Celebrating the Spirit of Philanthropy and Alex Orfinger at the National Building Museum

On March 21, The Community Foundation honored Alex Orfinger with the 2024 Spirit of Philanthropy Award, as part of the Celebration of Philanthropy at the National Building Museum. The event raised more than $500,000 towards building a stronger community in the Greater Washington region.

The evening began with a special reception for members of the host committee and a group of supporters affectionately known as FOA (‘Friends of Alex’) to gather and mingle to share their congratulations with Alex.

Guests heard special remarks from Host Committee Member, Mahan Tavakoli, CEO of Strategic Leadership Ventures. Mahan served with Alex on the Board of Trustees of Leadership Greater Washington – one of many organizations that Alex has leant his time and leadership talents to. He also Chaired the Board of Directors at Jubilee Housing and served as Secretary of the Board of Directors for The Community Foundation.

“We are at a critical stage in our community where we need community leaders to stand up and guide our community into the future,” Alex shared in his remarks.

“We’re all standing together tonight,” Alex spoke to the standing-only crowd at the reception. “We all need to stand together into the future.”

After that, more than 400 guests joined the celebration in the vast hall of the National Building Museum for a special program.

Richard Bynum, Chair of The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees kicked off the program and introduced Tonia Wellons, President & CEO of The Community Foundation, who delivered some brief remarks.

During her remarks, Tonia shared her optimism for the future and some of the exciting partnerships The Community Foundation has engaged in this past year -- including the launch of Thrive Prince George’s and upcoming release of the VoicesDMV Community Insights Report. She also celebrated the role that individuals like Alex have played in convening business, philanthropic, and nonprofit communities to examine the issues that are impacting the region and creating opportunities for shared responsibility and decisive action.

“At The Community Foundation, we have a unique role to play in bridging differences, fostering hope, and building community. This is what the spirit of philanthropy means to us.”

— Tonia Wellons

Following Tonia’s remarks, Lyles Carr, Senior Vice President of The McCormick Group and member of the Celebration of Philanthropy Host committee presented Alex with the 2024 Spirit of Philanthropy Award.

As the Publisher of the Washington Business Journal, Alex has long demonstrated his belief that what is good for business is also good for the greater community. For more than two decades, Alex has been a champion of collaboration, dedicated to developing relationships that strengthen the connection among business leaders and between the business and philanthropic communities.

Following a special tribute video, Alex sat down with Katherine Bradley, Founder and CEO of CityBridge, for a brief fireside chat, where they discussed aspects of Alex’s legacy and what he believes are the four focus areas for the future of the Greater Washington region.

Following the fireside chat, guests enjoyed an evening of food, fun, and entertainment provided by artists and nonprofit partners from across the region.

Special thank you to the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, The Northeast Performing Arts Group, the Prince George’s Arts & Humanities Council and Youth Poet Laureate Saniya Pearson, the Montgomery College Jazztet, and Batalá Washington for sharing their time and talents with us.

We’d also thank the many friends, community partners, and sponsors, who’s generosity made the event possible – with special recognition to the Smart Family Fund, Capital One, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, National Capital Bank, Brown Advisory, The Cliff & Deborah White Family Foundation, Decker Anstrom & Sherry Hiemstra, Sterling Speirn & Diana Aviv, The Norton Foundation, and the Shoenberg Family Fund.

We’d also like to thank our 2024 Celebration of Philanthropy Host Committee – especially David Bradt, Diane Tipton, and Rachel Kronowitz who served as Host Committee Co-Chairs -- who contributed time, talent, and treasure to make this event a memorable evening for Alex and for our community.

Click here for a complete recording of the 2024 Celebration of Philanthropy Program. For more photos from the 2024 Celebration of Philanthropy, check out our SmugMug Album!

Pursuing Pathways from Poverty to Prosperity in East County

Members of The Community Foundation’s Montgomery County Advisory Board, staff, and donors recently visited with local leaders in Montgomery County’s East-County region to discuss how philanthropy can help communities forge pathways to prosperity.

“Effective philanthropy requires us to step outside and really connect,” Anna Hargrave, Executive Director for The Community Foundation in Montgomery County, shared. “That is why we are excited to be here in East-County to spend time with some of our incredible nonprofit and school leaders.”

The group met in the library of Jackson Road Elementary School, located in the White Oak neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland. Visitors first heard from the Principal, Rosario Velasquez.

“At Jackson Road, we recognize the need to address the whole child – in and out of the classroom,” Principal Velasquez shared. “The only way we can do that is by taking a community-centered approach and wrapping our arms around this community.”

Situated in a highly diverse area, Jackson Road’s student body is predominantly Black (47%) and Latino (39%)– including a sizeable immigrant population. At the same time, more than 75 percent of students qualify for Free and Reduced Priced Meals– a humbling statistic that underlines how poverty often becomes highly concentrated in neighborhoods throughout our region.

Jackson Road’s Community School Liaison, Chris Callisto, explained how federal Title I funding supports additional reading and math focus teachers, reduced class sizes (18:1 student teacher ratio), summer enrichment, and other academic resources.  Coupled with Community School dollars from the State of Maryland, the school also offers health, mental health, and social supports for children and their families, including a food pantry sustained by Capital Area Food Bank and the Manna Food Center.

To gain a deeper understanding of the work outside of the school’s walls, guests then heard from a panel of nonprofit leaders working to help people meet their basic needs, pursue opportunities for economic mobility, and build the assets needed to thrive: Identity, Inc, Career Catchers, IMPACT Silver Spring, and Achieving College Excellence & Success (ACES), a collaboration led by Montgomery College, MCPS, and the Universities at Shady Grove.

