Survey Spotlights Inequities Impacting Lives of African American Residents in the Greater Washington Region

Greater Washington Community Foundation’s 2020 VoicesDMV Survey provides snapshot of life in the weeks immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic

A new survey of 1,600 households across DC, Maryland, and Virginia offers new insights about inequities and the impact of systemic racism on African American residents and people of color throughout the Greater Washington region.

The survey – conducted by Gallup in early 2020 as part of the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s VoicesDMV initiative – shows that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the region’s African American community was experiencing economic inequality and hardship, facing discrimination in their neighborhoods, and expressing deep concerns about the quality of education and health care available to their families.

Key findings on these inequities include:

• Nearly one in 10 black residents (9%) felt discriminated against in interactions with the police in the past year compared with less than one in 100 white residents (0.7%).

• During the past 12 months, six times the percentage of blacks relative to whites in the DMV said they experienced discrimination when trying to obtain housing and nearly four times the percentage of black residents compared to white residents reported facing discrimination when banking or applying for a loan.

• Even before COVID-19 plunged our region into the worst recession of most of our lifetimes, more than one in three black residents reported that the overall economic conditions in the Greater Washington region were getting worse. By comparison, more than four in five white residents said the local economy was getting better or staying the same.

• Thirty-five percent of black households reported that they did not have enough savings to survive for a month if they lost their current sources of income – a figure that is 2.5 times higher than their white neighbors.

• Black residents were less than half as likely as white residents to rate the availability of arts and cultural opportunities, availability of good jobs, quality of public schools, or availability of healthcare as excellent in the place where they live.

“The VoicesDMV data offers a sobering look at the stark differences in quality of life for our African American neighbors. While we pride ourselves on being an inclusive community, this new research highlights just how far we have to go to address the deep inequities experienced by many residents and families. These disparities have only been heightened by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, and laid bare through the community response to the tragic and senseless death of George Floyd,” said Tonia Wellons, president and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “One thing is for sure, our goal should not be to return to the status quo but to reconstruct what exists and build a stronger and more resilient community where racial justice is prioritized and everyone has equal opportunity to thrive.”

VoicesDMV is a community listening and civic engagement initiative, which launched in 2017, that seeks to better understand the diverse experiences of the people who live and work in the Greater Washington region. More than 1,600 residents from Washington, DC; Prince George's County, MD; Montgomery County, MD; and Northern Virginia participated in the survey. Additional highlights from the survey include:

• Personal experiences with homelessness are widespread across the region. Nearly one in three residents know someone who has experienced homelessness or who is at risk of becoming homeless. Further, three-quarters of respondents agree that ending homelessness is a priority and more than half view housing as the solution, while almost two-thirds would even be willing to pay more in taxes to support additional affordable housing.

• The impact of the 2019 government shutdown is still being felt. While fifteen percent of workers throughout the region were negatively affected by the 2019 government shutdown, more than half of those negatively affected were not government workers or contractors. Those who were negatively affected financially by the shutdown were nearly twice as likely to currently feel very worried or somewhat worried about not being able to pay their rent or mortgage.

• Addressing Barriers to Quality Employment. Nearly a quarter of all workers (24 percent) and nearly half of the unemployed who are looking for work (49 percent) cited level of education as a barrier to finding and keeping a job. Across the region, two-thirds of all parents with children ages five or younger find it difficult or very difficult to pay for high-quality childcare for their family.

• Many residents across the DMV region report inadequate access to benefits through their job – especially those in low-paying or essential positions. Of those making less than $22,000 a year, more than three-quarters are not offered health insurance through their job. Fewer than one-half of those with a high school diploma or less report having paid maternity/paternity leave.

The full report and an online dashboard with further demographic breakdowns of the VoicesDMV survey data is available now at www.VoicesDMV.org. Additional analysis – including overviews of survey data for the region as a whole and by local jurisdiction, will be available later this summer.

As part of the initiative, The Community Foundation will present a virtual town hall series beginning Friday, June 19, that will explore the most pressing challenges facing the region, and solutions for collectively building more equitable communities where everyone can thrive. The series will culminate in an opportunity for our entire region to come together for On the Table conversations to consider how these issues impact our families and communities. The Community Foundation will then fund Community Action Awards to help transform ideas sparked during these conversations into action – committing at least $100,000 for community organizing, action, and social justice projects that can be implemented individually or collectively.

Rebuilding a Brighter Future

By Benton Murphy, Associate Vice President, Community Investment

Benton Murphy, AVP, Community Investment

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, much of our region was struggling. Nearly one in five of our neighbors reported that they could only make it by for less than one month if they lost their current sources of household income. Even more worrisome, nearly one-third of residents reported being very or slightly worried about being able to pay their rent or mortgage on a good day. Three months ago, these were answers to hypothetical questions. Now as we face the ongoing COVID-19 public health and economic crisis, these statistics are a stark reality for so many.

These report findings, collected by Gallup for the Greater Washington Community Foundation, were intended to serve as a point in time snapshot of our region for our VoicesDMV initiative. The Community Foundation leads this community engagement initiative every few years with a focus on listening to our community in a deep and authentic way. As a community foundation, we want to ensure our community investment and community leadership strategies are informed by the needs of real people in the community—especially those whose voices are left out of important conversations about community needs and priorities.

In 2017, our first VoicesDMV survey revealed a region in which residents may be separated by income, education or geographic boundaries, but share similar hopes and dreams. We all want a better overall quality of life for ourselves and our families, including the opportunity to live in a safe and welcoming environment, obtain a quality education, earn a living wage, and build assets for a secure future.

And yet, as prosperous as our region is, our survey found that deep disparities in income and opportunity persist and that these gaps continue to widen. Due to historical discrimination, this prevents many of our neighbors, particularly people of color, from accessing the region’s economic growth and prosperity. We are so thankful and grateful to the community for their participation in VoicesDMV in 2017. Your perspective gifted The Community Foundation with insight to shape our Building Thriving Communities framework with updated priorities for our grantmaking, which focus on preparing for the future of work, disrupting poverty, and deepening human connections.

The 2020 report offers unique insight into how the region looked and felt in the months immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic and massive civil unrest following the killing of George Floyd. The report reveals a Greater Washington community with a lot to celebrate. Across our region, the survey identified bright prospects across many issue areas, including education and the state of the economy.

The report also revealed striking findings that again illuminated a deeply inequitable region, which we see this in COVID-19’s devastating effect on our region’s low-income households and communities of color. These individuals are much more vulnerable to the economic and health shocks exacerbated by this crisis because of these pre-existing inequities.

While the sentiments expressed in the survey have certainly shifted since it was fielded, the data provides us insights into how we looked pre-COVID. This hopefully offers direction on what we can do differently as we look beyond emergency recovery and relief toward rebuilding a more equitable and resilient region.

What’s Next?

Another critical component of our VoicesDMV initiative is convening and conversation. In 2017, we held community conversations and focus groups discussing a range of issues and challenges, including quality education for our children, fear of the police, and perceptions of race and racism. As we worked to prepare our VoicesDMV initiative for 2020, we wanted to incorporate new elements to deepen the extent to which we engaged communities, reached “unusual suspects,” and enabled authentic dialogue.

This fall, we hope to host a series of virtual On the Table community conversations – a nationally-known community engagement initiative first piloted by the Chicago Community Trust – to challenge our region to think about how we can rebuild after the pandemic toward a more equitable future. On the Table brings together friends, colleagues, neighbors, and strangers to discuss what matters to them in their community over a meal.

Our focus for these conversations will be on equity and how it intersects with a range of issues that are important to our community, including education, workforce development, housing and homelessness, the arts, the environment, and many more issue areas. From these conversations, we plan to make community micro-grants from the VoicesDMV Community Action Awards grant program to support grassroots and neighborhood-level projects and initiatives that will help us to re-envision our region in a more equitable light.

As we begin to look beyond responding to the immediate crisis at hand, our region’s recovery cannot be a return to the status quo as previously captured by our survey. We all have a role to play in shaping a “new normal” and rebuilding as a community that offers equal opportunity for all residents to thrive. I am convinced we will overcome this crisis and period of uncertainty by standing together—neighbors helping neighbors—to build a more equitable region for the future.

Community Foundation Announces $500,000 Gift from Lockheed Martin to COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund

Contribution will Boost Local Relief and Recovery Efforts

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is pleased to announce a new $500,000 contribution from Lockheed Martin to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, which will help support both coordinated local response to urgent needs and longer-term recovery efforts focused on building a stronger and more resilient region.

This coordinated rapid response fund was established to quickly raise and deploy critical resources to nonprofits helping residents adversely affected by the coronavirus public health and economic crisis. In 10 weeks, the Fund has garnered $7.5 million in community support from 700+ contributors, including corporate partners, local foundations, and individual donors (with individual contributions ranging in size from $10 - $100,000).

A list of donors and regional partners is available here.

“We are so thankful for partners like Lockheed Martin and others who have stepped up to help us respond quickly to the evolving needs of our communities and to plan for what comes next,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “These contributions help bolster our ability to empower our nonprofit partners working tirelessly to help our neighbors facing hardship during this crisis.”

