This past Fall, the Center was proud to be asked to partner with Pepco in their 2020 Call for Exhibits at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC. Through a transparent and competitive process, nonprofit organizations across the Pepco service territory were selected to participate in a two- to four-week residency that involves an in-kind donation of gallery space at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery.

 

Congratulations to the organizations selected!

We invite everyone to come see the amazing, meaningful work of local artists capturing life in the DC area. Join us for the Opening Receptions, or stop by during the day. Located at 702 8th Street, NW in Washington, DC, the Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4pm.

Exhibit Schedule for January – June

January 15 – February 29
DC Infrastructure Academy Exhibition: “Life Beyond the Line”
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 13, 5:30 – 7:30pm

This powerful series of portrait photographs, captured by DC artist Reginal Cunningham, envelop the observer with the personal, vulnerable and dramatic character of Pepco’s line professionals who are recent D.C. Infrastructure Academy (DCIA) graduates. This exhibit brings the public face-to-face with the people delivering the area’s critical resource and asks us to consider the life beyond the line. Through sound and visual elements, this immersive multimedia exhibit encapsulates what life is like for these individuals beyond the transmission lines, and demonstrates how participating in the DCIA program has changed the lives of these local Washingtonians.

 

March 1 – March 20
Pulitzer Center Exhibition: “Crisis Reporting Everyday DC Exhibit”
Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 11, 5:00 – 7:30pm

The Everyday DC photography exhibition aims to make positive contributions to media representation of DC by visualizing everyday life in the District through the eyes of DC public middle school students. The exhibition is the culmination of a photojournalism unit that was inspired by Everyday Africa, an Instagram feed aimed at countering negative media coverage of the continent.

The goals of the Everyday DC unit are to teach students to evaluate the composition and intent of the images they see, and to compose images that visualize underrepresented moments from everyday life in the District. By the end of the unit, students master photography techniques, caption-writing skills and exhibition curation. They are also able to articulate how they can compose photos that tell underrepresented stories about their city, and how the images they compose can work to combat dominant media representation of DC.

 

March 24 – April 10
National Cherry Blossom Festival Youth Art Contest
Student Art Contest Awards Ceremony: Tuesday, March 24

DC Public Schools and DC Public Charter Schools students will embrace their community “Home is where the Blossoms Are” with a focus on friendship, exploring what’s in their backyard and embracing cherry blossoms beyond the Tidal Basin. They will be encouraged to discover art and blossoms in their community and find other ideas through the Resource Guide.

Students are directed to create artwork that tells their “Home is where the Blossoms Are” story by discovering what cherry blossoms mean to their perspective communities, find similarities—via symbols, murals, patterns and culture, and think of how to express their thoughts in the framework of their own backyard. In the “group submission” category, a class can create a collaborative piece that tells a story with collaboration at heart.

 

May 1 – 31
The Beacon Newspapers and AARP Exhibition: “Celebration of the Arts 2020”
Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 27, 5:00 – 7:30pm

This show will feature amateur artists over 50 who live throughout the Pepco service area and whose work has been selected through the online Celebration of the Arts competition conducted by The Beacon Newspapers. Artwork will include paintings, drawings, ceramics, sculpture, stained glass, jewelry, mixed media and photography that have been selected for prizes by professional artist jurors.

 

June 1 – June 12
Creative Expressions Youth Art Show
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 4, 5:00 – 7:30pm

The Creative Expression Art Competition (CEAC) was created to provide opportunities for youth in the District of Columbia Public and Charter Schools to experience the arts. The Inaugural Event on June 2014 was called Civil-Tea Citywide Creative Expression Competition with over 100 art exhibits and 22 schools participating. The experience provided a medium to give our youth a voice to express the effects of civility and incivility on their lives. The event also gave teachers a teaching moment to use various teaching methods to engage students in all aspects of civility.

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Paul W. Ruppert is an innovative entrepreneur who builds diverse teams that collaborate to create noteworthy projects. As president and founder of Warehouse Industries, Paul oversees the day-to-day operation of a restaurant and retail development company that conceives, builds and operates restaurants, art centers and retail outlets in Washington, DC. Recent projects include Slim’s Diner, Cappy’s Crabs, Crane & Turtle, Upshur Street Books, Petworth Citizen & Reading Room, Hogo and Room 11.

