“Neighbors in Need Fund” Awards $450K+ to Area Charities Providing Critical Safety-Net Services

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2009 — The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region announced today that its Neighbors in Need Fund is awarding $455,000 in grants to 27 charities that provide essential services such as food, clothing, emergency financial assistance, and shelter to needy residents in Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, MD, and the District of Columbia. Two additional grants totaling $40,000 will help community-based nonprofit organizations work more efficiently during and beyond these difficult economic times. The Neighbors in Need Fund is the only regionwide grantmaking program of its kind.

These grants are the first awarded since The Community Foundation established the Neighbors in Need Fund in late 2008. The Fund is a response to the economic crisis, the increasing numbers of area residents needing emergency assistance, and the inability of area nonprofits to meet the demand for their services.

“In times of crisis, we have to come together. The Neighbors in Need Fund is a demonstration of the caring and compassion in our community,” said Terri L. Freeman, President of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. “And we must continue to reach out and help those who have been hardest hit. The Neighbors in Need Fund is here to help.”

The World Bank provided a founding gift of $150,000, and additional contributions have been made by area individuals, families and foundations. Prior to these new grants, the Fund totaled more than $800,000, with a fundraising goal of at least $1 million. The Community Foundation will continue to fundraise in order to replenish and grow the Neighbors in Need Fund.

Neighbors in Need Fund grantees are selected through a competitive review process that is efficient, streamlined and rigorous. Applicants are selected by a diverse “giving committee” comprising representatives from the Washington region's philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. Final decisions are made by The Community Foundation's board of trustees.

With experts predicting a recession both long and deep, the Fund will support immediate and long-term needs. Some grants will continue to help food banks stock their shelves and shelters house more homeless people, and other grants will help strengthen the internal operations of nonprofit agencies throughout the Washington, DC region. “Almost by definition, nonprofits are fragile organizations,” Freeman continues, “and it's no more ‘business as usual.’ The Neighbors in Need Fund will help our nonprofits become stronger, smarter, more efficient, and open to greater collaboration so that they can weather this storm -- and future ones, too.”

A complete list of Neighbors in Need Fund grantees follows:

Direct-Services Grants (27 grants, $415,000 total)

Alternative House
Dunn Loring, VA
$15,000
To support transitional housing program and outreach program for homeless teenagers

Annandale Christian Community for Action
Annandale, VA
$10,000
To provide emergency financial assistance to families and individuals

Arlingtonians Meeting Emergency Needs, Inc.
Arlington, VA
$10,000
To support the emergency financial assistance program for Arlington residents

Bethany House of Northern Virginia, Inc.
Alexandria, VA
$10,000
To operate shelters for women and children who have experienced domestic violence

Bread for the City
Washington, DC
$20,000
To provide comprehensive support services to economically vulnerable residents of Washington, DC

Carpenter's Shelter, Inc.
Alexandria, VA
$10,000
To support emergency assistance, such as food, rent, and utilities, for families

Catholic Charities Foundation
Washington, DC
$25,000
To provide emergency financial assistance for individuals

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington
Arlington, VA
$25,000
To provide shelter, food, clothing and emergency financial assistance to low-income adults and children

Community Crisis Services, Inc.
Hyattsville, MD
$15,000
To support the addition of up to 50 additional beds for homeless individuals and families

DC Central Kitchen, Inc.
Washington, DC
$20,000
To provide food to area meal programs and individuals

Dinner Program for Homeless Women
Washington, DC
$25,000
To support meals and emergency services

Doorways for Women & Families
Arlington, VA
$10,000
To support housing programs for victims of domestic violence

Fairfax Area Christian Emergency and Transitional Services, Inc.
Fairfax, VA
$10,000
To support services and programs for individuals in Fairfax County who are homeless, on a homeless shelter waiting list or living in assisted-housing

Father McKenna Center
Washington, DC
$15,000
To provide shelter, food, and clothing for the homeless

Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services, Inc.
Alexandria, VA
$10,000
To assist low-income families facing housing crises

Interfaith Works
Rockville, MD
$25,000
To support the emergency needs of low-income and disadvantaged residents of Montgomery County, MD, including food, shelter, and utilities

Korean Community Services Center of Greater Washington
Annandale, VA
$10,000
For program support to assist Asian American families with urgent basic needs and emergency cash assistance

Manna Food Center
Rockville, MD
$15,000
To provide food to individuals and families

N Street Village, Inc.
Washington, DC
$25,000
To support shelter and permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless women

Offender Aid and Restoration of Arlington, Inc.
Arlington, VA
$15,000
For security deposits, first month's rent, crisis rental assistance, and utility bills to place ex-offenders and their families in housing pre-approved for leases by landlords

Offender Aid and Restoration of Fairfax County
Fairfax, VA
$10,000
To support the transitional and family services program which provides food, shelter, clothing, rent/utility supplements, and transportation to needy individuals or families involved in the criminal justice system

Rachael's Women's Center
Washington, DC
$15,000
To support the day shelter

Reston Interfaith, Inc.
Reston, VA
$10,000
To support the Emergency and Self-Sufficiency Services Program, which provides financial assistance to families and individuals in northwestern Fairfax County

SERVE, Inc.
Manassas, VA
$25,000
To support the family emergency shelter, food distribution center, and transitional housing programs

So Others Might Eat
Washington, DC
$10,000
To provide funding for the Dwelling Place Shelter for Abused Elderly which serves low-income seniors ages 60 and above

United Communities Against Poverty|
Capitol Heights, MD
$15,000
To support basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter

United Community Ministries - Community Solutions
Alexandria, VA
$10,000
To support the basic needs program, providing low-income families and individuals with food, eviction- and utility shut-off prevention, and related assistance

Institutional Capacity-Building Grants (2 grants, $40,000 total)

Center for Nonprofit Advancement
Washington, DC
$15,000
To support start-up costs for “Back Office in a Box,” providing high-quality accounting services, and act as a one-stop shop for nonprofits that need assistance with financial management.

Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington
Washington, DC
$25,000
To support New Ways of Working Together, a five-part series focused on helping nonprofit leaders develop the tools and learn about the available options regarding strategic restructuring. Note: $5,000 of this grant is earmarked for scholarships for nonprofits to attend the series.

Founded in 1973, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region manages nearly 700 charitable-giving funds established by individuals, families, corporations and other organizations. The Foundation also has its own discretionary grant-making dollars. In FY2008, The Foundation distributed more than $91 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in the Washington, DC region and beyond. The Foundation has three affiliates – Alexandria Community Trust, The Montgomery County Community Foundation, and The Prince George's Community Foundation. For more information, visit www.thecommunityfoundation.org.