Investments on a mission

By Shannon Scott, CFO, Greater Washington Community Foundation

The end of the year is a great time to take stock of our financial choices throughout the year and make changes that may set us up for success in the year ahead. Achieving your philanthropic goals requires informed, strategic, and thoughtful investment options. At the Community Foundation, we have expanded those options to provide you with more opportunities to sustain your fund and increase your capacity to invest in nonprofits now and in the future.

To optimize your philanthropic investment, you can choose from the following to allocate all or part of your fund’s investment.

Community Foundation Investment Options

Combined Investment Fund – This global balanced fund is the most common investment choice for our donors. We manage and minimize risk, diversify the portfolio with quality investments, monitor investments versus benchmarks, and provide diligent committee oversight to put you in position to support current and future programmatic work and grant making. Since inception (in 1998), the fund has earned an annualized return 5.58%, net of investment management fees.

Vanguard Index Funds – In response to our donors’ request for a low-cost indexed funds, The Community Foundation added four new index funds. An index fund is a passively managed fund, meaning that the intent is to match the risk and return of the broad market indexes. These mutual funds attempt to mimic the performance of an index, such as the S&P 500, by owning the same stocks as those in the S&P 500. Its best qualities are limited protections from market anomalies and lower costs due to lower trading volume and less hands-on research. Our existing index funds include an equity fund (Vanguard Institutional Index Fund Institutional Shares) and a fixed income (bond) fund (Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Institutional Shares); two Treasury funds (Treasury Money Market and Short-Term Treasury) became available October 1, 2019.

Impact Investment – Working with Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Inc., we offer a place-based mission investing opportunity for donors. You may allocate a portion of your fund at The Community Foundation to invest in the development of deeply affordable and supportive housing in the region. As part of our Partnership to End Homelessness impact initiative with Enterprise, allocating dollars to this initiative supports our efforts to respond to the homelessness crisis by developing deeply affordable housing for our most marginalized neighbors.

Cash – Keeping your fund 100% liquid in cash is also an option for donors. The average money market rate over the past 13 months is 2.24%, ranging from a high of 2.47% to a current low of 1.62%. This option offers the least amount of risk and the corresponding yield reflects that.

Separately Managed Fund – Finally, if you have over $500,000 in your fund, you may name an external investment advisor to manage your investments.

When making decisions about which of these options is right for you, we encourage you to consider your risk tolerance, grantmaking time horizon, and philanthropic intentions for your fund.

If you would like to learn more about any of these investment options or talk to us about reallocating all or part of your fund’s investment, please contact Shannon Scott or Juliana Mitrojorgji.

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This is distributed for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal, tax, accounting or investment advice. The information, opinions and views contained herein have not been tailored to the investment objectives of any one individual. Nothing contained herein should be construed as investment advice. Any reference to an investment’s past or potential performance is not and should not be construed as a recommendation or as a guarantee of any specific outcome or profit. Any ideas or strategies discussed herein should not be undertaken by any individual without prior consultation with a financial professional for the purpose of assessing whether the ideas or strategies that are discussed are suitable to you based on your own personal financial objectives, needs, and risk tolerance.

Tips for Family Giving

By Anna Hargrave, Executive Director for Montgomery County

“How can we get our children involved in giving?” This is one of the questions we hear frequently from our donors, especially around this time of year. We hear it about children of all ages—because parents never stop thinking about how to pass on their values.

And we have plenty of ideas to offer from our many years of working with individuals and families to maximize the benefits and impact of their giving. Here’s a taste:

Donors with their children and friends at one of The Community Foundation’s family-friendly learning events.

TAKE YOUR CHILDREN WITH YOU when you volunteer or attend an event sponsored by an organization you care about, such as a site visit, presentation, or fundraiser. The rides to and from the event provide the perfect opportunity to prepare them for the experience and then to debrief. Be sure to tell them why you care, and ask about their reactions.

HOLIDAY GATHERINGS are the ideal setting for starting a conversation. With multiple generations represented at the table, it’s a fine time to introduce and discuss what each of you, and each generation, share in common and where you differ. Two simple ideas:

• Storytelling - Many families tell treasured stories at each holiday. (If you need to jump-start the storytelling, check out these questions from StoryCorps.) Consider adding a new chapter to each story, telling how it makes you think about what you are most grateful for, and how you might express that through your giving.

• Family giving circle - Invite everyone to join in giving together. For example, adults might all chip in an amount that the under-18 set are tasked with distributing. The kids can discuss and then report out to the whole family about their selection and what inspired them to choose that specific nonprofit. (Tip: The Catalogue for Philanthropy offers a browsable directory of local charities that are vetted by experts.)

Through a kid-to-kid giving circle, local middle school students got to experience the fun of discovering and making grants to great nonprofits.

ORGANIZE A FAMILY MEETING to deepen intergenerational ties and develop a plan that expresses your family’s core values. In our fast-paced culture it’s easy to skip straight to reviewing a list of potential organizations to support. But whether the next generation is six or sixty, it’s important to first carve out time for the kids and parents to uncover the values and life experiences that shape your giving priorities. Talking through a few key questions enables everyone to coalesce around a shared vision, help avoid conflict later and make it easier to get everyone to a resounding “yes” when you find the exact right causes to support.

The Community Foundation’s professional staff can design a meeting around your particular needs to write a family mission statement, identify goals and grantmaking priorities, and we can facilitate one-time or annual family meetings.

In working with hundreds of families, we’ve often seen most parents discover that giving helps them achieve more than one goal.  Conversations about philanthropy provide a platform for passing on values and can spark a passion so that the next generation experiences the joy of making a difference. Philanthropy can also keep family members close even as the kids grow up, move away, and get busy with careers and starting their own families.

Best of all, when you see your children thoughtfully and joyfully engaged in giving, you’ll know that your family legacy is in good hands.

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Ready to find out more? Contact us at [email protected].

Family Philanthropy: Siblings Working Together in Honor of their Parents

“I feel we’re continuing our parent’s legacy and reinforcing things that were important to them and enriched their lives.”

— Ellen Ross

At The Community Foundation, we love to help families experience the joy of giving and share their legacy with family members. One example of the power of families engaging in philanthropy comes from Rose and Harold Kramer who moved to Silver Spring in the early 1940s, where they raised three daughters and a son. Harold, after leaving the government, owned and operated several business ventures while Rose taught school before turning her attention to civic activities. Over the years, she was active in the League of Women Voters; served on the Montgomery County School Board, where she led the fight for school desegregation; and was elected to the Montgomery County Council, where she pushed for affordable housing.

Looking back, Ellen Ross recalls, "My mother became aware through her work that there were a lot of people in our community in need and a lot of inequities. Even a cross burning on our lawn didn't deter her from doing what she believed in."

"Dad had paved the way by making good investments, but mom was the driving force," says Ellen.

At the end of their lives, Rose and Harold told their children of their plan to create a fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation with a generous portion of their assets. When Rose passed away in 2006, the Rose and Harold Kramer Fund was established. Each year, one of their four children has the responsibility of making grants from the fund.  Reflecting on their parents’ legacy, the siblings all make a point to give to issues that move them individually while also investing in causes that they know would have inspired their mom and dad.

Early in the process, Ellen met with Anna Hargrave, Executive Director of The Community Foundation in Montgomery County. "Anna reads your personality really well and saw right away what I reacted well to. My first year was wonderfully interesting."

A resident of Wheaton, Ellen expressed an interest in local groups that provide after-school activities and college preparation for teens living in this multicultural neighborhood. In turn, Anna presented Ellen with a list of a dozen highly effective groups working with middle and high school students.  She then joined Anna in visiting several of the organizations to connect with the leaders, see their programs in action, and hear directly from students about how these programs support their success.

Reflecting on her experience, Ellen shared, “With the gaps between the economically secure and insecure growing wider every year, The Community Foundation has made me aware of programs that most effectively lessen the impact in Montgomery County. My husband and I have independently stepped up to do our share and always feel rewarded by knowing our diverse community has well designed programs to support a range of needs.”

Ensuring an Equitable Future for Our Region Through a Fair and Accurate Census Count

The 2020 Count DMV In Census Project is proud to announce its first round of grants to ensure an accurate, and complete census count in the Greater Washington region. Grants will support 20 local nonprofit organizations undertaking education, outreach, and assistance focused on hard-to-count communities in the region, ahead of the March 2020 census, with a goal of increasing census participation in those communities.

