoring and providing additional supports to families.  This grant will support the expansion of a school readiness and family engagement program for Pre-K and Head Start students into their kindergarten year.

Imagination Library of Montgomery County is an affiliate of a national, evidence-informed program that provides a free book to any child enrolled between the ages of birth to age 5.  This grant will expand the partnership of COF established in 2020 to strategically and intentionally grow enrollment from 800 students to over 1,500 in 2022.   

Interages is an intergenerational program model that supports seniors to tutor and mentor young people in our community.  This grant will support AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparents program, which matches a senior with PreK-Grade 2 students at three high need Elementary Schools in Montgomery County, and the continuation of the tutoring program at Daly Elementary School, in partnership with Thriving Germantown. 

Kid Museum is an equity-focused educational nonprofit serving Montgomery County and the greater Washington DC metropolitan area since 2014. A pioneer in “maker learning,” KID Museum’s programs build sustained engagement in STEM and creative problem solving, empowering youth of diverse backgrounds to become the next generation of innovators and changemakers. In 2021-2022, this grant has supported the expansion of out of school time programs and programming for students from under-resourced communities on non-school days, including development of a K-3 curriculum for out of school time that integrates literacy, STEM and social-emotional learning. 

Montgomery Housing Partnership, Inc. (MHP) preserves and expands affordable housing, empowers families, strengthens neighborhoods and provides support services to families in their housing units.  This grant will support the Play and Learn program which provides kindergarten readiness opportunities for low-income youth and English Language Learners. 

PEP (Parent Education Program) partners with communities to provide parenting classes.  This grant will serve approximately 100 Latino and African immigrant families and over 250 children to provide virtual parenting classes during the 2022-2023 school year. 

Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington implements the Glasses4Scholars program to address the unmet vision needs of student to increase academic grades and attendance.  In partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), this grant will provide screenings, eye exams and eyeglasses to identified students in grades K-2nd. 

Story Tapestries, Inc.: will focus on programs in the early childhood years that build emergent literacy skills for economically impacted youth, educator and caregivers in Montgomery County, MD.  This grant will  provide professional development for educators to create inclusive learning environments, family support through interactive events and literacy kits. 

The Civic Circle is a nonprofit that empowers young students to understand and participate in democracy through music and the arts.  This grant will increase staff capacity to serve more students in Eastern Montgomery County, MD. 

Thriving Germantown is a community school model that works collectively with various stakeholders to improve outcomes for low-income children in the Germantown area of Montgomery County.  This grant will support the educational, health and social inequities addressed through a community hub model which provides care coordination, community empowerment opportunities, and ensures that the right services are available to reach vulnerable families at Daly Elementary School and other surrounding schools. 

Wonders is an organization creating and advancing high-quality, diverse educational communities to teach children the foundations for life-long learning and social responsibility.  This grant will enable Wonders to increase the number of workshops focused on equity in early learning utilizing a professional development model to address workforce training and retention challenges in the Early Care and Education (ECE) community . 

Community Impact Fund

Anacostia AMP Outreach Empowerment Center is committed to bringing Healing, Opportunity, Provision, and Empowerment to communities East of the River.

Bright Beginnings uses a whole-child, two-generation approach to promote the long-term development and success of children and families experiencing homelessness and housing instability in Washington, DC.  Their early learning centers offer full-day, year-round and developmentally-appropriate early childhood education for children from birth to five years old, at no cost to their families.

 Bright Beginnings offers comprehensive wrap-around services to both children and their parents with the goal of supporting families as they take the brave journey from crisis to self-sufficiency.

Family & Friends of Incarcerated People (FFOIP) is an organization whose primary mission is to foster community support that effectively meets the needs of today’s at-risk children and families of those incarcerated. It operates solely to promote charity, literacy, public safety, and to avoid inter-generational incarceration.

FFOIP serves DC area children of the incarcerated and at-risk youth by engaging them in social, cultural and youth development activities through our various projects, programs, and events.

Healthy Babies Project, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit, community-based support organization that helps the poorest District youth build stable lives.

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. They serve 500 children in grades K-12 living in Wellington Park & Stanton Oaks – neighborhoods that have been profoundly impacted by decades of disinvestment and barriers to opportunity.

Inner Thoughts, Inc. was founded to 1) develop, consult and exhibit through creative expression the talents of others and those within the realm of the corporation, utilizing the medium of the arts and media; 2) to foster the development of a stable, diversified and local economy and/or economic activities which through career counseling and referral, promotes potential economic well-being and reduces dependency on social services, and 3) to support local access, by our youth, to programs and services which are essential to a self-sufficient community. 