As the panelists introduced themselves and their organizations, they illuminated the myriad ways they had to reinvent their work in response to the influx of people seeking help in recent years.  Panelists also reflected—in some cases on their own lived experience—on the challenges which can hinder people from achieving stability, such as rising rent, food insecurity, barriers to mental health support, and hurdles in finding affordable childcare. 

“We must protect those who might otherwise have fallen through the cracks,” Andres Maldonado, Deputy Director at ACES shared. “This is not a one-organization job. It requires us to collaborate – to really think outside the box and our organizations to find the innovative solutions that this community deserves.”

While the four organizations’ missions are quite different, guests were impressed by how they all share a commitment to fostering collaborations anchored in the community -- creating spaces where residents are empowered to not to merely benefit from, but also to participate in and lead efforts to address their community’s needs.

“No one knows better what it is this community needs then the community members themselves,” shared Carolyn Camacho, Program Director at Identity. “The more we can work to empower community members and strengthen our framework of community relationships, the more successful our work will be in the long run.”

Anna Hargrave concluded the program with words of thanks, “to our Board and Sharing Montgomery donors whose generosity enables us to strategically invest in our community.  And to our incredible school and nonprofit partners for the work you do every day!  We are grateful for your inspiring vision, leadership, and steadfast commitment which convert our donations into relief, helping people create greater stability and shared prosperity.” 

This event was part of The Community Foundation’s Sharing Montgomery initiative – connecting philanthropically-minded individuals with visionary nonprofits working on the frontlines of our community’s most pressing needs.

For more information on how to get involved with Sharing Montgomery, contact Anna Hargrave at ahargrave@thecommunityfoundation.org

Book Group Recap: Courageous Philanthropy with Jennifer Vanica

What does Courageous Philanthropy look like?

For our December gathering of the quarterly DMV Community Book Group, that was the question of the hour, as we were joined by Jennifer Vanica, a 40-year veteran of philanthropy and community change, and author of Courageous Philanthropy: Going Public in a Closely Held World

“It is time to forge new, more courageous relationships between foundations and the communities we seek to serve,” Vanica shared. “When we no longer work to sustain our own points of view and work toward community ownership of change as accountable partners, we will discover that what endures is the fire of inspired action.”

In the late 1990s, Vanica was the CEO and President of the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation (JCNI), one of the lead organizers behind Market Creek Plaza Project in San Diego, California. The project has gained national acclaim for being one of the first neighborhood redevelopment projects in the US that was driven and owned by residents. From 1997 to 2005, more than 3,000 residents participated in teams to plan, design, build and lease the project which transformed a 20-acre industrial lot into a thriving commercial and cultural plaza. In her book, Vanica shares what she believes was key to the project’s success – mainly, a bold and intentional focus on listening and developing community ownership.

“Don’t do about me, without me,” Vanica recalled one resident sharing with her at a community meeting. “That was the mantra that drove our work.”

When asked what amenities should be included in the development project, Vanica says her organization supported residents as they went door-to-door, conducting more than 600 surveys with their fellow neighbors in four different languages. Their responses helped lay the blueprint for Market Creek Plaza – similar to the way that research initiatives like VoicesDMV have laid the foundation for The Community Foundation’s Strategic Vision and other initiatives.

Market Creek Plaza in San Diego, California includes one of the first grocery stores in the surrounding community, many minority-owned businesses, a cultural center, an open-air amphitheater, and other social amenities.

But Vanica says, for JCNI, the community involvement didn’t stop there. JCNI moved their offices to the neighborhood to be closer to residents. They met with around 200 local organizations, inviting various leaders to serve on committees for the project. They also went out of their way to include the diverse ethnic groups in the region by providing multiple translators for community meetings.

“Courage is what it takes to stand and speak,” Vanica shared. “But courage is also doing what it takes to create the space and environment to sit and listen.”

“If philanthropy has a job to act in the public interest, doesn’t it have an obligation to engage with and seek out the public interest?” Vanica asked.

“At JCNI, we consistently looked to residents to guide who was needed at the table and what kind of help would need to be provided in any given situation.”

Vanica says that the secret to success is to “protect the process” that prioritizes action and community engagement.

“If you’re going to cede decision-making control to the community, your process really matters,” Vanica shared. “Prioritizing participatory planning that is biased towards action; allowing people across different cultures to be involved and have a voice.”

Vanica explained that while the process of philanthropy ceding control of the planning process to community members seemed daunting, it ultimately led to the creation of a better project – allowing community members and developers access to untapped resources in the form of ideas and greater growth potential for the community.

For example, community members pointed out that – at the time – less than 2% of public works jobs in San Diego were awarded to minority contractors. By the end of the project, 69% of construction contracts were awarded to local minority-owned enterprises.

Community leaders share their experience working on the Market Plaza project in a video shared with the book group.

In addition, Vanica worked with a team of residents and attorneys to develop the nation’s first Community-Development Initial Public Offering – allowing residents to directly invest between $200-$10,000 in the project. As of 2009, 20% of the plaza was owned by local residents.

“As a premise of our democracy, those affected by decisions need a voice in those decisions,” Vanica explained. “And that demands that we let go of the idea that one group with power and privilege should try to stimulate social change without opening the door to the community.”

