After a year of virtual meetings, we were thrilled to gather in person to present checks to the 2021 grantees: The Homeless Children's Playtime Project (above), CAFY, Community Youth Advance, and La Cocina VA. We look forward to sharing news about their work throughout the upcoming year.

We also want to take this opportunity to offer special thanks to Many Hands' Sustaining Members, who were critical to our ability to make a record total of $317,500 in grants this year. Sustaining Members make additional gifts above their grant fund contributions to help cover our operating expenses. Thanks to their generosity and to pandemic-related reductions in costs, Many Hands recorded an operating surplus this year, which we swept into the grant fund. We are deeply grateful to our Sustaining Members for providing this flexibility while ensuring that we can continue to invest in topnotch grantmaking and education programs.

We are excited to announce that we have engaged Conditioning Leaders to help guide and support our racial equity work. Conditioning Leaders will be our partners in designing and implementing an organizational assessment that will help us identify strengths and weaknesses in our approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion and think about how we can more effectively pursue these goals. They will also lead a three-part discussion series this fall that will help us develop a shared understanding of racial equity and its relationship to our work and our everyday lives. This series will be open to everyone who joined Many Hands for the grant cycle that just ended, as well as members who join us for 2022. To read our letter to members and supporters, providing a full update on our racial equity work, click here.

The newsletter will be taking a break during July and August. Look for us back in your inbox in September. In the meantime, you can keep up with Many Hands on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We will also email members occasional updates and announcements.

NEW! Monthly Giving Program

We realize that membership in Many Hands represents a significant financial commitment. That's why we've created a monthly payment program. You can now make your membership contribution in installments of $86 per month ($43 for Young Members) plus a one-time catch-up payment, if needed. The annual membership cost is $1032 ($516 for Young Members), which includes credit card fees and other processing costs. Payments will be charged automatically to your credit card, until you tell us to stop, and you can choose to have your membership renew automatically at the end of each year. Monthly plans are also available for Sustaining Members wishing to give $100, $125, or $150 per month. For more information and to sign up, please visit our new Donate & Join page or email us at [email protected].

Thanks to the initiative of a generous donor, we recently launched the Fund for the Future as a long-term source of funding to sustain the work of Many Hands. The Fund for the Future will function essentially as an endowment. It will serve as a long-term investment vehicle for unrestricted gifts and generate income to help meet our operating needs, including education events, special projects, and Board and/or member training. The Investment Committee will manage the Fund for the Future following guidelines established by the Board. For more information about the Fund for the Future or to discuss a gift, please email us at [email protected]. You can also make a gift to the Fund for the Future online.

Many members have asked for more information about the SafeNight app, which Arleen Joell, founder and executive director of 2021 Partner Grantee CAFY (Community Advocates for Family & Youth), mentioned briefly in her presentation at the Many Hands Annual Meeting in May. In 2018, CAFY was the first organization in this area to adopt SafeNight, which can be downloaded on Android and Apple phones. After installing the app, you can select the state and shelter you would like to support. The app will display open requests for donations to help fund emergency hotel stays for survivors of domestic violence. Contributions can be made through PayPal or by credit or debit card, and all donations are tax-deductible. For more information about SafeNight, including download links, click here.

Many Hands is a women's grantmaking organization committed to making a lasting impact on the lives of Washington, DC area women, children, and families in socioeconomic need and to helping its members become well-informed donors. Many Hands is a 501(c)(3) organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. EIN: 51-0486987. Mailing address: Many Hands Inc., PO Box 15048, Chevy Chase, MD 20825.