The Federal News Network Community Spotlight is 

The Federal News Network July Community Spotlight is the Greater Washington Community Foundation.

Since 1973, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has mobilized and ignited the transformational power of nearly $1.7 billion in philanthropic investments to support an equitable, just, and thriving region. For 50 years, we have served as a critical link between caring donors, committed nonprofits, and local communities where potential too often exceeds resources.

We are proud to be a trusted advisor and navigator helping thousands of individuals, families, businesses, and government partners make a meaningful difference throughout this region and beyond. Together with our donors and partners across the region, our grants have supported high-impact nonprofits to expand or start innovative programs that improve the quality of life for our neighbors.

With Community Foundation support:

• More students received scholarships to pursue their academic goals.
• More workers attained the skills and training to launch family-sustaining careers.
• More families have access to quality enrichment programs and early childcare.
• More individuals, youth, and families are in stable housing.
• And more of our neighbors are moving from crisis to stability.

While the needs of our region have changed over time, The Community Foundation has been there when our community needed us most. We have served as the community quarterback responding to crises from the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon to the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In celebration of our 50th anniversary, we are advancing a bold vision for change that is rooted in equity and economic justice to help close our region’s racial wealth gap. Some say the racial wealth gap is too big to solve; we believe it’s too urgent to be ignored. We see both the region’s tremendous prosperity and its deep disparities, which are burdening Black and Brown communities with profound disproportion.

The Community Foundation is uniquely positioned to mobilize philanthropic resources to address critical community needs, to connect philanthropy to impact, and to invest in effective strategies to help close our region’s racial wealth gap. We are galvanizing a united coalition of partners and marshalling resources to put powerful economic strategies to work in the parts of our community experiencing the deepest disparities and historical disinvestment. This includes guaranteed income pilots that equip working families to build for the future and children’s trust accounts that set up our youngest neighbors for future success.

Join us as we grow opportunity for all who call the Greater Washington region home. Together, we can ensure our region is a place where every person prospers.

Learn more at thecommunityfoundation.org.