“In the foundation world, we wonder why things aren’t sustainable,” she added. “But if the assets are still sitting in our bank accounts or are only accessible through narrow parameters, it will never be sustainable. We have to be willing to let go of control.”

“We’re better together. Together, we have more endurance to face obstacles and become the most courageous versions of ourselves.”

The Community Foundation is excited to promote discussions and initiatives around innovative and courageous philanthropy that cedes power and seeds community wealth building. For more information, visit our website to learn about our Strategic Vision for Economic Justice and Together, We Prosper Campaign.

Click here to watch a full recording of the December 2023 DMV Community Book Group! For more information about the DMV Community Book Group, visit our website!

2023 Celebration of Giving - Celebrating Mary Pat Alcus, 2023 Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year

On November 16th, donors and community partners across Montgomery County gathered for the annual Celebration of Giving.  This year’s event kicked off with a moving memorial tribute to the Founding Executive Director of The Community Foundation in Montgomery County, Sally Rudney, and reflections on how her incredible legacy continues to inspire our work.  Anna Hargrave, Executive Director, then reported that The Community Foundation’s network of donors gave over $9.5 million to organizations in Montgomery County last year.  She also shared the early progress of The Community Foundation’s Together, We Prosper campaign which seeks to grow opportunity and build a community where everyone has what they need to thrive.

“For inspiration on how to set and achieve big goals, we can look to our 2023 Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year, Mary Pat Alcus,” Hargrave said. “Time and time again, her generosity and leadership have been game-changing for vital organizations across the county.”

Friends, family, and community partners joined in saluting Mary Pat as a catalytic leader who combines her financial acumen, strategic thinking, and generous support to help vital organizations achieve major breakthroughs for our community.

Through a fireside chat with President & CEO, Tonia Wellons, Mary Pat shared how her parents instilled the importance of education early on.  She then reflect on how her local philanthropic journey began shortly after she and her husband, Darren, moved to Potomac, MD with their two children, Claire and Colin.  Wanting to get more involved in their new home, the entire family became active leaders in kid-led giving circles through The Community Foundation. Mary Pat joined The Community Foundation’s Montgomery County Advisory Board and its Grants Committee for Sharing Montgomery, the flagship grantmaking initiative which supports high-impact nonprofits working on the frontlines of the county’s most pressing challenges.  Between the giving circles and her leadership with The Community Foundation, Mary Pat quickly learned about the needs across our community and supported visionary organizations helping low-income residents pursue pathways out of poverty.

After reflecting on where the community’s needs matched their deepest passions, Mary Pat and Darren decided to focus on helping children and youth to pursue their dreams.  She was drawn to join the Board of Horizons Greater Washington which provides academic enrichment to empower low-income children to succeed in school and beyond.  She also joined the Montgomery College Foundation Board shortly after she and Darren created scholarships to help promising students pursue higher education.  All the while, she continued to take on more leadership roles with The Community Foundation including joining the Board of Trustees and chairing its Investment Committee. 

Professionally, Mary Pat is an institutional investment advisor and a Chartered Financial Analyst with over 30 years of experience advising foundations, endowments, corporate, and public pensions in the areas of investment strategy, investment policy development, manager selection, and performance monitoring.  She explained how, as a philanthropist, she loves leveraging her professional expertise to help her favorite nonprofits grow so they can make a deeper impact.

“Time, talent treasure—that combination for me, that nexus of all three is what has helped fuel what I do,” Mary Pat explained. 

Inspired by Mary Pat’s philanthropic leadership, Craig & Pat Ruppert and Cliff & Debbie White teamed up to offer a $50,000 challenge match for the Sharing Montgomery Endowment —an initiative that Mary Pat has long championed. Contributions to the Endowment enable The Community to “keep giving” to the community in perpetuity by offering a stream of more stable, game-changing investments to nonprofit organizations. Thanks to the Ruppert and White families, the impact of endowment gifts will be doubled (up to $50,000). (To help us make the match, you can make a gift online today or contact us for other giving options!)

On behalf of the thousands of lives touched by her leadership and generosity, we congratulate Mary Pat on being named the 2023 Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year. We know her example will continue to inspire others to discover the powerful difference we each can make when we commit to making our community stronger for all.

Additional information about our 2023 Philanthropist of the Year is available the Bethesda Magazine Article and in our Celebration program booklet linked below.

Building Community, Fostering Belonging, and Sharing Prosperity at the 2023 Annual Meeting

On Wednesday, October 25, the Greater Washington Community Foundation hosted its 2023 Annual Meeting at the MLK Library. The event celebrated what has been an extremely busy year for The Community Foundation, so far, including the launch of the Together, We Prosper Campaign, the announcement of several groundbreaking community investments, and surpassing $1.7 billion in grantmaking (with $95 million awarded in FY23, alone).

“Today, we gather to celebrate and reflect on all we’ve accomplished together,” President & CEO Tonia Wellons shared. “But we also come together so we can be reenergized for the work ahead of us – the work of building community, fostering belonging, and sharing prosperity.”

Wellons began the program by acknowledging the outstanding contributions of our Community Champions and other fundholders who continue to partner with The Community Foundation to impact our community, as well as the efforts of the more than 2,700 nonprofit and community partners who are doing the work on the ground to make our region a stronger, more vibrant, and inclusive place to live, work, and thrive.

“It takes all of us working together to ensure that our community is operating at its best,” Wellons shared. “At The Community Foundation, we look forward to bringing people together to create meaningful impact in our region.”