The 2020 Count DMV In Census Project recognizes that a complete and accurate census count is critical for advancing racial equity in our communities. Historically, the census count disproportionately left out communities of color, immigrants, young children, low-income, and rural households. It is estimated that more than 55,000 individuals were “undercounted” in this region in 2010. With that many people undercounted, the full picture of our communities and their needs cannot possibly be captured.

Video courtesy of the United Way of the National Capital Area, a funder of the 2020 Count DMV In Census Project.

When populations are undercounted in the census, communities are impacted in multiple ways, with communities of color the most adversely impacted. For example, the census count determines the number of representatives a region has in government. An undercount could mean less representation than necessary for some of our most hard-to-count populations, resulting in a loss of power, influence, and likely decreased focus and mismatched investments in their priorities and concerns, which will have real consequences for the next decade. Federal funding for social service programs – such as maternal and child health, Head Start, supplemental food programs, subsidized housing, and other human services (more than $24 billion to DC, Maryland, and Virginia combined!)— could be drastically reduced and fail to meet the full needs of our communities that are historically and persistently subjected to divestment. Businesses that are urgently needed – like grocery stores and healthcare providers – may fail to open in under-resourced neighborhoods because the data does not reflect current or potential for future demand.

With the importance of the census count in mind, we are proud to award a total of $287,000 to organizations committed to a fair and accurate count of all residents of the DMV. The organizations listed below are focusing on a variety of communities in our region, including people living with disabilities, communities of color, returning citizens, and more. These organizations also work with communities across the Greater Washington region, including DC, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Northern Virginia. We encourage you to read below to learn not only which organizations we funded, but also how they specifically plan to encourage historically undercounted communities to participate in the census and be heard.

Donors to the 2020 Count DMV In Census Project include Bainum Family Foundation, the Bauman Foundation, Consumer Health Foundation, Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, United Way of the National Capital Area, and Weissberg Foundation. The Greater Washington Community Foundation administers grants on behalf of the project and conducted a rigorous application review process to vet grantee organizations for funding.

2020 Count DMV In Census Project Grant Recipients

Arc of the District of Columbia, Inc. to engage and educate people living with disabilities to complete the census with appropriate and accessible supports in place.

Asian American LEAD (AALEAD) to support efforts in Northern Virginia and Montgomery County to reach hard-to-count Asian-Pacific American populations.

CASA de Maryland, Inc. to support a census outreach program specifically promoting the participation of low-income immigrants and Latinx families in Northern Virginia.

DC Action for Children to engage children as youth ambassadors to convince families, friends, and neighbors to complete the 2020 census form and ensure that all people living in their household are counted.

District of Columbia Baptist Convention to support residents served by District of Columbia Baptist Convention’s interfaith member congregations in the DMV region through educational and awareness campaigns.

Edu-Futuro to reach hard-to-count Latinx populations in the DMV region through Linea Directa, a half-hour Spanish language program focusing on the importance of participating in the census. 

Ethiopian Community Center, Inc. to ensure that newly arrived African-immigrant residents in Montgomery County, MD have the information and support they need to participate fully in the 2020 census, by engaging individuals and families with limited English proficiency.

Greater Washington Urban League to fulfill the needs of census outreach and participation for people of color in the District, specifically wards 5, 7, and 8.

Justice for Muslims Collective (Defending Rights and Dissent Inc.) to engage Arab, Middle East Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities and businesses through outreach and awareness building in the DMV region. 

La Clinica del Pueblo (Promotores) to support promotoras de salud (community health workers) who will conduct education and outreach to hard-to-reach Latinx populations to encourage participation in the 2020 census.

Latino Economic Development Corporation to educate and reach out to small businesses in DC on the importance of the census.

Montgomery College Foundation - Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center to support student ambassadors at Montgomery College to engage in strategic outreach in hard-to-count communities in Montgomery County, MD.

National Korean American Service and Education Consortium Inc. to support outreach activities including education and raising awareness of the census within the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in Northern Virginia.

Prince George’s County Children’s Resource Center to advance census work in Prince George’s County to engage families and children ages 0-5.

Progressive Maryland Education Fund to engage low-income residents and communities of color in Prince George’s County on their participation in the 2020 census.

Restaurant Opportunities Centers ROC United, Inc. to support ROC DC’s efforts to incorporate census work in its outreach and education programs designed for low-wage restaurant workers.

Seabury Resources for Aging to support outreach to low- to moderate-income older adults in DC and Silver Spring, MD.

United Planning Organization to host information sessions for participants in their training programs for people of color in wards 5,7, and 8 and encourage students in its employment training programs to apply for positions in support of the census. 

Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights Inc. to support outreach efforts in Northern Virginia, specifically to Latinx, Asian, and African immigrant communities.

Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement to support outreach efforts to communities of color and immigrant communities in Northern Virginia.

New Tips for Your Year-End Charitable Giving

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

As the end of the year approaches, now is the time to plan for your charitable giving! The Community Foundation is here to help make your giving wise, simple, and fun. Here are a few tips of how our donors have maximized their assets to make powerful and meaningful gifts.

Tip One: Use Appreciated Assets to Diversify

If you own appreciated assets, such as stocks, that you’ve held for more than one year, consider gifting them first. When you make a gift of an appreciated asset you can benefit in the following ways:

• Receive an income tax deduction for the fair market value of the transferred stock.

• Avoid capital gains tax, regardless of how much your stock has appreciated.

For an added benefit, if you make a gift of stock rather than cash, you can use the cash you would have given to purchase more of the same stock. As a result, you will have made your gift and you still own the same stock—only now with a higher cost basis. Some donors who are concerned about a possible pending recession have used gifting to a charitable fund as an opportunity to diversify and create a pool of charitable assets, capturing gain into a fund ahead of a downturn and investing the charitable fund in cash to preserve value.

One of our long-time donors follows market activity closely. Rather than wait until year-end, he gives when he believes the market is likely at the highest it will go that year. Last year, he gave in August, gifting his stocks at their highest value before the market declined in September.

Tip Two: New Tax Laws Reward Cash Giving

Last year, one of our donors opened a substantial fund after selling her home. While she had a capital gains tax liability from the sale, the higher deduction for cash made the transaction a wash for income tax purposes.

If you are fortunate to be in a position to give a large sum in one year or over multiple years, speak with your accountant about the possible benefits of giving cash. Although it is usually better to gift appreciated assets because of the capital gains tax avoidance, under the new tax law you may now deduct up to 60% of your adjusted gross income for gifts of cash. Consider front-loading a charitable fund at The Community Foundation, maximizing our charitable income tax deduction in that year or up to five years using the carry-forward charitable deduction.

Tip Three: Unique Benefits from IRA Gifts

If you are over 70.5 and are not already doing so, consider making a gift directly to The Community Foundation from your IRA. While you may not make an IRA Charitable Rollover gift to a donor-advised fund, there are several options for establishing other types of funds that will help you achieve your charitable goals while simplifying your giving. Benefits of a charitable IRA gift include:

• Reduce Your Taxable Income: By rolling over some or all your RMD from your IRA to charity, you can reduce your taxable income this year.

• Lower Your Social Security Tax: Reducing your taxable income with an IRA rollover gift may also reduce the tax due on your social security payments.

• Avoid IRS Tax Limits: IRA rollover gifts may be made over and above the normal cash gift limit mentioned above.

• No Need to Itemize: If you do not itemize your deductions, you can still benefit from the reduction in income and tax resulting from an IRA rollover gift.

One of our donors shared that he and his wife are delighted to simplify their IRA giving through a fund at The Community Foundation. They have an additional donor-advised fund as well, for gifts outside their IRA giving.

Tip Four: Don’t Forget About Property

One of our donors is a couple who earned income from rental properties, but decided they no longer wished to manage them. Rather than sell the properties and pay the capital gains tax, they gifted two of their houses directly to a donor-advised fund at The Community Foundation. They were able to take a charitable income tax deduction for the full fair market value of the property and created a fund their children will advise when they’ve passed away.

If you own property, such as a second home, commercial, or rental properties, consider gifting all or a portion of the property directly to a charitable fund.

We hope these tips offer new ways to think about your charitable giving! Your giving is instrumental to making the Greater Washington region a more thriving, just and enriching place to live for all.

If you have questions or would like more information, contact Rebecca Rothey, [email protected] or 202-263-476.

Disclaimer: The Community Foundation does not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult your advisor before making a gift.