 

Paul grew up and currently lives in Ward 4. He is a former nonprofit executive and founding Treasurer of the Shaw Main Streets board. Through opening small businesses, he has connected with city agencies since the early 1990’s and is currently the Co-Chair of Councilmember Brandon Todd’s Ward 4 Business Advisory Committee. Recently, he was named a Distinguished Fellow at the Catholic University’s Busch School of Business, and advises students in the area of business development and entrepreneurial projects.

“This section of Georgia Avenue is one of the heartbeats of our city—a city where I have spent several decades working to build community through private enterprise. To be sure, the challenges for small businesses on Georgia Avenue are real. With Walmart at one end of the corridor, Target at the other and the Walter Reed project in the middle, our local independent businesses have to operate at their highest level in order to be successful,” observes Paul. “By supporting existing businesses through the proven Main Street framework, we can do our part to strengthen the business community. This increased vitality will in turn help attract new businesses and contribute to a thriving neighborhood. As the executive director of the UGA Main Street, I am excited to be a part of this challenge.”

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The Center has been awarded a grant from DSLBD to help create the new Upper Georgia Avenue Main Street, as well as provide fiscal and organizational management, leadership and technical assistance. The Center is currently conducting a leadership search to fill the position of Main Street Executive Director for the UGA Main Street. We encourage all who are interested to review the job description and apply by the deadline—5:00pm on Wednesday, January 22, 2020.

For more information, please email Carla Trussell, Interim Executive Director, Upper Georgia Avenue Main Street, or call 202.247.1521.

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Progressive Life Center (PLC) has been awarded the grant to serve as the Administrative Partner for the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) 2020 Community Programming Initiative (CPI) Service Coalition. The Center is partnering with PLC to deliver training and capacity building support to the selected coalition of providers.

This program serves as a bridge between youth, families and the community through outreach, engagement and other supportive services. Learn more about its positive impact and the Center’s new role in this collaborative effort.

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It’s time to get serious about keeping top performers on your team. That is the takeaway message from a new report from Nonprofit HR, a Washington-DC based research and consulting organization.

The 2019 Talent Retention Practices Survey chronicles staff retention strategies and practices in over 350 nonprofit organizations from across the US (and some from Canada). Respondents were evenly distributed across the spectrum from small employers (fewer than 10) to large (more than 500 employees), and across budget sizes, from less than $1 million to more than $40 million. The report is one of the first (if not the first) to identify and quantify the challenges around employee retention in nonprofits.

The Center recently published an article in its 2019 Nonprofit Agenda about the cost and downside of employee turnover. As a supplement to that article, here are some steps that key leaders in your organization can take to keep your top performers from leaving. 

What CEOs need to know and do

Know where your organization stands when it comes to retention: What’s your turnover rate, particularly among your high performers and first-year employees? Where are your turnover hot spots? What’s driving those hot spots? And more important, what can you do about them?

  • Recognize that whether you’re aware of it or not, your nonprofit has a reputation as an employer. If you don’t have a listing on Glass Door or one of the other employee rating sites, that won’t last long. Word on the street is rapidly being replaced by word on the web. And it’s not just prospective employees who are checking out those sites—it’s prospective donors as well.
  • Recognize that the three main drivers of employee retention—culture, leadership and career quality—are things under your direct control. What changes do you need to make to your leadership style or organizational culture to improve employee retention? How can you enhance your employees’ career quality?
  • Consider implementing “skip level” conversations. These are periodic conversations with front-line employees about how you can make your nonprofit a great place to work and what staff need specifically to stay with your organization.
  • Use programs like TINYpulse to gather direct, unfiltered information about how your employees are feeling about your organization and their jobs, and what’s enhancing or hindering their performance.
What nonprofit boards need to know and do

While your chief executive is your board’s only employee, the board is responsible for the stewardship of the entire organization. That means making sure that your organization’s culture and practices foster the development of the organization’s human and reputational assets. Implementing that is the executive’s responsibility, but holding the CEO accountable is the board’s job. Ensuring your nonprofit is a stellar place to work starts with your board members.

