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Community Foundation Rallies Donors to Help Furloughed Workers
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As the government shutdown stretched past the 30-day mark and set a record for the longest shutdown in U.S. history, furloughed workers and government contractors grappled with the difficult realities of living without pay.
The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia responded to the crisis by rallying donor advisors to raise funds for local nonprofits and charities providing services and programs during the shutdown. We shared an urgent need request with all of our donor advised fund donors seeking support for the
Capital Area Food Bank
, one of our more strategic and agile nonprofit grantees. Within 48 hours, 17 separate donor funds contributed a total of $44,500 for the Food Bank's popup markets that helped fill the grocery gap for furloughed federal employees in our region.
"We were very grateful to our donors for this generous outpouring of support," said President and CEO Eileen Ellsworth.
Many local charities saw a significant increase in demand for their services and stretched their resources to the limit. In response, the Community Foundation re-engaged its existing
Emergency Relief Fund
on our website to help solicit donations. We will quickly distribute every dollar we receive to our local nonprofit partners that have stood up impactful, effective programs helping to meet the immediate need.
If you want to get involved you can donate directly from that page, or send a check to the Community Foundation at our address below with "Emergency Relief Fund" on the memo line, or recommend a grant from your existing charitable fund with us through
Donor Central
to the Community Foundation with 'Emergency Relief Fund' typed into the purpose line.
For more information on donating directly to our nonprofit partners, visit URGENT! Community Needs.
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2019 Shape of the Region Conference
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O
ur 2019 Shape of the Region Conference will be held in partnership with the
Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce
, the
Northern Virginia Regional Commission
and the
Northern Virgin
ia Technology Council
.
Keynote speakers Nisha Patel, Managing Director of Narrative Change and National Initiatives at Robin Hood, and Brent Orrell, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, will present on the theme: The Business Case for Economic Mobility.
Our local economy continues to thrive. But our region, like the entire country, is experiencing a growing gulf between the have and the have nots, rising income inequality, and a lack of economic mobility that has developed in the past 50 years.
It is a defining problem of our age, and everyone has a role to play in helping to solve it. The conference will include a fireside chat about the Tech Talent Pipeline here in Northern Virginia and a panel discussion on moving ideas into practice to inspire action.
Tickets are $65 and available now.
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CFNOVA President & CEO delivers TedxTysons Talk
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Why we give - The need to connect and belong | Eileen Ellsworth | TEDxTysons
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In November, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia's President and CEO Eileen Ellsworth delivered a TEDx Talk where she discussed '
Why we give - The need to connect and belong.'
In case you missed it, you can watch it in its entirety here.
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The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia's Business Women's Giving Circle (BWGC) announced the winners of its fifth annual grant cycle today. A total of $52,500 has been awarded to four local nonprofit organizations and schools that provide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
programs to girls and young women in Northern Virginia. To date, the BWGC has awarded $230,500 in grants.
"These programs provide innovative and essential opportunities to spark STEM interest and expand the STEM skills of girls and young women in our region, and we are delighted to invest in their work after an evidence-based, deeply thoughtful selection process," said Amy Kay, Principal at C3G3 - Strategies to Grow the Greater Good, and co-chair of the BWGC Grants Committee.
"Now in our fifth year, our grantees' work continually inspires our dynamic members to collectively identify and support outstanding programs, propelling our strategic initiatives to prepare girls and young women to achieve their full potential in STEM and advance a thriving community," she added.
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| 2019 Community Investment Funds Grant Cycle |
The 2019 Community Investment Funds Grant Cycle is now open and accepting applications! Grant applications are due by
Thursday, February 14 by 5:00 pm
.
In 2019, we will be accepting applications in the areas of Child and Youth Development, Education, Poverty Relief, and Military Personnel & Their Families. Please click each of these links for details about this year's focus areas for support within each fund.
In 2018 grants of more than $276,250 were issued to 28 local organizations and nonprofits.
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| College Scholarships for 2019 Now Open! |
The Community Foundation has opened its scholarship applications for the 2019- 2020 school year. The scholarships are open to graduating high school seniors in Northern Virginia.
The annual program awards nearly $300,000 each year to help more than 90 Northern Virginia students attend the college of their choice. Each scholarship has different selection criteria, allowing opportunities for a diverse range of students.
"We understand the challenges of paying for college, and we want to help students from our community pursue their education dreams" said Eileen Ellsworth, President and CEO. "These scholarships help to lessen the impact of rising tuition costs," said Ellsworth.
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| Kelly Blanks, Chief Philanthropy Officer |
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Please help us in congratulating your local peers without whom we couldn't do our work, in particular the newest members of the Door Opener Society - Serena Dupuy, David Mead, Deb Matthews and Joseph Speicher.
We welcome all professional advisors to join us at our upcoming event on February 28th.
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Planned Giving That Helps Grow The Permanent Fund for Northern Virginia
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The Community Foundation is working hard to build The Permanent Fund for Northern Virginia, a permanent community endowment that helps respond to local need and seed innovative solutions to our most complex social challenges. The Permanent Fund is a lasting legacy of giving that will help shape the future of the region. To date, more than $6.5 million in planned gifts have been promised to The Permanent Fund from our donors, people who care deeply about this place we call home.
Many of our local retirees have amassed considerable wealth in their IRAs, more wealth, in fact, than they need for daily living or long term care. For those with substantial estates, much of their IRA wealth will go to estate taxes and income taxes of non-spousal beneficiaries, leaving some heirs with less than 50% of their IRA assets that are left to them.
