When Renée Byng Yancey, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia (CFNOVA), joined host Dennis Glasgow on the Community DC podcast, she brought an important message to listeners across the region: Northern Virginia is a place of tremendous opportunity, but building a community that works for everyone requires all of us.
The conversation offers listeners a deeper look into the role CFNOVA plays as the region's trusted philanthropic partner and the ways philanthropy can help address some of Northern Virginia's most pressing challenges. From economic mobility and housing affordability to nonprofit sustainability and long-term community investment, Renée shared how CFNOVA connects generosity with community needs to create lasting impact.
Beyond Cash and Securities: Why Real Estate Should Be Part of Every Charitable Planning Conversation
For many high-net-worth individuals and families, real estate represents one of their most significant and appreciated assets. Yet when charitable planning conversations occur, clients often focus on cash gifts, stock transfers, or bequests, overlooking the philanthropic potential of real estate. Professional advisors are uniquely positioned to help clients explore how donating real estate to the Community Foundation can achieve both charitable and financial objectives while creating a lasting local impact.
When families plan their legacies, the conversation almost always starts with accounts and real estate. What often gets overlooked is everything else: jewelry, watch collections, china and the painting that has hung in the same spot for thirty years. As a wave of wealth prepares to pass between generations, these tangible assets remain one of the most misunderstood pieces of the estate planning puzzle.
For estate planning attorneys and advisors who spend a lot of time encouraging clients to establish revocable living trusts to avoid probate, it may seem counterintuitive to leverage what’s known as “Make-A-Will Month.” Widely recognized in August, "Make-A-Will Month" encourages people to review—or, in some cases, finally get around to completing—their estate plans.
For Gil and Liz Blankespoor, community has always been more than a place to live—it is a responsibility to invest in the people and possibilities that make Northern Virginia thrive.
As longtime Reston residents, the Blankespoors have spent decades championing the vision that inspired Reston's founding: a community where people of diverse backgrounds could succeed. Their commitment to that vision led them to establish the Reston Scholarship Fund (RSF), which helps qualified South Lakes High School graduates pursue higher education and career training opportunities.
As a 2026 Environment Fund grantee, George Mason University's Virginia Climate Center is helping shape a more resilient future for communities across the Commonwealth. Thanks in part to support from the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, a transformative vision has become reality: George Mason University is now officially authorized by the Commonwealth to host the Virginia State Climate Office (VaSCO).
At a time when nonprofits across the country are navigating unprecedented financial uncertainty, our President and CEO, Renée Byng Yancey alongside a robust panel helped lead a critical conversation about what it will take to build a more sustainable nonprofit sector.
The newly released Giving USA 2026: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2025 offers encouraging news for the charitable sector. Total charitable giving in the United States reached a record $617.2 billion in 2025, surpassing the $600 billion mark for the first time. Giving increased by 5.7% in current dollars and 3.0% after adjusting for inflation, demonstrating the continued resilience of American philanthropy despite economic uncertainty and shifting market conditions.
The professional chamber vocal ensemble, based in Northern Virginia, presents exceptional performances of traditional and newly commissioned works in the vocal chamber music repertoire — spanning classical art song, jazz, and the American songbook — while bringing educational initiatives and community programming to audiences across the region. Known for adapting choral works written for much larger ensembles into intimate performances for fewer performers, they can fill a concert hall or a living room. The music never varies in its level. Its quality, its professionalism, and its delivery remain steadfast throughout.
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