August 25 – 31

A Wider Circle was mentioned in a Washington Post article on the process of downsizing and de-cluttering homes.

The e-scooter startup company Lime launched a donation program, “Lime Hero,” and announced that funds raised through the program will be donated to Building Bridges Across the River (THEARC) according to AmericanInno/DC.

Capital Area Asset Builders discussed the impact that businesses going cashless would have on communities of color and low- and moderate-income residents on WAMU 88.5.

Miriam’s Kitchen’s “GroW garden” was featured on WJLA. The garden, run in partnership with George Washington University, provides fresh vegetables for Miriam’s Kitchen clients.

National Peace Corps Association recently honored Nepali Diplomat Kul Gautam with the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award during their annual Peace Corps Connect conference according to Benzinga.

PRS, Inc. launched the fourth annual #CallTextLive Campaign on September 1, to mark Suicide Prevention Month according to Oakton Patch.

 

August 18 – 24

Arlington Community Foundation has named Jennifer Owens to serve as President/CEO according to InsideNoVA. Owens most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer of the Central New York Community Foundation.

Casey Trees was featured in a NBC4 Washington story on efforts to increase tree coverage across Washington, D.C.

DC Central Kitchen’s 2nd Annual Watermelon-Palooza was featured on WUSA9. The event featured over a dozen restaurants and mixologists and helped raise funds for organizational programming.

N Street Village has set their Night at Nat’s Park for September 21 at 7:00pm. Tickets must be purchased by September 18.

Open Arms Housing will hold its 7th Annual Fundraiser on September 24 from 6:00-8:00pm at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC.

Washington Regional Alcohol Program hosted their annual “Football & Fundraising” event on August 23 according to InsideNoVA and Fairfax City Patch. Funds will support education and programs to combat drunk driving.

 

August 11 – 17

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement has is now calling for nominees for the Phyllis Campbell Newsome Public Policy Leadership Award to honor public officials who have gone above and beyond in support of the nonprofit sector.

Two DC SCORES participants were featured in an article by The Undefeated on steps the US Soccer Foundation is taking to expose soccer to children in underserved communities.

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy President, Aaron Dorfman, commented on Ford Foundation’s BUILD initiative in Inside Philanthropy.

National Low Income Housing Coalition CEO, Diane Yentel, commented on proposed federal legislation to address the affordable housing crisis in Curbed.

Providing pro bono legal services to address discrimination and entrenched poverty in the Washington, DC community, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs celebrates 50 years of change at their 2018 Wiley A. Branton Awards Dinner on October 23, 2018.

Washington Regional Alcohol Program launched the 17th Annual Checkpoint Strikeforce DUI Enforcement Campaign according to NBC 29 News. The announcement was made at a news conference with Governor Ralph Northam and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

The YWCA National Capital Area is currently enrolling for training programs in Hospitality, Business & IT Fundamentals, and Home Health Aide program. Courses are free to DC residents with a demonstrated need who are unemployed or under-employed and looking for a career change or advancement.

 

August 4 – 10

A Wider Circle announced they have added three new vice presidents to their senior leadership team according to Markets Insider.

The Arlington Community Foundation is pleased to announce that Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez will receive the 2018 Spirit of Community Award, and the Arlington Free Clinic will receive its 2018 Community Impact Award.

DC Scores is running six-weeks of free summer soccer camps for children from low-income families according to Voice of America.

Three longtime employees of Food and Friends spoke about the HIV/AIDS crisis over the years and the evolution of Food & Friends in The Washington Post.

Hope House was named Outstanding Criminal Justice Program by the National Criminal Justice Association on July 25 in Dallas, Texas. Hope House Executive Director Carol Fennelly was on hand to receive the award.

N Street Village CEO Schroeder Stribling commented on the living conditions many homeless individuals face in US News.

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Nonprofits are rediscovering the power of the vote.

So many issues, so little time! Between the screaming headlines, the social media blitzes and the mountains of position papers, developing an effective advocacy strategy for your nonprofit—much less finding the time to implement it, can seem like an impossible task.

At the federal level alone, current issues surrounding charitable giving, unrelated business income (UBIT), the 2020 Census, the Johnson Amendment and more are all important and worthy of attention. Add state and local issues to the list and it grows exponentially. With so many issues competing for our time and attention, how can nonprofits maximize our impact and effectiveness in the public policy arena? One place to start is by fully leveraging the most powerful advocacy tool we have – the vote.

