Greater Washington Community Foundation

10/08/2026

Behind every grant is a neighbor who chose to give. 💙

Today, on National DAF Day, we’re celebrating the donor advised fundholders of the Greater Washington Community Foundation.

Your generosity turns care into action: supporting families, strengthening neighborhoods, and building a region where everyone can thrive. Thank you for giving with heart and purpose!

10/06/2026

"Being Hispanic is a shared culture, a way of caring for family and community, and a sense of familiarity that can exist even between people who have never met before. There is something powerful about how people from completely different parts of Latin America can meet and still recognize something of themselves in one another."

"That connection is powerful, and there is no reason to wait for the future to see what it can create. We can keep building together. Let’s hope, and let’s also be."

Valerie Salazar is the Co-Executive Director of Impact Silver Spring, a Montgomery County nonprofit working alongside racially, culturally, and economically diverse communities to bring people together, build relationships and trust and create spaces where residents can share what they know, what they care about and what they want to see change in their communities.

"Hispanic Heritage Month makes me think about what happens when people have spaces where their culture, language, experiences, and ambitions are seen as strengths."

"There is something powerful about being in a space where people see what you bring, encourage you to use it, and connect you with others who can help you keep growing. Hispanic Heritage Month gives us a chance to celebrate that history and those contributions more intentionally, and I hope that same sense of pride and possibility is something our communities experience throughout the year."

https://ow.ly/kABu50ZUXo1

10/02/2026

In 2024, The Community Foundation announced the launch of Brilliant Futures – a children’s savings pilot program that will provide four classes of students with up to $1,000 per year, each year until they graduate.

The program, which was launched in partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools, is designed to help up to 350 students at Jackson Road Elementary and Bradbury Heights Elementary unlock their full potential by providing them with economic capital that they can use to pursue their academic, professional, or economic goals.

Now two years into the thirteen-year program, our scholars - like most 1st or 2nd graders their age - still have a long way to go to reach those goals. So while they focus on learning to read, write, make friends, and have fun – the Brilliant Futures program has turned its attention to supporting another critical component – the community around them.

“Parenting is the toughest job on the planet,” explains Colleen Reed, a Program Director at the Parent Encouragement Program (PEP), our Brilliant Futures community partner. “PEP is designed to help parents find strengths in themselves and in their children that can help them overcome the day-to-day challenges they face.”

From hosting family fun nights to organizing family connection meetings, PEP is working to build trust, connection, and community so they can better meet the needs of parents and students at Jackson Road and Bradbury Heights Elementary.

Learn more about PEP and Brilliant Futures - https://ow.ly/VBfi50ZOws5

10/01/2026

Congratulations to Tonia Wellons, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, for being recognized as one of Washingtonian's Most Powerful Women in Washington for 2026.

This is her third time making the list alongside the most influential women who are shaping government, business, the arts, law, media, education, and nonprofits.

Under Tonia's leadership, The Community Foundation worked with donors and partners to direct $130 million in investments last year toward the region's most pressing needs. Her vision continues to shape a stronger, more equitable future for our region and everyone who calls it home.

https://washingtonian.com/2026/09/30/most-powerful-women-in-washington-2026/

09/29/2026

"Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate where we come from, and a reminder of our responsibility to create opportunities for newcomers to our country and the generations that follow us."

Juan Jara is the Executive Director of Business Banking in Washington, DC for JPMorganChase. He's also a member of the Health Equity Fund Committee, Board Member of GALA Hispanic Theatre, and an advisor for the Latino Student Fund.

"The Hispanic community is very diverse. We come from different countries, have different accents, varied food, and history; but there are many common threads amongst us. We often share a deep sense of family and community, pride in our culture and heritage."

"We are stronger when that community has access to education, healthcare, capital, culture, and the opportunity to succeed. That requires all of us- business leaders, nonprofits, government, and community organizations- to continue working together. This month is an open invitation to continue to build a city where Latino voices are represented, and the next generation sees no limits to what they can achieve."

Read more about Juan's perspective on what Hispanic Heritage Month means to him - https://ow.ly/fWi350ZOvLW

09/25/2026

Congratulations to our partners, DC Department of Health's Dr. Ayanna Bennett, Capital Area Food Bank's Radha Muthiah, and DC Primary Care Association - DCPCA's Ruth Pollard on being recognized as the Washington Business Journal's 2026 Innovators in Healthcare.

The Community Foundation is proud to partner with these incredible leaders to ensure that everyone in our region has access to the resources they need to be healthy, happy, and thriving.

Meet the 2026 Innovators in Healthcare honorees.

09/25/2026

Last week, we hosted our nonprofit partners from the Waldon Adams Housing Justice cohort for a conversation around housing justice in DC.

Thank you for all the incredible work that you do!

09/24/2026

In one of the wealthiest regions in the country, too many of our neighbors are still going without.

New findings from the 2026 VoicesDMV Community Insights report show that 1 in 5 residents went without needed healthcare this year, 17% went without food, and 9% went without adequate housing — numbers that have barely moved since 2023.

These struggles aren't spread evenly. Residents earning under $90,000/year are at least twice as likely to report them.

The result? 1 in 7 residents are considering leaving the region within the year — driven almost entirely by the rising cost of living and housing.

📊 Check out the full findings in the 2026 VoicesDMV Community Insights report. Link in the comments.

09/24/2026

"When I think about what this community is capable of, I think about the legacy of La Clínica del Pueblo and what it represents in the history of Salvadoran, Central American, and other Latin American communities that call the DMV home."

Continuing our Voices of the Region series, we're spotlighting La Clínica del Pueblo, an organization providing high-quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate health services to people across the Greater Washington, DC region. La Clinica was founded by community advocates working closely with Latino and immigrant families who lacked access to safe, affordable, and culturally grounded care. Over more than four decades, La Clínica has continued to grow alongside the communities they serve, expanding beyond clinical care to respond to the broader barriers that affect people’s ability to be healthy.

"More than representation or visibility, the fact that this organization has provided culturally and linguistically responsive, high-quality health care for more than 40 years is a testament to the resilience, work, and collective commitment of the communities that built and sustained it."

Learn more about La Clinica's impact on our community - https://ow.ly/1V4S50ZOvhz

09/22/2026

For years, Manuel Escalante didn't realize that the thing he was already doing — helping a friend understand a form, standing in for someone at a doctor's appointment, making sense of an official letter — was something people made a career out of.

“I knew interpreters existed,” he says, “I just didn't know that I could do that sort of thing full-time and get paid for it.”

In 2025, Ayuda a nonprofit providing legal and social services access for immigrants, launched the BUILD Cohort, an innovative project funded by The Community Foundation’s Health Equity Fund to provide scholarships, resources, and community support to interpreters like Manuel.

“We need to step away from the idea that there is one language that is superior to all others,” shared Tatiana Santos, Training and Technical Assistance Specialist at Ayuda.

“Language Justice is about ensuring that everyone has the power to speak in whatever language they feel most comfortable in and still have access to the basic services they need – whether that be legal, medical, or socio-economic.”

Learn more about the BUILD cohort and the importance of supporting language justice in the DMV - https://ow.ly/nU3r50ZOuWv