FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Anna Sczepanski
December 18, 2015 anna@cfoxcommunications.com; (301) 585-5034 x116
Women’s Foundation Awards $820,000 in Grants to DC-Area Nonprofits
Investments Fund Early Care and Education, Asset Building, Workforce Development and Job Training; Increases Foundation’s Grantmaking by 30 percent
WASHINGTON, DC – Washington Area Women’s Foundation announced today grants totaling $820,000 to 22 local nonprofits dedicated to improving the economic security of low-income women and girls in the Washington metropolitan region. With this grant docket, Washington Area Women’s Foundation increases its grantmaking by 30 percent over last year’s investments. The Women’s Foundation is the only donor-supported, public foundation solely focused on improving the economic security of women and girls in the Washington region.
“This grant docket follows the pledge The Women’s Foundation made in October to quintuple our grantmaking by 2020,” said Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat, president and CEO of Washington Area Women’s Foundation. “We are thrilled to significantly increase our investments in programs with proven track records of advancing economic opportunity for low-income women. These investments will reach more than 4,000 women and girls in the region, potentially increasing their collective assets and incomes by nearly $4.5 million over the next year alone.”
Grant investments this year are spread across the Washington region – 40% in the District of Columbia, 31% in Northern Virginia (Arlington and Fairfax Counties, and the City of Alexandria), and 29% in suburban Maryland (Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties). This distribution is intentional and reflects the need for philanthropic investments that react to the growing suburbanization of poverty.
Stepping Stones, the Foundation’s flagship grantmaking program, makes strategic investments to increase the economic security of women and girls living under 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($40,180 for a family of three) by investing in three core issue areas: asset building, early care and education, and workforce development.
A few examples of the cutting-edge programs, research and advocacy the Foundation will fund include: community college innovations to better prepare women for the workforce; on-site financial education for adult learners through partner providers; job placement, retention and advancement strategies; a pioneering two-generation program to serve middle school girls and their female caregivers simultaneously; affordable early care and education for low-income children ages zero to five and professional development for early care and education providers.
The following grants, totaling $820,000 were approved by The Women’s Foundation’s board of directors:
- Academy of Hope ($40,000)
- Capital Area Asset Builders ($50,000)
- Community Tax Aid, Inc. ($35,000)
- DC Appleseed ($60,000)
- Doorways for Women and Families ($50,000)
- Goodwill of Greater Washington ($50,000)
- Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative ($15,000)
- The Literacy Lab ($30,000)
- Maryland Family Network, Inc. ($25,000)
- Montgomery College Foundation ($20,000)
- Montgomery Moving Forward ($20,000)
- National Academy of Medicine ($40,000)
- Northern Virginia Community College Educational Foundation Inc. ($25,000)
- Northern Virginia Family Service ($50,000)
- Prince George’s Child Resource Center ($50,000)
- Prince George’s Community College Foundation ($40,000)
- Quality Collaborative ($25,000)
- SOME (So others Might Eat) ($50,000)
- The Training Source, Inc. ($30,000)
- Voices for Virginia’s Children ($50,000)
- Year Up National Capital Region ($35,000)
- YWCA of the National Capital Area ($30,000)
For more information about Washington Area Women’s Foundation and our grantee partners please visit: www.thewomensfoundation.org.
About Washington Area Women’s Foundation
Washington Area Women’s Foundation is a DC-based public foundation dedicated to mobilizing our community to ensure that economically vulnerable women and girls in the Washington region have the resources they need to thrive. Learn more about The Women’s Foundation’s mission to transform the lives of women and girls, the Washington region, and the world by visiting us online, on Facebook or on Twitter.
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