Local Nonprofit Bulletin

5.27.22

Philanthropic resources, news from small nonprofits in the DMV, upcoming events, and a roundup of opportunities to volunteer and offer your support! Have questions or an opportunity you want featured? Reach out to Amanda, our Communications and Marketing Coordinator, for shoutouts and collaborations!

Memorial Day

This Memorial Day and weekend, we honor and remember those who died in service of the United States while uplifting the small nonprofits in this region who work to empower the veterans in our community and their loved ones.

• Operation Second Chance provides direct support to wounded service members in financial crisis and helps veterans transition back into civilian life, reconnect with family, and build a network of peers.
• Dog Tag Bakery, through their one-of-a-kind entrepreneurship program, equips veterans, military spouses, and caregivers with the tools and education to build resilience, find renewed purpose, and forge community beyond the military.
• Operation Renewed Hope Foundation helps hundreds of homeless and at-risk veterans secure safe, permanent homes, and overcome the root causes of homelessness and instability in their lives.
• The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program provides assistance to unrepresented veterans or their family members seeking to appeal and overturn their denial of benefits claims so that they can access the life-changing benefits our country has vowed to provide.

Take a moment to engage with the critical work of these nonprofits and offer your support. You can also learn about more nonprofits serving veterans and military families on our website.

Shoutouts

The Prince William County Community Foundation, Inc. was recently awarded $203,920 by Prince William County to support their community feeding assistance program. Congratulations! Learn more about their Combating Hunger on Wheels (C.H.O.W.) Wagon initiative on their website.

Join DC Strings Workshop as they kick off the return of their in-person summer music camps! Band Camp will provide middle school students with the opportunity to begin or continue their instrumental music learning, and will conclude with a final performance for the community. Registration closes on June 1!

“No matter what you want to be, reading unlocks the pathways. (Washington Literacy Center) is one of the few providers focused on pre-workforce development,” said Eboni-Rose Thompson, Ward 7 State Board of Education Representative at WLC’s grand opening event. Read more about their work and new space in the Washington Informer.

Laurie Strongin, CEO of the Hope for Henry Foundation, was recently featured on an episode of Help and Hope Happen Here: A Pediatric Cancer Podcast! Listen to hear what they do, how they do it, and why.

On June 23, the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Leveling the Playing Field and four women’s teams in the DC area are partnering to positively impact the next 50 years of Title IX, the historic legislation that changed women’s sports. “We are beyond thrilled to play a role in building this coalition of phenomenal women’s professional sports teams here in the DMV region,” Kaitlin Brennan, Director of Operations at Leveling the Playing Field, told Forbes.

Congratulations to Beacon House, Capital Area Asset Builders, My Sister’s Place, and Nueva Vida, this year’s Many Hands grantees! Watch the Many Hands 2022 Annual Meeting recording to hear them speak about their work.

The Community Family Life Services Children’s Nook is a read-aloud program for children impacted by family trauma and incarceration. This online academic resource can be used as a learning tool to help children foster reading.

Did you know that plastic bag bans are in effect in Takoma Park and Baltimore County, and that straw bans and foam container bans are in effect in the District, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County? Learn more about how organizations like Potomac Conservancy are fighting for litter-free waterways and read their blog on why people litter.

The Hamkae Center is hosting a series of discussion-based workshops on Asian American topics on the last Thursday of every month from 7:00 – 8:30 PM. Join them virtually to examine the roots of racism, language justice, and education equity to share your experiences and process your thoughts through creative expression. Free and open to Asian Americans of all ages!

Celebrate nature with a collage, learn the fundamentals of art, burn unique designs into wood, and more with VisArts! Their education department offers art classes for all ages and experience levels in a wide variety of media. Discover or further your interest this summer!