Nonprofits today employ approximately 13.5 million people and rely on the services of more than 61 million volunteers. Perhaps most importantly, nonprofits provide services to millions of people who tend to be under-represented in the ranks of American voters. Many nonprofits are waking up to the notion that together these groups can be an incredibly powerful influence on public policy, and they are creating initiatives to leverage that fact.

While as nonprofits we are required to be nonpartisan (at least for now – read more about efforts to eliminate nonprofit nonpartisanship) – we must not be nonparticipants. Here are some things we can do:

  1. Start in-house – you have a ready-made voting bloc in your employees.
    • Are they all registered to vote and have you made sure they know the deadline to register before the next election?*
    • Do they know where their polling place is and how to vote early and/or absentee?
    • Does your organization have a policy of giving time off to vote?Take advantage of already existing internal communications channels to share information and encourage every employee to vote. Make sure they are aware of the issues of importance to your organization. You can’t and shouldn’t tell them how to vote, but you can help them be informed voters and make sure they get to the polls. Don’t forget your board members! They are key influencers – encourage them to share their own insights about the importance of voting.
  1. Engage your volunteers – volunteers are passionate about your organization’s mission. Make sure they know that their vote, and their efforts to encourage others to vote, is another important way they can help.
  1. Reach out to clients and the community – many nonprofits serve a client base that may include a large proportion of people eligible to vote but who do not. Consider hosting a voter registration event and asking those who are already registered to sign a “Pledge to Vote”. Help them understand that their vote can be the most effective tool they have to advance their own interests.
  1. Make sure your representatives know what you are doing – let them know you are encouraging their constituents to be informed, engaged voters.

For more information and tools to start a voter engagement initiative in your organization, check out NonprofitVote.org – and get started now to leverage your most powerful advocacy tool!

*Deadlines for in-person Voter Registration for the November 6, 2018 Elections are:

Maryland: Tuesday, Oct. 16
Virginia: Monday, Oct. 15
District of Columbia: Same day registration available

More info at: https://www.voterparticipation.org/2018-election-dates/

 

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Miriam’s Kitchen shares how they integrated diversity and inclusion into hiring practices and key lessons they learned along the way.

Committed to ending chronic homelessness in Washington, DC and interrupting the unjust systems that disproportionately funnel people of color into homelessness, Miriam’s Kitchen has prioritized efforts to increase diversity and inclusion across the organization to better reflect the diversity of their guests (80% people of color; 51% African-American).

So far this year, they’ve had six job opportunities where they turned intention into practice. Mei Powers explains how they successfully filled those positions with six highly-qualified individuals—four of whom happen to be people of color—and shares helpful tips and resources.

Submitted by Mei Powers, Chief Development Officer, Miriam’s Kitchen

I recently sat with our Director of Operations, Jessica Walker, to compile a few lessons that we learned [in integrating diversity and inclusion into our hiring approach]. Each hiring process was unique as departments tried new things to attract skilled, diverse candidates.

  1. What you include (or don’t) in the job posting matters.

    For many job postings, including a bachelor’s degree is an automatic requirement. There are certain positions (like a licensed social worker) where a degree or certification is required. But for others, like our two jobs in fundraising, we intentionally took out the requirement of a bachelor’s degree. Instead we emphasized prior experience in fundraising, volunteer coordination, or events management. I have seen highly-skilled candidates with professional experience get screened out of jobs because they did not have a bachelor’s degree. Today, they are senior executives in the corporate and non-profit world.

    Moving forward, we have also decided to consistently include salary ranges. As someone who works in fundraising, it is just good practice to be transparent about numbers. Also, when you don’t post salary ranges you potentially discriminate against women and people of color. Check out Vu’s post from Nonprofit AF: “When you don’t disclose salary range on a job posting, a unicorn loses its wings.”

  1. Think broadly about diversity and reach beyond your existing networks.

    Diversity speaks to the whole person and encompasses a broad range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives including but not limited to race, ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status, age, family situation, physical abilities and disabilities, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and housing status. With that in mind, we posted beyond the usual networks in places such as Street Sense and tapped into personal affiliations (such as Howard University alumni on staff reaching out to Howard MSW grads).

    We also enabled people to apply in person in case they had limited access to electronic communications. However, we were surprised by some of the fees to post jobs in professional associations of color. To continue to improve our process, we are creating a list of job posting platforms and the associated fees so that we can factor that into our budgets and plans.

