Unlocking the Power of Guaranteed Income in the DMV

Earlier this month, The Community Foundation gathered with guaranteed income advocates from across the region to discuss how to amplify the effects of guaranteed income pilots in the Greater Washington region.

“At The Community Foundation, we believe that guaranteed income is one of the best ways that we can combat poverty with dignity” The Community Foundation’s President & CEO Tonia Wellons shared. “That’s why we’re so excited to convene so many incredible changemakers in this space and discuss how we can continue this work in our region!”

The meeting brought together representatives from nine different guaranteed income across DC, Maryland, and Virginia, including Bread for the City’s Cash Rx, Arlington Community Foundation’s Arlington’s Guarantee, City of Alexandria’s ARISE, iF, a Foundation for Radical Possibility’s Let’s GO DMV!, My Sister’s Place’s RISE Trust, Fairfax County Economic Mobility Pilot, Montgomery County’s MoCoBoost, Mothers Outreach Network’s MotherUp, and The Community Foundation’s Thrive Prince George’s.

A graphic captured by Belinda Jackson at Picture it Possible, showcases the various guaranteed income pilots that attended the convening.

“We’ve seen the impact that guaranteed income has had across the country,” shared Mandi Koba, Program Officer for Economic Mobility at The Community Foundation. “Now we have a chance to explore the impact that it has had – and will hopefully continue to have in the DMV!”

Nationally, there are more than 150 guaranteed income pilots that are currently active or recently concluded – including at least 12 different pilots in Greater Washington region.

Mary Bogle, Principal Research Associate at the Urban Institute provides an overview of guaranteed income pilots across the country.

During the event, representatives had the chance to network with peers from across the region and share best practices. They also heard a presentation from Mary Bogle, Principal Research Associate at the Urban Institute about guaranteed income pilot best practices and trends, nationally. Bogle and her team at Urban have provided research and evaluation for guaranteed income pilots across the country and the region.

“The socioeconomic impact of guaranteed income is clearly positive,” Bogle shared. “What we need is to continue to research and advocate for more funding so we can discover the scope and scale of that impact for our community.”

After Bogle’s presentation, representatives were divided into break-out groups to discuss various themes relative to guaranteed income work including Narrative Building, How to go from Pilot to Policy, and ‘Failing Forward: Best Practices for Project Implementation.

A graphic captured by Belinda Jackson at Picture it Possible, highlights the main takeaways discussed in each of the various break-out groups.

In the “Failing Forward” group, participants talked about the importance of working with funders to build relationships of trust in order to communicate outcomes and impact within a realistic, holistic lens – but also to be innovative in the types of outcomes they measure – outcomes like improved mental health or increased time spent with children that may fall outside traditional benchmarks for programmatic success

Meanwhile, the Narrative Building group discussed the importance of storytelling and narrative building in painting an accurate picture of the impact of guaranteed income initiatives.

“Welfare queens, ‘Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps’ – there are so many negative narratives out there that don’t accurately represent the realities faced by those we serve,” shared one representative. “As we work with our participants to empower them to share their own stories, we are able to elevate narratives of dignity and community that are the backbone of this work.”

Finally, the pilot to policy group discussed ways to leverage narrative building and evaluation findings to plan for the future – by advocating for funding and policy to continue their efforts at scale.

Across the board, partners expressed the need to continue to collaborate across jurisdictions to share information, combat false narratives, and continue to advocate for funding and support across the region.

“Collaboration and partnership is the key to bringing about lasting and sustainable change,” Wellons added. “We look forward to continuing to partner with all of you, as we work together to promote economic mobility in the Greater Washington region.”

The Community Foundation is committed to continuing to invest in, advocate for, and support the progression of guaranteed income pilot programs across the Greater Washington region. For more information, visit https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org/guaranteed-income

The Partnership to End Homelessness Welcomes New Members to Partnership Leadership Council

This past year, the Partnership to End Homelessness welcomed five new members to its Leadership Council - a group of committed, private sector individuals representing foundations, housing developers and owners, healthcare institutions, and universities who are dedicated to ending homelessness in DC.

The Leadership Council has three primary objectives: 1) Engage private-sector stakeholders and networks in work to end homelessness and increase housing stability in DC; 2) Provide financial investment and other resources to support the strategic priorities of the Partnership to End Homelessness; and 3) Participate in budget advocacy, policy advocacy, and public narrative change efforts using personal and professional networks.

Since the Partnership launched, the Leadership Council has been instrumental in our work to align $18.5 million in private sector resources and joined our nonprofit partners in advocating for historic public sector investments in homeless services and affordable and supportive housing.

The new members of the Partnership Leadership Council include - Anand Dholakia, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation; Kimberly Harris, CareFirst BlueCross Blueshield; Alecia Hill, FCP; Dr. Yavar Moghimi, AmeriHealth Caritas; and Andrew Vincent, Horning Brothers.

Shaping the Future for the Partnership to End Homelessness

Together with new and existing members, the Leadership Council gathered to reflect on the Partnership’s progress to date and determine where the Partnership should prioritize our efforts over the next two years.

Through this process, members reaffirmed their commitment to the Partnership’s overall goals and guiding principles, including racial equity and deeply affordable housing.

Leaders also committed to continuing to provide a table for the private sector to share knowledge with and learn from our public sector partners, nonprofit service providers, and advocates about homelessness and affordable housing issues in DC and best practices and innovations to address them.

In order to have the greatest impact, the Leadership Council made the decision to focus on a limited set of strategic priorities.  Based on a needs analysis, community feedback, and potential for future impact, the following priorities were identified:

1. Expedite housing placement for people experiencing chronic homelessness. The Leadership Council expressed an urgent need to expedite the process for people experiencing chronic homelessness to move into housing. Currently, delays in the process lead to units sitting empty for many months, creating financial challenges for landlords and housing providers while people continue to live on the street or in shelters.

   The Leadership Council and the Partnership will continue to advance this priority through advocacy, grant funding, and convening.

2. Improve care coordination between healthcare and homeless service systems. Housing insecurity is a public health issue that impacts health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness and drives up healthcare costs for the broader system. Healthcare and housing systems are complex, and significant coordination is needed to address the unique challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness - many of whom have significant mental health and physical health needs.

   The Leadership Council and Partnership will support existing efforts to improve collaboration that are being led by our partners at the DC Interagency Council to End Homelessness. The Council has also identified a specific interest in expanding medical respite in the city.

Are you a private sector leader, individual donor, or institutional funder interested in joining this work? The Partnership Leadership Council is always seeking for new ways to partner and build relationships to help end homelessness in DC. Reach out to Jennifer Olney at jolney@thecommunityfoundation.org to learn more.

Introducing our 2024 VoicesDMV Fellows

A Note from Darius Graham, Managing Director of Community Investment

Our community listening and engagement initiative, VoicesDMV, is designed to help philanthropy, community leaders, policymakers, and others understand the diverse experiences of the people who live and work in the Greater Washington region.

With the release of the VoicesDMV Community Insights Report earlier this year, we created the VoicesDMV Fellowship to identify and support individuals who are deeply rooted in the foundation’s priority neighborhoods. Fellows will facilitate deeper engagement between the foundation and residents in the priority neighborhoods with the ultimate goal of ensuring authentic community voice is at the center of our work.

VoicesDMV Fellows are taking on self-directed projects and will also have the opportunity to participate in the review of grant applications and advise the foundation as we develop, implement, and refine programs and initiatives. Fellows will receive a stipend and serve for at least eight months.

Following an open application process, we selected the following inaugural VoicesDMV Fellows who we’re now delighted to introduce you to.

• Katie Wilson

  Which community (or communities) will you be working with, as a VoicesDMV Fellow?

  Bailey's Crossroads & Culmore

  In 2-3 sentences, please briefly share with us about your experience living in/working with the community.

  Currently, I work as the full-time Program Manager for a resident-centered Place-Based Initiative (PBI) in the Bailey’s Crossroads & Culmore community led by Kaiser Permanente and George Mason University's College of Public Health. In this role, I engage hundreds of low-income residents and organizations in the community to amplify marginalized voices and accomplish local systems change through a collective impact model. I regularly organize and facilitate convenings of residents and local organizations to create and maintain transformational, rather than transactional, relationships.

  In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe what you hope to accomplish as a VoicesDMV Fellow. What are you most looking forward to?

  I am most looking forward to strengthening the Greater Washington Community Foundation's ties with service providers and residents alike. It is incredibly important to not only build trusting relationships with community stakeholders, but also to foster those relationships in a way that promotes greater equity for all. Through my work as a VoicesDMV Fellow, I hope to move the needle forward on addressing the racial wealth gap within the Bailey's Crossroads and Culmore area.

  What was your reaction to the 2024 VoicesDMV Community Insights Report? Did it's findings resonate with you and your work? If so, how?

  The data collected in the 2024 VoicesDMV Community Insights Report highlights a hard truth: historically disenfranchised communities like Bailey's Crossroads & Culmore have experienced worsening conditions due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have seen firsthand the ways that local families have been negatively impacted as they face barriers in accessing essential services and resources. It is more important now than ever before that we amplify and center community voices in our mission of advancing economic mobility in these islands of disadvantage in the DMV.

  What excites you about the future for your community?

  The residents of Bailey's Crossroads & Culmore are some of the most resilient people I know. I am excited that their voices will direct the economic strategy of the Greater Washington Community Foundation going forward. The residents are the experts on how we can improve quality of life in this community and I am thankful that they are being recognized as such.

• David Schultz

  Which community (or communities) will you be working with, as a VoicesDMV Fellow?

  Ward 7 & 8

  In 2-3 sentences, please briefly share with us about your experience living in/working with the community.

  Living and working in Washington, DC, has allowed me to immerse myself in the diverse and resilient community here. Through my role as the Director of Reentry Services at Changing Perceptions, I’ve witnessed firsthand the strength of individuals who are rebuilding their lives after incarceration and other challenges. This experience has deepened my commitment to supporting personal transformation and community healing.

  In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe what you hope to accomplish as a VoicesDMV Fellow. What are you most looking forward to?

  As a VoicesDMV Fellow, I hope to amplify the voices of individuals in the community and advocate for more equitable opportunities in reentry services. I’m looking forward to working with others who care about finding real solutions for these neighborhoods and creating better opportunities for residents to rebuild their lives.

  What was your reaction to the 2024 VoicesDMV Community Insights Report? Did it's findings resonate with you and your work? If so, how?

  The 2024 VoicesDMV Community Insights Report highlighted many challenges that resonate with my work in reentry services, particularly in Wards 7 and 8. The findings on economic precarity, such as barriers to employment and struggles with housing and basic necessities, strongly reflect the experiences of those I work with daily. It reinforced the importance of addressing systemic barriers that continue to impact marginalized communities. Additionally, the report’s focus on racial disparities and the need for increased collaboration aligns with my efforts to promote equity and create opportunities for those most affected.

  What excites you about the future for your community?

  I’m excited about the push to tackle long-standing inequalities in Wards 7 and 8. This fellowship allows for a chance to make meaningful changes that help people get back on their feet, find opportunities, and build better futures for themselves and their families.

• Nia Smart

  Which community (or communities) will you be working with, as a VoicesDMV Fellow?

  Bailey's Crossroads and Route 1 corridor in Northern Virginia

  In 2-3 sentences, please briefly share with us about your experience living in/working with the community.

  Living in Northern Virginia has given me the opportunity to be part of a vibrant and resourceful community. It has allowed me to experience both the unique challenges and valuable resources within our area. I’ve personally benefited from many local services and programs, and I’m passionate about raising awareness and helping more residents connect with these valuable resources to enhance our community's well-being.

  In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe what you hope to accomplish as a VoicesDMV Fellow. What are you most looking forward to?

  As a VoicesDMV Fellow, I hope to deepen my understanding of the unique community health needs and increase relationships with local health resources to effectively communicate and build knowledge of the various services I may not yet be aware of. I am particularly looking forward to collaborating with diverse stakeholders, gaining insights from fellow advocates, and leveraging this experience to implement impactful health initiatives that empower the Bailey's Crossroads and Route 1 corridor in Northern Virginia.

  What was your reaction to the 2024 VoicesDMV Community Insights Report? Did it's findings resonate with you and your work? If so, how?

  My reaction to the 2024 VoicesDMV Community Insights Report was one of affirmation and clarity. The findings resonated deeply with my experiences in Bailey's Crossroads and the Route 1 corridor, as they highlighted the unique challenges that our community faces. The report provided valuable data and perspectives that helped to qualify my thoughts about the needs in my neighborhood, guiding me on where to focus my efforts. It has reinforced my commitment to enhancing awareness of local health resources and informed my approach to community engagement, ensuring that my initiatives align with the needs of residents. This resource will be instrumental in shaping my work as a VoicesDMV Fellow.

  What excites you about the future for your community?

  What excites me about the future of my community in Bailey's Crossroads and the Route 1 corridor is the growing commitment to health equity and the collaborative efforts to address long-standing disparities. With more organizations and stakeholders coming together to leverage resources and share knowledge, there is tremendous potential for impactful initiatives that will enhance health literacy and improve access to care. The community’s resilience and openness to engage in meaningful dialogue about its needs inspire hope for lasting change. I am particularly excited about the potential of grassroots movements to empower residents and foster a culture of wellness and support across the area.