What HR managers need to know and do

An organization’s HR professionals should be keenly aware of turnover rates and what’s influencing employee retention. CEOs are responsible for a multitude of things, and employee retention, while terribly important, is just one of those things. Here’s what HR staff can do to elevate the importance of employee retention and get the resources and leadership attention needed to do something about it:

  • Gather good data about the factors that are influencing your organization’s retention rates. Continue using the retention strategies outlined in the article, including exit interviews, but consider incorporating retention or “stay” interviews if you’re not doing that already.
  • Make a compelling case to your CEO to help address the areas for improvement. Is it culture? Leadership practices? Or career quality? Help your CEO understand the ROI and the fact that strategies for improving employee retention are usually free or cheap. And those that cost have a big payoff.
  • Help the CEO understand that creating a great place to work can be one of his/her enduring leadership legacies.

It doesn’t matter if your nonprofit’s mission is to inspire, support, educate or transform, it’s your people who are the power behind that mission. Are you doing all you can do to prove to them that they have invested their career and their life energies in the right organization, the right mission, and the right leader?

Contributing author: Don Tebbe, Leadership Succession Consultant, Author and National Speaker, Center Faculty

To learn more, see “It’s time to get serious about employee retention” in the 2019 Nonprofit Agenda.

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Last year, the Center was selected through a competitive process facilitated by the District Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) to establish and operate The Parks Main Street (formerly the South Dakota Avenue-Riggs Road Main Street). We have been providing customized capacity building, coaching and technical assistance to the community board of directors, executive director and businesses in Riggs Park and Manor Park successfully over the year.

We are now excited to announce the Center’s second grant award from DSLBD to establish and operate the Upper Georgia Avenue Main Street. The scope and goals of our efforts will include:

  • assisting business districts with the retention, expansion and attraction of neighborhood-serving retail stores; and
  • unifying and strengthening the commercial corridor

The Upper Georgia Avenue Main Street area will range from Georgia Avenue NW from Missouri Avenue to Eastern Avenue, including collaborating with The Parks development for the Fern Street to Aspen Street portion.

Utilizing the nonprofit and Main Street methodology that has worked across DC and the nation, we are recruiting a committed and diverse board of directors that is representative of the Shepherd Park, Takoma, Brightwood and Manor Park communities located along the Upper Georgia Avenue economic corridor.

The Main Street will be launched by a small founding board of three to five individuals, coming primarily from the neighborhood associations and community organizations that are already engaged on the Upper Georgia Avenue business corridor. At this time, we invite individuals and organizations to express interest in serving as representatives of the Upper Georgia Avenue Main Street founding board of directors. Following expressions of interest, we look forward to setting up a date and time for the initial kick off meeting on Upper Georgia Avenue.

Please share your interest along with a copy of your resume and/or bio with Glen O’Gilvie (and copy Ericka Best at erickab@nonprofitadvancement.org) by close of business on Friday, November 15, 2019.

As the Community Board develops and the Main Street is activated, there will be additional Board seats for neighbors and business owners, as well as committee positions.

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After an extensive evaluation process, the EXCEL Award selection committee completed the difficult task of narrowing the field to five finalists. They visited each of these organizations and then made their final selections.
Congratulations to our three winners and two honorable mentions!

We invite you to read their thoughts on leadership and what it means to be recognized with this award.

2019 EXCEL Award Winners

 

Steve Glaude
CNHED (Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development)

 

 

 

Hugo Mogollon
Community Foodworks

 

 

 

Bridgette Stumpf
NVRDC (Network for Victim Recovery of DC)

 

 

2019 EXCEL Award Honorable Mentions

 

Harold Pettigrew
WACIF (Washington Area Community Investment Fund)

 

 

 

Clark Seipt
CCH (Community Coalition for Haiti)

 

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The Center is proud to be partnering with Pepco in their 2020 Call for Exhibits at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC.

Deadline is 4:00pm on Friday, November 8

Through a transparent and competitive process, a minimum of twelve nonprofit organizations across the Pepco service territory will be selected to participate in a two- to four-week residency that involves an in-kind donation of gallery space at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery. Our intent is to exhibit work that is uplifting, provides a positive representation of the Greater DC community and heightens the visitor experience in Chinatown. Sales are encouraged throughout the duration of the exhibit, and nonprofits are also encouraged to schedule “exhibit opening” events to raise awareness and promote attendance.