“We’re proud to address the local needs in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and the Greater Washington region at this critical time,” said Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin. “We are committed to our local communities and the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund will be instrumental in assisting frontline workers, small business, nonprofits, and individuals in the hour of need."

“We are in great need of additional resources in the Greater Washington region, particularly food, for our growing rolls of vulnerable families," said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. "We are grateful that our corporate citizens are recognizing their role as partners and contributing to help those in need.”

“We are Prince George’s Proud of community partners like Lockheed Martin and the Greater Washington Community Foundation who have stepped up to support Prince Georgians in need during this pandemic,” said Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. “While we are still trying to weather this storm, I can promise you that COVID-19 will not have the final say. Through partnerships like these, we will get through this crisis together and we will be able to build an even stronger Prince George’s.”

In times of crisis, The Community Foundation is the region’s philanthropic first responder, bringing people and resources together to address urgent community needs. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, The Community Foundation is convening weekly meetings with local philanthropic leaders, donors, and government advisors to discuss needs, review requests, and guide the Fund’s strategic investments and priorities.

To date, the Fund has made investments of $4 million in 97 nonprofits, with additional funding expected to be issued over the coming weeks. Priority is given to nonprofits with deep roots in the community and a demonstrated ability to address both urgent needs and reach historically underserved populations. The Fund has received more than 1,300 requests from nonprofits seeking a total of $55 million in funding, which far exceeds available dollars.

A full list of the organizations receiving assistance through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is here.

Investments have been made across five issue areas:

• To provide relief to small businesses and displaced workers (hourly, gig economy, contractors), especially those who do not qualify for unemployment or stimulus funds.

• To expand parental supports and resources for youth disconnected from school or work and students distinguished by disabilities.

• To support frontline workers and providers and to expand medical care for low-income communities, older adults, and people who are immunocompromised, undocumented, or uninsured.

• To support and protect individuals, families, and youth experiencing homelessness and to help prevent people from losing stable housing.

• To bolster our region’s food security, address the uptick in domestic and other forms of violence, and support the civil legal aid needs of individuals.

Our Commitment to Racial Justice

By Tonia Wellons, President & CEO

On Mother’s Day weekend, I received a call from the parents of 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III, the Bowie State University student who was killed at the hands of University of Maryland senior, Sean Urbanski. This devastating hate-linked, race-based crime happened in 2017 around Mother’s Day weekend. I have been humbled by the opportunity to get to know the Collins family and work with them to honor their son’s legacy by confronting the challenges represented by hate and bias violence. Yet the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and now George Floyd immediately triggered the Collins family and reignited their quest to address domestic terror, police brutality, and other forms of anti-black racism.

These senseless and intolerable tragedies remind us that structural racism continues to deny our Black brothers and sisters the opportunity to live their lives completely free and without fear of the institutions intended to serve and protect them. It reminds us that racism is built into many US systems and carried by individual actors in overt and covert methods.

Even in our Nation’s Capital in 2020, pre-existing inequities in education, housing, healthcare, and employment opportunities continue to create deep disparities and divides that threaten the vibrancy and health of our communities. Take for example the drastic way in which COVID-19 has hit African American communities the hardest – while roughly half of Washingtonians are African American, they make up more than three-quarters of the deaths from COVID-19.

At the Greater Washington Community Foundation, we see it as our responsibility to uplift and amplify the voices of communities that have been systematically unheard and silenced. Through VoicesDMV, we have engaged our entire community to understand racial tensions in our region along with other needs, attitudes, and perceptions of our neighbors often left out of conversations about community development. What we have learned from these conversations has shaped our approach to Building Thriving Communities that are more equitable, healthy, and vibrant. We continue to focus on racial equity in our grantmaking and have committed at least half of our funding for COVID-19 response efforts to organizations led by people of color that are supporting historically underserved communities.

We believe now is the time for more than just words, our communities deserve action that will lead to real tangible change in inequitable systems. The Community Foundation will continue to support ending racial disparities through our voice, influence, programs and grantmaking initiatives.

We stand in solidarity with peaceful protestors who have the courage to speak up and share their anguish, frustration, fear, heartbreak, and anger to push for action. We hear you, we see you, and we stand with you in raising our fists and shouting Black Lives Matter. History has to be our teacher. These issues will not casually go away – not without effort or a deliberate attempt to be anti-racists.

"These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative. A riot is the language of the unheard." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

We encourage our community to stand with us, our partners, and advocates in calling for an end to police brutality and anti-black racism.

If you’d like to learn more, and hear from the parents of Lt. Richard Collins III, we invite you to watch our Social Justice Town Hall: From Grief To Action. This special discussion, held on June 19, 2020, examined racial justice and the concrete ways we can take action to support the Black community.

Rebuilding Our Region With Racial Equity and Inclusion

By Brittany Owens, Community Investment and Donor Services Associate

The United States has made a lot of progress towards racial equity—but, even in today’s world, there are still stark injustices. Take the recent shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25 year-old black man, killed by two white men while he was jogging in his south Georgia neighborhood. He was targeted because he allegedly “looked like a man suspected in several break-ins in the area.” It took months for local authorities to address the case.

It’s tragic and shocking incidents like these that continue to fuel my passion for racial equity and inclusion (REI) work, and inspire our REI focus here at The Community Foundation. Racial equity and inclusion, according to Center for Assessment and Policy Development, is “the condition that would be achieved if one's racial identity no longer predicted.” This means that, through REI, we are not only addressing the root causes of inequities—we’re also eliminating policies or attitudes that reinforce them.

Ignited by Experience
My own experience with REI, and inspiration to focus my career on it, goes back to my college years.

Owens (pictured top row, third from the left) with leaders at her university

For my undergraduate studies, I went to a small school in Tennessee—quite the change from my native Washington, DC. I’ll never forget one incident during Black History month, when some students wrote racial slurs on an internet site during the celebratory program my school was hosting. One of them especially striking: “Blacks should be grateful for whites because we freed them.”

After these posts surfaced, the school decided to address these issues by blocking the website and holding a school wide convocation. For some students, though, this wasn’t enough. We demanded that they take more concrete action to prevent similar situations from happening.

I gathered students to come and speak with the leaders of our institution and we crafted a list of ideas and actions the university could take. We wanted to see more diversity in faculty and staff and for the university to add a diversity officer and an African American history class. While it took time, some of the suggestions were fulfilled – though others have still not been offered, such as classes focusing on African American history.

While this incident was challenging, it was also motivating. I wanted to help inspire change through REI. And today, at The Community Foundation, I’m honored to be doing just that.

Britney Owens, at her pinning ceremony for social work during college

A Renewed Commitment to REI
At The Community Foundation, where I now work as a Community Investment and Donor Services Associate, we are working to build on a rich history of social justice grantmaking and community leadership initiatives. We have led funding collaboratives, like the Washington Area Partnership for Immigrants, the Resilience Fund, and the Common Ground Fund (which originated our acclaimed “Putting Race on the Table” discussion series) - and President & CEO Tonia Wellons felt it was time to refocus our commitment to REI.  

One key way we’ve done this is by forming an REI Working Group, which leads discussions for staff at our organization. We meet once a month to read articles and discuss different REI issues, with the goal of continuing to grow into an organization that understands and can more fully center REI principles and practices in both our internal and external work.

In a recent meeting, we read and discussed The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates. We also watched his testimony on House Bill HR 40, legislation that would allow the exploration of reparations for African Americans. This has really set the tone for what we want to accomplish as an organization: providing equity and liberation to groups that continue to be impacted by systemic racism.

We are also working with external partners to educate and encourage an REI focus for the nonprofit and philanthropic sector in this region. We’ll participate in the inaugural Race, Equity and Future of Greater Washington Region Summit, tentatively rescheduled for this fall, to convene 800 regional leaders to examine existing disparities and co-create a new path toward a racially just and equitable region.

And, we are, more and more, infusing REI into our grantmaking. We recently made a commitment to ensure that at least 50% of our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund nonprofit partners are organizations led by people of color. We hope this will inspire greater equity in the Greater Washington region; and, ultimately fuel the change we want. 

What’s Next?
It’s been an honor to be part of our REI work at The Community Foundation, and I’m looking forward to continuing to help lead the conversation and engage our broader community. This is especially exciting as our region begins to stabilize after the COVID-19 pandemic. Those most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic have been people of color who were already marginalized before COVID-19 hit.

We want to help address the pre-existing inequities this pandemic has shone a spotlight on. We don’t want to just return to the way things were before; instead, we will re-focus on how we can rebuild our communities to be more equitable and resilient.

While we’re still figuring out what this will look like, I know that REI will be a part of it. And, so will I.

Building Resilience in the Face of COVID-19

By Melen Hagos, Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships

We are incredibly grateful for this cash assistance that will benefit our ‘forgotten ones’ who are facing health problems, evictions, and hunger during this difficult time. –Maria Gomez, President & CEO, Mary’s Center

Since 2017, The Resilience Fund has been at the forefront of responding to the changing needs and priorities in our region. Following a brutal campaign season that contributed to a rise in instances of hate and intolerance, specifically towards immigrants and people of color, The Greater Washington Community Foundation and its partners came together to create a mechanism to ensure that our local communities were resilient and supported despite federal policy shifts that could adversely affect our neighbors.