Wellons then welcomed Alex Orfinger and Diane Tipton to present the 2023 David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Awards. Named for a long-time fundholder and former Trustee of The Community Foundation, the David Bradt Nonprofit Education Fund is a charitable fund that supports the development of senior-level nonprofit leaders in advancing their careers and leadership skills. Click here to learn more about the David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Awardees.

“We are so grateful for the leadership of our incredible nonprofit partners,” Wellons shared. “We truly could not do this work without them.”

The David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award is just one of more 700 charitable funds that The Community Foundation manages on behalf of generous individuals, families, businesses, and local government partners. Over the past year, The Community Foundation has welcomed 28 new charitable giving funds to our community of givers, including the Developing Families Maternal Health Fund – a $5 million investment that will support life-saving efforts focused on women of color in DC’s Wards 5, 7, & 8.

In addition to partnering with donors and partners to make direct investments in the community, this year, The Community Foundation also continued its role as a key convener and facilitator by convening faith and philanthropy leaders for interfaith conversations around addressing antisemitism, anti-Black racism, islamophobia, and other forms of hate and bigotry. It also celebrated four years steering the Partnership to End Homelessness, which is working towards investing in housing justice for our region.

“As the region’s largest local funder, we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to mobilize our community to address pressing needs,” Wellons acknowledged.

At this point, Wellons provided an important update on one of The Community Foundation’s most active mobilizations – the Together, We Prosper campaign for economic justice.

Publicly launched in May, the Together, We Prosper campaign for economic justice seeks to mobilize philanthropy to close the racial wealth gap in our region and to grow endowments to ensure The Community Foundation can continue to respond to future community needs. The campaign will also sustain the launch of innovative economic pilot programs such as the first guaranteed income program in Prince George’s County and Brilliant Futures – a children’s saving program in partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools.

“I have been completely blown away by the resounding response from our community,” Bill Taylor, member of the Board of Trustees and Co-Chair of the Together, We Prosper campaign shared. “It is gratifying to know that our community is responding to the call to eliminate the disparities which prevent all of us from living in a just society.”

“We know it will take all of us to ensure that our community is operating at its best,” Wellons shared. “This is the role of philanthropy – to connect all of us to our shared values, our shared stewardship, and to inclusion.”

“When we begin with the core, unifying values that many people share, we realize that it’s in everyone’s best interest to build a system where no one is left behind.””

— Bobby Milstein

Wellons was then joined by Cat Goughnour, Racial Wealth Equity Fellow at Prosperity Now, and Bobby Milstein, Director of System Strategy for the Rippel Foundation, for a panel discussion around race, belonging, and how we can create an inclusive and diverse community for all. Click here to watch the full discussion.

“Polls show that vast majorities of people have strong unifying values,” Milstein shared. “But many are unable to convert those values into actions in the moment. We hyper-focus on our differences or we get disillusioned by the myth of scarcity.”

“But when we begin with those core, unifying values that many people still share, we can overcome these obstacles and come to the realization that it’s in everyone’s best interest to build a system where no one is left behind.”

“Exclusion – particularly exclusion caused by the racial wealth gap- is costing all of us,” Goughnour shared, citing a recent CitiBank study that estimated the cost of racial inequality to the US economy over the past two decades to be roughly $16 trillion in lost GDP.

“The racial wealth gap is not just a problem for those on the lower end of the gap,” Milstein concurred.

Milstein then shared a model for inclusion called “Bridge, Block, Build”. The model is to put forth bridges and solutions to help bring people together, block the negative forces that are preventing growth, and continue to build and reinforce the relationships that strengthen community.

“What is most important for a sense of belonging is the table design for the people who’ve been excluded,” Goughnour added. She explained the need to exercise and prioritize efforts to build a more inclusive economy –going out of the way to include those who have been historically excluded or marginalized.

“How do we value the power of the community so that actions are not done ‘to’ them, but ‘with’ them? How do we help people to recognize their lived experience as power, as expertise – where we pay them for their participation as consultants, and not just with gift cards?”

“A lot of the innovation and creativity we yearn for is genius that has been left on the table for decades,” Goughnour said. “It’s time we were more intentional in valuing those voices. It’s time we recognized that we can go further, together, faster.”

“Belonging is one of the most powerful and fragile things that exist in social movements,” Milstein added. “We have to be able to see the future, see ourselves in it, and believe that we can navigate there.”

“Once it becomes visible and valued, we need to make it investable – we need to back it up with capital.”

“I’ve been heartened by philanthropy’s role around closing the racial wealth gap,” Goughnour added. Quoting Arundhati Roy, Goughnour shared that “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

“May we continue to put our resources where our values are.”

Click here for photos from the Annual Meeting event or to watch a recording of the panel discussion. For more information about the Together, We Prosper Campaign or how you can get involved in creating a community of belonging, contact Mary Robinson, Interim Managing Director of Development at mrobinson@thecommunityfoundation.org

Ceding Power and Seeding Community Wealth Building in DC Ward 7 and 8

Earlier this month, The Community Foundation and JP Morgan Chase convened funders and nonprofit partners at the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization to hear directly from community partners about the best ways to promote community wealth building and equitable development in DC Wards 7 & 8.

“We want to bridge the gap between funders and communities,” Dr. Marla Dean, Senior Director of the Health Equity Fund shared. “We are here to discuss how philanthropy can aid community goals by supporting community controlled grantmaking and community led decision-making.”