The goal of this call for submissions:

  • Provide support, exposure, and professional benefit for visual artists and organizations
  • Increase the exposure of local nonprofit arts organizations and the artists they represent
  • Support and increase the diversity of artists
  • Provide capacity building resources through the Center for Nonprofit Advancement

Curated use of the gallery space includes but is not limited to:

  • Paintings
  • Drawings
  • Photographs
  • Fabric arts
  • Ceramics
  • Sculptures
  • Mixed media works
  • Prints

Applicant Eligibility

The application is open to any 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization—regardless of budget size or scope of programming—that is based in Washington, DC, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland. Other criteria includes:

  • Organization must meet all grant guidelines for eligibility
  • Organization must be a 501(c)(3) non-profit with a board of directors
  • Exhibit range is two to four weeks
  • Grants will be considered for new and existing programs that fall within the funding categories, as well as requests for funding that clearly demonstrate a connection to key business objectives
  • One exhibit per year per organization will be granted at a time
  • Organization must be located geographically within the Pepco service territory

Exhibit Categories

For the 2020 calendar year, we are specifically seeking work reflective of the following:

  • Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote
  • Promotes and encourages participation in Census 2020
  • Promotes and encourages “Get Out the Vote” for Election 2020
  • Celebrates racial/ethnic heritage months (ex. African American History month, Hispanic Heritage Month, etc.)
  • Celebrates Pepco employee resource groups and the communities they represent (ex. PRIDE community, veterans, etc.)
  • Recognizes and promotes innovation in STEM education and energy
  • Recognizes and promotes environment stewardship focusing on the impact of climate change, clean energy, etc.

Learn more in the Application Packet.

For questions, contact Goldie Patrick.

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The Center is pleased to announce we have a new space to hold classes in Prince George’s County, making training more accessible to those in suburban Maryland.

We also plan to have designated office hours there a few times a month, so members can more easily meet with staff if desired. Once these hours have been confirmed, we will post them on our website.

Upcoming classes at 9701 Apollo Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD, include:

Performance Measurement 101: Developing Your Logical Outcome Model
September 17 @ 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Grant-Writing for Greater Impact
October 16 @ 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Volunteer-Staff Relationships: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
November 14 @ 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

How to Present with Confidence, Command, and Charisma
December 3 @ 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

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July 27 – August 2

American Association of Suicidology was mentioned in The Washington Post for their work to decrease suicide rates in the US and support attempt survivors. The Association’s Co-chair, Travis Atkinson, was interviewed in an article discussing community crisis lines shutting down amid loneliness epidemic on Interlochen Public Radio (IPR).

Arts on the Horizon announced their 2019-2020 season line-up in Broadway World. This marks the 7th season for the company.

The Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (APPA) granted Jacobs their 2019 Visionary Award.

A study by BoardSource, in partnership with Stanford University and GuideStar, on nonprofit board service was highlighted on The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Casey Trees was highlighted in Bustle for their work to increase DC’s tree canopy in an article discussing what countries and organizations have done recently to plant more trees and influence the environment.

A Richmond (VA) youth is teaming up with Child Care Aware of Virginia to bring attention to hot car deaths according to Richmond Times.

disABILITY Resource Center celebrates 29th anniversary of ADA and is featured in an article by Hazard Herald.

Hemophilia Federation of America‘s FIRST Program, Promoting Women in Patient-centered Research, wins PCORI Grant, reported by Hemophilia News Today.

Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter will host a display during the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office 8th Annual Child Safety Day according to Fairfax News.

The National Center for Health Research‘s forum to discuss potentially high levels of lead on some Washington area playgrounds was featured on WUSA9. Additionally, the organization discussed breast implant standards and safety in Allure.

National Catholic Partnership on Disability was highlighted as a resource for preparing children with disabilities for baptism and confirmation on The Dialog.

A report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition about housing affordability while earning minimum wage was featured in Yahoo Finance.

Melanie L. Herman, executive director of Nonprofit Risk Management Center, was named a top 50 influencer of 2019 by Nonprofit Times.

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation granted $20,000 to Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area as a part of its Employee Giving Program reported by Financial Buzz.

Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria is partnering with the Alexandria (VA) Health Department to develop a community health improvement plan as was featured in The Zebra.

Project Knitwell‘s program to promote wellness and help people cope with stressful situations in hospital settings was featured on WJLA 7.