• Tiffany Turner-Allen

  Which community (or communities) will you be working with, as a VoicesDMV Fellow?

  Prince George's County, MD

  In 2-3 sentences, please briefly share with us about your experience living in/working with the community.

  I recognize my privilege because I work in and support the very community that I live in. My purpose of making a difference starts at home. My work is embedded in my DNA, so I use every opportunity to be cognizant about what the changing needs are of my community. This allows me to be connected to community, while confidently advocating for the ever changing needs of my community.

  In 2-3 sentences, please briefly describe what you hope to accomplish as a VoicesDMV Fellow. What are you most looking forward to?

  I hope to contribute to the established infrastructure that has been created by the Greater Washington Community Foundation. I hope to be a voice that communicates in a clear, authentic and uncompromising way for my community.

  What was your reaction to the 2024 VoicesDMV Community Insights Report? Did it's findings resonate with you and your work? If so, how?

  I was not surprised. The findings are on par with what I see and hear daily.

  What excites you about the future for your community?

  The possibilities... We are in a space where people are starting to imagine and reimagine what a racially equitable and just world can look like. I am excited that I work in a majority melanated community, where the potential to achieve this is not just an idea but is a possibility.

Announcing the 2024 David Bradt Nonprofit Leadership Award Winners

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

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

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

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

Read on to meet these inspiring local leaders.  

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

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

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

Accelerating DC's Community Safety Ecosystem

Kirby Gaherty, Senior Fellow of Community Safety & Harm Reduction outlines the impact of Community Violence Intervention (CVI) intiatives.

On September 18, philanthropic partners, business leaders, city government representatives and advocates for community safety from across the region convened at the True Reformer Building to discuss ways to promote and sustain community safety. Co-hosted by The Community Foundation and Public Welfare Foundation, the event explored the need for increased coordination and planning around violence prevention and intervention. 

“DC is known to be resource rich and infrastructure poor,” The Community Foundation’s President & CEO, Tonia Wellons shared. “We are here today to reimagine what that infrastructure of violence prevention looks like.” 

Participants first heard from Kirby Gaherty, Senior Fellow of Community Safety & Harm Reduction, as she outlined the four phases in the Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention, which include: 1) Define & Monitor the Problem, 2) Identify Risk & Protective Focus, 3) Develop & Test Protective Strategies, and 4) Assure Widespread Adoption. 

She also shared outcomes from other Community Violence Intervention (CVI) initiatives that have been implemented nationally as a way to increase coordination between governmental and nonprofit partners toward safety.  

Candice Jones, President & CEO of Public Welfare Foundation

“For too long, nonprofit organizations have been in the trenches; doing the hard work and putting their lives on the frontlines of this battle to keep our communities safe,” Candice Jones, President & CEO of Public Welfare Foundation shared.  

“As funders and business leaders, we have a responsibility to step up and invest in the well-being and public safety of the neighborhoods we live and do business in.” 

After Jones, participants heard from Kristy Love, Executive Director of the DC Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC). Love is responsible for www.dcjsat.net – a public database which tracks safety data in the District. –  This data is key in addressing both national and local media attention on crime, violence and safety in DC. 

Love shared a number of insightful statistics that helped participants better understand the state of public safety, as well as the risk factors and trends that researchers have noticed amongst those most likely to be impacted by violence. 

Income Statistics about CVI Participants with Peace for DC (Image: Peace for DC)

Neighborhood Statistics about CVI Participants with Peace for DC (Image: Peace for DC)

Participants also heard from Marcus Ellis, Executive Director of Peace For DC, the organization behind the DC Peace Academy and other efforts to train violence interrupters in the region. 

“As we talk about what’s working and not working in DC – we need a plan to ensure that CVI efforts can continue to do the good work that they’re doing in our community,” Ellis shared.  

Referencing decades past when funding for CVI efforts was discontinued in the District, he added, “The work must go on – we’ve already seen the impacts of not  having CVI as part of our ecosystem.” 

Dr. Joseph Richardson stresses the need for CVI coordination across jurisdictions.

Invited attendees – such as Dr. Joseph Richardson, who leads PROGRESS, the multidisciplinary gun violence research initiative at the University of Maryland – were quick to point out the need for CVI to be inclusive and coordinated both within DC and across the region.  

“40% of gun violence fatalities in DC last year weren’t from DC,” Dr. Richardson pointed out. “They were from Prince George’s County.”  

“Death does not have boundaries; violence does not have boundaries. We need new approaches that go beyond jurisdictions and provide more holistic solutions.” 

“I’d like to see this work be built into the code that transcends not only political administrations, but philanthropic leadership,” shared David Bowers, Vice President and Senior Advisor for Enterprise Community Partners. “We need CVI work to be codified so that it’s no longer a question of whether or not this work gets funded – it’ll just be a part of how we do business in this city.” 

“Until we are able to make sure the funding is consistent, this work will always be at risk.” 

David Bowers, VP and Senior Advisor for Enterprise Community Partners

 Tonia Wellons concluded the discussion by sharing  opportunities to be a part of  the “Core Team” – a group of philanthropic, government, and community partners who will come together around a strategy to advance DC’s Community Safety ecosystem. Like the Partnership to End Homelessness, this group will allow stakeholders to come together to influence local action, fund the infrastructure and drive strategy around this critical issue.  

The Community Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, Peace For DC and  Federal City Council are committed members of the Core Team.  

“We invite you to join with us in expanding the tent – bringing voices to the table and crafting a plan for a region where everyone can not only live safe but can thrive.” 

Over the next few months, The Community Foundation, alongside members of the Core Team, will engage with one another (as well as with broader stakeholder groups) and build the  collaborative table around community safety in DC. Our immediate next steps include analyzing components of local and national violence reduction plans, aligning around a strategy tailored for this region, and through collective action and accountability, move toward the implementation.   

If you or your organization would like to be a part of this important initiative, please contact Kirby Gaherty, Senior Fellow of Community Safety and Harm Reduction at kgaherty@thecommunityfoundation.org  

The Community Foundation Announces 2024 VoicesDMV Community Action Awards

The Community Foundation is excited to announce the 2024 VoicesDMV Community Action Awards. The awards are part of The Community Foundation’s VoicesDMV community engagement initiative, which unveiled its most recent Community Insights Report earlier this year.

“VoicesDMV is about more than just gathering and sharing information,” Darius Graham, The Community Foundation’s Managing Director of Community Investment shared. “It’s about turning information into action and making sure our work and that of our partners is directly informed by residents.”

“That’s why we’re excited to announce these Community Action Awards to support nonprofits in our community that are doing the work to address the issues and challenges outlined in the VoicesDMV report.”

First introduced in 2020, the VoicesDMV Community Action Awards provide grants of $5,000 to nonprofits who are working on projects to make our region more equitable and inclusive.

Projects ranged from initiatives addressing civic engagement and job readiness to others focused on rental assistance and housing security. All of the projects address one or more issues highlighted in the 2024 VoicesDMV Community Insights Report.

This year’s Community Action Award Recipients include:

• Anti-Racist DC will train and engage DC residents about housing insecurity and the inequitable distribution of wealth through the lens of equity and racial justice.

• Guerilla Gardeners of DC will provide a 4-week groundskeeping training program for young people facing housing insecurity.

• Beloved Community Incubator will partner with local organizations to engage with residents to promote workplace democracy and worker ownership.

• Centers for Opportunity will address barriers to employment for those living in the Richmond Highway corridor – with a special focus on those who have not worked for an extended period of time (ex. those experiencing homelessness, formerly incarcerated, and those without a high school diploma).

• Living Classrooms Foundation will train Ward 7 residents in how to operate and maintain “green infrastructure” through their Kingman Rangers program.

• Story Tapestries will hold trainings for early childhood educators in Montgomery County so they can earn higher wages and teach more effectively.

• Child Care Counts will provide emergency funds for families in Ward 7 & 8

• Bethesda Cares will provide rent relief to low-income individuals in Montgomery County

• Youth Activism Project will focus on youth civic empowerment and get-out-the-vote efforts in DC Wards 7 & 8 and East County, Montgomery County to help residents become more involved and aware of their role in local government.

• Many Languages, One Voice will hold four listening sessions with immigrants and refugee residents of Washington, DC to gather additional insights and reactions to the VoicesDMV Report. Data from these sessions will be used to create deeper awareness of the needs and situation of immigrants of color in DC.

Click here to learn more about our 2024 Community Action Award Recipients!

Brilliant Futures Principal Recognized as 2024 Bethesda Magazine Women Who Inspire

On August 28, Bethesda Magazine announced the 2024 Women Who Inspire Recipients - six women who are making change in Montgomery County and beyond.

The Following is an excerpt from the Bethesda Magazine profile written on Rosario ‘Paola’ Velasquez, Principal of Jackson Road Elementary School and a key figure behind The Community Foundation’s Brilliant Futures program which launched this past Summer.

Authorship Credit - Amy Halpern, Bethesda Magazine

As soon as Paola Velasquez opens the classroom door, a swarm of kindergartners drape their arms around her in a tight embrace. Little girls with box braids and pigtails, little boys with cornrows and close-cropped Afros—some with shy smiles, others with excited laughs—they quickly pile on, and the hug circle around their principal grows bigger and bigger. The same thing happens in nearly every classroom she enters.

It’s been five years since Velasquez, 44, took over the reins of Jackson Road Elementary School in Silver Spring’s White Oak neighborhood. It’s a Title 1 school with a minority population of more than 95%, where more than 75% of the students qualify for free meals. She started in the role only months before the pandemic hit. Since she’s been at the helm, the school rose from a 3-star rating to a 4-star, according to the Maryland State Department of Education, making it one of only four Title 1 elementary schools in the county (out of 40, according to Velasquez) to earn a 4-star rating for the 2022-23 school year, the most current rating year available. “Many schools throughout the state decreased a star, but we increased,” she says. 

The school now offers free evening English language classes for parents and guardians (along with free child care); a soccer program; two private-practice therapists who administer one-on-one mental health services to students at no charge; a dentist who cleans students’ teeth for free; and an optometrist who provides complimentary vision checks and eyeglasses, says Chris Callisto, Jackson Road’s Community School Liaison.

During the 2023-24 school year, Jackson Road opened a food pantry, and it began sending bags of food home on Fridays to 80 families. “When you are a child … and your basic needs aren’t being met because of poverty, you’re not thinking so much about going to college … you’re more worried about getting something to eat or clothing or making sure that you’re not going to be homeless,” Velasquez says.

Velasquez knows what it’s like to grow up poor in Montgomery County. She came here from Peru with her parents and three brothers when she was 8. All six lived in the basement of a relative’s house in Germantown while her dad worked as a janitor and painter, and her mom cleaned houses. Her parents saved enough money to move into an apartment, and eventually to buy a small home in Germantown.

When Velasquez graduated from Seneca Valley High School in Germantown in 1998, she watched as other students went off to college. She hadn’t been instructed how to sign up for SATs, fill out college applications or plan for her future. Instead, she took a job as an aide at a day care center, saved money to buy a car, then to pay for classes at Montgomery College, and then to earn her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at the University of Maryland, College Park…..

…….“Sometimes, you know, we have kids who … are having a hard time, they’re going through … a crisis, basically [and] it can take … hours out of my day for me to talk to that child,” Velasquez says. “They’re not ready to learn.”

But her goal is to keep them learning and all the while feeling confident and supported. After all, she says, “they’re going to be the ones who are going to be leading us in the future.”…..

Click here to read the full article.

To learn more about Brilliant Futures and how you can get involved, visit https://www.togetherweprosperdmv.org/brilliant-futures

The Black-Led Project: A Guide to Understand the Opportunities and Challenges for Black-led organizations

The Community Foundation is proud to support Service Never Sleeps (SNS) as they release their Black-Led Project Report. The report engaged 117 Black leaders directly about their unique needs and challenges, as well as their approaches to serving the community based upon their lived experiences. 

Whitney Parnell and Samson Girma, co-founders of SNS, sat down with our Chief Program Officer, Dawnn Leary, to share some of their major takeaways, ahead of the report’s release.

What can you tell us about the Black-Led Project research process?

We originally started the Black-Led Project after being told by multiple foundations that we didn’t qualify as “Black-led” when we applied for their funding in response to the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprising. Knowing that Black people are best equipped to define ourselves, we launched a pilot in the Spring of 2022 by interviewing 27 Black leaders–Executive Directors, Deputy Directors, Race Equity Officers, and Race Equity Consultants–about the question, What does it mean to be Black-led?

Gratefully, the Greater Washington Community Foundation funded our continued research, and we engaged a total of 117 participants by the end of 2023 through interviews, cohort discussions, and surveys. Through the process, we were encouraged by the affirmation of our original findings and were enlightened by additional takeaways from the larger participant pool.

What were some of the main themes from the Black-Led Project research that stood out to SNS?

There were dozens of takeaways from the research, but there were several major themes that clearly stood out:

1. Black leaders are uniquely positioned to lead in transformative and liberatory ways because of their experiences and perspectives.
   Black leaders’ proximity to the community issues and experiences in the workplace allow for effective and innovative approaches to their missions – thus expanding the traditional notion of “good leadership.”