The event was made possible by the East of the Anacostia River Equitable Development Fund – an investment of JP Morgan Chase dedicated to bridging the economic and racial wealth divide in DC.  

In a city where White wealth is 81 times that of Black wealth, 92 percent of residents living in Wards 7 & 8 are Black. For years, many of these have residents struggled to gain access to healthy food, medical care, employment and homeownership opportunities.

While traditional investments have been made from both public and private partners to help meet these needs, The Community Foundation and JP Morgan Chase wanted to explore if ceding more power and resources to the community could be the key to seeding greater community wealth.

“Philanthropists and residents sometimes have a tendency to talk past each other when it comes to impact,” Tonia Wellons, President & CEO of The Community Foundation shared. “The more we can empower and cede power to those within these communities, the better we can understand what it will take to really make a difference.”

The event kicked off with a conversation with Mary Bogle, Principal Research Associate at the Urban Institute. Bogle, who was commissioned by JP Morgan Chase and The Community Foundation to conduct research on philanthropic efforts East of the River, talked about the need to prioritize community voice in ongoing efforts.

“The challenges that residents in Wards 7 & 8 face are different than those faced in other parts of DC,” Bogle shared. “Unique challenges, call for unique solutions – specifically, community-controlled grantmaking models.”

Bogle was followed by a panel of organizations from Ward 8 including Mustafa Abdul- Salaam who facilitated the Ward 8 Community Economic Development Report and Tiffany Williams, President & CEO of Martha’s Table.

“We’re at a moment when we have the opportunity to transform the relationship between philanthropy and community,” Abdul-Salaam shared. “If you want to make a change in the communities we live in, you will not do it unless you talk to me or my neighbors about the changes that need to be made.”

Abudul-Salaam recently released “A Dream Deserved: Realizing Our Collective Emergence” a detailed community-driven report that highlights the qualitative and quantitative needs of Ward 8 residents. The report was made possible by the Bainum Family Foundation, in addition to contributions from JP Morgan Chase, The Community Foundation, and others.

“Putting cash into people’s hands is one of the most effective ways to help them out of poverty,” Williams shared when asked about some of the most innovative ways to meet the needs highlighted in the report. Since the pandemic, Martha’s Table has been an advocate for innovative funding initiatives in Wards 7 & 8 including cash transfer programs and Community Impact grants.

“Until we have capital tied into a community like Ward 8, then nothing changes.” Abdul-Salaam added. “We have a poverty-building economy right now – we want to move towards a wealth building economy.” 

Among the ideas that Abdul-Salaam and Williams championed included a Black Think Tank that would leverage intellectual capital in Wards 7 & 8 to design and implement community-based innovations like guaranteed incomes, child saving accounts, broad based ownership models and strategic economic participation.

From Ward 8, the conversation then turned towards Ward 7 and a panel discussion with Mae Best, Executive Director of the East River Family Strengthening Collaborative and Babatunde Oloyede, President & CEO of Marshall Heights Community Development Organization who hosted the event.

“We have a unique opportunity to chart our own course,” Oloyede shared. “For communities to lead the effort and the change.”

“Rather than talk about what’s good and bad in our community, right now, let’s talk about the art of the possible.”

The Marshall Heights Community Development Organization is one of Ward 7’s oldest community development organizations that supports housing and economic development opportunities for residents.

“What many organizations in Ward 7 are doing right now is putting an emergency band-aid on families,” Oloyede described. “What we need to do is provide them with meaningful, generational wealth building opportunities.”

“We need the resources to help families and communities reach their highest potential,” Best added. “Right now, we’re really lacking in a number of things that could help make a family - and a community – whole.”

Best and Oloyede said they would love to see the same level of investment in Ward 7 as has been put into other sections of DC, including U St and H St.

“We want to see redevelopment in our commerce corridors like Minnesota and Pennsylvania Avenue,” Oloyede explained. “We want to see the same amenities that we see in other parts of the city – but we want it to be done in a way that ensures that the current residents are included; that they are able to participate in that development and enjoy those amenities.”

“The time is now! We need to be as intentional and proactive as we possibly can be; let’s work together so we can marshal the positive change to make this dream a reality for this community.”

The final panel discussion featured Dana Hall and Dan Tangherini of the Emerson Collective.

The Emerson Collective is a social impact collective with the goal of reducing barriers for people to reach their full potential by investing in ideas and social entrepreneurs. In June, they partnered with local organizations to help launch Sycamore & Oak, a new retail center for Black entrepreneurs living East of the Anacostia.

“We want a future where there’s more opportunities,” Tangherini shared. “Where people have more opportunities for expression, for growth, and for wealth.”

“That means creating a place where there is opportunity for Black-led organizations to collaborate and draw strength from each other.”

“We need to start thinking about the power dynamics in funding and how we can be intentional about tapping into those dynamics to promote positive change,” Hall added. “How do I make sure I have a diverse pool of thought when I’m engaging in this work? How do I create an environment where everyone feels like they have a place at the table?”

“Most importantly, we need to trust that the best way to get a better understanding of what the community is interested, is to start with the community itself.”

“We want to seed (with an ‘S’) growth; not just cede funding,” Tangherini said, referencing the title of the event. “That means this can’t just be a ‘grant-by-grant process. It needs to be a systematic examination of our systems to learn the lessons from what has been done -- and work together with the community to find ways to make them even better.