Fast forward to 2020 and our world looks a bit different. We’re dealing with a global pandemic that has taken the lives of many individuals, most of which are people of color. And it’s no surprise that low-income communities and hourly wage workers, particularly people of color, have been disproportionately impacted through this crisis. While legislation has been passed to support our friends and neighbors in the region, undocumented immigrants have largely been left out of the conversation.

Staying True to Our Mission

Given our new reality, it is important to stay true to our mission. A key focus of the Resilience Fund has always been to support the critical needs of nonprofits responding to federal policy shifts on behalf of our most marginalized neighbors. Immigrant communities in particular have faced many hardships exacerbated by these changes, and the effects of COVID-19 are no different.

Due to the changing nature of our environment, we have decided to shift our strategy to reflect the current reality. We have decided to redirect the Resilience Fund’s remaining resources to make grants to nonprofit partners serving immigrant communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Following this final distribution of grants, we will shift our focus and efforts to COVID-19 response and prioritize meeting our community’s needs related to the pandemic through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

We have made 7 final grants totaling $340,000 to organizations responding to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on immigrant communities:

• African Communities Together: To engage in rapid response activities to support African immigrants.

• Ayuda: To support low-income immigrant clients by providing the resources needed for food medical needs, and housing.  

• CASA de Maryland:  To support immigrant communities in Montgomery and Prince George’s County, Maryland, whose immigration status puts them in danger of extreme economic hardship.

• Mary’s Center: To provide health services to immigrant communities in DC and Maryland. 

• National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC): For an emergency fund providing support to undocumented individuals or individuals in mixed status households, and other individuals expressly excluded from federal relief.

• Northern Virginia Family Services:  To support the Immigration Legal Service (ILS) program and its impact on immigrant communities in Northern Virginia as it relates to the uptick in domestic violence and sexual assault during this pandemic.

• Prince George’s Child Resource Center: To support Prince George’s Child Resource Center in their ability to provide guidance and assistance to the childcare provider community in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Grateful for the Past, Hopeful for our Future

We're very proud of the work we have been able to accomplish together with our nonprofit partners, which we could not have done without the help of our committed donors. Together, we’ve raised more than $1.3 million and made grants to 46 nonprofit organizations across the region since the Fund’s inception.

We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the Steering Committee, which included the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the Harman Family Foundation, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, June Linowitz, Elaine Reuben, Rob and Sheri Rosenfeld, Mauri Ziff, and Jeff Hamond

This core group of individual and institutional donors worked with us to advise grant decisions and future Fund priorities, ultimately providing us with the thought partnership and accountability needed to ensure the Fund was successful. 

I will miss being part of the Resilience Fund Steering Committee, where the members' experience and expertise were shared in service of local need. We learned from grantees, our consultants, The Community Foundation’s supportive staff, and each other. I believe it was truly a success. –Elaine Reuben, Steering Committee member since 2017

At a difficult time for our country and our community, I felt the Resilience Fund was doing important work to alleviate suffering and to combat negative trends. I was truly honored to be helping and, in a time, when it was easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated, it gave me a sense of purpose and agency.” –June Linowitz, Steering Committee member since 2017

As we begin to return to our daily routines, we know we won’t be returning to normal. In fact, I would encourage us to question if our “normal” was even good enough in the first place. The very same systems and structures that existed prior to the global pandemic have only been exacerbated during COVID-19. And, we anticipate the issues facing our most marginalized communities will only continue after we transition back to re-opening our country.  

COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund

If you’d like to continue to support our region’s immigrant communities, The Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is one way to help. The Fund helps mitigate the impact on disproportionately affected communities in our region—including many immigrant populations that the Resilience Fund previously served.

Join us and, together, we can continue to help and empower our most marginalized neighbors towards a tomorrow that is more resilient, equitable, and just.

RFP Re-Opens for COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund Grants

Over the past several weeks, we’ve watched our region’s needs evolve in response to COVID-19. As the community’s priorities have shifted, so have ours to match.

Since temporarily closing our RFP for the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, we have carefully re-evaluated our funding priorities and continued to review all submitted applications. We received 700+ proposals totaling more than $40 million in requests during phase I of our grantmaking. To date, we have awarded 95 grants totaling nearly $4 million.

Today, we have re-opened our Request for Proposals online application form for local nonprofits to apply for support through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

For this second phase of grantmaking, we are now accepting requests for advocacy efforts that seek to improve food security, domestic violence prevention, health care access, childcare systems, and more. We have refined our funding priorities to better support a set of target populations disproportionately impacted by the COVID pandemic.

You can read more about our updated priority issue areas and priority populations here.

Several additional, important points to note include: 

• Eligible applicants may only submit ONE application for funding for this round

• Organizations that did NOT receive funding in round I will be prioritized for funding in round 2

• Nonprofits may apply for grants up to $50,000

• At least 50% of the organizations selected for funding will have board and senior leadership of color

Applications will be accepted until May 29 at 5 p.m., with final funding decisions made in June 2020.

If you have any questions about how to apply, including what the fund will support, how your organization can apply, and what geographic regions will be considered, please read our FAQs.

For general inquiries, please contact Melen Hagos at [email protected]

Thank you. We look forward to receiving your proposals and continuing to respond to our community's needs, together.

Building Critical Capacity for Nonprofits in Need

By Glen O’Gilvie, CEO, Center for Nonprofit Advancement

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many nonprofits are struggling to survive. 501c3’s face a host of challenges as they seek funding to cover losses and maintain their programs—one of which is navigating the complexities of local and federal funding programs.    

This is one of many reasons why, when I received a call in March from The Community Foundation with an innovative partnership idea, I was immediately on board. Silvana Straw, Senior Community Investment Officer and Philanthropic Advisor, who also helps lead the Partnership to End Homelessness, wanted to work together to support and help build the capacity of housing and homelessness nonprofits on the frontlines of battling COVID-19.

Our plan was to help these organizations develop proposals for the DC Small Business Recovery Microgrants program, which provides grant funding to help small, local businesses and nonprofits to cover employee wages and benefits, fixed costs, inventory, rent and utilities. The Community Foundation would identify nonprofit partners in need and the Center for Nonprofit Advancement would provide encouragement, technical assistance, and grant writing support to participants.

Glen O’Gilvie (pictured far right) with Martha’s Table at the Center for Nonprofit Advancement’s 2019 Board Leadership Reception.

Jumping into action, we organized our capacity building specialists (part-time and consultant team members) to work with housing and homelessness nonprofits in the region. After reaching out to dozens of local nonprofit homeless services providers identified by The Community Foundation, we received interest from Casa Ruby, DC Doors, Everyone Home DC (formerly CHGM), Homeless Children’s Playtime Project, Jubilee Housing, Miriam’s Kitchen, and SMYAL. 

The Center’s Capacity Building Specialists used available public information (e.g. website, Form 990s, etc.) to draft proposals for each participating organization. We then worked directly with nonprofits to review proposals, collect additional information, and submit their applications.

We are proud to report that every organization we worked with submitted an application. While award notifications are still pending, we remain hopeful that each nonprofit will receive the support they need.

We were honored to receive enthusiastic feedback from our nonprofit partners:

We could not have done this without you.” – Jamila Larson, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Homeless Children’s Playtime Project

I am so grateful for your help with the recovery microgrant! Your assistance on this was so valuable, especially with the really quick turnaround time. Whatever happens, it feels good to have the support of our nonprofit community as we focus on helping our clients through this scary time and try to anticipate what it means for all of us long term.” – Karen Cunningham, Executive Director, Everyone Home DC

“Thank you so much. This really meant a lot. I’m really hopeful we’ll be able to keep our doors open for those in need. And I truly believe people put their hearts into all Ruby’s work. Thank you!” – Holly Goldmann, Director of External Affairs, Casa Ruby

The COVID-19 pandemic has created tremendous uncertainty for many organizations—and we are proud that by working together with The Community Foundation we could help ensure nonprofits have the support they need to focus on their critical missions. Our hope is to build this program out to serve additional nonprofits with administrative needs including assistance with proposal development for future public and private funding opportunities. 

It’s inspiring to work in partnership with another philanthropic organization, especially the Greater Washington Community Foundation, who we have a long history of partnering with for community impact. This spirit of collaboration and service helped ensure housing and homelessness organizations had the opportunity to access funds during this critical time—and that’s something we can all celebrate.  When funders, direct service nonprofits, and local capacity building organizations collaborate, our communities win.

Learn more about the Center for Nonprofit Advancement, and The Community Foundation’s Partnership to End Homelessness.

To help support nonprofits responding to COVID-19 in our region, consider giving to our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

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About the author

Glen O’Gilvie has served as chief executive officer of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement since 2008, providing education, networking, advocacy and back office services to nearly 1,000 organizations. A leader with more than 24 years of management experience in the National Capital region’s nonprofit sector, Glen is passionate about addressing the issues affecting people and communities.

Before joining the Center, Glen served as President and CEO of Earth Conservation Corps, Program Officer at The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and National Coordinator at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial. During his tenure at each organization, he strengthened programmatic and administrative infrastructure and forged partnerships with nonprofits, government, foundations and corporations to advance each mission and increase outcomes.