   One participant said: “Black folks tend to have a specific sort of lived experience that allows them to have an expansive view on solutions to particular social issues. Bringing that lived experience to the table actually helps produce better outcomes for all people…particularly in the nonprofits and social sector space because there’s a much better understanding of what’s actually happening in communities, and what we’re trying to support.”
   

2. Black led organizations can benefit people of all identities, due to their tendency to create “people-first” cultures that guide internal and external priorities.
   Black led organizations prioritize cultures of community, joy, and wellness in order to ensure that they support employees as full people, which in turn allows staff to show up effectively to their important missions.

   “Everyone gains when you can breathe, when you are in community, when you care about how people show up with their whole selves,” one participant shared. “When it’s pro-Black and Black-led, those things are centered, and everyone benefits in an organization.”
   

3. Black leaders face many unique challenges, including disrespect, insufficient funding, and unreasonable expectations amidst barriers.

   As part of taking on difficult leadership situations – which often come with unfair and unrealistically high standards, many Black leaders face challenges that impact their health and ability to successfully lead their organizations.

   “Many Black leaders are put in impossible situations where no leader would be expected to succeed,” one Black leader shared. “When they fail, this reinforces stereotypes.”
   

4. Black leaders need support from all directions to lead their organizations.
   There are so many ways that Black leaders and their organizations can be invested in to ensure that their powerful work can continue. Some specific needs that were mentioned included Black leaders’ needs for community with other Black leaders and operational funding to sustain the organizations and themselves. A thriving leader is best positioned to lead a thriving organization and drive community impact; so it should be everybody’s responsibility within and proximate to the organizations to ensure that Black leaders thrive.
   
   “[With funding] you are telling Black people that you trust us enough to lead,” one participant remarked. “You trust us enough with the grants, with the budgets, with the money. But you also trust our experiences and our perspectives.”

What will SNS be offering as a result of what it heard and learned from Black leaders?

Service Never Sleeps Whitney Parnell, Founder & CEO and Samson Girma, COO

The two years of research equipped us to write a robust report, and to create a supplemental training to accompany it.

Beyond a descriptive outline of the definition of Black led organizations, both resources provide a detailed spotlight on Black leaders’ experiences and insights, an extensive guide of equitable practices and effective leadership by centering Black leaders, and a charge to fund and support the sustainability and thriving of Black leaders and Black-led organizations.

The report is free to access on our website  – where you can also sign up to participate in the supplemental training course.  The training is meant to dive deeper into the report’s content, including providing opportunities to reflect in community, and develop next steps relative to participants’ individual identities and roles within institutions.

What do you hope for how the space will evolve to better recognize and support Black leaders based on what you heard and learned?

First and foremost, we hope that Black leaders will be trusted for the fantastic visionaries and deliverers that we are. Anti-Blackness is pervasive, and Black leaders face numerous barriers that prevent us from leading effectively and driving our important missions. We hope that Black leaders will be supported more.

If we say we care about Black led organizations, then we must care about Black leaders; and if we want to sustain Black organizations, then we must sustain Black leaders. It’s all intertwined, and sustainability is key.

Black led organizations should not only be championed during particular political climates or in response to egregious headlines; rather, the support should be consistent. Black led organizations have so much to offer communities and their people, and they can only live into that full potential with the adequate backing and resources to do so.

As The Community Foundation seeks to implement ways to center and operationalize equity within its grantmaking, this research will inspire ways The Community Foundation can transform its grantmaking practices to better center and support BIPOC leaders while reducing unintended barriers these leaders are experiencing.    

We are so excited to dig into this report, participate in the SNS offerings and learn how The Community Foundation can become a better philanthropic partner to Black led organizations in our community. We invite our philanthropic peers and donors to read this research, learn from these visionary leaders, and identify opportunities for you and your organizations to better center and support the work of BIPOC leaders.

Meet Our Prince George's County Small Business Partners

In April 2024, The Community Foundation, with funding from the PNC Foundation, announced the Small Business Support Program - an initiative to support small businesses located along the Purple Line and Blue Line corridors.

In support of our Small Business Partners, The Community Foundation is excited to highlight the work and mission of these incredible organizations and the impact that they've had in empowering and uplifting their respective communities.

• MMC Consulting

  Tell us briefly about your business (where is it located, how long have you been in operation, what services do you provide)

  MMC Consulting is headquartered in Mitchellville, MD, and has been fully operational since October 2019. We provide professional services in federal acquisition, program management, organizational change management, and staff augmentation. Our goal is to deliver tech-enabled solutions that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our clients.
  
  In 2-3 sentences, please share with us the ways your business works with and contributes to your community

  MMC Consulting actively engages with our community through partnerships with local organizations, providing training and career development opportunities. In March of 2024, we founded and launched a local chapter of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) Metro Maryland Chapter. We further contribute to the community by offering resources and leadership to foster growth and development in the federal contracting community supporting small businesses by offering consulting services to help them navigate federal contracting processes and secure government contracts.

  How has construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor Impacted your Business?

  The construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor has provided MMC Consulting with new avenues and opportunities for collaboration with local businesses and community projects.

  What excites you about receiving the Small Business Grant?

  Receiving the Small Business Grant is exciting because it enables us to further our mission of empowering small businesses and delivering innovative solutions. It provides us with the resources to expand our services, invest in technology, and create more job opportunities within our community.

  What are your dreams for the future of your business?

  We want to become a leading provider in the federal acquisition sector and achieve annual revenues of $100 million by 2030. We will continue innovating and expanding our service offerings to meet the evolving needs of our clients and to continue contributing to our local community.

  What are your dreams for the future of your community?

  We envision a future where our community thrives with robust support for small businesses, equitable opportunities for all, and a strong network of partnerships that drive economic growth and development. We aim to contribute to a community where businesses and individuals are empowered to reach their full potential.

• Xcelent Meals

  Tell us briefly about your business (where is it located, how long have you been in operation, what services do you provide)

  We are located in Hyattsville, MD. We have been in business for 2 years as a meal prep delivery service. We provide catering, drop off service, meal prep, and cooking classes and travel to our clients to meet their needs.

  In 2-3 sentences, please share with us the ways your business works with and contributes to your community

  We cater to seniors who are unable to cook for themselves. We deliver food to them and also cater special holiday meals for them. We also have done free events for the homeless in Washington, DC. We also support college students through our half price Sunday brunch, for those who may not have somewhere to go for a nice Sunday meal.

  How has construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor Impacted your Business?

  The construction and road closures have caused a lot of traffic, making it harder to receive deliveries from our suppliers. It also makes it hard to get clients to come out to our location, which has impacted our business.

  What excites you about receiving the Small Business Grant?

  I’m excited about the chance to purchase better quality supplies and products for my business. It will also allow me to do the things I needed to get done far as advertising, and purchasing equipment and small wares for my kitchen.

  What are your dreams for the future of your business?

  To open multiple locations thought out PC County.

  What are your dreams for the future of your community?

  My dream for is to use my business and reputation in PG County to continue to teach others and help our community grow.

• irok consulting

  Tell us briefly about your business (where is it located, how long have you been in operation, what services do you provide)

  We are based in Prince George's County and were formally established in April 2020. We help people without computer or corporate experience build careers in business and IT.

  In 2-3 sentences, please share with us the ways your business works with and contributes to your community

  We help citizens of Prince George's County qualify for better opportunities in the business and IT sector. We work with community colleges and other community organizations to deliver training programs that teach the career development process and strategy. Through our services, we are able to increase the pool of qualified candidates for local businesses.

  How has construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor Impacted your Business?

  Construction has limited the number people who can attend our in-person events on the campus of Prince George's Community College.

  What excites you about receiving the Small Business Grant?

  I’m excited about the marketing opportunities that allow my business to reach and impact more people.

  What are your dreams for the future of your business?

  To expand into prisons, half-way houses, and re-entry programs.

  What are your dreams for the future of your community?

  To see marginalized communities no longer shut out of the business/IT world due to a lack of education, knowledge, and resources.

• Cynthia Cephas Photography

  Tell us briefly about your business (where is it located, how long have you been in operation, what services do you provide)

  Based out of Bowie/Mitchellville, Cynthia Cephas Photography was established in 2016 to provide high volume, professional headshots on-location for corporate/organization executives, teams & groups. We specialize in Headshot Booth Activations for attendees at conferences, conventions, trade shows, sales meetings, job fairs & networking events. Cynthia Cephas is an Executive Headshot & Commercial Brand photographer & Corporate Event photographer. I serve as the photographer for the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce (MBCC) Prince George's County Advisory Board & as the MBCC Photographer.

  In 2-3 sentences, please share with us the ways your business works with and contributes to your community

  In the past, we have provided headshots for small business owners at networking events and partnered with other small business owners. For the past 5 years, we’ve also provided affordable photos with a Black Santa at a local town center.

  What excites you about receiving the Small Business Grant?

  I am excited about receiving the Small Business Grant to provide resources to level up my business, to grow and to scale.

  What are your dreams for the future of your business?

  My dream is to be the go-to headshot photographer in Prince George's County, the state of Maryland, and the DMV.

  What are your dreams for the future of your community?

  To see the community continue to thrive and grow with small businesses being an integral part.

• Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids, Inc

  Tell us briefly about your business (where is it located, how long have you been in operation, what services do you provide)

  Founded by Makalay Turay in 2004, Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids Inc. began as a small center located in Laurel, Maryland. The company recently acquired property and will soon be moving to a new location in District Heights, Maryland. The center is licensed by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) as a childcare center for children 2 to 12 years of age and will have a capacity of 50 children.

  Our mission is to create success, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning for young children. Our programs will provide full-time and part-time childcare services for Maryland families – in addition to before and after-school services for school age children. We utilize Creative Curriculum -- a research based pre-school curricula and assessment system that supports teaching through creativity and project-based learning. The center will operate from 6:30am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday - with observance of all major holidays.

  In 2-3 sentences, please share with us the ways your business works with and contributes to your community

  The goal of Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids, Inc is to challenge achievement gaps in education; an issue that plagues our public school system and leads to generational poverty and lack of opportunity -- especially for students of color. Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids Inc. strives to create better opportunities for minority students by providing high-quality child-care programs. By doing this, the program helps to decrease the number of children below level in literacy and math entering the school system.

  How has construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor Impacted your Business?

  Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids Inc. has been hit hard due to the ongoing construction of the Blue/Purple Line Corridor project. The areas of construction have created congestion, leading to new traffic patterns in the surrounding area. People are cramped onto major routes; specifically, those within a 2–3-mile radius of the construction sites, creating congestion and traffic problems.

  Our business is taking longer to generate revenue due to the loss of visibility from the new traffic patterns being created. The construction traffic causes parking issues and makes it difficult for people to see the business storefront from the main road. Accessibility to the childcare center has become harder due to the traffic from the main road, especially during busy times of the day.

  What excites you about receiving the Small Business Grant?

  With the help of the Small Business Grant, Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids is creating a blueprint for high quality affordable childcare for working class Maryland families. Thanks to our new location, Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids will be able to provide 50 new daycare slots.

  Maryland families are in dire need of affordable high-quality daycare programs. Many childcare centers were forced to shut down due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids Inc. nearly shut down after multiple years of lost revenue from the global COVID-19 pandemic.

  The new program in District Heights, Maryland will help to provide much needed daycare services. The financial support provided by this grant will give us the necessary tools to keep staff employed, utilities and rent paid, and undergo much-needed renovations to expand the program into the new location.

  Not only that, but this grant will help to build and sustain a vibrant community in the Prince George's County, District Heights area, by allowing us to offer products and services which are vitally important and necessary for working families and growing communities in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

  What are your dreams for the future of your business?

  Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids Inc. believes that the first years of a child’s life are critical to the development of positive self-esteem, confidence, happiness, independence, and creativity. We are here to establish, build, and maintain long lasting partnerships with parents of the children enrolled in the center and families in the surrounding communities.

  Systemic and progressive achievement is best acquired by implementing early learning programs that provide students with the requisite tools and skills needed to become successful competent adults in society. The dreams for the future of the business will be to continue the legacy of uplifting Maryland's young learners, knowing that all children can succeed.

  What are your dreams for the future of your community?

  Brighter Beginnings 4 Kids Inc. is committed to supporting and providing before and after school care for Title 1 Schools and schools with high FARMS Rates (40% or higher) located in the District Heights area. Students in the program will improve scores and have a renewed and deeper confidence in their academic abilities. We are committed to helping Maryland children and youth excel in pre-school, elementary school and beyond.

  Through this grant, we are expanding access to high quality early childhood education which will generate a significant future return on investment for our society and for children and families across the state of Maryland.

• flavors

  Tell us briefly about your business (where is it located, how long have you been in operation, what services do you provide)

  Our venture, Flavors®, is centered around our maker and artisan workspace, the Culinary Hub®, which launched in 2021, a 3,000 square foot cutting-edge facility located in Hyattsville, MD.

  Flavors Culinary Hub acts as a crucial resource for culinary professionals, offering them a platform to start, develop, and scale their food and beverage businesses within a certified commercial kitchen facility. We also serve corporate and government clients who come to us to spearhead hospitality training, including food, beverage, safety, and customer service, as well as concept management within their commercial spaces, venues, and their public and private events.