  1. Addressing diversity and inclusion takes time and is worth the investment.

    Our Director of Operations redacted cover letters and resumes—removing personal name, location, professional associations, and name of institutions—by hand. Two members of our Racial Equity Working Group reviewed and ranked the applications for key skills that we were looking for in the development positions—prior experience in fundraising, volunteer coordination, events management, and/or graphic design (yes, we were looking for a unicorn). It took more than 3 hours to look over 50 resumes. To save yourself some time, check out this list of “Top 10 Diversity Recruiting Tools for 2018,” which includes a tool to redact resumes that we are further researching.

  1. Ask candidates about how they have navigated issues of identity, power, and privilege.

    After concluding the interviews, we were proud to have asked structured questions focused on skills and our core values such as “guests are the center of everything we do.” However, we wished we had also interwoven questions specifically about racial equity. The Management Center has a great post about this: “3 Ways to Test Whether Your Potential Hire ‘Gets It.’” We plan to review and update the interview questions in our hiring managers’ guidebook based on the suggestions from The Management Center.

  1. Check your biases.

    To reduce our own biases, the development team asked candidates standardized, skills-focused questions and had candidates complete sample work-related tasks (such as writing a thank you letter and delivering a pitch to a donor). When it was time to decide who would get the job offer, the development team also sat with three members of our Racial Equity Working Group (which includes members of the development team) and discussed the skills and areas of concern for our top candidates.

    Together we asked ourselves thoughtful and prodding questions: “What do you mean it would be easier to hire Candidate A? What do you mean when you say Candidate B is more warm and personable?” From this exercise, we agreed that the ability to connect with supporters is critical to our job, and we need a better approach to assess likeability.

Do you have tips or lessons learned in increasing diversity and inclusion? Please share them with us. Forward to Ellen Pochekailo.

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Board members and staff from our 2018 award winning organizations celebrated with our selection committee, presenting sponsor and other nonprofit members at a special event on Thursday, July 26.

 

This is the ninth year Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton, LLP has opened their beautiful conference room space to the Center, with its amazing rooftop views providing a delightful backdrop for our annual Board Leadership Award event. We thank them for their hospitality.

 

After mixing and mingling over refreshments, honorable mentions, Compass and Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, and winners, Easterseals (left photo) and Global Impact (bottom photo), were recognized and presented with awards.

 

Thanks to our presenting sponsor Cohn Reznick and our entire selection committee, this year’s Board Leadership Award was another success, continuing a tradition of recognizing leaders in our region.

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July 28 – August 3

Montgomery Housing Partnership expressed their support for recent legislation passed by Montgomery County Council that will bring updates to the County’s affordable housing program according to Bethesda Magazine.

Phillips Programs for Children and FamiliesAnnandale, VA campus hosted their annual student cooking competition according to The Washington Post.

The Virginia Council on Economic Education awarded the team of two fifth-graders and a sixth-grader from Pinecrest School, a regional second-place prize in its 2017-18 Stock Market Game.

The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program is celebrating a recent court ruling that helped a military veteran access care, benefits, and compensation he earned while serving his country in combat according to PR Newswire.

Valley Program for Aging Services will hold their Live Well, Virginia! Workshop on Tuesday, August 28 from 10:30-11:30am at the Rockingham County Administrative Building, offering free tips and advice for older adults and their caregivers.

Young Invincibles Policy Director, Caitlin Morris, responds to the U.S. Department of the Treasury announcement of a new rule that would drastically expand the availability of short-term health plans. Short-term plans are exempt from the core consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act, allowing them to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, impose lifetime or annual spending limits on care, and exclude coverage for essential health benefits like prescription drugs.

 

July 21 – 27

Karen DeVito, Executive Director for Catholics for Housing, testified in front of the Virginia Senate on proposed changes to the Virginia Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act according to Alexandrianews.org.

The Education Writers Association is calling for proposals for its next class of EWA Reporting Fellows, inviting journalists to undertake ambitious reporting and writing projects for awards of up to $8,000.

Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director for  Institute for Local Self-Reliance, expressed concern over the trend of small businesses going cashless in Slate.

A report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy on philanthropic giving in southern states was highlighted in Nonprofit Quarterly.

Rosslyn Business Improvement District is organizing a 5,000-square-foot pop-up shop that will feature a mix of retailers in downtown Rosslyn, Virginia this August according to WTOP.

Washington Regional Alcohol Program is gearing up to host their annual “Football & Fundraising” event next month according to InsideNoVA.

 

July 14 – 20

Breast Care for Washington and Miriam’s Kitchen were among 14 nonprofits to receive a grant from the Qlarant Foundation according to The Star Democrat. In total, $385,000 was awarded to the organizations.