Glen holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a master’s of education and has completed various nonprofit management and leadership training and certification programs, including Harvard University Kennedy School’s Leadership in the 21st Century. In 2015, he accomplished the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation. He also serves as a nonprofit management, fundraising, and leadership and management adjunct professor.

Glen resides with his wife and two children, Delaney and AJ, and is active in youth sports and education enrichment.

Community Foundation Announces $3.9 Million in Grants to COVID-19 Emergency Response Efforts

The COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation has completed its first round of coordinated rapid response grantmaking. To date, the Fund has made a total of $3.9 million investments in nonprofits helping local residents affected by the coronavirus public health and economic crisis.

These general operating grants – ranging in size from $10,000 to $100,000 – are intended to help vital nonprofits across the Greater Washington region to fulfill their missions and expand critical services by moving operations online, purchasing essential supplies and equipment, covering staff salaries and hazard pay, and help with offsetting lost revenue.

Given the disproportionate impact on the African American community, the Fund made it a priority to support nonprofits represented by and serving people of color. As a result, 52% of the Fund’s grantee organizations are led by people of color.

Since launching the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund on March 13, The Community Foundation has mobilized $6.6 million in commitments and support from more than 500 contributors including corporate partners, local foundations, and individual donors (with individual contributions ranging in size from $10 - $50,000). The Fund is administered by The Community Foundation with working groups comprised of regional philanthropic leaders and local government advisors helping to guide its efforts. Throughout this process, working groups and steering committee members continue to meet weekly to review requests and approve awards on a rolling basis to meet significant demand.

A full list of donors and regional partners is available here.

In less than three weeks, The Community Foundation received more than 730 requests from nonprofits and other small businesses seeking a combined total of $41 million in funding. To date, 97 nonprofits have received assistance through the Fund. For this initial round of grantmaking, priority was given to direct service providers aligned with the Fund’s strategic priorities, who have deep roots in this community and demonstrated an ability to both address urgent needs and reach historically underserved populations. Additional funding is expected to be issued to more organizations over the coming weeks.

A full list of the initial organizations receiving assistance through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is here.

Round 1 Investments were made across five issue areas and included the following organizations, among others:

• To provide financial assistance to impacted workers — Community Services Agency of the Metro Washington AFL-CIO to focus on workers who have lost their jobs, Restaurant Opportunities Center of Washington DC on low-wage restaurant workers, and CASA for immigrants and undocumented workers not eligible for unemployment benefits or assistance.

• To support the most vulnerable children and families — The DC Association for Special Education (DCASE) to serve students with special education needs who are at risk of falling behind, Identity, Inc. to help low-income families access internet and digital devices for distance learning, Community Youth Advance to provide a virtual tutoring and instruction. 

• To expand medical care and access for marginalized communities — CCI Health & Wellness Services to purchase PPE kits and COVID-19 Test Kits for minority, immigrant, low-income, and uninsured or underinsured populations; La Clinica del Pueblo to provide comprehensive primary care for Latino immigrants and low-income families; and Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC to implement care through a telehealth system.

• To support and protect individuals, families, and youth experiencing homelessness — Unity Health Care, Inc to provide health care to people in shelters and congregate settings, Calvary Women’s Services to serve women experiencing homelessness in Ward 8, and Stepping Stones Shelter to continue operating emergency shelter for families.

• To provide general operating support to help stabilize critical nonprofits— Gaithersburg HELP, Inc. to provide families with nutritious food from its food pantry, The Arc of Montgomery County to provide virtual supports to people with disabilities, and House of Ruth to serve women and survivors of domestic violence.

“Far too many of our neighbors are struggling and turning to our region’s nonprofit sector to help cover basic needs for food, shelter, and medical care,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “The fact that this crisis has hit our region’s marginalized communities the hardest is one of the long-term consequences of inequities that existed long before the current situation. As we continue to respond to the immediate crisis at hand, we are also planning for reconstruction efforts to ensure our community does not go back to the way things were before. We must focus on coming out of this crisis as a stronger community that is more equitable and resilient.”

More information about the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is available here. Anyone interested in contributing can make an online donation here.

Leading Our Community's Response

Our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund has now been in operation for one month. Over that time, we have provided more than $3.8 million in grant funds to local nonprofits providing critical relief supports across our region and across five issue areas—education and youth, employment and small business, medical care and access, housing and homelessness, and general operating support.

Our RFP is currently on pause as we absorb the information from 750 applications on the evolving needs of our community and learn more about communities and populations that are being impacted disproportionately. We plan to reopen our RFP later this month reflecting an updated set of giving priorities.

Over the last few weeks, we have formed working groups for each of our five issue areas to review proposals and make grant recommendations. Below, read about what we are doing and learning in each area - and how our community is organizing to fight the COVID pandemic.

Employment and Small Business

We have made a set of investments in local service providers working to provide emergency cash assistance to our region’s low-income workers that do not have the resources to wait for Federal or State unemployment benefits to kick in, or communities (like undocumented workers) that do not qualify for this type of support.

Education and Youth

We have been singularly focused on supporting the most vulnerable children and families who are struggling as a result of this crisis. Many organizations are stretching themselves to support the youth and families they already have built strong connections with to address basic needs.  Parents are a child’s first teacher and now that schools are closed education is not solely in the classroom.  Despite what schools, local government and philanthropy are doing there are still many families that are not able to connect to services and education opportunities for the children in their homes. 

Medical Care and Access

We are providing support services for health care and frontline workers while also addressing the health access needs of the more vulnerable populations in Greater Washington area. Their focus has been to support efforts to source PPE for frontline workers, increase COVID-19 testing for vulnerable and marginalized communities, and support clinics and health centers providing support and care in response to COVID-19.

As the pandemic response continues to grow on a statewide and national level, we know that our response will have to adapt as well. This working group is continuously monitoring changes, sharing resources, and adjusting its priorities directly in response to needs.

Homelessness and Housing

We have been working to support local providers whose doors are open and who are actively providing direct services to the most vulnerable and disproportionately impacted populations during the COVID crisis - specifically people living in shelters or on the street. Priority populations include: women and children facing increased instances of domestic violence and abuse, families, youth including foster care and LGBTQ youth, older/chronically ill individuals, and undocumented people and immigrants.

As we continue to see increasing numbers of people experiencing homelessness testing positive for COVID and deaths amongst this vulnerable population, our investments will help organizations provide essential services and resources to protect these individuals, families, and youth and to prevent community spread.

General Operating Support

Investments also included grants to nonprofits addressing the dramatic uptick in intimate partner violence and other types of abuse, grants to organizations supporting at-risk communities including those living with disabilities, and grants to support the ability of legal services providers to continue to provide critically needed services to local residents as courts continue to convene.

What’s Next?

We anticipate re-opening the RFP by the end of April. In the meantime, for more information on our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, please visit www.thecommunityfoundation.org/covid-19 for a list of our grantee partners and funding priorities.

Greater Washington Community Foundation and Nationals Philanthropies Partner to Launch Get Shift Done for DMV

The Greater Washington Community Foundation has teamed up with Washington Nationals Philanthropies to launch the Get Shift Done DMV initiative.

With unemployment claims spiking to record levels, Get Shift Done is helping people earn a basic income while also meeting the needs of the food insecure. The initiative will coordinate, schedule, and pay adversely affected hourly workers in the hospitality industry to work shifts for local food access providers.

Get Shift Done DMV, with founding investments from The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Capital One, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, and the Bainum Family Foundation, will provide wages of $15 an hour to workers left jobless by the coronavirus pandemic. These workers are filling the critical roles of providing meals for neighbors in need that, prior to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, were performed by volunteers. The first batch of workers will report for their first day of work on Saturday, April 25, and more shifts and partners will be added on a rolling basis.

Get Shift Done was originally launched by Communities Foundation of Texas and Dallas business and community leaders in partnership with Shiftsmart and the North Texas Food Bank to fill the gap between the reduction of volunteers and the increased need among food banks and other nonprofits with those from the food and service industry in need of supplemental income. The platform has been able to serve 1 million meals per week while providing more than $250,000 of wages to 1,000 workers per week. Get Shift Done is now launching in other cities, municipalities, and counties across the country. Bringing this successful initiative to the DMV will fill a critical gap as food access providers face unprecedented demand for their services while also struggling with a shortfall in volunteers.

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Your gift, no matter the size, will have a deep impact in our community. By contributing to the Get Shift Done DMV Fund, you help local restaurant workers help nonprofits, who in turn help our neighbors in need.

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“We know that missing even one paycheck can mean members of our community, especially the region’s lower-wage and hourly workers, struggle to pay rent, afford groceries, and otherwise provide for their families,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “Our nonprofit partners and other organizations have stepped in to fill huge gaps created by this crisis, but there is more that we can and must do as a community. We are proud to partner to bring Get Shift Done to DMV in order to connect impacted workers directly to emergency food distribution providers throughout the region.”

“Food insecurity is both a systemic problem and an ever-increasing concern for families across the DMV. Through our work to open Nationals Park as a cooking and packaging site for meals and delivering grants to on-the-ground partners getting food to those who need it most, it was evident that even more was needed to meet demand,” said Nationals Philanthropies CEO Tal Alter. “Get Shift Done complements and extends the incredible coordination of food banks and providers across the region while simultaneously filling critical packaging, preparation, and delivery roles with members of our local hospitality community who are out of work.”