Rebecca Rothey, CFRE, CAP®, AEP®, gave an engaging presentation on Working with Professional Advisors to a packed room at the annual Practical Planned Giving Conference.

New Cohort of Nonprofit Leaders Selected for Leadership Development Award

David Bradt, Shannon Babe-Thomas, Jorge Figueredo, Markus Larsson, Lecester Johnson, and Alex Orfinger pose together at the awards presentation.

We’re excited to announce the second cohort of the David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award: Shannon Babe-Thomas, Jorge Figueredo, Lecester Johnson, and Markus Larsson. These four nonprofit leaders were selected from among an impressive group of more than 45 applications and nominations. They will be awarded a grant to invest in their own professional development to enhance their leadership, creative thinking, strategy, management skills, and networks. We see this award as an investment in their future, and in the future of our nonprofit sector.

The award was named after and established in honor of David Bradt, a quietly effective leader and champion of the Greater Washington region’s nonprofit sector for several decades. A few years ago, his friend Alex Orfinger wanted to find a meaningful way to salute David’s many years of service to our local community. Teaming up with David’s wife, Diane Tipton, Alex and Diane invited friends and family to join them in establishing the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Their vision was to provide an annual award to enable nonprofit leaders in the Greater Washington region to attend an intensive executive training program. Through investments in leadership development, the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund will have a long-lasting, tangible impact on our community by enhancing the capacity and influence of the region’s most effective nonprofits. Learn about the award’s first cohort: Lauren Biel, Patricia Funegra, and Adam Rocap.

With facilitation by The Community Foundation staff, the steering committee recently selected the following awardees:

David Bradt, Shannon Babe-Thomas, and Diane Tipton.

Shannon Babe-Thomas, Executive Director of Community Bridges

Community Bridges serves immigrant and minority girls, grades 4-12, and their families living at or below the federal poverty line in Montgomery County. By addressing the development needs of these girls, Community Bridges empowers them to become exception students, positive leaders, and healthy young women. Since Shannon became the executive director three years ago, Community Bridges has almost tripled the number of girls served to over 340 and doubled its cohort of mentors to 46. More than an executive director, Shannon is also a civic leader who listens to the community and thinks strategically about how Community Bridges can constantly improve to meet the evolving needs of its clients. Shannon plans to attend Stanford’s Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders.

David Bradt, Jorge Figueredo, and Diane Tipton.

Jorge Figueredo, Executive Director of Edu-Futuro

Edu-Futuro was established in 1998 to serve immigrant youth and families in Northern Virginia through its Emerging Leaders academic enrichment program for youth, its parent empowerment services, and its language enrichment programs for children. Since becoming Edu-Futuro’s executive director four years ago, Jorge has helped triple the number of clients served through Edu-Futuro’s programs to 1,694 and has been instrumental in growing the organization’s capacity. Jorge sets a tone of integrity, innovation, and creativity that will pave the way for Edu-Futuro’s success into the future. Jorge plans to attend Harvard Business Schools’ Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program.

David Bradt, Lecester Johnson, and Diane Tipton.

Lecester Johnson, CEO of Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School

Academy of Hope provides adult learners with the instructional programs and services they need to earn their high school credential, obtain workforce training, or continue onto advanced training or college. In her 13 years as CEO, Lecester has overseen Academy of Hope’s transition from a small, community-based volunteer literacy organization to an adult public charter school with Middle States Accreditation. She also helped to start and led the DC Adult and Family Literacy Coalition for three years, which advocated for resources that have helped move the needle for adult learners across the District, including the career pathways innovation fund and a fund for much-needed transportation support. Lecester plans to attend Stanford’s Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders.

David Bradt, Markus Larsson, and Diane Tipton.

Markus Larsson, Founder and Executive Director of Life Asset

Markus founded Life Asset to fill an unmet need for microloans and training for low-income entrepreneurs in the Greater Washington region. Since its creation, Life Asset has become the second largest Small Business Administration microlender in terms of number of loans under $50,000 in the country. In 2018, Life Asset provided 800 microloans and trained 1,600 entrepreneurs. Markus is known for his collaborative spirit and the learning culture he has created at Life Asset, which has helped it create a model for other microlenders. Markus is exploring management and entrepreneurship programs from Stanford, George Washington, and Georgetown.

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For more information about the awards, please contact Kate Daniel, Donor Services Associate.

The Impact of the City Fund's Investments in DC

By Tonia Wellons, Interim President and CEO

Imagine someone gave you $15 million to invest in local programs to help improve lives. Where would you invest those dollars? What information would you need to help make those decisions? How would you know if that $15 million was well spent?

While this sounds like a fantasy scenario for a foundation, these are some of the hard questions the Greater Washington Community Foundation had to ask when the District of Columbia entrusted us to lead the City Fund.

The City Fund was established in 2013 via legislation passed by the DC City Council to support former Mayor Vincent Gray’s One City Action Plan to grow and diversity the District’s economy, educate and prepare the workforce for the new economy, and improve the quality of life for all DC residents. It was designed as a five-year initiative, with the final round of City Fund grantmaking concluding in 2018. The City Fund was an unprecedented government/philanthropic partnership for our region. For the first three years, the City Fund was focused on driving community improvement around seven priority issue areas—the arts, education, the environment, health, public safety, senior and disability services, and workforce development. Over time, the City Fund’s focus shifted to support Mayor Bowser’s Safer, Stronger initiative with investments focused on improving the lives of individuals and families in District neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by inequities related to social determinants of health, including access to educational, economic, and job opportunities; access to health care services; quality of education and job training; and recurring exposure to violent crime.

The Community Foundation worked with Mayor Gray as a trusted local philanthropic partner to design a rigorous, transparent, independent, and community-informed grantmaking process to support dozens of excellent nonprofits working in all 8 wards throughout the District. The grantmaking program focused on investments in programs and building the capacity of nonprofits to provide quality services that will make the District a more healthy, stable, and vibrant place to live for all its residents. Over the course of several grant rounds, The Community Foundation’s staff engaged community members—including issue area experts, Community Foundation board members, and other vital stakeholders—to help us make funding decisions.

District of Columbia Youth Orchestra, one of the City Fund's grantees, performing at the White House in 2016.

We are proud today to unveil a final online report to the community that encompasses the breadth and depth of our City Fund initiative. We have partnered with mySidewalk to create the City Fund Dashboard. The Dashboard provides an analysis of the scope of the City Fund’s investments, the impact of our nonprofit partners, and the context in which the investments were made. By exploring the dashboard, we are hopeful you will learn something new about our community and the incredible work that our nonprofit partners undertake each and every day to make our community stronger. In doing so, you will follow in the footsteps of the dozens of community stakeholders, issue-area experts, and partners who contributed their expertise and lived experience to this initiative. We thank them for their service to our community!

With a fund this large, it can be difficult to realize the impact on individuals in our city. We invite you to read the story of Chloe [name changed], an 11-year-old who found a home before she became a victim of sex trafficking. She was assisted by FAIR Girls, who used funding from the City Fund to hire a youth case manager whose full-time job is to serve trafficked and exploited children in the nation’s capital. You can read more about FAIR Girls and Chloe’s story here.

The City Fund is just one example of how The Community Foundation partners with local governments as a trusted grantmaking partner. The Community Foundation thanks the District of Columbia government, the Council of the District of Columbia, Mayors Bowser and Gray, and all the fantastic grantees who made the City Fund initiative a success.

For more information about the City Fund, or how you can partner with The Community Foundation, please contact Benton Murphy, Associate Vice President of Community Investment, at [email protected].

A Legacy Endures With Our New Board Chair

Do you have a family legacy that has lasted generations?  Here at the Greater Washington Community Foundation, we are proud to be part of many family legacies, but one in particular has recently given us cause to celebrate. Our Board of Trustees has elected Katharine Weymouth as our new Board Chair at the Greater Washington Community Foundation. As Weymouth takes on this mantle, she continues a family a legacy of giving in the Greater Washington region that began in 1917.

Katharine Weymouth served as Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of The Washington Post, the newspaper division of The Washington Post Company, from 2008 through the end of 2014. Today she serves on the Board of Graham Holdings, Cable One, Republic Services, and the Philip L. Graham Fund. She is also COO at DineXpert, a start-up helping independent restaurants improve their margin.

Katharine Weymouth (center), with her grandmother Katharine Graham (left), daughter (in Weymouth’s arms), and her mother Lally Weymouth (right) at the National Cathedral.