Click here for more photos of the event! For more information about how you can get involved in investing in Wards 7 & 8, contact Dr. Marla Dean at mdean@thecommunityfoundation.org

Celebrating 25 Years of Philanthropy in Prince George's County at the Civic Leadership Awards

On October 19th, friends and supporters of The Community Foundation in Prince George’s County gathered at MGM National Harbor to honor outstanding Civic Leadership and celebrate 25 Years of The Community Foundation in Prince George’s County.

“The theme for tonight is ‘Imagine’,” President & CEO Tonia Wellons shared. “As we celebrate 25 years in Prince George’s County, may we look forward to the next 25 years with a vision for what is truly possible.”

The Community Foundation in Prince George’s County has been extremely busy over the past year, from exciting collaborations between Faith & Philanthropy to supporting innovative investments in affordable housing and pioneering plans to launch the first Guaranteed Income program in Prince George’s County.

“Since 1998, The Community Foundation has invested more than $65 million in Prince George’s County,” Darcelle Wilson, Senior Director of The Community Foundation’s Prince George’s County Office shared. “Tonight, we not only celebrate that legacy, but also the lives of the many incredible leaders who are helping us to build a more prosperous community for everyone who calls Prince George’s home.”

The first leader to be recognized was Dr. Darryll Pines, President of the University Maryland and this year’s 2023 Civic Leadership Award Recipient. Dr. Pines has been a champion for education in Prince George’s County. Click here for Dr. Pines Award Tribute Video

As a new President during the pandemic, Dr. Pines developed a partnership between the University and Prince George’s County Public Schools to help provide continuing math education for high school students during the pandemic. His efforts to develop partnerships and collaborations not only helped students acquire valuable life skills, but also helped them imagine what is possible. This past fall, the University of Maryland enrolled more Prince Georgians in their incoming class than at any point in the history of the university, including more than half of the salutatorians or valedictorians in PGCPS – all graduates of UMD’s math partnership.

“All institutions have a responsibility to reach out beyond their walls and build up the communities in which they live,” Dr. Pines shared. “At the University of Maryland, we are invested in making higher education accessible for everyone – especially in Prince George’s County.”

Dr. Pines was followed by William M. (Bill) Shipp, Esq, Partner of O’Malley, Miles, Nyland & Gilmore who received the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award. A longtime resident of Prince George’s County, Shipp has spent much of his career facilitating the development and growth of Prince George’s County including projects such as National Harbor, IKEA, Bowie Town Center, and others. Click here for Bill Shipp’s Tribute Video.

In addition to serving as former chair of the Board of the Prince George’s County affiliate of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, Shipp served extensively with the late Prince George’s County Executive Wayne Curry, who recruited him to serve on the Prince George’s County Housing Authority, among other important county projects. He also supported a number of causes locally, including support for cancer survivors and swim instruction and camp scholarships for minority youth.

“It’s always been important to me to give back to the community where I live and where I raise my family,” Shipp shared.

Shipp was followed by Prince George’s County Advisory Board Member, Dave Ianucchi, who presented the Corporate Philanthropist of the Year Award to Melonie Ducre Johnson, on behalf of MGM National Harbor. Click here for the MGM National Harbor Tribute Video

MGM National Harbor is one of the largest employers in Prince George’s County, with more than 3,200 employees – nearly half of whom are Prince George’s County residents. Since coming to the Prince George’s County in 2016, MGM has invested heavily in workforce development, including partnering with Prince George’s Community College for their Hospitality, Tourism, Culinary Arts and Dealer School – helping residents acquire the skills to obtain better paying jobs.

“Our mission is to be a great neighbor, not just a good neighbor,” Johnson shared. “At MGM National Harbor, we believe in investing in our people and investing in this community.”

At this point, Tiffany Turner, Executive Director of Nonprofit Prince George’s County came forward to announce the winner of the Nonprofit Leader of the Year Award – Cheryl Petty Garnette, Executive Director of Ivy Community Charities of Prince Geroge’s County.

Ivy Community Charities of Prince George’s County supports youth and families residing in Prince George’s County, Maryland, with educational, cultural, and health-related resources to enhance the economic condition of citizens. One of their most exciting programs is the Ivy VINE or Village Incubator for Nonprofit Excellence, which provides training, networking, and facility support for emerging nonprofits.

As Executive Director, Garnette has been instrumental in the creation and implementation of the Ivy VINE. In addition to her leadership at Ivy Community Charities, Garnette also serves on the Board of Nonprofit Prince George’s County.

Garnette was one of four nonprofit leaders nominated for this year’s award, including Lisa Butler McDougal, Executive Director of Sowing Empowerment & Economic Development (SEED), Sandy Washington, Executive Director of Community Outreach & Development Corp (CDC), and Maryann Dillon, Executive Director of Housing Initiative Partnership (HIP). Click here to meet all the nominees. The winner was selected via text-to-vote by members of the Prince George’s County community.

The final award of the evening, the 2023 Emerging Leader of the Year Award went to Charnell Ferguson, Director of Constituent Services for the Office of At-Large Councilmember Mel Franklin.

Ferguson is a powerful activist and voice for change in her community. A member of the Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund Forty Under 40 cohort for 2019, Ferguson helped re-establish the NAACP at Bowie State University and been actively involved in local government for several years. She also is the founder of the Diamond Foundation Inc, a nonprofit geared to help the community and build self-esteem in youth while raising awareness of mental health.

Ferguson was one of four emerging leaders nominated for this year’s award, including Jonathan Harris, Founder of Million Paths Foundation, Inc, Vince Harrington, Executive Director of the Maryland Democratic Party, and Albert T. Lewis, Principal of Largo High School. Click here to meet all the nominees!