The Arc of Greater Prince William/INSIGHT recently held its annual dance for county residents with special needs, and the event was recapped on Prince William Living.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam appointed Dr. Tammy Mann, President and CEO of The Campagna Center to the Virginia Board of Education according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Volunteer Alexandria is recruiting volunteers for the 2019 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics according to Alexandria Gazette Packet.

YWCA National Capital Area discussed racial profiling and the impact it can have on young people in WTOP.

 

July 20 – 26

Arlington Community Foundation announced educator and civic leader Dr. Alfred Taylor, Jr. as the recipient of the 2019 William T. Newman, Jr. Spirit of Community Award in Inside NoVA.

A collaboration between Building Bridges Across the River and the Washington, DC government to build the city’s first elevated public park received its latest donation, $5 million from Exelon, according to DCist. The 11th Street Bridge Park is scheduled to open in 2023.

DC Central Kitchen joins a panel discussion hosted by Food Tank to inform legislators on Capitol Hill about the intersections between food and health.

DC Vote was highlighted in The Washington Blade for their efforts to advance statehood for Washington, DC.

Institute for Local Self-Reliance was mentioned in a Washington Post article about the negative impacts Dollar Stores can have on communities.

League of American Orchestras awarded $80,000 in grant funding to the Virginia Symphony Orchestra according to the Virginian-Pilot. Funds will be used to help support a concert series.

National Catholic Educational Association‘s annual conference on anti-Semitism and the Holocaust was highlighted in Catholic News Service. The conference is hosted in partnership with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Georgetown University.

The National Center for Health Research applauded the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to press Allergan to recall certain breast implants after they were linked to rare illness in The Washington Post.

A report by Open Markets Institute about the concentration of power in several agriculture-related sectors was featured in Civil Eats.

Tidewater Community College received a $179,493 grant from the Virginia Community College System to assist with expanding workforce training programs according to NBC 29 News.

 

July 13 – 19

Arts on the Horizon announced they will host their second annual 5K fundraiser in September 2019 according to Alexandria Living.

Casey Trees discussed Washington, DC’s crape myrtle flowers and their origin in DCist.

The Father McKenna Center was highlighted in a Washington Post story about Frères Branchiaux, a candle company started by three local young entrepreneurs. Each month, the boys donate a portion of the proceeds to Washington-area homeless charities.

A report by the Health Care Transformation Task Force about maternity care in the US was highlighted on Health Affairs Blog.

Research by the National Low Income Housing Coalition about the nation’s affordable housing shortage was mentioned in CNBC.

National Press Foundation is partnering with Bayer AG to launch two educational programs focused on increasing journalists’ awareness of agriculture and cardiovascular disease according to Yahoo Finance.

Open Markets Institute discussed federal government antitrust enforcement and competition in the tech sector in Bloomberg and The American Prospect.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Executive Director, Bruce D. Brown, discussed concerns about a proposed federal bill that would criminalize the disclosure of the identities of covert CIA agents operating abroad in The Washington Post.

Tenants and Workers United discussed the impact Amazon HQ2 will have on Northern Virginia rental prices and affordable housing options in Curbed and Richmond Times.

Wesley Housing Development Corporation discussed the decline of affordable housing options across the Washington-area in Curbed.

 

July 6 – 12

Britepaths was named Non-Profit of the Year by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce at the Greater Washington Good Business Awards on June 7, 2019.

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement will hold its 2019 Board Leadership Award Reception on Thursday, July 25 at 6:00pm. The award reception will follow a special professional development program where participants will learn success secrets from the award finalists: Adventure Theatre, Martha’s Table and Primary Care Coalition.

The Campagna Center‘s partnership with Hooray for Books was featured on WTOP. Recently, over three hundred books collected for the organization were lost due to flooding. Since then, the bookstore has begun re-collecting books to donate them to the organization.

Hemophilia Federation of America was recognized with a four-star rating by Charity Navigator and a Platinum Seal of Transparency by GuideStar according to EIN News.

Institute for Local Self-Reliance discussed waste management efforts across the Washington Region on WAMU 88.5’s Kojo Nnamdi Show.

N Street Village was featured on WJLA for their work supporting women experiencing homelessness in Washington, DC.

Nonprofit Village currently has affordable professional space available for nonprofits. They have multiple membership tiers to fit a wide range of needs and budgets, saving organizations at least $7,000+ annually on services and equipment. More details and tour information can be found on their website.

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