  In 2-3 sentences, please share with us the ways your business works with and contributes to your community

  Flavors® is a catalyst for culinary growth in our community, offering under-resourced food entrepreneurs access to state-of-the-art commercial kitchens, health department licensing, and specialized training programs. Our unique membership model removes the financial barriers to launching and scaling a business, fostering a vibrant ecosystem that benefits local professionals, corporate clients, and government agencies alike.

  How has construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor Impacted your Business?

  The Purple Line construction has created challenges such as reduced foot traffic, business closures, and decreased accessibility, all of which have impacted our food and beverage members' ability to connect with potential customers.

  To counteract this, we’re investing in new programming at our facility, including a business café offering breakfast, lunch, dessert, and mocktail beverages, promoting responsible socialization without alcohol. We're also launching a private dining club that will not only host various events for the community to learn about our offerings and local culinary artisans but also provide our artisans with a dedicated space to host their private events. These initiatives are designed to foster community engagement and support local talent despite the construction disruptions.

  What excites you about receiving the Small Business Grant?

  We are thrilled about receiving the Small Business Grant because it will provide essential support for managing the upcoming increase in our commercial kitchen facility's rent. This grant will allow us to effectively allocate funds towards our rent expenses, ensuring we can maintain our operations and continue supporting our culinary community. It’s an exciting opportunity to strengthen our financial stability and invest in the growth and development of our programs and services.

  What are your dreams for the future of your business?

  My dreams for the future of Flavors® involve expanding our culinary hubs nationally and internationally to fill gaps in business and leadership training often overlooked by traditional culinary schools. These facilities will include small to mid-size manufacturing capabilities, logistics management, local procurement initiatives with farmers and growers, and centralized retail spaces where local food, beverage, and agricultural artisans can sell directly to their communities.

  Strategically located in suburban regions, where major cities may be saturated or inconveniently distant, our hubs will provide accessible, safe, and diverse spaces for engaging with the local community. This expansion aims to support culinary professionals, enhance Business-to-Government (B2G) and Business-to-Business (B2B) opportunities, foster community connections, and offer showcasing opportunities in areas that are underserved and often overlooked, with fewer barriers to entry.

  What are your dreams for the future of your community?

  My dreams for the future of our community center around creating a vibrant, inclusive hub where culinary innovation thrives and where local food and beverage entrepreneurs have the resources and support to succeed. I envision a space that not only fosters diverse, scalable brands with regional, national, and international potential but also provides a dedicated learning environment specifically tailored to adult professionals. This space would offer affordable, high-quality education focused on business and leadership skills for those who are heads of households and balancing family responsibilities. It would include amenities similar to those found in traditional colleges but designed for adult learners who can't commit to full-time, on-campus programs.

  By addressing the gap of being underfunded but over-mentored, we aim to drive economic growth, create lasting legacy brands, and enhance the quality of life for those that have chosen the hospitality sector to be of service.

• TANTV

  Tell us briefly about your business (where is it located, how long have you been in operation, what services do you provide)

  Founded in 2019, TANTV is a news media publishing and technology company based in Maryland dedicated to serving the underserved African and Black multicultural diaspora communities in the DMV area. Our mission is to elevate the inclusion of these communities in American society by providing informative, inspiring, and educational content that reflects their daily lives.

  Recognizing the rich cultural heritage and the growing importance of the African diaspora in various sectors such as culture, politics, and entrepreneurship, TANTV was created to offer a platform where Africa and its descendants can interact, engage, and stay informed. We identified a significant gap in the representation and coverage of these communities in U.S. media, particularly in accessing local information that empowers them economically. Our focus is on addressing this gap, supporting the diverse cultures within the Black experience, and ensuring that our community is heard and represented.

  In 2-3 sentences, please share with us the ways your business works with and contributes to your community

  TANTV serves a multi-generational audience, including first-generation immigrants, African-Americans, and allies of African culture, by filling the media void that reflects their lived experiences. We chronicle and document stories that impact our audience through journalism, storytelling, and commentary on current events, local news, business, politics, lifestyle, entertainment, and technology. Our local newsrooms produce high-quality, equitable journalism and need-to-know information that directly addresses community needs, such as affordable housing, applying for benefits, and voting. We collaborate with organizations across tech, media, entertainment, consumer goods, and the nonprofit sector to enhance connections with the diaspora community, equipping people with skills and resources, and fostering critical public conversations.

  How has construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor Impacted your Business?

  The construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor has led to a decline in income, particularly from reduced advertising revenues from businesses in the corridor. We’ve faced challenges in accessing local clients and businesses, especially as some have shut down or become difficult to reach, making it harder to connect with underserved communities most affected by the construction.

  What excites you about receiving the Small Business Grant?

  This grant empowers us to continue shining a light on our local community and businesses, addressing the persistent underrepresentation of Black communities in mainstream media while promoting authentic, community-driven journalism. It strengthens our mission of elevating the inclusion of underserved communities through impactful local journalism, sharing resources and information they might not otherwise have access to. It also enables TANTV to engage in workforce development partnerships and build a sustainable future for local journalism that reflects underserved communities.

  What are your dreams for the future of your business?

  At TANTV, we have long advocated for the inclusion of multicultural audiences in American mainstream media. The Greater Washington Center Foundation recognizes the importance of representation and supports our mission of connecting multicultural companies with funding.

  Our vision is to create a media and television network dedicated to serving these underserved communities, ensuring they see themselves represented in media. We aim to expand the reach and sustainability of media outlets serving communities of color through partnerships and support from foundations and donors alike.

  What are your dreams for the future of your community?

  Our dream is for our community to have a seat at the table in matters of policy, economy, and beyond. We strive to advance inclusion and social justice for the underserved and underrepresented Black diaspora, particularly African migrant and immigrant communities.

  Our goal is to close longstanding inequalities, strengthen the broader African immigrant diaspora, and prioritize community listening and engagement to produce news and content that directly addresses their needs.

• Sidnae Global Research (SGR)

  Tell us briefly about your business (where is it located, how long have you been in operation, what services do you provide)

  Sidnae Global Research (SGR), located in Upper Marlboro/Springdale, Maryland, champions healthier communities by securing strategic funding and enabling impactful collaborations. We guide U.S. health centers in obtaining corporate, foundation, and government grants, with a focus on federal agencies like SAMHSA, CDC, Department of Justice, HRSA, and ACF. Since 2017, our expertise has helped nonprofits raise over $13 million and secure more than 80 awards, enhancing their community impact.

  In 2-3 sentences, please share with us the ways your business works with and contributes to your community

  SGR is committed to serving the community in Prince George's County, Maryland. To assist nonprofits in enhancing their grant-writing skills, we offer grant-writing training, nearly 100 learning resources on our website, and free training sessions at local libraries. Furthermore, we collaborate with local churches and business organizations to provide support to small businesses and the community.

  How has construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor Impacted your Business?

  Due to being a primarily remote business, Purple Line Construction has had somewhat limited impacts on our company. However, it has affected our ability to travel to community spaces and visit with clients quickly. We also have had to carefully consider where we can host events so that they are accessible to customers.

  What excites you about receiving the Small Business Grant?

  We are excited to announce that we will be using the Small Business grant funds to hire a Grant Team Leader and expand our team's leadership. The grant funds will help us grow our company, make a positive impact on more communities, and provide deeper mentorship, support, and communication to our dedicated team of healthcare writers. We are looking forward to hiring locally and to increasing our presence in the community through county events. We are also eager to take advantage of the business support offered to the grantees and to foster community connections.

  What are your dreams for the future of your business?

  We aspire to grow into a seven-figure organization renowned as the top 'Grant Writers for Health Centers.' We aim to establish our company as a leader in securing funding for important public health community projects within the County and beyond. As an employer, we are committed to providing a welcoming space where all are valued and can make meaningful contributions, fostering an inclusive and supportive environment.

  What are your dreams for the future of your community?

  As lifelong residents of Prince George's County, we want our county to be the ideal place for everyone to live and aspire to. Our vision includes better air quality, more green spaces, and access to top-notch healthcare, shopping, and education within our community. We dream of Prince George's County becoming a hub for businesses, work, and leisure activities. Securing grants to fund these initiatives is our small way of working towards making these dreams come true.

• WEFIX, LLC

  Tell us briefly about your business (where is it located, how long have you been in operation, what services do you provide)

  WEFIX, LLC provides repair services for phones and computers. We also provide tech support to those who need it – providing quality service, guaranteed. We are located at 1401 University Blvd, Suite G27, Hyattsville MD 20783

  In 2-3 sentences, please share with us the ways your business works with and contributes to your community

  We offer tech support, repair telephones and computers, and help people to get the most out of their technology.

  How has construction in the Blue/Purple Line Corridor Impacted your Business?

  The construction has caused us to lose a lot of our clients. We have lost more than 50% of our clients due to backups and the constant traffic caused by road closures. Many clients decided to leave us and look for other places that were more accessible to get the services they need.

  What excites you about receiving the Small Business Grant?

  This is such a huge help, that we feel so grateful for. This will help us lessen the impact of our losses so we can continue our operations. We look forward to using these funds to settle with our creditors, as well as getting access to more merchandise, machines, and material to continue to grow and create more job opportunities for the community.

  What are your dreams for the future of your business?

  My dream is to expand and create more job opportunities. We have been trying to do so for several years, but had to make cuts because of the economic downturn. This grant gives us the faith that we continue to expand and help our community by providing more jobs.

  What are your dreams for the future of your community?

  My dream is to help my community; that as my business grows, I’ll have more opportunities to create new jobs for my neighbors and support my local economy.

Introducing Kirby Gaherty, Senior Fellow, Community Safety & Harm Reduction

In June, The Community Foundation shared our continued commitment to building an ecosystem for community safety in the District of Columbia through ongoing investments in youth violence prevention and new strategic partnerships to develop long-term strategies for community safety.

As part of that commitment, we’re excited to introduce our new Senior Fellow of Community Safety & Harm Reduction, Kirby Gaherty, an experienced convener in the realm of community safety who will be spearheading The Community Foundation’s efforts around this important initiative. In this post, Kirby shares her insights and perspectives on how philanthropy can help build a stronger and safer community.

Q: Welcome to The Community Foundation, Kirby! We’re so excited to have you on the team. Can you share with us a bit about your background? Where are you coming from and what inspired you to join The Community Foundation?

Thank you, I am excited to join the team at The Community Foundation. While I am originally from Massachusetts (Go Celtics!), for over fifteen years, I have been working in the safety and justice space in a variety of capacities and in both local and national contexts. Most recently, I led the Justice Initiatives team at the National League of Cities, where I was lucky enough to work with city leaders from across the country in their efforts to reduce jail populations, interrupt violence, and reimagine community safety. Additionally, I built an incredible network of truly remarkable people doing the hard work to create safe communities nationwide.

Prior to that, I was involved in local efforts in both Philadelphia, PA and Camden, NJ in the reentry and young adult justice space. As a part of the team leading the reentry efforts under Mayor Michael Nutter, I was able to work alongside returning citizens and community partners to support those returning from jail and prison in their transition home. That work included supporting the replication of a successful AmeriCorps program for young adults (PowerCorpsPHL) in the City of Camden, NJ.

After spending almost five years working on national issues, I’m excited to dig deeper into the community safety space here in DC. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to accelerate the efforts in Washington, DC to build a collaborative table through the philanthropic lens. The Greater Washington Community Foundation’s commitment to a safer DC is inspiring and I’m excited for the challenge and opportunity ahead.

Q: What does it mean to you to reimagine community safety? What does a community-centered approach to safety look like?

In reimagining community safety and centering people -- particularly those most impacted by systemic harm and violence- we have an opportunity to create what Cities United calls ‘Safe, Healthy & Hopeful’ communities.

Traditionally, when we talk about safety and justice – nationally – the conversation focuses on policing, courts, and carceral systems. However, these narratives often overlook decades of work by Black and Brown community leaders – Black women in particular-- who have tirelessly been advancing community safety solutions without proper investment or support. The impact of the work of these incredible leaders is immeasurable and too often understated, under resourced, and undervalued.

However, over the last several years, increased awareness, investment, and support of alternatives to traditional safety efforts has allowed for a reimagined vision of the safety ecosystem to emerge – one that is truly community-led and community-focused—and emphasizes appropriate response models and community violence intervention initiatives. This approach is imperative to reimagining safety and building effective city safety ecosystems-- a collective effort to build, support, and sustain relationship-based prevention and intervention models that is led by trusted and credible professionals from the communities that they serve. This recent realization of the longstanding work of community leaders is promising as we look to the future of safety and justice.

Q: How does racial justice factor into a community-centered approach to community safety? How can a more conscientious approach address past obstacles/barriers, while capitalizing on future opportunities for growth?

Racial justice factors into just about everything. In this case, areas where gun violence is more prevalent, are also often areas of historical and systemic divestment, increased police violence, mass incarceration, and redlining. These areas are also disproportionately communities of color. As I mentioned, leaders in these communities have been working tirelessly to address safety in their neighborhoods, but with little support. By adopting a more community-centered approach to safety, the voices and work of these leaders becomes integral to a city’s approach.