For these reasons, you may want to use your IRA as a source of charitable gifting to The Permanent Fund upon your passing. IRAs are typically held by a financial advisor or trust company. These custodians can provide a simple form that you can use to leave all or a portion of your IRA to The Permanent Fund for Northern Virginia.
For more information, contact Eileen Ellsworth, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, at 703-879-7635 or [email protected].
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Sari Raskin Promoted to Vice President of Grants and Community Leadership
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We are pleased to announce the promotion of Sari Raskin to the position of Vice President of Grants and Community Leadership.
Sari has been with the Community Foundation since 2012. She directs the Community Foundation's discretionary grants program of more than $600,000 annually distributed to local nonprofits and its scholarships program, awarding more than $300,000 to Northern Virginia students seeking financial aid for post-secondary education.
She also directs and helps frame the Community Foundation's growing civic leadership role, including our effort to develop a Community Wealth Building program in the region. The Community Foundation's Opportunity Index, an interactive data resource with 26 indicators that serves as a critical resource for community knowledge and strategic philanthropic giving, the Business Women's Giving Circle, and the Community Foundation's new Count the Region initiative to help get out the count for the 2020 Decennial Census are also in her immediate purview.
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Welcome new team members!
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The Community Foundation is excited to welcome Jenée Padmore as the Director for "Count the Region," a new two-year initiative at the Community Foundation to help get out the count in Northern Virginia for the 2020 Decennial Census. She will plan, create and launch a regional Complete Count Committee for Northern Virginia, leveraging the Community Foundation's local connections, relationships and influence, and will also offer support and resources to all of the hyper-local complete count committees being stood up in each of our local jurisdictions.
Jenee's passion for community engagement and advocacy has developed into a professional journey with The Mark & Brenda Moore and Family Foundation, the Northern Virginia Urban League Young Professionals Network, ENVENT U, NoMa Business Improvement District, and Inova Health Systems.
Jenee is a graduate of East Carolina University with a bachelor's degree in Family and Community Services. She recently completed her Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at Virginia Tech. She lives in the Town of Vienna with her husband Gerald and their two children, plus a cat and dog. Jenée can be reached at
[email protected]
.
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The Community Foundation is also excited to welcome Moses Ulom
to our family.
Moses Ulom comes onboard as the Gifts and Grants Administrator. Moses holds a B.S in Communications with a minor in Sociology from the State University of New York. After spending nearly a decade working with a food bank helping to fight hunger across New York State, Moses knows what truly drives community impact and the challenges and urgency in responding to immediate community needs. He joined us with knowledge in member services relations and grants management. Moses will be working with the philanthropy and financial management teams, Moses can be contacted through
[email protected]
.
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Finally, Community Foundation is excited to have Marcus Wilson
join us as our new Manager of Communications and Events.
Marcus supports the Vice President of Marketing & Events by managing processes related to Community Foundation's digital marketing and communications, media outreach, and Community Foundation events.
Marcus is a former award-winning broadcast journalist who most recently has worked as a communications consultant specializing in strategic communications, messaging, media outreach, and content development for several organizations, including AARP, and the Brady Campaign. He is a native of Dallas, Texas and holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Texas-Arlington. You can reach Marcus at [email protected].
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2019 Shape of the Region Conference: The Business Case for Economic Mobility
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Thursday, March 7, 2019
8:00 - 11:45 am
Valo Park
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22107
Business Attire
Inspired by the US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, the 2019 Shape of the Region Conference will discuss strategies that each sector of society can deploy to achieve a more expanded, more inclusive economy that benefits us all.
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Innovation Breakfast: The Opportunity in Opportunity Zones
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Thursday, May 9, 2019
8:00 - 10:30 am
Valo Park
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22107
Business Attire
A new community investment tool was created by the 2017 tax law. Opportunity Zones are census tracts that state and federal governments have targeted for economic development, and several exist in Northern Virginia. What can be accomplished? Who stands to gain? And where is the intersection with philanthropy?
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Wednesday, February 6: Virtual Webinar - INFORMATION SESSION
By Leadership Fairfax
Friday, February 8: LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
By Leadership Center for Excellence
Wednesday, February 27: Virtual Webinar - INFORMATION SESSION
By Leadership Fairfax
Wednesday, March 1: In-Person - INFORMATION SESSION
By Leadership Fairfax
Wednesday, March 13: Virtual Webinar - INFORMATION SESSION
By Leadership Fairfax
By TEDxTysons
Wednesday, March 27: Virtual Webinar - INFORMATION SESSION
By Leadership Fairfax
Friday, April 5: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ANNUAL BREAKFAST
By Leadership Fairfax
April 11-12: Building Corporate Partnerships - A Workshop for Nonprofits and Fundraising Professionals
By the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers
Register Now >>
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Community Foundation Earns GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency
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The Community Foundation has earned the 2018 Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar, the world's largest source of nonprofit information.
This Seal demonstrates our financial accountability and transparency. To reach the Platinum level, we added extensive new information to our Nonprofit Profile that included more in-depth financial information, and more quantitative information about our organizational goals, strategies, and progress.
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Federal employees are now able to designate the Community Foundation (CFC #28727), as the beneficiary of their tax-deductible contributions. Contact us today
703-879-7637 to learn more!
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Th
e Community Foundation for Northern Virginia's strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent charity evaluator.
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Th
e Community Foundation for Northern Virginia is recognized for having organizational and financial practices that are in accordance with the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations.
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Thank you to our sponsors
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