Events

May 31, 12:00 PM | Friendship Place webinar on “How to Recognize When Someone is in Crisis”

June 2, 5:30 – 7:00 PM | Join Critical Exposure for “Shutter Speed: How We’re Living Now” to see and hear the unique perspective of DC youth on how they’re living inside of new norms

June 3, 5:00 – 7:00 PM | Meet VisAbility Art Lab artists at the VisAbility Art Lab Open House

June 3, 7:00 PM | Attend the Wear Orange Rally with Casa Chirilagua to remember lives lost to gun violence and raise awareness about this public health crisis

June 4, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Join Dreaming Out Loud as they announce the return of their farmers market season with a celebration featuring The Experience Band, family-friendly activities, farm tours, and more!

June 5, 1:00 – 4:00 PM | Tour green homes, gardens, and community spaces throughout Arlington on EcoAction Arlington’s 19th Annual Green Community Tour!

Multiple, starting on June 7, 6:30 PM | Community Family Life Services is presenting a series of events, “We Got You Covered: HIV Awareness Wrap Sessions”

June 7, 6:30 – 8:00 PM | Split This Rock and The Poetry Coalition will gather a virtual roundtable on disability justice and poetry

June 8, 6:00 – 9:00 PM | Support women and children in DC who have experienced homelessness over drinks, conversation, and live music at New Endeavors by Women’s spring FUNdraiser

June 8 and 9, 12:00 – 1:30 PM | Nonprofit Montgomery has invited county council candidates from districts 2, 3, and 4, as well as districts 5, 6, and 7 to meet with local nonprofit leaders

June 10, 7:00 – 9:30 PM | Enjoy an evening of great classical music at the DC Strings Orchestra’s Season 6 Finale!

June 11 | Hear stories of promise and hope at the 2022 DC Strings Workshop Annual Gala

June 11, 10:00 AM | Participate in the TowpathGO 5K Challenge to support the C&O Canal Trust and The C&O Canal National Historical Park

June 16, 6:00 – 9:00 PM | Celebrate Friendship Place‘s 30th Anniversary!

June 16, 7:00 – 8:00 PM | Join renowned autism advocate, author, and scientist Temple Grandin in a Great and Small conversation about the benefits of therapeutic riding

Support

Join Potomac Conservancy on June 4 in celebrating National Trails Day by cleaning up the trails along the river at Turkey Run, Jones Point Park, Wheaton Claridge Local Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Park, and Gravelly Point Park!

Reading Partners DC is recruiting volunteers to offer one-on-one reading help for students to combat learning loss during the pandemic. Hear from a volunteer about their experience on NBC Washington and sign up to volunteer!

So What Else is gearing up for 55 weeks of summer camp across Maryland and DC. They are collecting materials for students. Check out their Amazon wishlist and donate what you can!

Casa Chirilagua is throwing a community-wide graduation celebration on June 3 and they’re looking for event volunteers! Can’t make it that day? You can also sign up to volunteer with them over the summer to help with summer camps, tutoring, chaperoning field trips, and more.

Resources

Workshop: How Oral History Storytelling Can Support Ethical Fundraising | Voice of Witness

This workshop, taking place on June 7 from 5:00 – 6:00 PM ET, will provide an introduction to ethics-driven oral history storytelling and share best practices that can help nonprofit fundraisers and development staff engage with personal narratives using processes that foreground the dignity, ownership, and authority of those sharing their stories.

“Know Thyself: A New Assessment Tool Asks Funders to Take a Hard Look in the Mirror” | Inside Philanthropy

“As uncomfortable as it may be, leaders need to ask deep questions about their strengths and weaknesses. Have their efforts thus far actually generated real impact? Should they alter their practices further? And if so, how?” Mike Scutari writes about Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ latest offering “Operating Archetypes: Philanthropy’s New Tool for Strategic Clarity” for Inside Philanthropy.

2022 Community Survey Insights | Trust-Based Philanthropy Project

This report is based on the 141 responses received by the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project when they shared their Community Survey with the trust-based funder-practitioners who are leading and learning about this work. It yields insights into opportunities for continued adoption of trust-based philanthropy by the wider philanthropic community.

Mapping your organization’s role in an ecosystem: What, why, how? | Big Duck

In this session on June 8, participants will explore ways to broaden perspective on the role their nonprofits play in creating change.