Amplification of community-based prevention and intervention efforts is an important step towards a more equitable system of safety. The pervasive distrust of government – formed after years of ongoing harm and trauma -- requires repair and recovery to heal. As we collectively pursue an opportunity for forward movement, it is important to do so intentionally and with great care so we can right past wrongs and build a stronger, more racially equitable community.

Q: In your opinion/experience, what role can philanthropic organizations play in this work? How can this role be more effective and community-centered?

Philanthropy often steps in to support where public dollars fall short. Through investments in research, violence prevention, and more recently, violence intervention, philanthropy has provided the opportunity for community-based safety work to both exist and expand

That being said, the movement toward community safety requires buy-in and support from everyone. If philanthropy in the DC region comes together around a strategy that lives beyond political administrations and creates safer spaces for people to thrive, it will not only be more community centered, but also more sustainable and more effective in the long run.

Q: You’ve spent a lot of your career focusing on returning citizens and engaging justice-impacted young adults. Why do you feel it’s important that community safety initiatives make a concerted effort to invest in and empower these groups?

A big part of embracing new visions of safety requires the ability to know when to listen and uplift others as opposed to leading with your own voice and ideas.

Traditionally, we consider ‘expertise’ as something built by education or professional experiences. While that type of expertise is important, the real subject matter experts on safety and gun violence, are the people that have been directly impacted.

There is no way to advance safety without youth, young adults, returning citizens, and directly impacted people at the table. They need to be leading and driving the work to reimagine community safety. Investing in and empowering these leaders has the ability to shape a more inclusive and impactful ecosystem of safety.

Q: What excites you about the future of this work? What are you most looking forward to?

I am excited to be working on an initiative that is focused on the city I live in. Since moving to DC in 2019, I have wanted to be part of something that impacts my neighbors and community directly. I know that there are incredible local leaders that tirelessly work to reduce violence and uplift community that I cannot wait to see flourish with adequate support and investment.  

Like many cities, DC has a very small percentage of people driving most of the gun violence. But, the impacts and trauma are felt by entire communities. By bringing together leaders from philanthropy, nonprofits, communities, businesses and city entities, we have an opportunity to impact the lives of those most likely to be on either side of a gun and beyond that, the entire city - and that gives me hope for community safety and harm reduction in the region.

Building an Ecosystem for Community Safety in the District of Columbia

How we’re combining grants, strategic planning, and the power of collaboration to address gun violence

By Melen Hagos & Tonia Wellons

Earlier this week, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a declaration that many in the Greater Washington region have known and recognized for decades – gun violence is a national public health crisis.

“It is up to us to take on this generational challenge with the urgency and clarity the moment demands,” the Surgeon General wrote in the 40-page report. “The safety and well-being of our children and future generations are at stake.”

FROM THE NATIONAL NEWS TO THE LOCAL STREETS

In our region, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has long been committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our local residents – particularly those most at risk – and has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent and respond to gun violence.

We acknowledge that while the issue of gun violence and public safety impacts everyone, there are those in our region who unjustly bear its impact more profoundly than others. Our most recent VoicesDMV report revealed that while everyone in our region deserves to feel safe and welcome in their communities, not everyone does.

Our work to achieve community safety and harm reduction – both across our region and in those areas most impacted – is one of the many ways we honor our commitment and work to create a just, equitable, and thriving community. With strong partnerships and expert guidance from national organizations like the Public Welfare Foundation, we have made a substantial impact over the years. Here are some key examples of our accomplishments:

In partnership with the District government, in 2013, we established a relief fund to aid victims and families affected by the Navy Yard shooting and to address long-term gun violence and mental health issues.

From 2013-2018, the Greater Washington Community Foundation partnered with the District Government and served as administrator of The City Fund, investing $15 million over five years as part of the District’s overall public safety and violence prevention agenda. This effort successfully spanned two political administrations—initially under Mayor Vincent Gray’s One City Action Plan and later repositioned under Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Safer Stronger Initiative.

In 2018, The Community Foundation mobilized local funders to support the implementation of Cure the Streets – a pilot program based on the Cure Violence methodology that worked to better understand the causes of gun violence in specific DC neighborhoods and empower local community organizations to be part of the solution.

More recently, we partnered with the Federal City Council and Peace for DC to host Stopping the Cycle of Violence, a community forum that explored proven solutions from across the country and the roles business and philanthropy leaders play in public safety.

LEADING WITH INTENTIONALITY & COLLABORATION

At The Community Foundation, we acknowledge it’s not enough to merely respond to community violence. Rather, it requires intentional coordination and strategic collaboration with community, local government, and philanthropic partners to proactively address the root causes and build stronger, safer communities.

As a result, we have made strategic decisions to support the development and funding of a comprehensive strategy aimed at enhancing harm reduction efforts in DC. Including:

HIRING A SENIOR FELLOW, COMMUNITY SAFETY & HARM REDUCTION

In partnership with the Public Welfare Foundation, we have hired a Senior Fellow for Community Safety and Harm Reduction. This full-time role is designed to provide leadership for the strategy and coordination of a cohesive and coordinated approach to community safety and harm reduction in the District of Columbia. We look forward to introducing the Fellow to you next month.

PARTICIPATING IN CF LEADS GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION NETWORK

The Community Foundation was selected from community foundations nationwide to participate in the CF Leads Gun Violence Prevention Network. Through this year-long initiative, we will get to learn from leading experts and other foundations to help us catalyze and expand local gun violence prevention efforts by learning and adapting best practices from across the country. We are excited to collaborate with Peace for DC and the DC Office of the Attorney General as we take the opportunity to listen to and learn from each other and all the organizations involved in this important work.

MAKING INVESTMENTS IN HEALTH AND SAFETY

Months before the Surgeon General’s announcement, our Health Equity Fund recognized the connection between the increase in crime and violence in the District and the Fund’s objective to address the social and structural determinants of health.

In March 2024, the Fund committed to making $1 million in matching grants in partnership with the DC Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Neighborhood Engagement and Safety to address youth violence prevention through trauma-informed services, conflict and dispute resolution, mental health and wellbeing, and by assisting families dealing with the grief and trauma caused by these occurrences of violence.

BUILDING NEW STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

In the coming months, we look forward to sharing more about a new strategic partnership that will seek to establish a coordinated body which spans political administrations to develop a long-term strategy for community safety, create a plan for implementation with accountability measures throughout, and establish best practices to align investments across philanthropy, government, and business for maximum impact.

Stay tuned for more details!

We are convinced that philanthropy, especially through community foundations, is ideally positioned to lead a unified response initiative, collaborating with local government, philanthropic entities, and community leaders.

We would love you to join us in this work to promote the overall safety and well-being of residents of the District of Columbia. Please contact us to learn more or get involved in this work.

Welcoming New Faces to The Community Foundation

The Community Foundation is excited to welcome a number of new Board and Team members to The Community Foundation family.

THe community Foundation Board of Trustees

Jill Landefeld, Principal & Portfolio Manager, Brown Advisory

Jill Landefeld specializes in investment management, asset allocation and portfolio construction for a client base that includes foundations, endowments, cultural institutions, trusts, families and private individuals. She has more than 15 years of financial industry expertise, with work experience in four cities and two continents.

Prior to Brown Advisory, Jill was a Vice President at Stifel providing broad investment management services to a selection of institutional and private clients. She joined Stifel in 2015 following its acquisition of Barclays Wealth and Investment Management in the Americas. Prior to her roles in wealth management, Jill provided balance sheet advisory and public sector bond origination services for national treasuries and government agencies with Barclays Investment Bank in London. She also assisted supranational organizations with structuring debut bond transactions in local currencies in frontier markets.

Jill earned a bilingual (English/ Spanish) Masters of Business Administration from IESE Business school in Barcelona, Spain in 2012. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia in 2004.

Jill has lived in Washington DC for many years. She is a current Ambassador and former Board Member for an international charity that works to increase the quality and availability of education for girls in developing countries. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the DC History Center, which is an educational non-profit that seeks to deepen awareness of our city’s past to connect, empower and inspire.

Montgomery County Advisory Board

Angela Graham, Quality Biological, Inc.

Angela Graham assumed strategic leadership of the Quality Biological, Inc. in 2012, following 15 years of experience in various commercial leadership roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, and UCB Pharma. Returning to her family business, she spearheaded the company’s transformation from a prominent supplier to government and academia into one that also supports the diverse R&D needs of the highly regulated bio-pharmaceutical sector.

As the founder’s daughter, Angela is deeply committed to upholding the core values that have shaped the company into the niche manufacturer it is today in the life sciences. Her expertise lies in business development, leadership, and change management.  Angela is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Quality Biological, situated within the BioHealth Capital Region in Montgomery County, Maryland, has earned acclaim not only for producing top-quality products but also for fostering a strong commitment to community engagement. Guided by unwavering principles of ethics and integrity, Angela and her team prioritize giving back to the community. They actively support local charities and nurture close industry partnerships.

Angela currently serves on the board of PIC-MC at Montgomery College as well as Montgomery and Prince George’s Hospice. Previous board experience includes the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation and industry group Diversity Alliance for Science.

Carolyn Leonard

Carolyn Leonard, Ph.D, has worked in the field of early childhood mental health and education for over 40 years. She is retired from Montgomery County Public Schools where she worked primarily with the Head Start Program and state funded PreK for under-resourced children and families. As a school psychologist she designed, implemented and evaluated interventions to address factors interfering with students’ learning and school success.  While working as a community psychologist, she was involved with community needs assessment and program planning.  She also had responsibility for assessing the impact of interventions which targeted young children’s development and learning, parenting, and family stability.

In Carolyn’s work with a variety of nonprofit organizations, she has focused on improving the mental health, education and well -being of under-resourced children and families. Addressing needs and access to resources have been goals guiding her work at the individual, program and policy levels.

During her career, Carolyn has served on numerous boards and advisory councils. These have included The Montgomery County Commission for Children and Youth, Early Head Start, Starting Early Starting Smart, Community Kids, the Early Childhood Mental Health Consortium, the National Advisory Council for the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University, Apple Tree Institute for Education and Innovation and The Strathmore Music Center.  While on the board of Strathmore, she chaired the Education Committee, which focused on expanding programs for low-income children and families. Her philanthropy has focused on “giving where you are living” and supporting organizations committed to serving those typically not able to access educational and cultural opportunities.

Carolyn has a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Rutgers University, an MS in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University, and a BS in Child Development and Family Relations from the University of Connecticut. She is also a Nationally Certified School Psychologist.

Dusty Rood, Rodgers Consulting

Dusty Rood is the President and CEO of Rodgers Consulting, Inc., headquartered in Montgomery County, MD. Founded in 1957, Rodgers Consulting’s mission is to provide industry-leading land use and real estate development consulting services for clients who demonstrate integrity and who recognize the importance of community responsibility, with a commitment to excellence in planning and design.

 In addition to serving as the CEO of Rodgers Consulting, Dusty is engaged in other community affairs. He currently serves on the Leadership Group of Montgomery Moving Forward and the Advisory Board of the Universities at Shady Grove. He is a member and past participant of Leadership Maryland, and he previously served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

Joan Schaffer

Joan Schaffer  is a proud third-generation native of the DC area, and she has called Montgomery County home for most of her life. After earning her MBA at Georgetown, she held progressively significant roles at Price Waterhouse and Freddie Mac, ultimately serving as Managing Vice President and Business Information Officer at Capital One.

Following an early retirement, Joan turned her focus to providing enhanced opportunities for Montgomery County’s underserved residents. Her efforts included consulting for various local nonprofits, board service, and active participation in the County Council’s Grants Advisory Group. Evolving from this involvement, she accepted the role of Council Grants Manager overseeing the entire grants process and collaborating with the Advisory Group to evaluate up to 400 grant applications each year and recommend appropriate Council funding.

Joan's commitment to our nonprofit sector continues as she provides pro bono consulting and serves on multiple boards within the community. Presently, she lends her expertise to organizations such as the Food Council, MCAEL, the Children’s Opportunity Alliance, and the Imagination Library, underscoring her dedication to serving the diverse needs of Montgomery County's residents. She is especially passionate about providing equitable support and opportunities for all of our county’s children.

Prince George’s County Advisory Board

Keisha Hawkins, MBA, PMP

Keisha Hawkins is a dynamic leader in operations and project management, with a proven track record of over a decade. As the Director of Operations at Wayne Enterprises, she not only leads operational policy implementation and growth directives but also spearheads client support services, showcasing her ability to manage diverse responsibilities and teams.

In addition to her role at Wayne Enterprises, Keisha is the owner-operator of Rita's Water Ice of Oxon Hill. She has previously served as a Program Manager at Cambio Consulting, where she effectively planned, organized, and managed various projects for the USDA’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, enhancing quality control and communications support.

Her extensive background includes significant achievements such as overhauling administrative and operations management at Federal Advisory Partners, leading to increased oversight and efficiency. At Highlight Technologies LLC, she excelled as a Program Analyst III, implementing quality control measures and improving program deliverables' timeliness.

With a strong focus on strategic planning, risk mitigation, and data management, Keisha has consistently demonstrated her ability to handle complex operational overhauls and refine administrative systems. Her expertise spans operational efficiency improvement, resource allocation, and event coordination, making her a valuable asset to any organization.