Project Create provides opportunities for creative youth development through accessible, multidisciplinary arts education to empower young people and amplify their voices. They collaborate with children, youth and families in an inclusive and supportive community where art is healing and transformative.

Safe Sisters Circle is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free culturally specific, holistic, and trauma-based services to Black women survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault primarily living in Washington, DC's Wards 7 and 8.

Victory Youth Center operates the Mary Virginia Merrick Center, which provides high quality out of school curriculum and recreational programs. It is a safe space in the community where youth and families in Ward 8 can consistently gather to enrich their mind, body and spirit.

William Lockridge Educational and Scholarship Fund - provide financial aid to DC Public School graduating senior interested in pursuing post-high school course of study at either a college/university or other postsecondary institution.

Funding Opportunities through our Summer Grant round are now available! Interested nonprofits should visit our Grant Opportunities page for more information!

Flex Funding Reshapes Fight Against Homelessness

By Jennifer Olney, Senior Program Officer, Partnership to End Homelessness

In late 2019, the Partnership announced its first round of grants for “flex funding” programs to support four local nonprofits that provide Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) for people experiencing chronic homelessness: Miriam’s Kitchen, Open Arms Housing, Pathways to Housing, and Friendship Place.

These two-year grants were intended to help expedite housing placement and increase stabilization for single adults experiencing homelessness by providing funds that could cover small but critical expenses, such as fees to obtain IDs, that are essential to obtaining housing.

Flex Fund Impact Story: John was living in one of the city’s Pandemic Emergency Program shelters before being assigned to the Pathways to Housing Permanent Supportive Housing program in early 2021. The Pathways team quickly jumped into action to help him find housing before his rental voucher was set to expire. The team used Partnership flex funding support to provide transportation so John could view available apartments. He found a unit he liked and was approved to move in several days after he submitted his application. John moved into his new apartment in July 2021, starting his new chapter in safe and stable housing.

Soon after these flex funding grants were awarded, the world changed. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, The Community Foundation quickly pivoted to provide emergency response support to the region, and the Partnership in turn moved to allow its grantees to use their flex funding grants even more flexibly to respond to new challenges.

This flexible approach , spurred in part by the pandemic, aligns with The Community Foundation’s shift toward implementing a trust-based philanthropy approach to our work. We believe it is important to support our grantees in allocating their resources to where they are most needed, making room for greater innovation, responsiveness, and impact.

Now, more than two years later, we are happy to see that this approach paid off. The grants not only demonstrated that flex funding could accomplish its original goals, but also served to respond to new needs that PSH clients faced due to the pandemic.

Our four top lessons learned:

• Flex funding can help reduce the time it takes to move people into housing. Flex funding was used by all the grantees to pay for critical expenses such as identification documents, apartment application fees, transportation to see available apartments, and movers. Open Arms Housing used some of the funding to help support a staff person dedicated to working directly with landlords to locate available units and lease up clients quickly. Three out of four grantees reported significant reductions in the time it took them to move clients into Permanent Supportive Housing.

• Flex funding can help increase equitable access to housing: Miriam’s Kitchen reported that some apartment buildings, generally in safer and more desirable neighborhoods, now charge additional “holding” or “amenities” fees (generally about $300). These additional fees create a significant barrier for people who have little or no income. The organization used some of the flex funding to pay these fees to secure more attractive apartments for clients – supporting clients’ mental and physical health by providing them with more choice in their selection of housing, and the ability to feel comfortable and secure in the housing and neighborhoods that they choose.

• Flex funding helped meet people’s COVID-related needs during the pandemic. The pandemic and resulting social distancing brought many new challenges for everyone – especially for PSH clients. Flex Funds allowed grantees the flexibility to meet some of those needs. For example, flex funds were used by grantees to cover the purchase of cell phones and cell phone plans for clients so they could stay in touch with their case managers when face to face meetings were not possible. These phones could also be used by clients to keep in touch with family, friends, and other members of their support networks and reduce their feelings of social isolation. Flex funding was also used to help provide clients with groceries, medicine, and PPE and COVID testing costs so they could stay safe and healthy.

• Flex funding can help make a house a home. All the grantees used flex funding to purchase home furnishings, groceries, cleaning supplies, holiday gift cards, and other household items for their clients. Open Arms Housing reported that although the donation of household items to their organization decreased during the pandemic, flex funding allowed them the ability to purchase items to ensure that their clients had what they needed for their new homes.

We are grateful for the commitment of our donors, who made these grants possible. The Partnership is committed to continuing our work to expedite housing placement and helping people remain stably housed. We hope you will join us.