Impact Stories

Community Leadership

October 19, 2021
The Community Foundation established The Afghan Relief and Resettlement Fund for Northern Virginia at the beginning of September to help meet the immediate and long-term needs of our new Afghan neighbors currently undergoing the challenges associated with the resettlement process. 

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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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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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September 2, 2021
Afghan evacuees have arrived in communities across the country after leaving everything behind to begin a new life in America.  The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia today announced the launch of the Afghan Relief and Resettlement Fund for Northern Virginia.

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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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March 25, 2021


"Together, I believe we can set a new foundation for a robust
economy now and for our next generation of business leaders
in Northern Virginia"...Sheila Dixon, Executive Director, Northern
Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce


The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just put stress on minority-owned businesses in the Northern Virginia region, but also on the chambers of commerce that serve them. The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia today announced it has awarded grants totaling $43,000 to five area Chambers of Commerce: Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce, Asian American Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, NOVA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce.

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March 19, 2021
Dear friends,

Like many of you, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia is saddened at the rise of Anti-Asian violence as most recently evidenced by the murders of 6 Asian American women in Atlanta Georgia.

Below are two statements, one from the Asian American Chamber of Commerce in Northern Virginia and one from the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce, that we would like to share with you. They are heartbreaking testaments to the devastation and fear being suffered by our Asian American / Pacific Islander neighbors.

We are one community, one region. When we choose to care about what happens to each other, everything shifts. Please take a moment to share some words of comfort and support with your AAPI friends and neighbors and with the leaders of these 2 critical chambers of commerce that serve our region.

Thank you!

The Board and Staff of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia.

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February 19, 2021

Today, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia is releasing its Every Voice Counts: Count the Regionfinal report that provides a comprehensive understanding of our efforts to support the 2020 Census with our “get out the count” initiative. This report will also serve as a roadmap for the next census count in 2030.
READ FULL REPORT 

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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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October 27, 2020
Food insecurity impacts millions of people in the United States, and yet over 40% of fresh produce in our country goes to waste. The USDA defines food insecurity as the disruption of food intake or eating patterns because of a lack of money and other resources. In Prince William County, Virginia over 6% of adults and 12% of children are food insecure. Local nonprofit Action in Community Through Service of Prince William (ACTS), is on the frontline of providing much-needed food to those in desperate need.

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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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