Impact Stories

Conferences and Events

The Escalating Climate Change Impacts Throughout Virginia: How the Philanthropic Sector is Responding, and What You Can Do To Help

August 23, 2024

Mary-Carson Stiff, Executive Director of Wetlands Watch, presented “The Escalating Climate Change Impacts Throughout Virginia: How the Philanthropic Sector is Responding, and What You Can Do To Help” on the afternoon of August 21. Participants gathered over Zoom to learn about the growing climate concerns Virginians face in the years ahead.

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Julie Simmons and the Amy Takayama-Perez Memorial Fund for George Mason University

July 26, 2024

The legacy of Amy Takayama-Perez is characterized by a commitment to educational opportunity, equal access, and inclusivity. According to her best friend Julie Simmons, Amy wanted to “build a longer table and make room for diverse perspectives at the table,” a goal she pursued for 23 years as the Dean of Admissions at George Mason University. Yet Amy’s time was cut tragically short when she passed away last year following a courageous battle against triple-negative breast cancer.

Nevertheless, Julie and the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia team carry on Amy’s torch through the Amy Takayama-Perez Fund for George Mason University and its scholarship programs. Here, we survey Julie’s philanthropic career with the Community Foundation and why she started a fund in memory of her best friend.

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Creighton Gives Begins Summer with a Kick-Off Concert

June 26, 2024

On June 1 and 2, Creighton Farms launched its annual Creighton Gives program with musical performances, games, and treats from local BBQ and ice cream vendors. This sunny, two-day event was the perfect backdrop for Creighton Farms friends and families to learn about the member-driven philanthropic initiative, which aims to strengthen the Northern Virginia community.

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Shape of the Region 2023

March 24, 2023

Aging in Northern Virginia


On March 23, 2023, Elizabeth Hughes, Senior Director of Insight Region®, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia's Center of Community Research, presented the findings from the report Growing Old Together in Northern Virginia at the annual Shape of the Region Conference. The report and the conference highlighted the complex challenges older Northern Virginians face, focusing on three questions that leaders across government, business, and non-profit can ask themselves in addressing these needs:
    1. How do we make it easier to be a caregiver?
    2. How do we increase the supply and affordability of senior housing?
    3. How do we help individuals afford to age in place?

Over 350 people attended the conference online and in person, from a near complete cross section of civil society, including government officials, non-profit and foundation staff, social changemakers, business leaders, and representatives at the local, state, and federal level. The conference featured multiple panels of national and local experts for candid discussions of the challenges older Northern Virginians face, and what innovative ideas and opportunities may exist in addressing this critical issue that impacts everyone.

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A Message from President and CEO Eileen Ellsworth on the 2022 Raise the Region Gala

October 11, 2022
Dear Community Foundation Friends and Supporters,

Last Friday evening, we gathered for the first time in 3 years to celebrate our region’s resilience, success, and growing sense of home and place. As always, your support literally helped Raise the Region!

More than 500 guests joined us in person and another 100 tuned in to the virtual live stream. It was an incredibly heartening reunion and opportunity to celebrate the ties that bind us all together. Your support and generosity were unprecedented. The event raised a total of $650,000, which will help the Community Foundation build a community that works for everyone. 

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Sponsor's Voice: Peraton's Theory of Building Community

September 28, 2022
Corporate and individual sponsorships are a critical tool for the Community Foundation to lead and convene the community. One of our 2022 Raise the Region Gala sponsors is Peraton, a tech and cybersecurity firm based in Herndon, Virginia. Peraton have experienced a meteoric rise since their founding in 2017, and were expected to be worth $5 billion dollars in 2021. We spoke with Stefanie Hale, Corporate Citizenship lead, about what community building means to Peraton.

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Finding our Way Back to Mental Health: Shape of the Region Conference 2022

March 16, 2022
On March 15, 2022, The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia held its annual Shape of the Region Conference. This convening highlighted the complex barriers to basic mental health service, such as therapy, helpful medications, and others. Over 300 persons attended, about half in person, and half online, from a cross-section of civil society including but not limited to government workers, nonprofit and foundation employees, social changemakers, private sector businesses, and representatives from state, local, and national government offices. The conference also discussed what innovative ideas and opportunities may exist to address this critical issue that impacts us all.
READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE

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Shape of the Region 2022 - Finding our Way Back to Mental Health

March 15, 2022
Yesterday, Elizabeth Hughes, Senior Director of Insight Region®, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s Center of Community Research, presented the findings in the report Finding our Way Back to Mental Health at the annual Shape of the Region Conference. This conference highlighted the complex barriers to basic mental health service - therapy, helpful medications, early interventions, as well as others. Over 300 persons attended, about half in person, and half online, from a near complete cross section of civil society - government workers, nonprofit and foundation employees, social changemakers, private sector businesses, and representatives from state, local, and national government offices.  The conference featured multiple panels of national and local experts for candid discussions of the challenges of accessing
basic mental health services in Northern Virginia, and what innovative ideas and opportunities may exist to address this
critical issue that impacts us all.


The discussion of the unique challenges for access to mental health presents a massive opportunity, and
a stark warning: whilst 750,000 adults in Northern Virginia have mental health needs, 370,000 who
want therapy or counselling are unable to get it.