For Weymouth, giving is part of her family’s legacy. Most famously, her grandmother (and namesake) Katharine Graham, acted on a passion to create equal opportunities in education. Graham, who ran The Washington Post for more than two decades, also served on the board of The Community Foundation. She joined the board in the early 1990s when then-Board Chairman R. Robert Linowes hand-picked her as part of a restructuring effort to revitalize The Community Foundation. Graham served on the board for nearly a decade.

“I was lucky enough to be born into an amazing family - and a family of strong women,” said Katharine Weymouth. “My grandmother, Katharine Graham, loved this region. My grandmother was passionate about creating equal opportunities for all to have access to a good education.”

Graham also established the Early Childhood Collaboration of Southeast Washington at The Community Foundation to increase education equity in Washington, DC.

Katharine Weymouth.

A generation before Katharine Graham, Weymouth’s great-grandmother, Agnes Meyer, moved to DC in 1917. Meyer also contributed to education-related philanthropy.  She was a founding member of the National Citizens’ Commission for the Support of the Public Schools.  Weymouth’s uncle, Don Graham, has spent his life in DC and is renowned for his philanthropic efforts in the region.  Among his many contributions, he worked with other business leaders in the region to establish the DC College Access Program, providing counseling and financial aid to help DC high school graduates to attend and complete college.

How does Weymouth plan to apply this legacy to her work today? For one thing, it means that the Greater Washington region is close to her heart.

“I love this region and I care about its future,” Weymouth said. “Washington has changed so much since I moved here in 1993. Washington has evolved to have a much more diverse business and tech community. It has become a city that draws millennials and continues to draw people who want to serve their country and then fall in love with DC and the region.”

But Weymouth recognizes that change comes with a price. She points to the region’s rising housing costs that continue to outpace local incomes, and a lack of equal access to education. 

“The region has always suffered from too great a divide,” Weymouth said, “between the wealthy and those struggling to live paycheck to paycheck or needing a safety net. As affordable housing has become harder and harder to find, this divide has only become more pronounced. I see housing and the inequality in this region as our single biggest challenge.”

Weymouth says that serving on the board of The Community Foundation makes her feel more empowered to help the region. She plans to bring her many years of leadership to the board, especially in finding ways to gain greater visibility for The Community Foundation and to engage a broader community to become part of The Community Foundation’s vision. 

“To me, the most powerful thing about The Community Foundation is its power as a convener and a leader in the community,” said Weymouth. “Through our donors, The Community Foundation supports thousands of amazing organizations doing important work in our communities.  But its most important role, I believe, is its role identifying the most critical needs of the communities we serve and working to pull together public and private partnerships to really make a difference.

“I have always been inspired by the often-quoted words of President Kennedy: ‘For of those to whom much is given, much is required.’  I am ever grateful for the education I received and what it allowed me to accomplish.  I want to be able to afford others the same opportunities.”

We are so excited to have Katharine Weymouth lead our Board of Trustees!

Investing in the Future of Our Communities: The Fund for Children, Youth and Families

Many of our neighbors face inequitable access to quality education, gainful employment, and safe and stable housing. These inequities highlight the urgency of our mission to build thriving communities, a mission shared by many in the funding and nonprofit sector. The Fund for Children, Youth and Families makes investments to help advance this mission with our nonprofit partners.

Since 2016, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has managed three grant cycles through the Fund for Children, Youth and Families, a fund established by the former Freddie Mac Foundation to continue its groundbreaking legacy of investing in the betterment of underserved children, youth and families.  The fund’s third and most recent grant cycle awarded grants totaling $1.95 million to 46 nonprofit organizations. The Community Foundation will continue administering future investments through the Fund until grantmaking concludes in approximately 2020.

The Fund for Children, Youth and Families invests in organizations addressing the following issue areas:

• The Stable Homes Stable Families issue area supports programming effectively moving families-in-crisis, especially families experiencing homelessness to stabilization and self-sufficiency, which is critical to developing homes that can nurture and support children to their fullest potential.

• The Foster Care and Adoption issue area supports programming successfully transitioning children in the foster care system to permanent and safe homes, as well as programming successfully transitioning youth exiting the foster care system achieve self-sufficiency.

• The Academic and Career Success issue area supports programming advancing children and youth along the academic continuum, including early childhood education, primary education, higher-education and career training. Especially programming working to close the achievement gap based on income and race/ethnicity.

The Fund for Children, Youth and Families requires a rigorous and highly competitive grantmaking process.  A large resource gap for disadvantaged children, youth and families continues to be demonstrated through the overwhelming response to the Fund, a response that continues to surpass the funding available.  To date, the Fund has received more than 650 funding requests, totaling $29.6 million.

“This speaks to the tremendous efforts of funders and nonprofits to navigate a challenging funding climate,” said Alicia Reid, Community Investment Officer for the Fund for Children, and Families.

Despite these challenges, Reid says the Fund for Children, Youth and Families grantmaking process has been incredibly rewarding. To date the fund has granted 139 grants, totaling $5.86 million to nonprofits servicing Washington DC, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland.

“It has been an invaluable experience to learn about the organizations who accept the challenge to lead in our communities by providing effective programming and services for low-income children, youth and families,” said Reid.

For more information regarding the Fund for Children, Youth and Families please visit www.fund4cyf.org. Read more about the Fund for Children, Youth and Families’ latest grants.

Fund for Children, Youth and Families Awards $1.95 Million to Greater Washington Region Nonprofits

The Fund for Children, Youth and Families at the Greater Washington Community Foundation is proud to announce $1.95 million in grants to 46 nonprofits serving disadvantaged children, youth and families across the Greater Washington region.

These organizations will receive grants up to $50,000 for project/program support or general operating support addressing the following issue areas: Stable Homes Stable Families, Foster Care & Adoption, and Academic & Career Success.

“These nonprofits all work to build thriving communities for today and for future generations,” said Bruce McNamer, President and CEO of The Community Foundation. “We are committed to addressing inequities for youth and families to help our most marginalized neighbors—people experiencing homelessness, unstable housing, or underemployment—find pathways out of poverty. These grants allow some of our region’s most effective nonprofits to make a difference around some of our region’s biggest challenges in education, homelessness, and foster care.”

The Community Foundation administers the Fund for Children, Youth and Families, charged with implementing its grantmaking by the former Freddie Mac Foundation. This is the third grant cycle of a five-year implementation structure. The Community Foundation continued to employ a substantial, rigorous, and highly competitive grantmaking process for the Fund for Children, Youth, and Families’ third and latest grant cycle. The grantmaking process utilizes a grant review committee of regional partners, issue experts, and staff to review grant applications against the criteria established by the Freddie Mac Foundation before its wind down.  

The organizations who received grants stood out through our substantial, rigorous and highly competitive grantmaking processes, in which the Community Foundation utilized a grant review committee of regional partners, issue experts, and staff to review grant applications against the criteria established by the Freddie Mac Foundation before its wind down.

“The Community Foundation received over 200 proposals totaling approximately $8.6 million in funding requests,” said Tonia Wellons, Vice President of Community Investment at The Community Foundation. “The funding opportunity highlights the intense need in the community and the great value that organizations throughout the region offer in responding to this need.”

In mid-late 2019 The Community Foundation will release information regarding the 2019 Fund for Children, Youth and Families grant cycle.  Please visit www.fund4cyf.org for more information.

About the Greater Washington Community Foundation

Since 1973, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has been a champion of thriving communities and a catalyst for change made possible through local philanthropic engagement, effective community investment, and civic leadership. The Community Foundation works with donors and partners to make a real difference every day in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Northern Virginia and Prince George’s County by aligning resources and leveraging shared interests to amplify impact. As the region’s largest local funder, The Community Foundation has invested more than $1.2 billion to build more equitable, just, and enriching communities where all residents can live, work, and thrive.

About the Fund for Children, Youth and Families

The Fund for Children, Youth and Families was established to invest in the betterment of underserved children, youth and families in the Greater Washington region – specifically to invest in organizations achieving significant impacts across the fund’s three issue areas and eight outcomes. Through its grantmaking, the fund supports effective organizations working to make the community healthy and stable. Please visit www.fund4cyf.org for more information.

Latest Fund for Children, Youth and Families Grant Recipients

Adoptions Together, Inc.

AHC, Inc.

Barker Adoption Foundation

Bethany House of Northern Virginia, Inc.