“Thanks to all of you for your contributions to our county,” shared Darcelle Wilson, Senior Director of The Community Foundation’s Prince George’s County office. “As we close out this celebration, may we continue to work together to create a community where everyone thrives.”

Click here for more photos from the 2023 Civic Leadership Awards. We also express special thanks to our Sponsors for making this event possible!

For more information on how to get involved in Prince George’s County, contact Darcelle Wilson at dwilson@thecommunityfoundation.org

Talking Reparations and Growth at the Intersection of Faith and Philanthropy

In June, faith leaders from across the region gathered at Reid Temple AME Church in Glendale, MD for the 2nd Annual Faith & Philanthropy Forum. The event convened faith and philanthropic leaders for an intimate conversation about their work, economic mobility, and the importance of closing our region’s racial wealth gap.

The program was divided into two thought-provoking sessions. The morning session examined how The Community Foundation and faith leaders can better collaborate to advance economic mobility and close the racial wealth gap in the most economically challenged neighborhoods in Prince George’s County. 

“As faith and philanthropy leaders, there are so many intersections in the work that we do,” Tonia Wellons, President & CEO of The Community Foundation shared. “That’s why it’s so important to meet together and talk about where we are.”

“We recognize that we have a stronger ability to make a deeper impact when Faith and Philanthropy are strategically aligned.”

“We have to look at the strengths of the church when it comes to economic mobility,” Rev. Mark Whitlock, Pastor of Reid Temple AME Church shared. “The church has potential for exponential impact – above and beyond its programmatic impact.”

Rev. Mark Whitlock, Pastor of Reid Temple AME Church

Rev. Whitlock and other faith leaders have long been heavily involved in economic mobility initiatives in the region – particularly in Prince George’s County - serving both as advocates and valuable community partners. The morning session offered them a chance to share ideas and insights into how to continue that work.

“As faith leaders, we have a valuable role – not only as leaders; but also as innovators and disruptors in social change,” Ronnie Galvin – an ordained minister and Senior Fellow at The Community Foundation shared, as he outlined some of The Community Foundation’s ongoing and upcoming initiatives for social change.

Faith leaders were then invited to formally submit their ideas for innovative partnerships that could create economic justice in the Prince George’s County.  The Foundation will be receiving these proposals over the summer and will begin vetting them in Fall 2023.

“Think about the ministry and the work that you’re called to – where would you show up within this framework – and how can we work together to take it to the next level? And what would that look like?”

One aspect of that ‘next level’ revolves around a subject that has garnished a lot of local and national attention in recent months – that of reparations.

““Reparations is more than just fixing people’s problems. Reparations is about addressing the behaviors, habits, and systems that caused those problems in the first place.””

— Professor Anthony Cook

“This is an opportunity for us to reframe how people think about reparations,” Sara

Brenner, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Foundation shared in the afternoon session. “We know how important this work is. How can we change hearts and minds and systems to help make it happen?”

Co-hosted by the Jewish Community Foundation, the afternoon session convened Christian and Jewish faith leaders from across the region to help set a baseline understanding of reparative justice through the lens of faith traditions. Professor Anthony Cook, Professor of Law at Georgetown Law and the founder of the Coalition for Racial and Democratic Economy was the keynote speaker.

“Reparations is more than just fixing people’s problems,” Professor Cook explained. “Reparations is about addressing the behaviors, habits, and systems that caused those problems in the first place.”

Professor Cook explained that part of getting to the heart of the issue of reparations requires understanding the difference between restorative justice and reparative justice.

“Restorative justice focuses on restoring something to an earlier or pre-existing condition through compensation and acknowledgement of harm,” Professor Cook said. “Reparative Justice acknowledges that that is just one element in a larger spectrum.”

“We need to ask deeper questions about the system that is producing these results.”

Faith leaders listen as Professor Anthony Cook addresses the Faith & Philanthropy Forum via Zoom.

Professor Cook pointed out that “the charity service model” that has been embraced by faith and philanthropy leaders in decades past has “done Black and Brown communities a great disservice” by falling short of offering them meaningful, system-changing solutions to the issues they face.

He encouraged faith and philanthropy leaders to reexamine their efforts to ensure that “charity approaches to change are short-term, not long-term” and instead invest in bold systemic solutions that build community wealth.

Afterwards, Galvin asked faith leaders to share their thoughts on the discussion and the ways it resonates with the congregations they represent. The responses were overwhelmingly positive.

One pastor explained how they had already mobilized support for H.R. 40 – a bill on national reparations that was re-introduced in Congress in January. Another rabbi outlined how Holocaust survivors in his synagogue had received reparations from Germany, prompting discussions amongst the congregation about how parishioners could mobilize to help their neighbors in the African American community.

“Healing and repair are important aspects of the faith community,” Brenner shared. “For a long time those concepts have been separate from philanthropy.”

“That’s why it’s so important to create this forum where faith and philanthropy can align.”

To conclude the forum, Galvin shared a call to action in the form of a thought-provoking quote from the Civil Rights legend John Lewis, who paraphrased a prominent Jewish leader when he said:

“If not us, then who?”

“If not now, then when?”

Click here to see photos from the 2nd Annual Faith & Philanthropy Forum!