“The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation is proud to be a seed funder of this innovative effort which connects our colleagues in the hospitality industry with the critical and growing need for labor in our region’s food system. Food security was a crisis before the COVID-19 pandemic and has since grown to staggering levels. Concurrently, the hospitality workforce has suffered tremendously and we are thrilled to have an opportunity to address two of the Foundation’s top priorities through this investment,” stated Mieka Wick, Executive Director, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.

“As part of Capital One’s broader community response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been working closely with our nonprofit partners to address crucial needs of the most vulnerable populations, including hunger relief and supporting the food and dining community,” said Andy Navarrete, Head of External Affairs, Capital One Financial. “We are proud to support Get Shift Done’s DMV initiative that is providing jobs, filling the much-needed gap in volunteer shifts and getting food to those in need. We will continue to marshal our resources – our funds, digital tools, reach and expertise during these uncertain times to help in the collective recovery.”

"The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation is eager to support innovative programs that solve today's problems. As we collectively grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are pleased to join with our local partners and the Get Shift Done team to launch the program in the Washington, DC region," says Joe Del Guercio, President and CEO, A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation.

“The shortcomings of our regional food system ― which already make it difficult to get fresh, healthy, affordable food to communities that need it most ― are being intensified by the COVID-19 crisis,” says David Daniels, CEO and President of the Bainum Family Foundation. “As part of our food-security work, we are pleased to support the Get Shift Done DMV effort. It will have an immediate impact, providing both much-needed jobs to displaced workers and nutritious meals for families and individuals who are struggling financially right now.”

Today Get Shift Done DMV launches with Shiftsmart technology to register workers for shifts with local food access providers. The Shiftsmart platform and operations team manage the onboarding, matching, scheduling, dispatching, and routing of workers to perform shifts. Interested restaurants, nonprofit partners, and individual workers can visit getshiftdone.org/dmv to access sign-up portals.

About Washington Nationals Philanthropies
The Washington Nationals strive to become a civic partner to every Washingtonian interested in making a positive difference in our region and a leading philanthropic organization in professional sports. As the official charitable arm of the Washington Nationals, Nationals Philanthropies is a new entity that replaces the Dream Foundation. Building on the success of the foundation’s first decade in Washington, we aspire to an even bolder, more ambitious philanthropic vision that continues to align with the work of the Youth Baseball Academy while building an enhanced and cohesive platform for civic engagement that extends far beyond the Academy walls. This new platform will catalyze the energy of Nationals fans, and the generosity and philanthropic goals of Nationals players, corporate champions, and community partners to invest philanthropic dollars with, through, and to Nationals Philanthropies – fueling even greater good for a better Washington region. More details coming soon at nats4good.org. Follow us to stay up to date on the latest news and events.

About Greater Washington Community Foundation
The Greater Washington Community Foundation exists to Build Thriving Communities by guiding strategic philanthropy, providing leadership on critical issues, promoting civic engagement, and inspiring local giving. Founded in 1973, we are the region’s largest local funder and have invested nearly $1.3 billion to build more equitable, just, and enriching communities where all residents can thrive. We recently launched the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to rapidly raise and deploy critical resources to nonprofits addressing the urgent health and economic needs of disproportionately impacted communities. To date, we have mobilized more than $6.5 million in community support and made nearly $4 million in grants to relief and recovery efforts that are supporting our most vulnerable neighbors. 

The Power of Unrestricted Impact

“I believe that the measure of our lives is how we impacted others”

For John Terry Beaty, philanthropy is in his blood. A native New Yorker, he grew up watching his mother work at the city’s Community Trust, later volunteering for United Way for nearly 15 years.  

“We were all encouraged to, when we had the time or money, help other people,” he said.

Beaty, an investment advisor with Brown Advisory, first learned of The Community Foundation from one of his clients who held a fund with us. He was intrigued by the organization’s ‘multiplier effect:’ our ability to amplify positive impact in the community.

Fast forward several years, and Beaty has his own family fund at The Community Foundation, since 1995; eventually, he even served as Chair of our Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee.

Recently, Beaty and his wife Anne Mehringer, made an even longer-term commitment to The Community Foundation. They established a bequest, entrusting one-third of the Beaty Family Fund to us.

“We wanted to help strengthen the organization,” Beaty says. “It is like leaving our legacy to the community as a whole.”

Their bequest is completely unrestricted, meaning funds can be used for core operating expenses—a resource that’s essential as we work to address the greatest needs facing our community. Beaty wanted to provide this flexibility because “I think [many donors] don’t think about this [being so important].”

He hopes this money will help us remain financially strong, and help donors give to those in the community who need it the most. Beaty says that, while funding core operations can be somewhat unglamorous, he knows it is necessary. And, it will allow other donors to fund more immediate programming.

The Beatys are also regular donors to The Community Foundation’s annual Celebration of Philanthropy, and to the Celebration of Giving in Montgomery County, where they live.

When Beaty isn’t working at Brown Advisory or with The Community Foundation, he is feeding his passion for history. He serves as a board member for the American Battlefield Trust and Fort Ticonderoga; and is a former board member at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and History Montgomery. He is also a former advisory board member for Princeton’s history department.  

Beaty plans to continue giving to The Community Foundation, and staying engaged as an active part of the community.

“I believe that the measure of our lives is how we have impacted others,” says Beaty. “I want to have a positive influence on our community, our families.”

Creating a Lasting Legacy for Impact

By: Rebecca Rothey, Vice President, Development and Senior Philanthropic Advisor

I will admit that, initially, I wasn’t completely comfortable writing an article about planning one’s philanthropic legacy during the coronavirus pandemic. I began to feel differently, though, after speaking with some of our generous donors who are planning their legacies. They have reminded me that legacy planning isn’t about your life ending—it’s about living life well and continuing what is most important to us, even after we are gone.

We are helping many of our donors find creative ways to plan for their philanthropic legacy. Three recent examples that come to mind include:

• Providing flexibility now and for the future.  A long-time donor who has co-funded many Community Foundation initiatives is leaving money to The Community Foundation’s discretion to give where most needed in the region.

• The Importance of Giving Back. A couple is creating a fund for their two children to have discretion over where the charitable distributions will go and over what time frame. Their goal is to share their belief in the importance of “giving back” with the next generation of their family and to introduce them to the importance of stewarding wealth wisely.

• A Gift of Service to Others. One donor spent her entire career in public service augmented by travel, animal rescue and service to seniors. She came to value the importance of attracting and training talented and passionate people to the fields of public administration, veterinary assistance, senior care, environmental education and the arts. She is establishing an endowed fund to encourage future generations to pursue careers in these fields by providing tuition assistance and research funding.  

Having gone through this process many times, I can share with certainty that, even though legacy planning can initially feel daunting, in the end everyone is happy once it has been completed.

It is not about the end of one’s life—it is about exploring what is most important in our lives and then building a legacy that is rooted in those values.

All of us have benefited from important people and organizations in our lives—whether it is our families, our communities, our schools, our faith, and our cultural institutions. There is no better way to live life to the fullest than to continue to foster and support these most important aspects of our lives into the future. And, as these times have so powerfully reminded us, to demonstrate that we’re all in this together.

Learn more about The Community Foundation’s planned giving options at https://thecommunityfoundation.giftlegacy.com/

Celebrating Three Leadership Legacies

What does it take to be a great leader? According to Richard Bynum, President of PNC in Greater Washington and Virginia, it’s helping others. “My hope is that I’m taking some small part in making sure [people] get where they want to be,” he says.

This winter, the Washington Business Journal honored his thoughtful leadership by selecting Bynum, who is also a Community Foundation Board Member, as a Minority Business Leader Award Honoree. The Award acknowledges his creativity and entrepreneurial drive, among other attributes.

Bynum’s accomplishment coincides with two other major board member milestones. Dr. Charlene Dukes, Secretary of our Board, is retiring as President of Prince George’s Community College after 13 years of service. And Artis Hampshire-Cowan, Vice Chair of our Board, will be honored by Leadership Greater Washington as the 2020 Leader of the Years. 

Read more about their lives, work and impact below.

A Mission to Help Others

“It’s always such an honor to be recognized for the work that one does, and this award is no different. It means a great deal to me to go to work fully invested in what I do every day and to make a difference.”

Richard Bynum, President of Greater Washington and Virginia’s PNC Financial Services Group, never intended to work in banking.

Before joining PNC through their Executive Leadership Program in 2005, he had a 12-year career with the American Red Cross. Bynum traveled the country working helping with disaster relief efforts, eventually serving as Operations Director for the Kosovo Refugee Operations; and, finally, Assistant Director of Relief following the aftermath of 9/11 in New York City.

He says this work inspires how he thinks about leadership today.

“It’s all about helping people—the people who work for you and with you, and your clients,” Bynum says.

This winter, Bynum was selected by Washington Business Journal as a Minority Business Leader Award Honoree. The award honors entrepreneurial drive, creativity and diversity and inclusion in the workplace—values he says directly connect to his work at PNC.

As CEO of the market at PNC, Bynum values performance and customer service; and, creating a workplace where everyone can find their own success, as well as contribute to the success of the company. “We work hard to value our differences,” he says.