Bread for the City, Inc.

Bright Beginnings, Inc.

Carpenter's Shelter

Children's Law Center

Communities in Schools of Northern Virginia

Community Bridges, Inc.

Community of Hope, Inc.

Cornerstones, Inc.

Court Appointed Special Advocates - Montgomery County

Court Appointed Special Advocates - Prince George's County

Court Appointed Special Advocates - Fairfax

DC Law Students in Court Program Inc.

District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc.

Doorways for Women and Families

Dwelling Place, Inc.

Euphemia L. Haynes Public Charter School, Inc.

Foster and Adoptive Parent Advocacy Center

Friendship Place

Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services, Inc.

Horizons Greater Washington, Inc.

House of Ruth

Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc.

Housing Up

Identity, Inc.

Interfaith Works

Latin American Youth Center Career Academy Public Charter School

Main Street Child Development Center

Mental Health Association of Frederick County

Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, Inc.

Neighborhood Legal Services Program of The District of Columbia

Northern Virginia Family Services

Perry School Community Services Center, Inc.

Prince George's Child Resource Center, Inc.

Reading Partners - DC

Salvation Army - National Capital Area Command

Sasha Bruce Youthwork, Inc

Shaw Community Ministry, Inc.

Shelter House, Inc.

Stepping Stones Shelter

Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern VA, Inc.

Survivors And Advocates For Empowerment-Safe-Inc

Voices for Virginia's Children

How Do We End Youth Homelessness in DC?

Guest Post by Ramina Davidson, Director of Housing Stability & Youth Initiatives, DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA)

The Greater Washington Community Foundation and our community of donors have funded DCAYA since 2005, when The Community Foundation served as DCAYA’s fiscal sponsor during the organization’s development. Funding has been awarded for general operating support, program support and organizational capacity building, as well as youth civic engagement, youth homelessness/housing and youth workforce-related initiatives.

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Washington, DC has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the nation. The 2018 Youth Count DC estimated that more than 1,300 unaccompanied youth, youth separated from family, and youth heads of household were experiencing homelessness or housing instability (e.g. couch surfing or doubled up) in September 2018. Data from DC’s education agencies also revealed almost 6,000 students enrolled in school are homeless or housing unstable. How do we end youth homelessness in the District of Columbia?

Homelessness or housing instability, generally, is the denial of the right to stable, safe housing. For youth, this denial often manifests through multiple, recurring inequities in the systems that support families and youth (e.g. educational agencies, child and family services agencies) and societal inequities generally (e.g. racism, homophobia, generational poverty). In order to correct systems inequities, power over those systems must be ceded to those individuals the systems have failed to serve.

Over the last decade, DCAYA has steadily been working to shift power to the youth who are experiencing homelessness and housing instability themselves. This led to the creation of DC’s Interagency Council on Homelessness’ Youth Committee, a committee where dozens of organizations, agencies, advocates, and individuals work together to end youth homelessness—including youth who are directly affected by these issues.

In Spring 2017, in partnership with the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH), The Community Foundation hosted a special event to release Solid Foundations DC, the District’s first-ever strategic plan to prevent and end youth homelessness. Solid Foundations DC is the first data-driven youth homelessness plan in the country.

Last year, through persistent advocacy, DC’s youth homelessness system saw several advancements inching us closer to shifting the balance of power. The most notable advancement was the establishment of “Through the Eyes of Youth,” a workgroup of the Youth Committee and DC’s first advisory group of youth with lived experience of homelessness or housing instability. Tasked with guiding the Youth Committee’s implementation of Solid Foundations DC, DC’s first comprehensive plan to end youth homelessness, these youth are paid advisors who share their expertise regarding failures and successes of the systems meant to serve them. These advisory group members guide all aspects of the plan, from bettering the annual homeless youth census to improving resource allocation to developing new and innovative programs.

For example, inspired by feedback from the youth advisory group, the system improved the implementation of its annual homeless youth census, Youth Count DC, to reveal a clearer picture of how young people experience homelessness. For the first time, the census captured where youth have stayed in the past, as well as where they think they may stay in the future. As a result, the total number of youth experiencing homelessness and housing instability rose by hundreds, reflecting more accurate counting that gives policymakers a better understanding of the causes of youth homelessness, and thus better ability to implement successful interventions.

In addition, system improvements included development of three new youth homelessness initiatives: Rapid Rehousing for Youth, Extended Transitional Housing (a new longer-term housing program), and a Drop-In Center that provides 24-hour care. Because DCAYA was able to secure full funding for all new projects in 2018, these new initiatives are currently being implemented and will ensure that hundreds more youth in DC have access to tailored resources than in years prior.

DC’s youth homelessness services system continues to gain momentum in its effort to end youth homelessness. Through collaborative education and advocacy, more partners join in the fight to end youth homelessness every day, and we couldn’t do this work without the support of funders like the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Driving major system change requires stable, multi-year investments. Realizing the change we seek is not a one- or even two-year endeavor. The multi-year funding support and thought partnership of the Greater Washington Community Foundation has been integral to the progress our community has made.

As we continue work to transfer power over systems that serve youth experiencing homelessness and housing instability into the hands of those youth themselves, we know we must not rest on our laurels. A seat at the table is a start, but our work is not done until youth are calling the meeting.

Resilience Fund Announces New Grants to Nonprofits Supporting Immigrants and Sexual Assault Survivors

The Resilience Fund has announced $90,000 in grants to three local organizations conducting advocacy on behalf of immigrants and victims of sexual assault and providing direct support for immigrants facing deportation or applying for benefits. These grants fit within the Fund’s overall focus on responding to federal policy shifts affecting our neighbors and communities in the Greater Washington region.

The Resilience Fund’s latest grants will support:

• $35,000 grant to Civic Nation’s It’s On Us program to conduct advocacy with local and national partners to combat harmful proposed rule changes to Title IX that will infringe on the civil rights of sexual assault survivors on college campuses.

• $30,000 grant to support Northern Virginia Family Services’ immigration legal services program to provide consultations and representation to more than 1,700 individuals annually in deportation defenses and applications for immigration benefits.

• $25,000 grant to support Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy to engage at least 20 immigrant congregations in advocacy on policies to make Virginia more welcoming to immigrants and to build relationships between 50 ally congregations and immigrant leaders.

According to Tracey Vitchers, the executive director of It’s On Us, “The grant received by Civic Nation for It's On Us will empower our staff and students in the Washington, DC area to fight back against the Federal Department of Education's harmful proposed rule changes to Title IX that will make college campuses less safe and leave survivors more vulnerable to ongoing harm. We are grateful to the Resilience Fund for supporting our work to combat sexual violence.”

“NVFS Immigration Legal Services strives to respond to the needs of vulnerable immigrant communities in Northern Virginia by ensuring access to competent, trauma-informed, affordable legal advice and representation,” said Tori Andrea Babington, NVFS Director of Legal Services. “This has been challenging in recent years given the rapid and continuing changes to immigration policy and the fear that our immigrant neighbors are experiencing in response. We are so grateful to the Resilience Fund for supporting these critical legal services, giving us the flexibility to go where the need is greatest.”   

Kim Bobo, Co-Executive Director of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, said, “Thanks to the timely grant from the Resilience Fund, we’re reaching out to immigrant congregations around the state to engage them in advocating for a Driver’s Privilege Card for immigrants and in-state tuition for immigrants students. ‘Welcome the immigrant,”’ a core tenant of faith communities, is especially poignant for immigrant congregations and we need their engagement on these critical fights.”

These three grants show the range of the Resilience Fund’s investments in both policy interventions through Civic Nation and Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy and nonprofits providing direct service work through Northern Virginia Family Services.

About the Resilience Fund

The Resilience Fund was created in early 2017 as a collaborative partnership of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, and other foundation and individual contributors. It seeks to address the critical needs of nonprofits responding to changes in federal policy and budget priorities, as well as the climate of intolerance and hate, both of which are disproportionately impacting local people of color, and immigrant and refugee communities.

Forward With Hope: Remembering 2nd LT. Richard W. Collins III

Guest Post by Richard Collins II

On May 20, 2017, a local tragedy occurred when 2nd Lieutenant Richard W. Collins III was fatally stabbed in an apparent hate crime three days before he was set to graduate from Bowie State University. We are honored to share this post from his parents, Richard and Dawn Collins, who have decided to pay tribute to their son’s legacy through a memorial fund at The Community Foundation.