Keisha holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts and multiple certifications, including a PMP from the Project Management Institute and a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University. She is married and has three children who excel academically and are talented in sports.

Keisha's commitment to community development is a cornerstone of her professional values. Her robust problem-solving capabilities and dedication to enhancing organizational performance align perfectly with the mission of the Greater Washington Community Foundation Prince George’s Board. She eagerly looks forward to contributing to nonprofit initiatives and positively impacting the community.

Aimee Griffin, Esq, Principal Attorney, Life & Legacy Counselors of The Griffin Firm PLLC

Aimee is the principal attorney of Life & Legacy Counselors of The Griffin Firm PLLC, an estate and business succession firm committed to the creation, protection and transfer of wealth serving District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Florida.

Aimee is the Board President and Founder of the Association of Black Estate Planning Professionals, Inc., a collaborative economic empowerment organization with a mission to bridge the racial wealth gap. With a commitment to strategic community economic development for Black people, Aimee serves as Corporate Counsel for the US Black Chambers, National African American Insurance Association, (NAAIA) and the BOW Collective.

Aimee is committed to supporting community growth through education and speaks regularly at national, regional, and local forums to educate other attorneys and the community. Aimee is an adjunct professor at the Western New England University, School of Law, and a monthly contributor to the Washington Informer newspaper. She strongly believes “when we know better, we can do better.”

Aimee has been recognized and received awards by local and regional associations including the Small Business Administration as a Minority Business Champion. Aimee was just awarded the 2024 Women in Business Champion of the Year Award by the DC Chamber of Commerce.

Aimee steadfastly believes we are better together!

The Community Foundation Staff

Mandi Koba, Program Officer, Economic Mobility

Mandi Koba joined the Greater Washington Community Foundation in February 2024 as the Program Officer, Economic Mobility. In her role, Mandi provides management and guidance to programs such as Thrive Prince George’s and Brilliant Futures.

Mandi joins us from Fairfax County, VA where she helped launch their guaranteed income pilot program. Prior to that, she worked at Bread for the City supporting two cash transfer programs: THRIVE East of the River and DC Cares. She also previously worked as a case manager and advocate serving youth and adults across a range of vulnerable circumstances.

Mandi holds a bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and a Master of Social Work from George Mason University. As lived experience professional, her work is centered in equity, community voice and individual self-determination.

Bridget Hanagan, Senior Manager, Development Operations

Bridget joined The Community Foundation (for the second time) as Senior Manager, Development Operations in May 2024. Bridget’s career in philanthropy started in 2012 when she joined The Community Foundation for the first time as Donor Services Officer supporting the local Mongomery County office in donor support and development, communications, and event planning. For the past 12 years, she has worked closely with families and individuals to develop and execute their charitable giving goals, managed impactful philanthropic partnerships, and built development systems to drive organizational success.

Prior to returning to The Community Foundation, Bridget managed Philanthropic Partnerships for PSI, a global health NGO that makes it easier for all people to lead healthier lives and plan the families they desire. At PSI, Bridget supported Maverick Collective members to engage deeply in the work of PSI through an experiential philanthropy approach that gave members hands-on learning experiences with the projects they funded. She also managed PSI’s relationships and communications with wealth and philanthropic advisors.

Bridget holds a BA from Simmons University in International Relations and Economics with a French minor. A New Englander at heart, she resides in Washington, DC with her fiancé and their rescue dog, Rue. Outside of work, you can find Bridget hiking with Rue, planning her next ski trip, checking off a bucket list travel destination, trying out new recipes, or searching for the best dumpling in the DMV.

Emani Brooks, Summer Intern, Development Team

Emani Brooks is currently a Junior attending Bowie State University majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. Upon graduating with her Bachelor's degree, Emani plans to attend Graduate School and get her Master's degree in either Communications or Public Relations and pursue a career in Social Media Management/Marketing. Emani is a previous employee at Bank of America as a Financial Center Intern and also has experience in Social Media Marketing and Journalism. In her pastime, Emani enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends. 

Greater Washington Community Foundation Launches Children’s Savings Pilot Program to Address Racial Wealth Gap

The Brilliant Futures program will provide up to $1,000 per year from kindergarten through 12th grade to students at Bradbury Heights and Jackson Road Elementary Schools

The Greater Washington Community Foundation is excited to announce the launch of Brilliant Futures, a children’s savings pilot program that will provide students at two schools with up to $1,000 each year from kindergarten through 12th grade. Upon graduating high school (or equivalent by age 24), the students will be able to put their savings toward ongoing education and training or to pursue other income- or wealth-generating opportunities, such as buying a home or starting a business.

The Community Foundation has partnered with Montgomery County Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools to launch the pilot program for all kindergarteners currently enrolled at Jackson Road Elementary School in the White Oak neighborhood of Silver Spring, MD in Montgomery County and next year’s kindergarteners at Bradbury Heights Elementary School in Capitol Heights, MD in Prince George’s County. 

The Community Foundation has committed to funding the program for two consecutive kindergarten cohorts at each school. The program is expected to enroll up to 400 students. The participant population is 90% Black, Latinx, and Hispanic with all students eligible for free and reduced meal service (FARMS). The schools were selected in alignment with The Community Foundation's strategic focus on high opportunity priority neighborhoods across the region where residents are experiencing the deepest disparities in homeownership, income, and life expectancy, according to several data sources.

“Expanding the possibilities not just for one, but for an entire community of young people can move us toward our vision of narrowing the racial wealth gap in our region,” said Tonia Wellons, president & CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “We are confident that children’s savings will help us reshape how and where resources flow in our communities so that we can build more equitable systems which lead to a more resilient and prosperous region for all.”

The pilot program will be funded using $10 million of contributions raised by The Community Foundation’s “Together, We Prosper Campaign for Economic Justice” and through investments from generous donors. Upon completing high school, the goal is for each student to have access to at least $13,000, plus any investment earnings, that they can use to seed their future aspirations. 

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"We are proud to be a part of such a transformative and innovative program that provides an investment that every student in the nation deserves," said Interim Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, Dr. Monique Felder. “When these young people graduate high school, they will immediately have a strong cornerstone upon which to build a prosperous life whether they choose to go straight into the workforce, higher education or entrepreneurship."

Researchers for the Annie E. Casey Foundation have found, through economic modeling, that having an asset such as a children’s savings account can close the racial wealth gap in a community by as much as 28%.

“We’ve seen the transformative impacts of well-executed programs that provide savings for young people and adults alike,” said Superintendent Milliard House II from Prince George’s County Public Schools. “We hope that by supporting students with a down payment on life, whether that goes toward funding a college tuition, starting a small business, or buying a house, this program will level the playing field, promoting racial and financial equity in the Greater Washington region.”

“At Jackson Road, we recognize the need to address the whole child—in and out of the classroom,” said Ms. Rosario Paola Velasquez, Principal of Jackson Road Elementary School. “We take a community-centered approach and wrap our arms around this community.”

The Greater Washington Community Foundation will work with the schools as well as with community partners Reid Community Development Corporation in Prince George’s County and Parent Encouragement Program in Montgomery County to manage the program.

To learn more, visit www.thecommunityfoundation.org/brilliant-futures.  

Building Towards Belonging: Voices DMV Report Highlights Critical Needs & Strategic Priorities for the Greater Washington Region

Almost half of DMV residents are struggling or suffering in their overall well-being, according to the latest Voices DMV Community Insights Report.

The report - which was released this week -- provides an update on the state of our region, including key regional challenges and insights from a comprehensive survey conducted by The Community Foundation in partnership with Gallup and its Center on Black Voices.

“This is not just data for data’s sake,” shared Tonia Wellons, President & CEO of The Community Foundation. “This data is a reflection of what we can do better – what our community requires of us. It provides a roadmap for how we can shift what we’re doing – as funders and as community and nonprofit partners -- to better meet their needs.”

First launched in 2017, VoicesDMV is a community engagement initiative designed to help philanthropy, community leaders, policymakers, and others better understand the diverse experiences of the people who live and work in the Greater Washington region.

This year’s report marks the third iteration of VoicesDMV. Data from the previous iteration was gathered just weeks prior to the  COVID-19 pandemic that exacerbated pre-existing socio-economic disparities across the region.

Nearly four years later, the latest VoicesDMV Community Insights Report shows that many of those disparities are still prevalent – and in some cases have widened further in the aftermath of the pandemic.

According to the report, at some point during the past year, half of residents in the DMV worried about not being able to pay their rent or mortgage. Meanwhile, among Black and Hispanic residents, more than 1 in 3 have run out of money for food. Click here to view the Full Report

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The report surveyed more than 2,800 residents across DC, Maryland, and Virginia – with an oversampling among communities of color across the region, including several neighborhoods identified by The Community Foundation as priority neighborhoods.

“This report is important because we need to make sure we’re all singing from the same sheet of music,” Camille Lloyd, Director of the Gallup Center for Black Voices shared at a launch event for the report. “No matter how well we’re doing as a region, if we don’t understand who’s being impacted negatively – and how they’re being impacted – we won’t know who is being left behind.”

Lloyd provided insights on the survey’s methodology and moderated a panel discussion with members of The Community Foundation’s Community Investment team about key takeaways from the report.

“COVID really changed the conversation about ‘work’ and the employment space as we know it,” Dawnn Leary, Chief Program Officer at The Community Foundation shared. “On a philanthropic level, it’s forced us to re-examine how we invest in workforce development and where.”

According to the latest report, nearly three in four residents described available job opportunities as a barrier to achieving their financial goals. At the same time, residents also identified a number of critical barriers to finding and keeping those jobs including access to public transportation, credit history, and access to childcare.

Leary is the chief facilitator of Reimagine – formerly the Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative. The initiative recently shifted its focus following a robust listening and learning discovery process with community members about the needs of the community – many of which were outlined in the report.

“When we talk about impact, we need to get out of the tendency to only focus on programmatic outcomes,” Leary explained, outlining one of the reasons for the shift. “Instead, we need to prioritize how we are responding to the actual needs on the ground.”

Jennifer Olney, Senior Community Investment Officer with the Partnership to End Homelessness shared how her initiative is advocating for more funding to meet one of the most urgent of those needs – access to affordable housing.

Olney shared how the growing number of residents struggling to pay rent has played out across the DMV, as the number of people experiencing homelessness in our region increased by 12% last year. This statistic had actually decreased during the pandemic, but has since reversed course as COVID relief and rental assistance programs expired and more residents find themselves struggling to get by.

“Like many challenges facing our community, homelessness is one issue where the public sector needs to be at the table and make the necessary investments,” Olney shared. “That’s why it’s critical for us to empower community members and those with lived experience and ensure that their voices and advocacy are heard.”

“We need to constantly ask ourselves how are we supporting and investing in the agency of people,” Leary added. “Not just listening to their voices and providing input, but finding ways to step back and let those who are closest to these issues lead.”

“Those who are living these experiences know what the solutions are – what they need is investment and support. They need to be the ones that are engaged in driving change in their community; not just philanthropy.”

“As you read this report, don’t just take it as another input for data,” Leary concluded. “Think about how this insight will change the way you work. How can you use it to change you interact with the community you serve.”

Following the panel discussion with members of the Community Investment team, Duc Luu, Director of Sustainability Initiatives/Journalism at the Knight Foundation moderated a panel discussion that dived deeper into other aspects of the report – specifically those related to the sense of belonging, social connections, and resident voice.

“A sense of belonging is more than just being seen or feeling included,” shared Vanessa Mason, Principal on the Building Cultures of Belonging team at Omidyar Network. “It means having a voice and an opportunity to use it to make demands on the society that they are a part of.”

“Belonging is more than aspirational,” Dr. Wendy Ellis, Director and Founder of the Center for Community Resilience at George Washington University added. “It’s something that is real and is measurable.”

According to Gallup and  the VoicesDMV Community Insights Report, a sense of belonging is the biggest predictor of whether residents are thriving. It also represents one of the biggest areas for improvement for our region – especially as residents look to their future. Just over half of residents expect living conditions in their communities to be ‘about the same’ five years from now, while about one in three expect them to them to be worse.

“We can’t create belonging for anyone else,” Dr. Ellis shared. “We can only create the conditions for belonging. That requires intentionality and investments that foster social cohesion – which over time develops into social capital and hope for a brighter future.”

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“I do this work because I believe that belonging cannot happen without power,” Allison Dunn-Almaguer, Executive Director of Washington Interfaith Network shared. “It’s about building agency – bringing people together across, race, religion, sexuality, and ethnicity to promote collective decision-making.”

Following the panel, Darius Graham, Managing Director of Community Investment, expressed The Community Foundation’s commitment to continue to build upon the community insights of the VoicesDMV Report by turning ideas into action. He shared information about the VoicesDMV Fellowship which will facilitate deeper engagement between The Community Foundation, residents, and organizations in priority areas to ensure authentic community voice is at the center of our work.

He also shared information about the 2024 VoicesDMV Community Action Awards. Started in 2020, the Community Action Awards provide microgrants to nonprofits working to make our region more equitable and inclusive by addressing issues and challenges highlighted in the Community Insights report.