Bynum is a member of The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees, where he says he is “proud to take some small role in the impact that the Greater Washington Community Foundation makes every day.” He will be honored by the Washington Business Journal at their annual Minority Business Leader Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, July 14.

A Leader of a Renaissance

Dr. Charlene Dukes is known as the “leader of the renaissance of Prince George’s Community College.”

As president of the college for the past 13 years, she helped lead the development of the Academy for Health Sciences, the first middle college in the state of Maryland; a Teacher Academy; two P-Tech Schools; and the 3D Scholars Program with University of Maryland Global Campus. She also helped found the Prince George’s County Promise Scholarship, which provides financial support for college students graduating from Prince George’s County.

“President Dukes is a talented educator and leader who is passionate about Prince George’s Community College, the County, and the region,” said Sidney Gibson, chair of Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) Board of Trustees. “We are pleased that she has served this community as president for 13 years.”  

Dr. Dukes was the college’s very first woman president of PGCC. In 2013, she was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame; in 2016, honored with a medal and certificate as a Woman in American History; and, was recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of the 100 most powerful women in the region in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.

This fall, Dr. Dukes announced her retirement for this upcoming summer. “It’s been an amazing journey, and I leave with no regrets,” she said. “I hope I’ve been able to impact [the community] as much as it has impacted me.”

Dr. Dukes is Secretary of The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees. She will retire from Prince George’s Community College on June 30, 2020.

A Leader of the Years

“Receiving this award means a great deal to me, not because I am the honoree, but because I so deeply believe in what Leadership Greater Washington (LGW) members do, every day, year after year.”

Artis Hampshire-Cowan is a self-identified “board doctor.” As a governance professional who works with boards, CEOs, and executive leadership, she is passionate about ensuring effective leadership at organizations.

“The best part of my [profession] is I get to help organizations become high performing,” she says.

Hampshire-Cowan recently completed a 23-year tenure at Howard University, which included serving as senior vice president and secretary, interim CEO and acting president. Prior to her role as senior vice president, she served concurrently as secretary and vice president for human resource management and provided executive oversight for Howard University’s workforce of 6,000+.

Leadership Greater Washington, the region’s premiere leadership incubator, recently announced Hampshire-Cowan as the 2020 Leader of the Years. The award, which celebrates local leaders that are furthering community impact and advancing leadership collaboration in the region, connects directly to her work in the community.

“I focus my work as much as possible on organizations that have a regional agenda,” Hampshire-Cowan says. “I seek to connect and leverage relationships to advance the essential mission of these important organizations.

Currently, she is Founding Principal of Leveraged Leadership Group, a corporate governance consulting firm that works with clients on governance, management consulting, and workforce development.

Artis Hampshire Cowan is Vice Chair of The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees, where she says, “my hope is to accelerate The Community Foundation’s brand as the community’s guardian for the Greater Washington region.” Hampshire Cowan will be honored with Leadership Greater Washington’s Leader of the Years award at its annual dinner.

$5.2 Million Raised for COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund and $1 Million Granted to Local Nonprofit Partners

The Greater Washington Community Foundation has mobilized more than $5.2 million in community support for its COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund and made new grants totaling $1 million to 14 nonprofits serving residents of Washington, DC, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland. Through this Fund, which launched on March 13 in collaboration with regional partners, The Community Foundation is working to rapidly raise and deploy critical resources to nonprofits responding to the urgent health and economic needs of disproportionately impacted communities in the region.

“During this time of crisis and uncertainty, we are inspired by how our generous donors and community partners are stepping up to help us meet the evolving needs and challenges associated with the impacts of coronavirus on this region,” said Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “The Community Foundation is committed to working with our partners to address both the immediate needs of our neighbors and to plan for the longer term needs of our communities.”

New Grants Announced

Since opening an online request for proposals last week, The Community Foundation has received more than 500 requests for funding across five issue areas: Education and Youth, Employment and Small Business, Medical Care and Access, Housing and Homelessness, and General Operating Support.

The following nonprofit organizations were selected this week to receive a total of $1 million in funding based on their alignment with the Fund’s strategic priorities and their ability to both address urgent needs and reach historically underserved populations.

General Operating Support:

• Network for Victim Recovery to provide staff with living wages, support clients through the Survivor Support Fund, and provide frontline staff at hospitals with hazard pay.  

• Greater Baden Medical Services, Inc. to help stabilize and recover from a sharp drop in revenue due to the COVID crisis, ensuring it continues to provide health care services in Prince George’s County.

• Greater DC Diaper Bank to provide low-income families with a reliable source of diapers, formula, feminine products, and baby gear.

Education and Youth:

• CollegeTracks to provide virtual supports and additional assistance for first-generation-to-college students from low-income, minority, and immigrant families.

• Generation Hope to serve teen parents and their children who may experience or have experienced homelessness, foster care, abuse, and food insecurity.   

• New Futures to serve under-resourced young people pursuing postsecondary degrees while struggling with loss of income, lack of childcare, or adjusting to distance learning and remote work.

Employment and Small Business:

• Community Services Agency of the Metro Washington AFL-CIO to provide financial assistance directly to workers demonstrating need. 

• Martha’s Table to provide a weekly cash stipend to Ward 8 families facing lack of childcare and temporary loss of income for parents and caregivers.

Housing and Homelessness:

• House of Ruth to serve women and survivors of domestic violence and help mitigate the risk of increased homelessness for these populations.

• Miriam's Kitchen to continue providing services and essential frontline support to people experiencing homelessness.

• Calvary Women’s Services to serve women experiencing homelessness in Ward 8.

• Pathways to Housing DC to continue providing outreach and to maintain access to medical and psychiatric care for people living on the streets.

Medical Care and Access:

• CCI Health & Wellness Services to purchase PPE kits, COVID-19 Test Kits, and software to provide critical services to minority, immigrant, low-income, and uninsured or underinsured populations.

• Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC to implement care through a telehealth system, replenish PPE to protect providers and patients, and to create virtual workshops.

To date, the Fund has made nearly $1.8 million in grants. A full list of all nonprofits supported by this Fund is available at www.thecommunityfoundation.org/covid-19-grant-recipients.

“Our funding is targeted toward our nonprofit partners serving the most vulnerable communities in our region, including low wage workers, hourly and gig economy workers, health care providers, people of color, and people experiencing homelessness,” said Tonia Wellons. “These flexible grants will help stabilize our nonprofit partners and allow them to begin addressing the economic shocks brought on by this crisis so they can meet the increase in demand for their services. More importantly, this funding will enable them to expand critical medical care, shelter/housing, financial or other supports and services to provide relief for individuals and families facing hardship across this region.”

Mobilizing Community Support

In addition to The Community Foundation’s initial commitment of $150,000 to launch the Fund, support for this effort has come from The Community Foundation’s donors, local foundations, corporate partners, and online contributions. A full list of donors and partners is available at www.thecommunityfoundation.org/covid-19-our-partners.

Donors include:

Amazon

Aviv Foundation

Diane & Norman Bernstein Foundation

Booz Allen Hamilton

The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation

Comcast

The Crimsonbridge Foundation

The Lois and Richard England Family Foundation

Philip L. Graham Fund

Harman Family Foundation

Horizon Therapeutics

International Monetary Fund Giving Together

The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation

Richard E. and Nancy P. Marriott Foundation

Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation

Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda Gates company

PNC

Prince Charitable Trusts

Target

United Solutions

Washington AIDS Partnership

Washington Gas

Weissberg Foundation

Wells Fargo Foundation

The World Bank Group Community Connections Fund

200+ individual online donations from community members with gifts ranging in size from $10 - $5,000

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As the global pandemic continues, we will continue to make grants from our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. We anticipate doing so on a weekly basis.

If you’d like to contribute to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, you can read more and donate below.

New COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund Grants Announced

The Community Foundation established the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to support emergency preparedness and response efforts that will help mitigate the impact on disproportionately affected communities in our region. Through this fund, we are focused on addressing lost wages, providing relief for small businesses and gig economy workers, expanding access to medical services, and meeting the unique needs of people experiencing homelessness, among other needs.

Read more about our priorities, which include education and youth, workforce and small business, medical care and access, homelessness and housing, and general operating support for nonprofits to help fill critical gaps.

This week, we are pleased to announce new grants to nonprofit organizations focused on the critical health care needs of people experiencing homeless. These grants will support nonprofits that provide essential health care services for the homeless population in Washington, DC, and Montgomery County, Maryland, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of $175,000 in grants was awarded to:

• Unity Health Care, Inc is the largest network of community health centers in Washington, DC. Unity provides comprehensive primary and specialty health care and wrap-around services, regardless of ability to pay, at numerous traditional and non-traditional sites.

  Unity received a $100,000 grant to increase capacity to serve people in shelters and congregate settings, as well as in quarantine locations. The funds will help provide health care to those who are ill, and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

• Mobile Medical Care (MobileMed) serves low-income, uninsured, and Medicaid-enrolled residents of Montgomery County, Maryland. MobileMed offers a network of primary care clinics, and specialty care clinics located throughout the county to reach areas of greatest unmet medical need. They also provide primary care and nurse case management services at two County homelessness shelters.

