Learn about our impact on the local community and beyond. Since its inception in 1978, the Community Foundation has awarded more than $90 million in cumulative grants and scholarships. Here’s how we are putting philanthropy to work.
If you would like to contribute to an impact story please contact Tara Nadel, Vice President of Marketing and Events.
“Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting.” -Khaled Hosseini
Hosseini’s quote captures the experience of many refugees. Some come from areas experiencing natural disasters. Some, from starvation. Many, from war. Of those refugees who do make it to safety experience a different kind of waiting- be it for international intervention, a wait for safety, or waiting for the long process of acclimation and integration to be completed. Unfortunately, there are few if any remedies for satiating the unease and adjustments a refugee feels when she leaves her home country for a new place altogether. But, there are many ways to support these people as they adjust to new lives in a new place.
If you’re interested in presenting or writing on an applicable or innovative topic to be featured to our network, please fill out the form here.
In the Northern Virginia area, we come across many successful professionals who have significant philanthropic desires. As financial professionals, it is important that we understand different charitable gifting options to explore with the client as part of their financial or estate plans. I recently had a client who inquired about establishing a private foundation, which is one of the more complicated charitable gifting strategies.
In honor of Earth Day 2022, the Community Foundation announced that the fifth annual Environment Fund grant of $30,000 has been awarded to Sustainability Matters, an organization that supports environmental awareness and programming in the Northern Virginia area. Another $15,000 will go to the Prince William Environmental Excellence Foundation.
Our country was founded on the principle of freedom of speech, and a fair, free press. Current events around the world emphasize the importance of this tenet. The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia understands the power of the media to inform and elevate issues of importance, and that is why it has made a three-year commitment to InsideNova, providing support towards a dedicated position to report on underserved communities in Fairfax County, focusing on issues like housing, transportation, and so on. To date, the Community Foundation has awarded $27,500.
As the Community Foundation’s core grants program, funds are invested in organizations serving the northern virginia community in the areas of Aging, Arts, Child and Youth Development, Education, Environment, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health, Military Personnel and Families, and Safety Net to Support Basic Needs. This represents the largest ever discretionary grants cycle in the Community Foundation’s history.
by Lauren A. Jenkins, Partner at Offit Kurman, P.A.
The pandemic era is sometimes referred to as “The Great Resignation” because of the large number of people who have exited the workforce in the last couple of years. Some are referring to this period as the Great Retirement, considering that, as Goldman Sachs estimated, more than half of the people leaving the workforce were over the age of 55.
While certainly the shrinking workforce can present unique challenges for the economy, there may be a silver lining for charitable giving. More retirement means more money in motion, from 401(k)s rolling over into IRAs, to retirees being motivated to ensure that their financial and estate plans are in good shape. In any case, there’s opportunity and the ability to fund a client’s charitable priorities.
Yesterday, Elizabeth Hughes, Senior Director of Insight Region®, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s Center of Community Research, presented the findings in the report Finding our Way Back to Mental Health at the annual Shape of the Region Conference. This conference highlighted the complex barriers to basic mental health service - therapy, helpful medications, early interventions, as well as others. Over 300 persons attended, about half in person, and half online, from a near complete cross section of civil society - government workers, nonprofit and foundation employees, social changemakers, private sector businesses, and representatives from state, local, and national government offices. The conference featured multiple panels of national and local experts for candid discussions of the challenges of accessing basic mental health services in Northern Virginia, and what innovative ideas and opportunities may exist to address this critical issue that impacts us all.
The discussion of the unique challenges for access to mental health presents a massive opportunity, and a stark warning: whilst 750,000 adults in Northern Virginia have mental health needs, 370,000 who want therapy or counselling are unable to get it.
The 2022 Shape of the Region Conference, and the incredible, impactful conversations we shared, simply would not have happened without the continued support of our partners and sponsors. Together, we’ve laid a foundation that will continue to serve as an enduring platform to ensure that everyone in our region has access to decent and quality mental health care. Please be sure to check out their , as well as these resources they shared during the conference.
To set the stage, here is a video recommended by NAMI Northern Virginia.
What is the best way to ease someone's pain and suffering? In this beautifully animated RSA Short, Dr Brené Brown reminds us that we can only create a genuine empathic connection if we are brave enough to really get in touch with our own fragilities.
Northern Virginia as a region is not a monolith- the communities we serve range from the inner suburbs and edge cities of the Nation's Capital, to the rural shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and everywhere inbetween. Recently, the Community Foundation awarded two organizations from two very different parts of the region, two separate grants totalling more than $10,000. Though distance may separate them, they are two organizations driven by their mission and values- to fulfill a critical need for those most vulnerable.
In 2021, the Community Foundation launched Build Back- Dream Forward, an initiative to achieve economic mobility, promote racial justice and equity, and catalyze more inclusive means of economic growth in Northern Virginia, particularly in local communities of color that were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and its myriad of consequences.
Questions?