Among the past Community Action Award Honorees were Erin McKenney, Executive Director of Just Neighbors and Lauren McDanell, VP of Strategy & Growth at SEED SPOT. Both recipients shared how the Community Action Awards allowed them to build a sense of belonging amongst the communities they serve.

“We hope that you leave this room today with a shared commitment to intentionality,” Tonia Wellons shard in conclusion. “May we glean what we can from this report and interrogate how it plays out in our communities and in the work that we do.”

“If we are to do this work effectively, it is imperative that we adapt to the needs of our community – we cannot keep doing the same things and expect different outcomes.”

“This report is only the beginning of our work – and we have a responsibility to our community to see that it’s carried out.”

Click here to see photos from the VoicesDMV Launch. For more information about VoicesDMV, visit www.voicesdmv.org

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Community Foundation Weighs in on Newly Proposed IRS Regulations

Over the past year, philanthropy – specifically, donor-advised funds – have faced increased levels of public and political scrutiny. The most recent example of this came in November 2023, when the IRS issued proposed regulations related to donor-advised funds. The regulations included several critical changes aimed at reenforcing transparency and avoiding the abuse of philanthropic funds.

While acknowledging the underlying intent and purpose of these proposed changes— The Community Foundation and a coalition of more than 25 community foundations from across the country have voiced concerns about unintended consequences that these regulations could have on our donors and the nonprofit sector, writ large.

On May 6, The Community Foundation’s President and CEO Tonia Wellons testified in front of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) and share her perspective on the impacts these regulations could have. She spoke candidly as to how these newly proposed Internal Revenue Service and US Treasury regulations would impact the work of The Community Foundation, disrupt the structure of our funds, and – most importantly – severely limit the philanthropic potential of our many generous donors and community partners.

The following post includes extensive excerpts from that testimony, as well as donor-relevant insights provided by our Director of Fund Administration & Special Project, Benton Murphy.

Galvanizing Philanthropy into Action – A Tribute to Our Donors

One of the driving factors behind these regulations is to ensure that fund advisors -- and the philanthropic entities they work with -- disburse funds to charitable causes in a way that is both efficient and effective.

The Community Foundation is proud of our institutional payout rate (the percentage of our funds paid out as grants annually), which lies in the range of 15-20%+. Compare this to the average annual payout rate of our private foundation peers, which usually rests at 5%. These numbers are a testament to our community of givers here at The Community Foundation and the tremendous generosity of our donors and fundholders!

Our community of givers helped The Community Foundation rise to the challenge brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, resourcing our ability to provide more than $90 million in funds to local organizations by providing personal protective equipment for frontline medical and community organization staff, ensuring essential food delivery to people in need, addressing the mental health needs of frontline workers and nonprofits whose staff members have been deeply impacted by COVID-19, and supporting parents and educators working to address the negative impact on the schools and students.  

Our donors have been at the forefront of our community response not only to disasters but in support of the day-to-day operations of thousands of local, national, and even international nonprofits. On an annual basis, our donors provide $70-90 million in grants to qualified nonprofits, offering a lifeline to many organizations that would struggle to make ends meet otherwise.

Simply put, our donors make our region a better place for its residents. This is why we are so concerned about the unintended consequences that the proposed regulations on donor-advised funds will bring.

“As place-based, community-led hubs for philanthropy, community foundations form the backbone of our nation’s regional response to an almost infinitely broad set of issues and priorities.

We represent and support communities of givers that would be irreparably harmed by these regulations, putting solutions to community problems out of reach for many donors. ”

— Tonia Wellons

The Repercussions of Redefining Donor Advisors

One of the proposed shifts in regulations includes re-categorizing wealth advisors who help advise our fundholders with Separately Managed Accounts as Fund Advisors. The Greater Washington Community Foundation offers fundholders with $500,000 or more in charitable assets in their fund to hold these assets in a separately managed investment account. We offer this service to donors who wish to be more actively involved in the investment strategy that oversees their funds.

As Fund Advisors cannot be paid from donor-advised funds as a matter of law, this proposed regulatory shift would mean that a donor’s personal investment advisor and The Community Foundation would likely incur significant excise taxes in a Separately Managed Account arrangement.

As a public charity, we take our responsibility seriously to our donors and the community we seek to serve. We hold active conversations with donors at all levels to encourage them to give through their donor-advised funds. We host learning opportunities, site visits to community-based organizations, and manage significant projects seeking to tackle issues ranging from homelessness to maternal health.

We also offer Philanthropic Advisory Services, where our staff serve as in-house consultants or advisors to fundholders, including our Separately Managed Account holders, to encourage more giving around the issues that matter to the donor with a high potential for impact in the community. This community connection and orientation toward giving back to the region is unique to community foundations which is not always feasible for our for-profit or private foundation peers.

At the Greater Washington Community Foundation, our Separately Managed Funds represent 46% of our assets that, in our most recently completed fiscal year, had an effective payout rate of 19.5%, granting more than $48 million to qualified grantees.

Should the proposed rules come into effect, these funds would be irreparably harmed, making it likely that they may elect to become private foundations with a minimum 5% payout rate, equating to a loss of $36 million in grantmaking to the community.  

Reclassification of Fund Types as Donor-Advised Funds

The second major proposed regulatory shift in our advocacy with the IRS is related to reclassifying various fund types as donor-advised funds. The Community Foundation offers our donors a wide array of fund types, each with unique attributes supporting different charitable objectives.

Field-of-interest funds would potentially be reclassified as donor-advised funds under the proposed rule change. Our family of more than 130 field-of-interest funds support a wide array of programs and initiatives, from community wealth building, housing and homelessness to disaster relief for victims of natural disasters.

These funds, all backed by community-based advisory committees that help to ensure all investments through the fund go toward the stated field-of-interest, are a vital part of The Community Foundation’s and our donor’s impact in the community. More critically, field-of-interest funds can support a more comprehensive array of services that cannot be sustained through traditional DAFs, such as funds that can directly support individual persons within the field-of-interest.

Taking disaster relief as an example, our donors have historically been at the forefront of our region’s response to COVID-19, the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and rural Pennsylvania, and the Navy Yard mass shooting that claimed the lives of 12 people in the District in 2013. Currently, we house several employee disaster and emergency hardship funds on behalf of corporations. Our three most significant funds alone collectively provided $12.7 million to individuals in need over the past five years to support hardships due to COVID-19 and various natural disasters, including major hurricanes.

If these funds were re-categorized as DAFs, making grants to individuals in need would be much more challenging. Under IRS regulations, DAFs cannot be earmarked to benefit any specifically designated individual. Subjecting field-of-interest funds to the same substantiation requirements as DAFs would require significantly greater oversight from The Community Foundation -- a process that would ultimately make many of these programs untenable due to the cost of implementation.

Our foundation also hosts more than 30 fiscal sponsorships, which could be reclassified as DAFs under the proposed rule change. Fiscal sponsorships are a vehicle for programs and donors who want to do good in the community but lack the infrastructure to do so, and work with The Community Foundation to provide this infrastructure to help facilitate community impact. Our fiscal sponsorship funds support programs including maternal health, food justice, and work to combat violence in Washington, DC. Only a handful of organizations in our region offer this service.

These funds also support youth enrichment through opportunities for students from around the country to support internship opportunities in Washington, DC, exposing students to global careers. The fund pays for their stipend, travel expenses, and housing.  If the fund were reclassified as a DAF, the fund would potentially no longer be able to pay for programmatic expenses, severely limiting the opportunity for students who would unlikely be able to afford such an opportunity otherwise.

In Conclusion

In her testimony offered at the IRS hearing, our President and CEO Tonia Wellons urged the Treasury and the IRS to consider the unintended negative consequences that these regulations would create. As place-based, community-led hubs for philanthropy, community foundations form the backbone of our nation’s regional response to an almost infinitely broad set of issues and priorities. We represent and support communities of givers that would be irreparably harmed by these regulations, putting solutions to community problems out of reach for many donors.

As more than 40 organizations testified at the hearing, there is universal need to better understand how community foundations work before changing the regulatory environment in which we exist. We are encouraged to know that the Treasury and the IRS are listening and receptive to our input. We will keep our community of donors and fundholders in the loop as these conversations proceed.  

Kicking Off The Conversation on An Agenda for Economic Justice in Prince George's County

On April 23, The Community Foundation and the Partnership for Prince George's held the first of three convenings around "An Agenda for Economic Justice in Prince George's County". The event brought together community and cross-sector leaders for the purpose of shaping a new narrative focused on economic justice and a vision for shared prosperity in Prince George’s County. 

“Now more than ever, it’s essential that we come together as a community to discuss how we can build the future that we all want for Prince George’s County,” shared Tonia Wellons, President & CEO of The Community Foundation and a long-time resident of Prince George’s County.

Wellons is one of the prominent leaders that make up the Partnership for Prince George’s – a collaboration of philanthropic and corporate funders who are committed to promoting economic justice, economic mobility and more equitable strategic investment in Prince George’s County. The Partnership recently collaborated with PG Suite Magazine to produce a special edition of “Prince George’s County Dialogue – A Conversation and Exchange of Ideas around the Case for Economic Justice in Prince George’s”. The goal of the publication is to grow public will and momentum in the pursuit of economic justice in the county and to spark community conversations that to seed visionary ideas and strategic solutions.

Ronnie Galvin outlines data from the Urban Institute highlighting the disparities in economic investment across the region. Prince George's County receives less than half of the level of investment compared to other jurisdictions.

“Prince George’s County can no longer make the claim of being the highest income and wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation,” Ronnie Galvin, Senior Fellow at The Community Foundation and moderator for the event pointed out. “We’re in a moment of tremendous opportunity where we get to reimagine who we are and who we want to become—with economic justice as our frame. “

“There are many avenues that we can take to achieve economic justice in the County, none perhaps as important though as underinvestment of public and private resources that have contributed to persistent racial investment gap.”

“We’re tired of being ‘by-passed’,” Bishop Anthony Maclin of Sanctuary of Kingdom Square shared, speaking of the disparity and challenges of obtaining economic investment in the county compared to other jurisdictions. “Why can we not have the same opportunity for investment in our community amongst our people?”

“The story of us is the story that we will craft ourselves,” he continued. “Others may think that we are not capable of handling this kind of development, but if we have the same resources that other communities are receiving, we will leave our legacy – not only for ourselves, but for future generations to follow.

“The story of us means we have good jobs, good public schools that everyone wants to send their children to, exceptional medical care, safe communities in affordable homes and opportunities for small businesses,” shared Jennifer Epps, Executive Director of the LIFT Fund. “That should be our story, because that is what we as a county deserve.”

“African Americans and Latinos make up 91% of the population in Prince George’s County,” Former Prince George’s County Councilmember Derrick Leon Davis, shared. “And that number is still going up!”

“As a minority-majority community, there’s so much we can gain if we band together as Black and Brown folks to build a stronger Prince George’s County.”

Participants also heard from Dr. George L. Askew, President & CEO of the Meyer Foundation.

As the former Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Health, Human Services, and Education in Prince George’s County and a long-time Prince Georgian, Dr. Askew shared his experience serving in the Alsobrooks administration, watching as county officials fought “tooth and nail” for federal resources necessary to help the county succeed in the aftermath of the pandemic. Dr. Askew shared that leaders in the County all too often were contending with racist undertones and outright structural and systemic racism in pursuit of health and human services resources for the County. 

He also acknowledged the role that philanthropy has played in underinvesting in the county, historically, and shared his commitment to working alongside The Community Foundation and other funders to collaborate to bring Prince George’s forward, as part of The Partnership for Prince George’s.

After Dr. Askew, Ronnie Galvin opened the floor to questions and comments from the audience, which sparked conversation on a range of topics from the importance of a cohesive investment strategy to the need for more investment in nonprofit organizations and reforms to public policy and tax code.

“If you aren’t in the room, you aren’t in the conversation,” Artis Hampshire-Cowan, Advisory Board member for The Community Foundation in Prince George’s County added. “Part of our purpose in having this event is to open a dialogue so that you all can be a part of the conversation.”

“We need this conversation, so we can continue to carry it forward and move this dialogue into action,” Tonia Wellons concluded. “Action that will build a stronger Prince George’s County for everyone.”

The next convening of An Agenda for Economic Justice in Prince George’s County will take place on June 13, 2024 from 10 a.m. to noon. To register for this event, please contact Eliza Tolbert-Howard at etolbert-howard@thecommunityfoundation.org.

For more information, please read the special edition of Prince George’s County Dialogue – A Conversation and Exchange of Ideas around the Case for Economic Justice in Prince George’s.

Learning Together: Launching the Community Impact Forum Series

On April 18, The Community Foundation kicked off our Community Impact Forum series at Imagination Stage in downtown Bethesda. The event (formerly known as the Funder roundtable) is set to be the first in series of Impact Forums that The Community Foundation will host across our region to bring together fundholders, board members, corporate funders, and leaders from local private foundations.

The events – which have a strict no-solicitation policy – are designed to help participants learn more about the region and exchange ideas with other people who share a passion for strengthening the local community. 

“The Impact Forum is designed to bring us together to better understand the needs we’re experiencing in communities, look at the lessons we’ve learned from the past, and discuss the strategies we can collaborate on to solve for the future,” shared Tonia Wellons, President & CEO of The Community Foundation.