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Richard Collins II

We first learned of the Greater Washington Community Foundation through a long-time family friend who happens to be an attorney.  Following the tragic death of our son, my wife and I contacted the foundation to discuss establishing a foundation to continue his legacy and build a lasting tribute to honor our son’s memory.

Our vision for creating our foundation was two-fold.  First, we believe that it is important for us to make sure that our son’s life is given purpose even though he can no longer be present with us physically.  While the pain of no longer being able to speak with him or hear his voice is at times overwhelming, the work involved in continuing his legacy through our foundation provides us with some measure of comfort. 

Secondly, we intend to use our foundation as a vehicle of change through which private citizens are educated of their civic empowerment under the law in the communities where they live. It is intended to raise individual awareness of the civic duty of all of us to acquire and act upon the knowledge of the law regarding individual rights and protections. In addition, we must hold our elected officials and civic institutions accountable to ensure that the law protect, respect, and value the right to life of all citizens.

We partnered with The Community Foundation when we realized we did not know anything about starting a foundation on our own. We concluded we’d be able to get up and running faster if we used the experience of an established organization. 

2nd Lieutenant Richard W. Collins III

We officially launched our foundation four days prior to our son’s 25th birthday on December 12, 2018.  Although taking this step provided us with a sense of accomplishment, it was also a bittersweet reminder of the reason that we found ourselves on this path in life. 

As the date marking the second anniversary of our son’s murder approaches, we still struggle to understand why God chose our family to experience this horrific ordeal.  It is a date that for us marks the month of May with dread rather than the anticipation that normally accompanies the spring season.  It is our hope and prayer that at some point, our heartbreak will transform itself into a state of consciousness that provides us with a sense of peace.  We feel it is our purpose to stay connected with our son by turning sorrow into an opportunity to bless the lives of others.  Our goal is to use the platform we have been placed on to bring attention to the need for confronting the challenge represented by hate and bias violence and to help provide education opportunities through our foundation.  We believe our foundation provides us the best avenue to have a positive impact in the lives of people and in their communities.

How Tax Laws May Be Shaping Your Giving

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

Well, you’ve made it! You have filed your 2018 income tax returns. You may have even received a modest or larger than expected return and might be considering ways to expand your charitable giving this year.

At The Community Foundation, we always consider how tax law impacts our community’s giving spirit. While many had feared that the Tax Cut and Jobs Act would result in a decrease in giving in 2018, a report prepared by the Blackbaud Institute indicates that overall giving was up by 1.5%. However, this increase was not evenly distributed across the nonprofit sector. Fundraising by large organizations (those raising $10 million or more) was up by 2.3%, while giving to smaller organizations (those with budgets of less than $1 million) was down 2.3%.

There are advantages to giving to larger organizations. Many of our donors have funded breakthroughs in health and education and provided essential support for the arts. At The Community Foundation, we are honored to assist donors who choose to fund these goals as their area of impact.

Yet, we can’t forget that smaller nonprofit organizations are pioneering new ideas and implementing change-making strategies. They are organizations working on challenging social issues with extremely limited resources. They are focused on the local communities they serve, and they can make change based on direct community feedback. They are innovative, idealistic, and hopeful about our society’s future. And they need the funding to realize these dreams.

Our professional staff work locally with thousands of community-based organizations and would be happy to assist you with identifying organizations that match your interests. I also encourage you to visit The Catalogue For Philanthropy, which is supported by The Community Foundation, to learn about such organizations in the region.

As you reflect on what you have learned this tax season, I encourage you to think about how the new law impacted your philanthropy. Many of our donors chose to bundle their giving, either in 2017 to take advantage of the higher charitable income tax deduction, or in 2018 to bundle giving to get above the standard deduction. This consolidated giving provides an opportunity to ask:

• What impact do I want my philanthropy to make?

• How will I know I’ve made it?

• Do I wish to keep supporting the same organizations or find new ones?

• Is it time to narrow the focus of my giving?

• Should I support large, established organizations or scrappy startups?

• When is the right time to involve my children/grandchildren in giving?

As you think through these questions, please consider The Community Foundation staff as a resource to help you identify the best strategies to achieve your charitable goals. Contact a member of our donor services team, or email [email protected], to discuss your goals for impacting our community and beyond.

Highlights from the 2019 Celebration of Philanthropy

On March 25, a standing-room only crowd at Arena Stage celebrated the civic leadership of former DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams, and the incredible giving spirit of the national capital region at the 2019 Celebration of Philanthropy.  

In addition to honoring Anthony Williams, CEO of the Federal City Council, with the 2019 Civic Spirit Award, the evening raised more than $670,000 to support local causes, and showcased performers and artists who make up the region’s vibrant local art scene and have benefited from The Community Foundation’s support.  

Proceeds will help The Community Foundation expand charitable resources to ensure that our communities are equitable, just and thriving all who call the region home. The Community Foundation is the largest funder of nonprofits in Greater Washington – having invested more than $1.2 billion in thousands of nonprofit organizations since 1973.

At the event, Community Foundation President and CEO Bruce McNamer said:

“Tonight we gather to celebrate community philanthropy and civic spirit, including the individuals and organizations who dedicate their time and resources to help make our region a more vibrant, equitable and inclusive place to live. Their actions inspire so many of us and demonstrate that in communities throughout the Greater Washington region, we take care of each other. This generous spirit of neighbors helping neighbors is central to our work at The Community Foundation, where we focus on Building Thriving Communities that are ripe with opportunity for all who call our region home.”

Last year, The Community Foundation granted more than $96 million to about 2,600 nonprofit organizations, 68% of which directly serve the Greater Washington region. In addition, it received more than $80 million in contributions during the year — a testament to the generosity and commitment of our community of givers.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton was on hand to congratulate Anthony Williams, and she thanked The Community Foundation for its “wise philanthropy to improve the lives of our citizens and to strengthen the many aspects of our City which make the District of Columbia unique.”

Civic Spirit Award Honoree Anthony Williams remarked on the significance of the evening:

“In these tough times, we’ve got to hang in there, we’ve got to believe, we’ve got to reach, we've got to dream, and then figure out a practical way to do it."

David Bradt and Katharine Weymouth served as co-chairs of the Celebration. Major sponsors included Brown Advisory, Morgan Stanley, Nancy and Jorge Kfoury Foundation, 2030 Group, Capitol One, CareFirst, Kaiser Permanente, PNC Bank, Washington Gas, Pepco, FiscalNote and other businesses, philanthropists, and local civic leaders.

The evening featured performances and exhibits from:

• CityDance Dream

• Foundation for the Advancement of Music and Education – FAME

• Halau Nohona Hawaii

• The Keegan Theater’s production of From Gumbo to Mumbo

• Strathmore Artist in Residence Josanne Francis

• The PB Eclectic Steppers

• B-Roll Media and Arts Inc.

• Luis Peralta Del Valle

Photo credit: Platinum Photography by Kevin Fennell

Feeling at Home: Going on a Sharing Montgomery Site Visit

Guest Post By Bobbi Shulman

Editor’s Note: Sharing Montgomery is a strategic, donor-led funding effort for community members who want to give where they live. This year the Sharing Montgomery Fund granted out $385,000 to 62 nonprofits that provide educational, workforce development, safety-net or capacity-building services in Montgomery County. Sharing Montgomery Committee members not only review grant applications – they go out into the community to visit the nonprofits making a difference for low-income children, youth and families. In our latest grant round, the Sharing Montgomery Committee went on 33 site visits from October 2018 to March 2019. Bobbi Shulman contributed this post to share her personal experience serving on the committee.

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I’ve been on the Sharing Montgomery Committee since 2015. My family has been connected to The Community Foundation for more than five years, beginning when we started our foundation. I particularly enjoy going on site visits because I am constantly amazed by the depth, scope, and professionalism with which organizations do their jobs. 

Last January, I visited Rebuilding Together Montgomery County with fellow Sharing Montgomery Committee members. Rebuilding Together offers low-income homeowners (50% of area median income) safe and healthy home repairs at no cost to the recipient. In 2018, they completed 240 projects in 113 homes.

