Our Mission
To strengthen, promote and represent nonprofit organizations, empowering them to meet the diverse, changing needs of our communities.
Our Members
Our member organizations touch the lives of countless adults, children and families throughout our region, and in some cases, throughout the nation and the world.
Our members protect our environment, help the homeless, support the arts, feed the hungry, advance education, provide employment assistance, nurture the sick, champion the underserved, and so much more. Their dedication and hard work have a direct, life-changing impact on our communities.
Member Highlight: DC Bar Foundation
The DC Bar Foundation is the leading funder of civil legal aid in the District of Columbia, committed to ensuring that every DC resident has equal access to justice, regardless of wealth, education, or power. Their work is grounded in a commitment to racial justice and equity, and fosters collaborative, community-informed solutions that break down access to justice barriers for residents experiencing housing, financial, and personal insecurity.
The Foundation was established in 1977 as a vehicle for legal professionals and law firms to contribute to DC-based legal service organizations. In 1985, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals established the District’s IOLTA program, which the Foundation now administers. In 2007, the Council of the District of Columbia also tasked the Foundation with administering funds for both civil legal service grants and a loan repayment assistance program that helps legal services attorneys with educational debt.
Over its history, the Foundation has distributed more than $175 million in grants to legal service organizations across the District that offer free civil legal assistance to people with low incomes or who are otherwise underserved. In addition to grantmaking and loan repayment assistance, the Foundation provides training, offers technical assistance, and fosters collaboration among a network of dozens of legal aid organizations in Washington, DC. These organizations have provided legal aid to 130,000 District residents with low incomes in the past four years. By strengthening this network and engaging with all stakeholders, the DC Bar Foundation is transforming how District residents discover and experience life-changing legal assistance.
Kirra Jarratt, chief executive officer of the DC Bar Foundation, is a proponent for the way Center membership promotes their employees’ wellbeing, enabling them to better serve their community and succeed in their mission. "The Foundation's membership with the Center for Nonprofit Advancement gives our employees a wealth of valuable resources. Some resources that benefit our team most include quality, affordable health insurance through VitalHealth, opportunities to connect with peers via cohort meetings (e.g., CEO and Comms groups), BINGO, and discounts on professional and leadership training. Partnering with the Center for Nonprofit Advancement makes it easier for the Foundation to prioritize employee wellbeing so that we can continue to put our best efforts forward to ensure that all District residents have a fair and equal legal experience."
Our Team
Created in 1979, the Center for Nonprofit Advancement is the nation’s first state association for nonprofit organizations. For more than four decades, the Center has continued to grow and advance, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group:
Our Impact
The Center’s primary service region includes Washington, DC, Prince George's and Montgomery Counties in Maryland and the state of Virginia. However, the Center welcomes any 501(c)(3) nonprofit that wishes to join.
Identifying, monitoring and sharing new and shifting trends within the nonprofit sector, the Center works collaboratively with local experts to develop custom programs and solutions. Through our training, resources and relationships with the corporate, philanthropic and government community, we help our member nonprofits save more … do more … and succeed more—ultimately achieving a more sustainable future.
The Center serves thousands of nonprofit staff, volunteers and board members, making it easier for nonprofits to fulfill their missions by helping them:
Strengthen capacity through training opportunities —
1,500+ participants a year
Reallocate more funds to programs with operational savings —
10%-50% discounts through group purchasing opportunities
Gain expert insights, market exposure and cash awards through competitions —
$29,000 cash grants awarded each year
Network with nonprofit colleagues, industry experts and leaders in the foundation and government sectors —
Countless invaluable connections
Our Values
We believe that...
Nonprofits are an essential ingredient in the health of our communities and our democracy. Strong nonprofits lead to better communities, better quality of life and a better democracy.
Nonprofits are stewards of public trust. Transparency and accountability are the foundation of that trust.
Diversity in all forms — organizations, people, religions, and culture — is part of our vitality. Promoting diversity and practicing inclusiveness makes us stronger.
The vibrancy and effectiveness of nonprofits hinge on information, education, celebration, collaboration, and representation. Nonprofits deserve a strong voice in the affairs that affect them. Together, we shape the future.
Intention, commitment, optimism, and a belief in a better tomorrow are vital ingredients in our growth and development and our service philosophy. Every day we strive to do better, be better, serve better.
Social Impact Vision
Effective nonprofits, thriving communities.