Impact Stories

Community Foundation staff recently visited Bryant High School and met administrators and representatives from Food for Neighbors, a nonprofit dedicated to ending child hunger across Northern Virginia through community support. This year, Food for Neighbors is a proud recipient of the Lamond Fund grant.

Benton Fisher, a Northern Virginia local and an economic consultant at FTI Consulting, has long championed community-driven causes. Long before he founded his donor-advised fund, the Avalon Charitable Fund, with the Community Foundation, Benton was the child of a Naval officer and a Unitarian minister. This upbringing ingrained an interest in service and has shaped his philanthropic endeavors ever since. Benton’s journey toward philanthropy was further influenced by his time coaching his children in team sports, which fostered his passion for leadership and collaboration. These experiences taught him that the most meaningful rewards come from uplifting others.

Michelle Sullivan, Executive Director of All Ages Read Together (AART), truly embodies the organization’s mission. Inspired by her early childhood experiences, Michelle is passionate in providing accessible preschool education across Northern Virginia. Passion is essential to every mission; however, Michelle appreciates that operating a successful organization requires thoughtful long-term planning. That’s why she, alongside the AART Board, established the All Ages Read Together Fund at the Community Foundation.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and it is a great time to spotlight the Yolonda Pajot Memorial Fund for Ovarian Cancer, a Donor Advised Fund.

Recently, the Executive Director of the Family Counseling Center of Greater Washington (FCCGW), Chun-Shin Taylor, PhD, welcomed Sari Raskin and Amanda Bomfim of the Community Foundation to FCCGW’s office and counseling space. Their conversation was a wonderful teaching moment for Sari and Amanda, as the two learned more about past and present Korean-American culture and the client services FCCGW offers.

On June 11, 2024, Amazon announced it would replenish its Housing Equity Fund with an additional $1.4 billion, dedicating substantial resources to affordable housing in Arlington, VA, near its HQ2. The initial investment of $2.2 billion—devoted to Nashville, Seattle, and the DMV—took only 4 years to allocate, of which $1.1 billion was dedicated to boosting affordable housing across the Metro D.C. area. Such significant investments from the private sector are crucial, particularly since the government’s limited resources alone struggle to meet the demand for affordable housing.

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia is awarding $805,940 in grants to 49 local organizations through its 2024 Community Investment Funds (CIF), Environment Fund, and Ross-Roberts Fund for the Arts competitive cycles. These grants, supported by charitable endowments and managed by the Community Foundation, will address current and emerging needs in the region.
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The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia launched the Afghan Relief and Resettlement Fund in September 2021 to support Afghans fleeing their home country who either pass through or are resettled in Northern Virginia. To date, grants from the Fund total $282,490, and have focused on critical needs such as food, shelter, healthcare and mental health services, as well as longer-term efforts such as legal services, housing, transportation, education, and English language skills.

“Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting.” -Khaled Hosseini 

Hosseini’s quote captures the experience of many refugees. Some come from areas experiencing natural disasters. Some, from starvation. Many, from war. Of those refugees who do make it to safety experience a different kind of waiting- be it for international intervention, a wait for safety, or waiting for the long process of acclimation and integration to be completed. Unfortunately, there are few if any remedies for satiating the unease and adjustments a refugee feels when she leaves her home country for a new place altogether. But, there are many ways to support these people as they adjust to new lives in a new place.