At this stage in your practice’s growth, your client base likely includes a significant number of Millennials—the generation born between 1981 and 1996. For years, much of the conversation about Millennials and wealth has focused on the looming Great Wealth Transfer. But new research suggests that advisors should proactively build deeper relationships with their Millennial clients rather than wait until they receive an inheritance. 

Four Connected Conditions for Stability and Opportunity

Together, the pillars create a pathway from crisis to stability and opportunity.

Attainable Housing

Helping Residents Remain Safely and Securely Housed

Stable housing protects daily life. When housing is uncertain, school, work, healthcare, caregiving, and family routines can all be disrupted. 

Through this pillar, we may support efforts such as: 

• Eviction and homelessness prevention. 
• Emergency rent and utility help. 
• Housing navigation and legal-aid referrals. 
• Public-benefit connections. 
• Partnerships that expand attainable housing. 

Building the Conditions for People to Move Forward

Economic mobility means moving from financial instability toward greater security, opportunity, and resilience. 

It is about more than income. It also depends on stable housing, education, quality work, essential healthcare, and the ability to weather a setback. 

In high-cost Northern Virginia, a rent increase, medical bill, reduced work hours, childcare disruption, or transportation problem can quickly destabilize a family—even when its income is above the federal poverty level. 

That is why our approach begins with stability and builds toward opportunity. 

From Immediate Need to Lasting Opportunity

Economic mobility is a progression: 

• Stability: A person or family can meet immediate needs and avoid a deeper crisis. 
• Persistence: People remain connected to housing, school, work, healthcare, benefits, and other essential supports. 
• Opportunity: Residents can pursue education, employment, advancement, and greater financial security. 
• Resilience: Households are better able to manage future challenges without returning to crisis. 

Immediate help and long-term opportunity are connected. Preventing an eviction can keep a child in school. Reliable childcare can help a parent complete training. Access to care can protect employment and caregiving.

What Applicants Need to Know

Rules of the Road 

• One application: Each nonprofit may submit one application under one pillar and one subcategory. 
• Open process: All qualified nonprofits may apply; organizations will not be invited individually. 
• Northern Virginia benefit: Grant-funded work and expenses must primarily benefit eligible Northern Virginia residents. 
• Document local reach: Regional proposals must identify the localities served and estimate the number or share of Northern Virginia residents who will benefit. 
• Demonstrate readiness: Applicants must show financial sustainability and the capacity to deliver the proposed work. 
• Substance matters most: Need, alignment, readiness, and anticipated impact—not application polish—will guide decisions.  
• Capital projects: Capital projects are not eligible in this grant cycle. 
• Advocacy and policymaking: Advocacy and policymaking activities are not eligible in this grant cycle. 

Who May Apply 

By Kathleen Lowenthal, Development Officer, CFNOVA

Charitable giving can be a powerful planning tool, but many opportunities are overlooked in routine estate, tax, and wealth planning discussions. Consider raising these questions with clients: 

As attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors prepare clients for year-end planning and the years ahead, a few charitable giving opportunities deserve renewed attention. While familiar strategies such as gifts of appreciated stock, Qualified Charitable Distributions, and donor-advised funds remain important, several recent tax developments may create planning opportunities for certain clients. 

The Martin J. Murafsky Scholarship Fund was established to honor the life, accomplishments, and values of a man who believed in the power of education, hard work, and opportunity.

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.

For many high capacity 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.

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.

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.

You’re likely well aware that regularly talking with your clients about charitable giving can strengthen your relationships. That’s not surprising, considering that the topic of philanthropy itself helps uncover values, build trust, and position you as not just an advisor but as a holistic partner. Indeed, recent research shows that 99% of advisors believe these conversations are important and 96% see them as their responsibility, highlighting both the expectation and the opportunity for advisors to engage more deeply.

At the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, we work with business leaders and owners to structure charitable giving plans that support both corporate goals and community impact. Whether your corporate clients give directly to local nonprofits or organize philanthropy through a fund at the Community Foundation, thoughtful planning has always mattered. In 2026, it matters even more.

By Kathleen Lowenthal, Development Officer, CFNOVA

Charitable giving doesn’t have to be tied to a deadline or a particular season. In fact, some of the most meaningful and effective philanthropic decisions happen when donors take a step back to look at the bigger picture: your values, your assets, and the impact you want to make over time. This is especially true in light of recent tax law changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill, which updated several rules related to charitable giving and philanthropy.