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Mental Health Resources

March 14, 2022
The 2022 Shape of the Region Conference, and the incredible, impactful conversations we shared, simply would not have happened without the continued support of our partners and sponsors. Together, we’ve laid a foundation that will continue to serve as an enduring platform to ensure that everyone in our region has access to decent and quality mental health care. Please be sure to check out their websites, as well as these resources they shared during the conference.

To set the stage, here is a video recommended by NAMI Northern Virginia.

What is the best way to ease someone's pain and suffering? In this beautifully animated RSA Short, Dr Brené Brown reminds us that we can only create a genuine empathic connection if we are brave enough to really get in touch with our own fragilities.

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Philanthropist Karen Schaufeld Chosen As 2021 Community Leadership Honoree

October 14, 2021
Philanthropist, author, entrepreneur, and lawyer Karen Schaufeld has been named Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s 2021 Community Leadership Honoree. The Community Leadership Award is given each year to an individual who is a demonstrated leader with a long history of commitment to supporting the Northern Virginia region through volunteer and community service and charitable giving.

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Fundraising Record for Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s 2021 Raise the Region

October 14, 2021
A record fundraising total of more than $500,000 was raised during Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s 2021 Raise the Region, an annual, mission-critical fundraiser for the Community Foundation.

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Public Interest Technology and the Public Good

September 27, 2021
Public Interest Technology is an emerging field that uses technological expertise in service of the common good, often with a focus on under-resourced communities. Today, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia hosted Public Interest Technology, the latest event in our Innovation Breakfast Series.

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Community Foundation for Northern Virginia to Host Virtual 2021 Raise the Region Fundraiser in Annual Celebration of Local Philanthropy

September 8, 2021
As we continue to face challenges in Northern Virginia created by the pandemic, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia is returning to a virtual format for this year’s annual fundraising event. On Friday, October 8, 2021, at 7 pm EST, the Community Foundation hosts its 2021 Raise the Region, a virtual event that will be live-streamed and will include an online auction and opportunities to engage and connect with our community from the comfort of your home. The theme this year is Building a Community that Works for Everyone,and the event will highlight a record level of giving from the Community Foundation throughout the region.

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Supporting Minority-Owned Businesses in Northern Virginia

June 30, 2021
The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, in partnership with the newly formed Northern Virginia Minority-Owned Businesses Working Group, recently released a new report "Supporting Northern Virginia’s minority-owned businesses" that examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region’s estimated 128,000 minority-owned businesses.

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Shape of the Region 2021 – What are You Inspired to do in our Community?

March 12, 2021

On Thursday, March 11, 2021, we presented the 2021 Shape of the Region Conference in partnership with 12 regional organizations to inspire our community about ways our region is coming together to institute real change. More than 300 people registered to attend the virtual event.



This year’s conference, Co-Creating a New Northern Virginia: An Emerging Vision of a More Inclusive, Sustainable, and Equitable Region examined strategies for advancing a more inclusive economy in our region while facing some of the biggest challenges of our day – entrenched poverty, structural racism, and environmental sustainability.

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Community Foundation Launches Build Back - Dream Forward Post-COVID-19 Initiative and Awards First Grants Totaling $100,000

October 29, 2020
The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia has launched Build Back – Dream Forward – a post-COVID-19 Growth Initiative. Its purpose is to achieve social and economic equity, promote racial justice and equity, and catalyze more inclusive systems of economic growth in Northern Virginia, particularly in local communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the virus and its fallouts.

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Innovation Breakfast Series: The Reinvention of Food

September 21, 2020
A crowd of more than 100 joined with the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia at its latest Innovation Breakfast Series: The Reinvention of Food virtual event on Thursday, September 17, 2020, to discuss the challenges facing the emergency food safety net since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Greater Washington region in March including some persistent racial and social inequities that exist, and possible paths forward to address them.

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Build Back Better After COVID-19

July 20, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has pulled back the curtain and exposed longstanding structural and systemic inequities that exist in communities of color across our nation. From the education system to the labor market, to housing, health, and economic stability the coronavirus has had a disproportionate impact on African American and Latino communities.

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia recently hosted a virtual Town Hall – Build Back – Dream Forward where local leaders representing business, education, economic development, and philanthropy gathered to raise awareness around the uneven playing field that pre-existed COVID-19 and potential paths forward for greater equity in our economic systems.

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2020 Shape of the Region Conference: The Economic Case for Inclusivity

March 12, 2020

Online Conference shared One Region Report and ideas to promote a more welcoming community in Northern Virginia

The Community Foundation's 2020 Shape of the region conference was held as an online conference on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Nearly 300 guests attended virtually to kick-start a big conversation around the large and growing impact of recent immigrants in Northern Virginia.

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Community Foundation for Northern Virginia Honors Maj. Gen. Carl H. McNair, Jr. (RET) with the 2019 Community Leadership Award

October 14, 2019

Annual Gala Raises $570,000 to Support Critical Needs in the Northern Virginia Region

(Oakton, VA) – Major General Carl H. McNair, Jr. (RET) of Springfield, Virginia has been awarded the 2019 Community Leadership Award presented by the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. General McNair was recognized for his lifetime of community leadership, public service, and philanthropy during 2019 Raise the Region Gala held on Friday, October 4, 2019, at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner.

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