  MobileMed received a $75,000 grant to increase capacity to serve people experiencing homelessness at shelters and via telehealth.

These providers are already going above and beyond to serve people who do not have a home where they can isolate or quarantine. Even with the severe shortages of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies, they continue to provide essential services to some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

As the global pandemic continues, we will continue to make grants from our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. We anticipate doing so on a weekly basis.

If you’d like to apply, please review our Request for Proposals and submit your application.

If you’d like to contribute to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, you can read more and donate below.

Tonia Wellons Named CEO of Greater Washington Community Foundation

The Board of Trustees of the Greater Washington Community Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of Tonia Wellons as President and CEO. This selection is the result of a rigorous search process conducted by executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, in partnership with a committee of six Community Foundation Trustees.

While serving as Interim CEO since early October, Tonia has guided The Community Foundation through this leadership transition by ensuring the organization maintained its donor services, continued its programs, and advanced fundraising efforts in order to deepen community impact work. Over the past month, Tonia has led The Community Foundation as it quickly shifted to respond to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak in Greater Washington, helping raise nearly $4.5 million for local relief and recovery efforts.

“As our community continues to face the crisis and uncertainty brought on by the global coronavirus pandemic, Tonia’s steadfast vision and leadership of The Community Foundation offers us hope and much needed continuity for the critical work of addressing this community’s immediate and long-term needs,” said Katharine Weymouth, chair of the Board of Trustees, Greater Washington Community Foundation. “This is a crucial time of both need and opportunity for The Community Foundation as an anchor institution that is uniquely positioned to help our community weather this crisis and come out stronger and more resilient on the other side. Tonia’s expertise in community development, both globally and locally, and her leadership skills combined with her personal connection to this region, make her ideally suited to accelerate our impact in the community.”

Previously, as our VP of Community Investment, Tonia spearheaded multiple initiatives that have had tremendous impact in the region. She led the launch of VoicesDMV, a community engagement initiative designed to understand the quality of life in the region by surveying residents and hosting community conversations. Based on what we learned from VoicesDMV, Tonia led a refresh of our Community Investment framework to focus on Building Thriving Communities by disrupting poverty, deepening culture and human connection, and preparing for the future of work.

Under this new framework, Tonia has been instrumental to the launch of several community impact initiatives, including the Partnership to End Homelessness, a public-private initiative focused on DC, and re-centering the Children’s Opportunity Fund to address the achievement gap for low-income students in Montgomery County. She also co-led the strategic refresh of our Prince George’s County agenda to include more philanthropic and strategic partners and focus investments on education and workforce development.

Prior to joining The Community Foundation in 2016, Tonia was a political appointee for the Obama Administration as head of global partnerships at the Peace Corps. She previously served as fund manager of a multi-donor initiative focused on financial access and inclusion at the World Bank Group. She also spent a significant part of her career working on USAID-funded capacity development initiatives during the immediate post-apartheid era in South Africa and the broader sub-Sahara region. In 2010, Tonia founded the Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund (PGCSIF) and its flagship initiative Forty Under 40 Prince George’s, designed to increase social capital in the county where Tonia has lived for nearly 24 years.

“It is an honor to become President and CEO of the region’s largest public foundation, and to lead our team of talented and passionate employees, dedicated to serving this community,” said Tonia Wellons. “I’ve been proud to support The Community Foundation’s mission to Build Thriving Communities and now look forward to working even more closely with Katharine and our board to build on a strong foundation and nearly 50-year history of positively impacting our community.”

Please join us in congratulating Tonia by sharing this announcement on social media or by commenting, liking, or sharing The Community Foundation’s announcement on our Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn channels.

Community Foundation Announces Grants for Prince George’s County Nonprofits Responding to COVID-19

The Greater Washington Community Foundation, working in partnership with County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks’ Administration and Prince George’s County Public Schools, has announced $650,000 in grants to support local nonprofits responding to the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Prince George’s County residents. The grants will be administered by The Community Foundation, as part of its COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, with funding provided by a personal contribution from Sam Brin, a former Prince George’s County resident.

The first $550,000 in funds will assist 15 local nonprofit organizations providing direct services and support to address the immediate health and economic needs of individuals, youth, families, and disproportionately impacted communities in Prince George’s County. The funds will help to:

• Reduce food and housing insecurity

• Mitigate the impact of reduced wages and lost work for low-wage workers, especially for people of color who are disproportionately affected

• Expand medical care access to seniors, marginalized communities, and the uninsured

• Enhance educational access and services for out of school children and youth from low-income families

• Address the unique needs of people experiencing homelessness and people at risk of homelessness

An additional $100,000 in funds will support Prince George’s County Public Schools to help defray the cost of internet connectivity and ensure every senior in need has internet access to participate in distance learning for the remainder of the school year.

“We are grateful to our generous donors and strategic partners for stepping up to help us meet the evolving needs and challenges associated with the impacts of coronavirus on Prince George’s County residents,” said Tonia Wellons, Interim President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “The Community Foundation is committed to working with our partners to address both the immediate needs of our neighbors and to plan for the longer term needs of our communities. During this time of crisis and uncertainty, we are inspired by how members of our community, and beyond, have come together to care for one another.”

“Even in the absence of a pandemic, our nonprofits do invaluable work for Prince George’s County families facing difficult times,” said Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. “We are thankful for our partners like The Community Foundation who are truly showing the strength and power of our community while ensuring our residents can make it through these unprecedented times.”

"The ability to work with partners such as the Greater Washington Community Foundation allows us to ensure that all contributions dedicated to Prince George’s County are being monitored and administered directly to the organizations that need it most,” said Diana Léon Brown, Director of Strategic Partnerships in the Office of the Prince George’s County Executive.

"We are grateful for the generous $100,000 donation from former PGCPS student, Sam Brin," said Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Monica Goldson. "His donation, in partnership with the Greater Washington Community Foundation, will help PGCPS defray the cost of internet connectivity and ensure every senior in need has internet access for the remainder of the school year. We look forward to continuing to work with our community partners as we strive to meet the needs of our students."

"Prince George's County welcomed my Soviet refugee family with open arms, and was a nice place to call home,” said Sam Brin. “I consider it my responsibility to help residents meet their basic needs and hope other prospective donors will join me."

Sam Brin was raised in Prince George’s County, attended Prince George’s County Public Schools, and studied Computer Science and Physics at the University of Maryland. Although Mr. Brin no longer resides in the county, he made this personal contribution to give back to the community where he was raised and his family called home.

The nonprofit organizations receiving grants this round include:

Community Crisis Services, Inc.
Community Outreach & Development CDC
Employ Prince George’s
Food & Friends
Hyattsville Aging in Place
Jobs Have Priority
La Clinica del Pueblo
Latin American Youth Center
Laurel Advocacy and Referral Services
Mary’s Center
Mission of Love Charities
Prince George’s Child Resource Center
SHABACH! Ministries
The Arc
United Communities Against Poverty

“During economic hardships, the most vulnerable populations are always those who have less prior to the recession. Most of these residents, and households, are living paycheck to paycheck, always wondering how they will pay the next bill or provide the next meal,” said Walter L. Simmons, President & CEO, Employ Prince George's. “The Greater Washington Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund is allowing Prince George’s County community partners to provide immediate resources to these people. Employ Prince George’s will be able to provide payments to pay a bill and put food on the table!”

For the latest information and resources on the county’s COVID-19 response, go to https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/3397/Coronavirus.

For more information and to make a contribution for Prince George’s County through The Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund, visit www.thecommunityfoundation.org

About the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund
The Greater Washington Community Foundation, in collaboration with regional partners, established the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to rapidly deploy critical resources to nonprofits responding to the urgent health and economic needs of disproportionately impacted communities. Through this fund, we are focused on addressing lost wages for hourly and gig economy workers, supporting out of school children and youth, expanding access to medical services, and meeting the unique needs of people experiencing homelessness. To date, The Community Foundation has raised more than $4.3 million for relief and recovery efforts that will support our most vulnerable neighbors.

Community Foundation Announces Unprecedented Community Support for Emergency COVID-19 Response Fund

Editor’s note: This post was updated on April 6 to reflect additional contributions to the fund.

Region’s Largest Community Foundation has raised and committed $4.7 million to support disproportionately impacted communities

Across the region, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is rising and the situation is rapidly evolving. The health, social, and economic implications of this pandemic are already being felt and could continue to be staggering to our region.

Last week, The Community Foundation launched the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to support emergency preparedness and response efforts to help mitigate the impact on disproportionately affected communities in our region. Through this fund, we are focused on addressing lost wages, relief for small businesses and gig economy workers, expanding access to medical services, and meeting the unique needs of people experiencing homelessness, among other issues.

Since launching the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, The Community Foundation has raised and committed more than $4.7 million in contributions from both individual donors and institutional funders.

You can join this effort to ensure our region is prepared to meet the evolving needs and challenges associated with this public health emergency and economic crisis. Your contribution will help support and assist our nonprofit partners working on the frontlines to provide supplies and direct services to affected communities, especially low-income communities, hourly wage and gig economy workers, people of color, and people experiencing homelessness who may be disproportionately impacted.