I was under the impression that Rebuilding Together was all about construction and repair of homes.  I had no idea of the aggressive wrap-around services they provide by becoming actively involved with the homeowner and engaging a variety of other non-profits to provide them needed services, including facility maintenance. It wasn’t until we conducted a site visit to Jill’s home that I fully understood the depth of their work. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Jill’s house had deteriorated to the point where the house was condemned, and she was forced to move in with friends. Rebuilding Montgomery learned of her difficult situation and pitched in to repair drywall, electrical, plumbing, flooring, and more. The ultimate success of the project allowed Jill to avoid permanent homelessness and return to live in her own home in safe and healthy conditions.

Rebuilding Together Montgomery County volunteers renovate Jill's House

After work by Rebuilding Together Montgomery County Volunteers

Jill's Kitchen During Renovation

Jill's Kitchen after Renovation

Bobbi Shulman and other Sharing Montgomery Committee members visit Jill's home with Rebuilding Together Montgomery County

This deeper connection to the community continues to give back, as evidenced by Jill telling Rebuilding Together she hopes to give back by volunteering and paying it forward.

What I learned by visiting Rebuilding Together is just one example of the surprises uncovered in site visits! For the past 40 or so years, my work has been on the policy level, particularly in workforce development.  Sharing Montgomery has given me the opportunity to observe organizations doing the work on a grassroots level.  I appreciate the opportunity to provide input into improving the grantmaking process.  I have seen many positive changes in the quality of the grant applications and in the process of evaluating them. 

I’m so glad that Sharing Montgomery has brought me in contact with a group of people who care about improving the lives of residents of the county.

Bobbi Shulman (the fifth person on the right side of this photo) and other members of the Sharing Montgomery Committee visit Interfaith Works, another nonprofit in Montgomery County.

Victories in Advocacy

What do paid sick leave in Maryland, limiting drinking water contamination in Virginia, and protecting housing for Chinese Americans in DC’s Chinatown all have in common? These are victories that were made possible by advocacy, led by our nonprofit partners.

Advocacy—activities that can influence public policy, including work connecting community members to other decision-makers—is a key tool we use to build thriving communities.

“Investing in advocacy is a critical part of creating real and lasting social change,” says Silvana Straw, Senior Community Investment Officer and Philanthropic Advisor at The Community Foundation. “Advocacy efforts increase public awareness and public will, increase public and private funding, and strengthen public policy.”

One example of a recent victory is the work of Washington Interfaith Network (WIN), which we have helped fund. WIN’s campaign in DC’s Northwest One neighborhood engaging community residents and leaders in housing advocacy, led to a plan to build 518 units of affordable housing at 33 K Street NW, formerly Temple Courts. WIN and former tenants have been working with the developer to secure jobs commitments for former and current tenants.

Building on 30 years of experience, including advocacy which preserved $80 million of public funding for safety net services in the region, Straw’s current work focuses on housing and ending homelessness.

DCFPI is a key partner of the Way Home: the campaign to end chronic homelessness in Washington DC and helps organize major advocacy events led by the campaign.

Straw also works with the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI), a key partner in the fight for affordable housing and ending homelessness in DC. Their research revealed that in the past decade DC lost more than half of its affordable housing. Last year DCFPI laid out a blueprint for the investments needed to fully address DC’s housing needs. DCFPI’s research shows that extremely low-income families face the greatest need and supports advocacy for DC’s Local Rent Supplement Program, including a 2019 increase which was the largest in years.

Another victory is thanks to Housing Counseling Services (HCS). Their advocacy has helped tenants at Wah Luck House, mostly Chinese American seniors, keep their housing in DC’s Chinatown. They helped tenants exercise their Purchase Rights when their building went up for sale. Ultimately, tenants successfully negotiated a contract with the purchaser that preserves the HUD subsidy for 20 years and guaranteed an entire building upgrade.

Workforce development remains another key advocacy area for The Community Foundation. Benton Murphy, Senior Director, Community Investment, says,

“Over my years at The Community Foundation, my grants portfolio has included a large number of advocacy projects focused on things like encouraging transparency in our local and state government funding and budgets, advocating for better working conditions and rights for undocumented workers and day laborers, and helping more adults with literacy challenges receive better, more targeted education and job training supports.”

Last March, members of Job Opportunities Task Force spent the day in Annapolis, marching, advocating, and meeting with legislators to advance key issues, including colleges and universities removing the arrest/conviction question from applications.

Some recent workforce victories include the passage of the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. This act will require employers with 15 or more employees to earn up to seven days of paid sick days in one year thanks to work alongside Job Opportunities Task Force and Maryland Center on Economic Policy. Another victory with these groups was the passage of the Maryland Fair Access to Education Act that requires colleges and universities who do not use a third-party admissions application to remove the arrest/conviction question from the initial admissions application, ensuring more equitable access to education.

In DC, the DC Adult and Family Literacy Coalition led by a Steering Committee (Academy of Hope Public Charter School, Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, DC Public Library, Literacy Volunteers & Advocates, So Others Might Eat, Southeast Ministry and YWCA National Capital Area) convened at the Community Foundation’s offices, successfully advocated for the District to provide free public transportation to adult learners. This is important because many students miss class and fail to complete their programs if they don't have bus or subway fare. The 2018 DC budget included $2 million so that adult learners can travel for free using public transportation to and from class

Advocacy remains a key practice for community foundations and nonprofits to make the region more equitable for all our neighbors, including our most vulnerable populations.

To read about advocacy in action, check out this blog post from the Potomac Riverkeeper Network about how they worked to ensure passage of a bill to properly dispose of more than 27 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash currently sitting in holding ponds, safeguarding Virginia residents at risk of toxic contamination from pond leakage.

Protecting Our Community from Unsafe Drinking Water

Guest Post by Emily Franc, Vice President of Development/Philanthropy, Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN)

The Greater Washington Community Foundation manages The Spring Creek Environmental and Preservation Fund, of which the Potomac Riverkeeper Network was a grantee in 2019, 2018 and 2016. The Spring Creek fund was created to support local nonprofit organizations with a demonstrated track record in successfully preserving, protecting or encouraging sustainable use of exceptional natural or built environments in the Greater Washington region, particularly those environments affecting low-income populations.

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Possum Point is a sleepy rural community of families and military veterans who live a simple life along Quantico Creek and the Potomac River. Dan and Patty Marrow chose to raise their three children on Possum Point Road because they believed it was a safe, wholesome community. Little did they know that carcinogens had been leaching from toxic coal ash ponds owned by the nearby Dominion Power Plant through ground water, slowly poisoning their drinking wells.  Residents of Possum Point and other communities across Virginia were unaware of the dangers of living next to coal ash ponds.  

That is until newly hired Potomac Riverkeeper, Dean Naujoks, came on the scene in 2015, fresh from battling Duke Energy and its leaking ash ponds in North Carolina. Those lessons learned proved invaluable in the fight to bring polluters to justice and uphold regulations that protect human health and our drinking water supply.

We assume when we turn on our tap, clean water will come out.  The Clean Water Act legitimizes our right to clean water, but right here in the Washington, DC, region, our Riverkeepers uncover illegal pollution regularly.  Ensuring enforcement of Clean Water laws, Riverkeepers become the last line of defense, protecting our waterways on the public’s behalf.  

Photos from Possum Point, showing ash piles being bulldozed into Pond D. Photos by Alan Lehman, Potomac Riverkeeper Network.

What Dean uncovered at Possum Point was alarming – water containing heavy metals called seeps had been leaking from unlined ash ponds for decades into the creek.  Independent lab test results of private drinking wells around Possum Point, commissioned and paid for by Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN), proved “untreated water from the wells at the properties addressed [on] Possum Point Road should not be used for potable purposes.” The wells were contaminated by a cocktail of carcinogenic metals linked to coal ash proving ground water contamination had moved off-site into residential drinking wells. 

“It is not easy to tell someone you believe their drinking wells are contaminated and unknowingly poisoning them,” said Naujoks, “but at the same time they have a right to know if their water is safe to drink!”

With growing momentum, PRKN hosted public forums attended by hundreds of people, engaged elected officials, and mobilized coalition partners and the public to join our “Move Your Ash” coal ash campaign. Property owners on Possum Point Road became outspoken after learning that their children had been exposed to unsafe well water for decades. Our coalition’s outreach committee generated over 1,000 calls, emails, and letters to elected officials in support of coal ash legislation.

In January of this year, the Virginia legislature passed a bill requiring at least 7 million of the 30 million tons of coal ash in the state to be recycled and the rest safely landfilled within 15 years! Without a Riverkeeper conducting investigations, informing the public, and pressuring state agencies to take action, these decades of unimpeded pollution would have continued.