Community Foodworks commented on changes underway for Washington area farmers markets on WAMU 88.5. Beginning July 31, many markets will no longer be able to process mobile SNAP payments via their payment app.

Faces & Voices of Recovery is gearing up to host their Annual America Honors Recovery Awards Dinner & Gala on July 23 according to PR Web.

CNN features Top 10 CNN Heroes Kakenya Ntaiya from Kakenya’s Dream and Harmon Parker from Bridging the Gap Africa in the inspiring video ‘Kakenya’s Crossing’ as they join forces to bridge troubled waters for a Kenyan village.

Latino Economic Development Center commented on recently proposed legislation aimed at protecting undocumented individuals in Washington, D.C. from housing extortion in The Washington Post.

Montgomery Housing Partnership (MPH) has launched its 15th Annual Backpack Drive for children in low-income families as part of its Community Life Programs.

The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) commends U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-NY2) and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL14) for introducing the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act.

July 7 – 13

Arlington Community Foundation announced the election of four new members and two officers to their board of directors in InsideNoVA.

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement celebrates its Board Leadership Award winners and honorable mentions at a free networking event on July 26, 2018.

DC SCORES alumnae who represented America in the Street Child World Cup in Moscow, Russia were featured in The AFRO-American.

A report by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition on the high costs of housing and the difficulty that low wage earners experience when trying to access affordable housing was featured on News and Tribune.

Several Washington area nonprofits, including The Arc Prince George’s County and United Way of the National Capital Area, were awarded a 2018 community grant from TEGNA Foundation and WUSA9, according to Digital Journal.

The Salvation Army National Capital Area Command announced the opening of their new shelter for human trafficking survivors on NBC4 Washington. The shelter will offer residents medical, mental health and employment services.

Washington Regional Alcohol Program partnered with the Arlington Police Department and Lyft to debut the “SoberRide” car, a hot pink police car that promotes sober driving/riding in The Washington Times and WHAG.

June 20 – July 6

Arlington Community Foundation announced the recipient of their 2018 William T. Newman Jr. Spirit of Community Award in InsideNoVA.

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement offers FREE webinars on Advocacy, Managing and Engaging Staff and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Three students from DC Scores were among the crowd gathered at Dulles Airport to greet newly signed, D.C. United soccer player Wayne Rooney according to The Washington Post. Additionally, students that participated in the 2018 Street Child World Cup in Russia were honored by the Washington D.C. City Council according to The DC Line.

President and CEO of Miriam’s Kitchen, Scott Schenkelberg, will be a guest speaker at “Nonprofit Summer Learning Series: Today’s funders are looking to invest in solutions NOT organizations” organized by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers.

A report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition on minimum wage and affordable housing was highlighted on CBS News.

Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s Sober Ride program was highlighted on  FOX 5 DC and WVNS-TV.

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Congratulations to the 2018 Board Leadership Award winners

  

… and to our Honorable Mentions: Compass and Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities

Members of these winning organizations will participate in two live webinars to share best practices revealed in this year’s competition.

Join the discussion!

Open to everyone, there’s no charge for the Board Leadership Award Webinars, but registration is required.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – Register

August 22 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
This first webinar will focus on the importance of diversity and how it guides board development.

Developing an Engaged Board – Register

September 25 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
The second webinar will focus on how to create the perfect pipeline: recruit, onboard, engage and evaluate board members.

You’re also welcome to participate on site. To attend in person (at the Center), please email Sean Sweeney.

Special thanks to our selection committeeASAE, BoardSource and our presenting sponsor:

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Regina Hopkins has been an invaluable, long standing resource to the Center, serving as a member of the board, volunteer faculty member, leader of the Board Boot Camps, AIM Award selection committee member and the Center’s personal guru to all nonprofit law questions. After a long, successful career, including the last 12 years with DC Bar, Regina has officially retired. She is headed to the Cape with the love of her life.

We will miss her expertise and leadership in this sector, but more importantly, her kindness, compassion and how responsive she is to everyone she meets. The Cape will be lucky to have her! We wish her a long and happy retirement.

 

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On June 4, members of the Center’s staff (Elisha Hardy, Lorraine Fowlkes, Aziza Rush, Sean Sweeney and Glen O’Gilvie) volunteered their time to help make The First Tee National School Program 4th Annual Champions Challenge a fun success.