“We know that missing one shift or even one paycheck can mean members of our community, especially the region’s low-wage workers, struggle to pay rent, afford groceries, and otherwise provide for their families,” said Tonia Wellons, Interim President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “The outpouring of support from our community has been nothing short of incredible! We are truly inspired by our community coming together to help each other out during a difficult time. Your support helps us deploy critical resources to our nonprofit partners responding to the urgent health and economic needs of our communities.”

In addition to The Community Foundation’s initial commitment of $150,000 to seed the fund, support for this effort has come from several individual, philanthropic, and corporate partners. Initial partners and contributions to this fund include:

• The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation has approved a $1 million grant, $750,000 outright and $250,000 as a 1:1 match

• Thanks to a generous matching challenge grant from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, starting today all additional contributions to this fund will be matched up to $500,000

• More than $750,000 in individual contributions from The Community Foundation’s donors and donations from community members ranging in size from $10 - $5,000

• $350,000 from Amazon as part of a $1 million total contribution to four local community foundations serving residents of the Greater Washington region

• $250,000 from Diane & Norman Bernstein Foundation and Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation

• $200,000 from Public Welfare Foundation

• $150,000 from Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda Gates company, and Wells Fargo Foundation

• $100,000 from Philip L. Graham Fund, Richard E. and Nancy P. Marriott Foundation, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, and Target

• $75,000 from Horizon Therapeutics and PNC

• $60,000 from International Monetary Fund Giving Together

• $50,000 from the Lois and Richard England Family Foundation, Prince Charitable Trusts, Washington AIDS Partnership, Weissberg Foundation, and the World Bank Group Community Connections Fund

• $25,000 from Booz Allen Hamilton and Comcast

• $10,000 from The Crimsonbridge Foundation and United Solutions

“During these challenging times, the Foundation is pleased to support the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund,” said Calvin Cafritz, President and CEO, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. “We want to ensure that nonprofits, and the communities they serve, are able to survive this crisis and thrive in the future. We are happy to work with the Greater Washington Community Foundation, and others, to help local organizations in both the short- and long-term.”

"In keeping with Mr. Clark's commitment to the Washington, DC region, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation believes that this is a time to come together as a community to provide resources to our neighbors,” said Joe Del Guercio, President and CEO of the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. “The Greater Washington Community Foundation is uniquely positioned to respond to this evolving crisis and address the immediate and long-term needs of the region. We are proud to partner with them on this effort.”

“Right now, our nonprofit partners need flexible resources in order to fill critical gaps and meet increased demand for their services, while they also grapple with their own fundraising and volunteer shortfalls,” said Tonia Wellons, Interim President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “The Community Foundation is committed to addressing both the immediate needs of people in our region and we’re planning for the longer term needs of communities to ensure our region remains strong and resilient.”

“The Wells Fargo Foundation is appreciative of the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s leadership as our region – and the world – faces unprecedented challenge,” said Anna Bard, Senior Vice President and Community Affairs Manager for DMV at Wells Fargo. “We have chosen to provide a $150,000 investment because we trust The Community Foundation to exercise their convening power and work collaboratively to identify the best means of supporting vulnerable members of our community.”

“Thousands of World Bank Group staff and retirees call the Washington, DC region home and they are eager to help their local communities’ response to the COVID-19 virus,” said Lindsey Buss, Senior Officer, Community Outreach at The World Bank. “Through this emergency grant, from staff/retiree donations and World Bank Group matching funds, to The Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, we are happy to be a part of an ongoing and flexible support system for our community and neighbors.”

The Community Foundation will administer grants in cooperation with our local government advisors and philanthropic partners. In order to move resources quickly, funds will be released on a rolling basis throughout the outbreak and recovery phases of this crisis, making it possible to adapt to evolving needs in subsequent funding rounds.

With a mission to Build Thriving Communities, The Community Foundation brings together people and resources to tackle critical community issues and leads community impact initiatives to ensure our region is healthy and thriving. The Community Foundation is best known for establishing and managing the Survivor’s Fund, which from 2001-2008 raised and deployed $25 million in support for emergency services to families and victims of the 9/11 Pentagon attack. In 2008, The Community Foundation also created the Neighbors in Need fund and raised more than $5 million to support local residents hit hardest by the economic crisis. More recently, The Community Foundation’s Resilience Fund helped workers displaced by the partial Federal Government shutdown in January 2019 by funding nonprofits providing emergency cash and food assistance to our neighbors.

More information is available at www.thecommunityfoundation.org/covid-19.

Amazon Donates $1 Million to Washington, DC Region Community Foundations to Kick-Start Emergency COVID-19 Response Funds

Donation will support the four largest local community foundations serving residents of the Greater Washington region: ACT for Alexandria, Arlington Community Foundation, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, and the Greater Washington Community Foundation – this five-part partnership is strategically positioned to support nonprofits at the frontlines of the region’s Coronavirus response 

Local businesses, community groups, and individuals are encouraged to get involved

Arlington, VA—March 18, 2020 — Amazon has donated $1 million total to kick-start collaborative emergency COVID-19 response funds that will immediately benefit four local community foundations across the Greater Washington region who are working to support vulnerable populations disproportionately impacted amid the coronavirus outbreak. ACT for Alexandria, Arlington Community Foundation, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, and the Greater Washington Community Foundation will each use these funds for grants to nonprofits addressing food insecurity, housing/shelter, and providing emergency financial assistance. This gift will allow each foundation to lean into their unique strengths and community connections to rapidly disperse resources to nonprofits with deep roots in our community and strong experience serving our most vulnerable neighbors.

The donation from Amazon to the four community foundations is coming at a critical time to bolster frontline services and safety net needs across the District, Maryland, and Virginia. The community foundations recognize that the fast-moving crisis will require both immediate action and long-range planning to best serve those most impacted. Amazon’s donation will be distributed to provide imperative flexible resources to organizations working with communities who are disproportionately impacted by coronavirus and the economic consequences of the outbreak including hourly workers, people experiencing homelessness, and the elderly.

“So many families in our community were already on the financial edge. The need for food, household items and emergency financial assistance is significant,” said Heather Peeler, president and CEO of ACT for Alexandria. “This support enables us to collectively help those who are hardest hit.”

“Our four organizations are working closely together to respond in a nimble way to address the most critical needs facing our neighbors,” said Jennifer Owens, president and CEO of the Arlington Community Foundation. “We know that we are stronger together and hope this gift will inspire others to jump in and do what they can to improve outcomes for our neighbors in need.”

“Amazon’s support allows us to deploy critical resources in response to the urgent health and economic needs of our communities,” said Tonia Wellons, interim president and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “We are specifically targeting resources to low-income communities, hourly wage and gig economy workers, and people of color who will be disproportionately impacted. We also know that people experiencing homelessness and direct service providers face unique health risks that must be addressed.”

“As COVID-19 is a public health issue, our community foundations will seek input from public health officials to understand how philanthropy optimally folds into the greater community response,” said Eileen Ellsworth, president and CEO of Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. “This is also an economic issue, and to the greatest extent possible, we will use this gift to respond to the economic impacts of the virus in our service areas.”

“The Washington, D.C. area is our new home, and we must rally together to support our neighbors during this difficult time for our region and around the world,” said Jay Carney, Amazon SVP, Global Corporate Affairs. “In addition to making sure our Amazon customers can get the essentials they need, we will support our community partners who are doing life-saving work. Amazon’s $1 million donation to these four community groups will provide fast, flexible support to those who need it most and encourage a wave of additional community donations during this unprecedented time.”

“We are just coming to grips with the full scope of the impact of COVID-19 on our community,” said Justin Wilson, Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia. “The human service needs, economic impact and strains on our critical services will be with us long into the future. We have a resilient community and this contribution will help bring our City and our resident back stronger than ever.”

“Arlington welcomes Amazon’s donation to the Arlington Community Foundation,” Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey said. “We hope this is the first of many donations by Amazon and our other corporate citizens who recognize the need to partner with County government, and Arlington nonprofits during this public health crisis.”

The funds will be deployed in the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland through the Greater Washington Community Foundation; Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William counties and the cities of Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park through the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia; the City of Alexandria through ACT for Alexandria; and Arlington County through the Arlington Community Foundation.

Other businesses, community groups, and individuals interested in the COVID-19 response funds can visit: www.thecommunityfoundation.org/covid-19-our-partners/#nova.

As a global company, Amazon is closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19. In addition to those who are affected by the illness, many more are indirectly dealing with changes in their work, school, and community environments. You can read more about how Amazon is supporting customers, their employees, and communities here.

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Learn more:

• ACT for Alexandria: www.actforalexandria.org

• Arlington Community Foundation: www.arlcf.org

• Community Foundation for Northern Virginia: www.cfnova.org

• Greater Washington Community Foundation: www.thecommunityfoundation.org

About the Greater Washington Community Foundation

The Greater Washington Community Foundation exists to Build Thriving Communities by guiding strategic philanthropy, providing leadership on critical issues, promoting civic engagement, and inspiring local giving. Founded in 1973, The Community Foundation is a public charity made up of hundreds of charitable giving funds established by generous individuals, families, and businesses. We work with donors and partners to enhance the quality of life in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Northern Virginia, and Prince George’s County. As the region’s largest local funder, we manage $350 million in assets and have invested nearly $1.3 billion to build more equitable, just, and enriching communities where all residents can thrive.