In Pursuit of Economic Justice Recap: How Children’s Trust Accounts Provide Hope for the Future

On April 19, The Community Foundation hosted a panel of national leaders for a discussion about how investments in Children’s Trust Accounts create a brighter future for communities. The event was part of the “In Pursuit of Economic Justice” Webinar Series –designed to bring together experts to explore innovative approaches to closing the racial wealth gap.

“We want young people to be able start their lives with the flexibility to pursue their dreams in any direction that they want to go,” shared The Community Foundation's Anna Hargrave. “By expanding the possibilities for an entire group of children, we can help forward our vision of closing the racial wealth gap across the Greater Washington region.”

“When you think about poverty, you often focus on income,” Dr. William Elliott a leading researcher and professor at the University of Michigan shared. “But income is dealing with the symptoms of poverty instead of the root cause of poverty. Poor people don't just have a lack of income; what they have is a lack of opportunity.”

“Children’s Trust Accounts are not just about money; it's about making sure that future generations are in a position to access the resources they need to be successful.”

Child Wealth Building Programs (such as a “Child Savings Accounts”, “Baby Bonds” or “Children’s Trust Accounts”) are growing increasingly popular in the philanthropic and public sectors. A private or public funder provides seed money to open a savings account for kindergarteners, which accrues value until the student graduates high school and can be used for different purposes.

In the case of Child Savings Accounts, funding is often restricted towards post-secondary education or  training through a 529 state college savings plan. A Children’s Trust Account allows funding to go towards a wider range of wealth building opportunities, including trade school, homeownership, or entrepreneurship. The Community Foundation intends to launch a Children’s Trust Account pilot program at two elementary schools in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County sometime in the next year.

Dr. Elliott is the founding director of the Center of Assets, Education, and Inclusion, and recently authored a comprehensive report “Unleashing the Power of Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs): Doorway to Multiple Streams of Assets”. The report outlines some of the biggest outcomes from child wealth building programs, including what Dr. Elliott calls “tangible hope.”

A mother participating in NYC Kids Rise's Child Wealth Building Program shares the impact the program has had on her son's learning.

“When you give a kid an asset, you're allowing them to begin to purchase some part of their future self,” Dr. Elliott explained. “It's a very valuable thing. It's concrete. It's not just ‘I hope one day they go to college.’ You’re giving them real, tangible assets so they can plan for their future in a way that they’ve never been able to do before."

“All of a sudden, college is possible; not just in a wishful thinking kind of way, but in a tangible, near-future, kind of way.”

“It's not just about having an asset accumulate and be able to gain on that early investment,” Leila Bozorg, Chief of Strategy and Policy at NYC Kids Rise added. “It's about the narratives that a kid is hearing from an early age and those expectations of success and support to meet those expectations.”

NYC Kids Rise started out in 2017 as a pilot program in New York City’s School District 30 (about 3,500 kindergartners). Six years later, the program has expanded city-wide – thanks to a partnership with New York City Public Schools – making it the largest such program in the country. Champions of the project included Maryland Governor Wes Moore, then CEO of Robin Hood, which invested more than $1 million towards the initiative.

Governor Wes Moore (then CEO of Robin Hood) talks about the importance of Child Wealth Building Programs.

While the financial partnership with New York City Public Schools has been a huge benefit to NYC Kids Rise, Leila says that it’s the existing infrastructure provided by the school system that has opened new windows of opportunity for students.

“What we've tried to do is not just build a vehicle for asset accumulation; we’ve engaged the entire ecosystem that impacts the long-term success of a child,” Bozorg explained. “We know that each part of that ecosystem can impact a child's economic opportunities in the future.”

NYC Kids Rise works with the school system to develop financial education curriculums for the classroom that can be personalized to each child – allowing them to develop financial literacy skills in real-time. They also provide workshops and resources for parents so they can create their own savings account – building the foundation of a culture of saving for the entire family that Dr. Elliott says is important to strengthen and encourage.

“Because of these programs, families are starting to have active conversations about their kids’ futures, well in advance – they’re catching a glimpse of a financial future that they didn’t have the capacity or resources to see before. Over time, they begin to develop and adopt long-term habits for financial success.”

Community Leader Claudia Coger talks about their community investment in the NYC Kids Rise community scholarship program.

When asked about secrets to success, Bozorg added that community involvement is key. Early on, NYC Kids Rise set up community scholarships – allowing anchor institutions and community groups to make direct contributions to child wealth building programs rather than contributing through more traditional scholarship programs. Dr. Elliott noted that this format allows funders to have a greater impact on students, since their investment multiplies the impact of the child’s savings account.

“Any investment can make a difference in a child’s life,” Bozorg said. “But we’ve found that the real growth happens when communities and community partners take the lead in committing to a generation’s future.”

When asked about lessons learned from such a program, Bozorg had just one word to say: “Patience.”

“These are long-term, legacy-changing programs that can have major impacts on institutions and on people's lives. That change isn't going to happen overnight.”

“We're trying to change minds and cultures around saving,” Dr. Elliott added. “It's one thing to have this platform and provide this resource; it's another to help them access it and see the value in it.”

That being said, both were highly optimistic about the prospects for The Community Foundation to launch a Children’s Trust Account pilot program.

“I think your program will be a good marker,” Dr. Elliott remarked. “Not only for the Greater Washington Region, but for the whole country to better understand what happens when we make larger investments in our children’s future over time.”

Click here to view a recording “In Pursuit of Economic Justice: A Primer on Children’s Trust Accounts. For additional information on Children’s Trust Accounts and other economic mobility initiatives, visit www.thecommunityfoundation.org/strategic-plan.