The event hosted about 60 children from 11 schools in the District, including fourth, fifth and sixth graders. Volunteers helped set up, distribute t-shirts, hand out lunches and assist at different stations such as putting, chipping, pitching and full swing. The event was held at Langston Golf Course, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The morning started out cloudy but soon turned into a beautiful sunny day, making it a great time for kids and volunteers.

This event is one of many ways The First Tee of Greater Washington, DC introduces children to the sport of golf while also using the opportunity to share life lessons in their nine core values: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.

The Center supports its members with an all staff volunteer day 4 times a year.

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June 23 – 29

Mark Bergel, founder and CEO of A Wider Circle, commented on US HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s plan to build a self-sufficiency hub in a Washington, D.C. affordable housing complex in The Washington Post.

Caregiver Action Network launched a new web-based program to match family caregivers in underserved areas with training and support according to PR Newswire.

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement announced its AIM Award winners. Miriam’s Kitchen took first place. Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area and The Arc Prince George’s County were named Honorable Mentions.

District Alliance For Safe Housing was featured on WJLA in advance of their DASH Awareness Day and “Dash for-DASH” 5k race being hosted in partnership with SWEAT DC.

The First Tee of Greater Washington, DC held its National School Program 4th Annual Champions Challenge on June 4, hosting local fourth, fifth and sixth graders, and members of the Center staff were there to help.

Maryland Nonprofits has released its 2018 Nonprofit Salary and Benefits Survey, with some interesting results.

Miriam’s Kitchen discussed the dangers that extreme heat pose to homeless individuals in WAMU 88.5.

Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities was mentioned in an article that appeared in the June 28, edition of The Washington Post written by columnist Theresa Vargas.

The Arc Prince George’s County is leading a group of sister Arc chapters in the DMV region on a media buy with WUSA9, with a promotional spot currently running both on-air and through a series of targeted digital ads.

“Our Region, Your Investment”, a joint initiativeby Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers and Enterprise Community Loan Fund, was featured in Next City. The fund provides loans to support tenants in purchasing their own affordable buildings in D.C.

June 16 – 22

Breast Care for Washington, DC and Miriam’s Kitchen were among the 14 nonprofits selected to receive a Qlarant Foundation Award according to ForexTV. In total, $385,000 was distributed to the organizations.

DC Central Kitchen was featured in Nonprofit Quarterly for their work in preventing food waste and ending the cycle of hunger.

District Alliance for Safe Housing was featured on WTOP for their work in supporting survivors of intimate partner violence.

Latino Economic Development Center and Children’s Law Center were featured on WAMU 88.5’s Kojo Nnamdi Show to discuss tenant rights organizing efforts in Washington, D.C.

Miriam’s Kitchen won the Center for Nonprofit Advancement 2018 AIM Award. Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area and The Arc Greater Prince George’s County were both awarded Honorable Mention.

Washington Regional Alcohol Program will offer free rides on July 4 through their SoberRide partnership with Lyft according to Arlington Patch.

May 26 – June 15

The Day Tajon Got Shot, a book written by ten Beacon House teens, received its second national award when selected as the 2017 “Gold” award winner in the category of books written by child authors by Foreword Reviews, an organization that celebrates the best books from university and independent publishers.

Bright Beginnings was featured in a Slate article on challenges that many low-income families face when searching for childcare during non-traditional work hours.

The Center for Black Equity President and CEO, Earl Fowlkes, Jr., participated in a panel discussion on how HIV/AIDS has impacted LGBTQ, black and brown communities in Washington, D.C. on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show.

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) commented on the impact potential Medicaid and Medicare cuts would have on mental health care access in Teen Vogue.

Two DC SCORES alumni were featured on FOX 5 DC discussing their trip to Russia for the Street Child World Cup. DC SCORES was also featured in an article by The Guardian about the lack of African American youth playing soccer.

Food & Friends was featured in U.S. News & World Report for their work in providing nutrition education for individuals living with a chronic illness.

Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and the Center for Black Equity are among the organizations participating in the Washington Nationals Annual LGBT Pride night according to Outsports.

Latino Economic Development Center and Children’s Law Center were featured in The Washington Post discussing steps some apartment tenants are taking to protest poor building conditions.

N Street Village held their 12th Annual Empowerment Luncheon according to The Washington Times. Over 350 individuals attended the event and helped raised funds to support homeless and low-income women of the Washington D.C. area.

The White House Historical Association launched their new app that allows individuals to take a virtual tour of the White House according to ABC News. The app was announced by First Lady Melania Trump.

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