This story is just one of dozens of toxic threats we investigate annually.  Taking the time to deeply investigate and understand the nature of threats to water quality, while locating the actual individual sources of pollution is critical to our approach, credibility, and success.

We are grateful for the support of the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s family of donors and the Spring Creek Environmental Fund for their stalwart support of our efforts.  Together, we took on Dominion and took back our right to clean water.

Potomac Riverkeeper Network works to protect the public’s right to clean water in our rivers and streams by stopping pollution to promote safe drinking water, protecting healthy river habitats, and enhancing public use and enjoyment. Learn more.

Promoting Civic Engagement through the Arts

The “DIVAs” may sound like the name of a band or a reality TV show. In fact, it’s a 14-year-old giving circle comprised of about a dozen Montgomery County women who pool their funds and invest in groups that provide life-changing arts experiences to disadvantaged and at-promise youth. “Donors InVesting in the Arts,” or “DIVAs,” is one of the many giving circles managed by the Greater Washington Community Foundation. 

Each year the group, which includes a number of artists and community leaders, focuses its grantmaking on how to use the arts to empower kids and youth. This year’s focus was using the arts to reflect on our democracy and promote civic engagement, “a topic that is always important and relevant, especially at this moment in time,” said DIVAs member Esther Newman, CEO Emeritus and Founder of Leadership Montgomery.

Anna Hargrave, executive director of The Community Foundation’s local office in Montgomery County, agrees:

“Residents of our region are hungry for ways to connect with causes and organizations that are meaningful to them and that have an impact,” she said. “By helping young people develop a voice and shape our democracy now and into the future, the DIVAs are making an investment in the leaders of tomorrow.” 

Newman credits Hargrave with introducing the group to arts organizations with a strong track record. “Anna’s experience and knowledge of Montgomery County-based organizations and her facilitation of our meetings has been invaluable,” said Newman. “With her help, we know our money is being wisely spent.” 

This year, the group made grants to two groups: Young Artists of America (YAA) at Strathmore for its “Hear the People Sing!” social media initiative and Gandhi Brigade, a youth media organization which uses multimedia as tools to promote community building, multicultural understanding and the common good.

YAA provides professional level music theatre training and performance opportunities to the region’s most talented middle and high school instrumentalists and vocalists, resulting in fully-orchestrated works of music-theatre in high-profile venues. As a follow up to last year’s popular performance of “Ragtime,” this spring, YAA will present “Les Misérables,” based on Victor Hugo’s book and featuring YAA’s 60-piece youth symphonic orchestra.

Young Artists of America at Strathmore (YAA) and Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras (MCYO) present RAGTIME: In Concert on April 15, 2018 at the Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda, MD.

Titled after one of the most rousing songs in the Les Mis score, YAA’s “Hear the People Sing!” initiative challenges students to make connections between the social challenges in Hugo’s time and those of today, such as class inequity and gender-based oppression. Performers, as well as invited student audience members from low- and moderate-income families, are encouraged to participate in social media journaling and post-rehearsal discussions to spark dialogue, extending and deepening the conversation to a larger audience.  

“We want to make it cool for students to talk about these topics with their peers and get further involved in local issues,” YAA Executive Director Lisa Larragoite said. “Our vision is to help every student ‘take the stage,’ and by that we mean both the literal stage and the stage of life. Specifically, we want students to see how art can help individuals begin to consider social issues they may not directly face but which are important to society at large.”

“To get a grant from such a well-respected group as the DIVAs allows us to work with students on a deeper level and validates our work,” Larragoite added. 

The DIVAs also made a grant to Gandhi Brigade Youth Media, a Silver Spring-based afterschool program that empowers young people to use multimedia tools to promote community building, multicultural understanding and the common good. The funding allows Gandhi Brigade to expand its free afterschool programs in which participants learn media skills, research and interview techniques and produce short films on timely topics. The program not only benefits participating students, but also the broader Montgomery County community by providing an outlet for youth to share their thoughts and perspectives with peers, neighbors and community leaders. Recent films have addressed such pressing issues as bullying, immigration reform, juvenile justice and police accountability. 

Student filmmakers from the Gandhi Brigade Youth Media 2018 summer documentary program.

“Not only do young people need vehicles to talk about difficult issues, the larger community needs to hear what they have to say,” said Gandhi Brigade Executive Director Anna Danielson. 

The opening of Gandhi Brigade’s new studio later this year will allow the organization to have more of a public face. In turn, the new editing space and screening room will provide opportunities for students to share their work more broadly, through community screenings of their videos, original podcasts and intergenerational activities with seniors. “The grant from the DIVAs is a real vote of confidence in our civic engagement work,” Danielson said.  

To learn more about how The Community Foundation is enhancing community well-being by promoting philanthropy and civic engagement, supporting arts and culture, and advocating for equity, inclusion and justice, please contact Silvana Straw at [email protected].

Nominate an Executive for a David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award

David Bradt is a quietly effective leader for and champion of the Greater Washington region. In addition to serving as a Managing Director of Andersen Tax, he has invested considerable time and talent into numerous volunteer leadership roles, including the Chair and Member of the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s Board, Chairman and Board member of Greater D.C. Cares, member of the Board of Venture Philanthropy Partners, and a volunteer and fundraising dinner chair for Share Our Strength.

Seeking a meaningful way to salute his years of service, David’s friends and family surprised him by establishing the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund as a new fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation. The fund’s purpose is to provide an annual award that will enable a nonprofit leader in the Greater Washington region to attend an intensive executive training program. Through investing in the leadership of the region’s most effective organizations, the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund will have a long-lasting, tangible impact on our community by enhancing the capacity and influence of those groups.

AWARD DETAILS

The David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award will grant up to $15,000 for leaders to participate in professional development programs that will enhance their leadership, creative thinking, strategy, and management skills.  The selection committee will prioritize applicants who wish to participate in cohort programs which will expand their professional networks while also deepening their skills.  (Click here to download a list of pre-vetted programs.) Other leadership programs will be given consideration on a case-by-case basis.

Awardees have up to two years to use the award. The award will be primarily applied to the tuition/fees of the selected program but a portion may be allotted for related travel expenses.

Once selected, the awardee must apply and be accepted to a leadership program.  The awardee then will update the Community Foundation on the cost of the program and related travel expenses as well as any other aid awarded by the program itself.  As a final step, the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund will make a grant to the awardee’s organization which will pay both the tuition and travel costs directly. 

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Eligible applicants must currently work in a senior leadership role at a nonprofit that directly serves the Greater Washington region. Priority will go to applicants with at least five years of senior leadership experience in the nonprofit sector or equivalent leadership experience from government/business sectors.

Ideal candidates should demonstrate: 

• Dedication to making a positive impact

• Passion and the ability to instill passion in the people with whom they work

• A collaborative spirit when working with other people and organizations as well as across sectors

• Drive to bring innovative ideas forward and to fruition

• High integrity and ethical behavior

The selection committee will not consider applications from organizations with a national or international focus. i.e. organizations which are headquartered in the Greater Washington region but provide no direct service to local residents.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Understanding that there are many worthy leaders serving our region who may be interested in this opportunity, the selection committee will have a two-stage process to help streamline the time and effort required:

Stage 1:  Letter of Interest

Applicants may submit a brief (1-2 pages max) Letter of Interest explaining the mission and work of their nonprofit, their particular role in advancing their organization’s mission, the organization’s impact on people living in the Greater Washington region, and their professional development goals. Applicants should also submit a copy of their resume. If you have already identified specific professional development courses/programs you wish to attend, we encourage you to note them in the application.

Additionally, the selection committee will accept a nomination letter if a CEO/Executive Director would like to nominate someone from the organization’s senior leadership team.

All nominations and Letters of Interest must be submitted electronically by 5pm on Thursday, April 18th.

Stage 2:  Full Application

By early June 2019, the selection committee will identify finalists who will be invited to submit a more formal application which will include:

• A personal statement which includes details about their goals and the professional development programs they would like to attend.

• Overview of the organization (history, major accomplishments, descriptions of the programs managed by the applicant and outcomes achieved)

• 2 letters of support 

The selection committee will conduct personal interviews in September before announcing the awardee(s) by early November 2019.

QUESTIONS:

Should you have any questions, contact Kevin Donnelly at [email protected]. No phone calls, please.

APPLICATION FORM:

Please use the following form to submit your nomination or Letter of Interest by 5pm on Thursday, April 18th.