Following the warm welcome from our CEO, guests heard from Darius Graham, Managing Director of Community Investment at The Community Foundation about the soon-to-be-released VoicesDMV Community Insights report.

The VoicesDMV Community Insights report is part of a comprehensive civic engagement initiative originally launched by The Community Foundation in 2017. This year, The Community Foundation has partnered with Gallup to conduct a regional survey to uncover how residents are doing, what challenges they are facing, what their hopes and dreams for the future are, and how they view important issues.

“Effective community work starts with hearing the voices within our community,” Graham explained as he shared some exclusive findings from the report. “That’s why we are excited to share this critical resource with all of you. Together, we can use these findings to not only drive future dialogue, but also future investments.”

To learn more, be sure to register for VoicesDMV’s official release event on Tuesday, May 21 at 10 a.m. More information about the event is available on our website.

Following the presentation, Anna Hargrave, Executive Director for Montgomery County, moderated a conversation with Alan Berube, Interim Vice President and Director of Brookings Metro and co-author of the book Confronting Suburban Poverty in America.

“We are at a point in this country where poverty is more pervasive in the suburbs than it is in big cities,” Berube shared when asked to respond to insights from the VoicesDMV report. “When we talk about how we address poverty in suburbs – like Montgomery County – we have to talk about the systemic barriers that are contributing to it.”

Berube explained that most suburban communities in America were not originally designed with the infrastructure necessary to serve families living below the federal poverty line.

As more families from diverse racial and socio-economic backgrounds have migrated to the suburbs in recent decades, many jurisdictions have been struggled to develop systems such as public transportation systems, scalable wrap-around services, and other basic aspects of anti-poverty infrastructure that are often more readily accessible in larger cities.

“The pandemic magnified these needs all around the country but especially in the suburbs,” Berube outlined. “The number of people living below the Federal Poverty Line in the suburbs is now three times higher than those living in larger cities.”

“Fortunately, many community foundations have played a huge role at stepping in and mobilizing to meet those needs.”

Berube applauded the Greater Washington Community Foundation for collaborating with local leadership to establish community partnerships that have allowed nonprofits to expand into Montgomery County, begin to address some of these infrastructure gaps, and push for systemic change that will help the entire community. He encouraged donors and community leaders to continue to seek out and fund organizations – especially smaller community-led nonprofits -- that see and treat the “whole family”, as opposed to solving for isolated issues.

Attendees left the event feeling energized to continue the conversation and work together to address our community’s most pressing needs.

If you’d like to learn more about future convenings, please contact Anna Hargrave at ahargrave@thecommunityfoundation.org.

Greater Washington Community Foundation Receives $500,000 PNC Foundation Grant to Support Small Businesses in Prince George's County

Eligible Small Businesses Along Blue and Purple Line Corridors Can Apply for Grants up to $20,000

The Greater Washington Community Foundation announced the launch of the Prince George’s County Small Business Support Program made possible through $500,000 in funding from the PNC Foundation to support small business infrastructure and development in Prince George’s County.

Managed by The Community Foundation, the program will provide grants and technical assistance to small businesses operating along the Blue and Purple Line corridors providing greater opportunities to harness the economic benefits of development in the area. The program, which was designed in conjunction with several leading business groups in the county, including LISC, Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce, Purple Line Coalition, Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation, FSC First and Bowie BIC, supports the growth and sustainability of small businesses as key employers and economic drivers in the county. The program will serve an area that is home to a number of BIPOC-owned small businesses, and it aligns with The Community Foundation’s ongoing efforts to foster economic mobility and community wealth building with a goal of helping to close the region’s racial wealth gap.

“Ninety-five percent of all businesses in Prince George’s County are small businesses and they contribute nearly half of all jobs in the county,” said Tonia Wellons, president and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “We are proud to work with the PNC Foundation to enhance small business infrastructure and connect business capital to the region’s economic anchors to help address persistent racial wealth disparities and set a new paradigm for economic development in Prince George’s County.”

Small businesses along the Purple Line and Blue Line corridors in Prince George’s County face significant challenges while these transformational infrastructure projects are under development. Due to disruptions caused by construction, as well as the ongoing effects of the pandemic, small businesses require increased access to resources and support for operational costs, technical upgrades, and other assistance to retain and grow their customer base and workforce.  

“Our grant to the Greater Washington Community Foundation is a reflection of our shared focus on making an impact on the communities where we live and work,” said D. Jermaine Johnson, PNC regional president of Greater Washington and Virginia. “Delivering our resources in support of this program will have significant impact for our region’s small businesses. It will enable entrepreneurs to further realize their vision and strengthen economic vitality in Prince George’s County.”

The PNC Foundation grant is in line with similar support for small businesses in other markets in which the bank operates designed to provide deep technical assistance and micro equity funding.

Eligible small businesses may apply for up to $20,000 in grants between April 15 – May 13 2024. Selected program participants can apply the grant funding to help cover operational costs (payroll, rent, utilities, etc.), technology, marketing, capital improvements, relocation services and technical assistance to build business capacity for sustainability and strategic growth.

This program will specifically target small businesses that employ 10 or fewer employees and have been in operation for more than 3 years out of a location within the target corridors in Prince George’s County. Applicants will need to demonstrate financial need, sustainability and growth potential, potential to create jobs and/or stimulate economic growth, community impact and business regulatory compliance.

For more information on eligibility and to complete an application, https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org/for-nonprofits.

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Greater Washington Community Foundation

For over 50 years, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has ignited the power of philanthropy to respond to critical community needs and build a thriving region where every person prospers. A galvanizing force for economic justice, The Community Foundation partners with generous individuals, families, and businesses, making it easy and effective for our donors to identify impactful nonprofits and support the greater good in the communities we call home. As the region’s largest local funder, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has invested nearly $1.7 billion in building equitable, just, and thriving communities across DC, Montgomery County, Northern Virginia, and Prince George’s County. To learn more, visit thecommunityfoundation.org.

PNC Foundation

The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through PNC Grow Up Great®, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life.

An Agenda for Economic Justice in Prince George's County

The Greater Washington Community Foundation has been working with a coalition of foundation peers - The Partnership for Prince George’s — towards the purpose of dramatically increasing philanthropic investment in Prince George’s County.

We have partnered with Prince George’s Suite Magazine to produce a special edition magazine on economic justice in Prince George’s County. Below is an excerpt from the opening statement, An Agenda for Economic Justice in Prince George’s County

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap

Having just celebrated what would have been Dr. King’s 95th birthday, we once again remember him as one of this nation’s most courageous truth-tellers. The words he spoke are as true today as they were when he first penned them just a year before his assassination in 1968. He invited the nation to incisively see the precarity of its place in history, as the country wrestled at the intersection of war, poverty, and persistent racism. His warning and his appeal to our higher morality and deepest ambitions were summed up in the choice that he puts before us:

“Chaos or Community.”

What Dr. King saw in his time; we see now in our own time. Prince George’s County is in a moment where we must reckon with hard truths, courageously wrestle with difficult choices, and reimagine and pursue exciting possibilities that lead us to new reality of shared prosperity and economic justice in the county.

“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.”

— Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?

“Prince George’s Proud”

There is much about the county that supports the pride we feel.

We’re passionate about education with a 2-year college, Prince George’s Community College, and five 4-year colleges/universities including the University of Maryland, the state’s flagship campus and one of the nation’s preeminent public research universities, and Bowie State University, Maryland’s first historically black public university.

The county plays host to numerous federal agencies including Joint Base Andrews, NASA Goddard Space Center, and headquarters to both the Census Bureau and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agencies. And we await the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s impending move.

We are a regional entertainment, leisure-time destination- home to MGM National Harbor, National Resort & Convention Center, FedEx Field and the Washington Commanders. We are also known to have a vibrant and diverse faith community that includes 12 predominantly African American “mega churches” (greater than 2,000 congregants) that draw the faithful from around Maryland and neighboring states.

We can boast a first in Maryland history when in 2018 the county elected its first woman and first African American woman to the office of county executive. And just last year, Prince George’s County was instrumental in voting in the state’s first African American governor. 

We are home to nearly 1M residents with over 14,500 businesses -- 400 of them employ 100 or more workers, helping to establish record low levels of unemployment.

Yes, we are “Prince George’s Proud” yet understand there is much work to be done so that all our neighbors and friends can realize their full potential and greatest aspirations.

We are a County at a Crossroads of Opportunity

While Prince George’s continues to be one of the wealthiest Black Counties in the country, there remain pockets of residents faced with significant social, economic, and health challenges. The 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the reality of historical and structural racism revealed the precarity of our collective socio-economic circumstances and revealed gaps across key quality of life indicators including family savings, home equity, life-expectancy, the overall health of our populace. Recovery from these losses in Prince George’s County has been slow.

We contend that these are signals that invite us to name and transform the deeper historical, institutional, and systemic realities that come with being a majority Black—and increasingly Latino County in the nation’s capital region.

Following Dr. King’s admonition, we reject the idea of chaos. We choose community! We contend that this is a moment when we must turn to each other and work together to build an even stronger Prince George’s County for everyone.

As we take steps toward strengthening our philanthropic partnership we commit to engage in disruptive and innovative actions that we hope will inspire even greater partnerships, collective action, more investment into community-based organizations, places, and people, who are struggling the most. Our initial areas of focus include:

1. Framing a New Narrative. Shaping and amplifying a new narrative in Prince George’s County that is grounded in the lived experiences and deepest aspirations of all our people. This narrative will honor those whose sacrifice and ideas gave rise to the Prince George’s that we know, love, and support today, challenge the status quo, speak to who we are and who we want to be and inspire us all to act in the best interests of each other and a future where we can all prosper together.

2. Centering People and Neighborhoods. As we pursue an agenda for Economic Justice in Prince George’s County, we believe that by centering the leadership and ambitions of the most economically isolated people in the county and focusing our change efforts in the places where they live, we will create the kind of catalytic change that will benefit all of us and shatter the barriers that reinforce isolation. In other words, when those who are struggling the most do better and thrive—we all do better and thrive.

3. Exponentially Increasing Public, Private, and Philanthropic Capital. We are committing more philanthropic presence and dollars to help grow and advance Economic Justice work in Prince George’s County. We intend to marshal financial and social capital of resources from among our six organizations to leverage a broad range of additional capital resources—to include new sources of public and private funding, cross- sector partnerships, a strong nonprofit sector, growing influence, and an aligned public will—all in pursuit of an economically just future in Prince George’s County.

4. Field Building and Capacity. Growing the field of support systems and networks is key. We will identify and resource a cohort of nonprofits and individual leaders working on economic justice initiatives.

5. Creating Disruptive Innovations and Interventions. We will seek to pool and align funding that supports disruptive and innovative pilots that can move the county toward an economically just future.

6. Impact for True Change. Consistent investment and efforts in the areas described above can only lead to success creating a county report card that will significantly mark our progress toward a truer economically just Prince George’s County.

A Bias for Action?

“Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the necessities of life?” - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?

As Dr. King put the choice of Chaos or Community in front of us, he also offered a potential solution -- guaranteed income—an approach where people receive regular cash payments to help them meet their basic needs.

In the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many local governments and philanthropic entities have answered Dr. King’s call – launching more than 100 guaranteed income pilots in communities across the country.

With initial investments from the Community Foundation and Meyer Foundation, the Partnership for Prince George’s is proud to have designed and launched a pilot—Thrive Prince George’s—in partnership with the Prince George’s County Council and the County Executive. Over the next two years, this initiative will provide monthly payments of $800 to a group of low-income seniors and youth who have aged out of the foster care system. Our goal is to demonstrate that guaranteed income, as a strategy to support economic mobility, is one of the most promising approaches to lift people out of poverty and provide greater economic stability for families.

Our commitment to action has instigated several other initiatives that will move us toward becoming a more economically just Prince George’s County. We look forward to sharing more information in the coming months.

We must reflect, discern, choose, and act with courage, resolve, and expediency. We are partnering with Prince George’s Suite Magazine to circulate a special edition dedicated to “An Agenda for Economic Justice in Prince George’s County.” We look forward to sharing and discussing this content, as we build momentum and alignment around this collective work.

Join us as we work to build a stronger Prince George’s County for everyone!

Greater Washington Community Foundation,
Tonia Wellons, President & CEO       

Bank of America Foundation
Derrick Perkins, Market Executive

if, A Foundation for Radical Possibility                       
Hanh Le, Co-CEO                                                                  

if, A Foundation for Radical Possibility    
Temi F. Bennett, Esq., Co-CEO

Cllctivly                                                                                    
Jayme Wooten, Founder & CEO 

Meyer Foundation
George L. Askew, M.D., President & CEO

United Way of the National Capital Area
Ian Gordon, Vice President Community Impact & Engagement

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Please direct inquiries to Darcelle Wilson, Greater Washington Community Foundation, Senior Director, Prince George’s County at dwilson@thecommunityfoundation.org.

Click here to read the original article, as published in PG Suite Magazine.

The Community Foundation is also excited to host a series of three conversations around Economic Justice in Prince George’s County. The first conversation will take place on Wendesday, March 27, 2024 from 10-11:30 a.m. Click here to register to join!