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Lessons Learned from Katrina
Over the past week I have been riveted by the images of Katrina -- documentary after documentary, recounting what happened five years ago and what has happened since. The images of people in New Orleans who couldn’t evacuate, happily going into the shelter and protection of the Superdome -- only for that happiness to turn to despair, desperation and grief in the days to follow. Those haunting images immediately threw me back to the week of August 29, 2005 when, day after day, my guilt grew as I watched, from the comfort of my family room, my brothers and sisters, predominantly African-American and desperately poor, struggle to survive -- right here in America. 
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Holding Candidates Accountable to the Community—Mobilizing Students and Parents to Stay Civically Engaged
Last week’s torrential rains and flooding didn’t keep more than 250 DC students, parents, teachers, and concerned residents away from the Charles Sumner School auditorium. Reflecting the deep passion and concern in the community around education, five local nonprofits (DC Voice, Youth Education Alliance, EMPOWER DC, STEP Up DC, and the DC Language Access Coalition), collectively known as Communities for Education Organizing (CEO), attracted a standing-room-only crowd to hear firsthand from candidates running for election in the DC Mayoral, City Council Chair, and City Council At-Large races. 
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Strengthening the DC Summer Youth Employment Program, and Paving the Way for Tomorrow’s Workforce
This past Sunday’s Washington Post featured thoughtful commentary by Martha Ross, Deputy Director of Greater Washington Research at the Brookings Institution, a Community Foundation grantee. Responding to continued budget overruns and concerns about quality at the DC Summer Youth Employment Program, Ross outlined five concrete strategies to strengthen the program and better serve local youth
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WAMU Radio: The Community Foundation’s Support for Mental Health Services in a Troubled Economy
The stress of daily life can take its toll on all of us. But for people in our region who have lost their jobs, are facing foreclosure or can’t afford to pay for prescriptions, life can be truly overwhelming - even life-threatening. Yesterday I sat down with WAMU Radio for a story about the mental and emotional impact of the economy on those who are financially disadvantaged. Listen to the story now on WAMU’s website.
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Diversity – A Path on the Road to Racial Equity.
Diversity, in and of itself, does not mean racial equity.
This is the thought that kept coming to my mind as I listened to the stories of our moderator and my fellow panelists at a convening this week on the topic of Rising through the Ranks: Race and Gender in Nonprofit Leadership. Organized by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network and the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington, the panel was comprised of a very diverse (based on race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation) group of four nonprofit professionals and was moderated by an African American woman. We spoke to a group of approximately 75 nonprofit professionals from the DC area. To open the panel, we were each asked to share stories about our background and how the concept of diversity has influenced our lives.
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Report from the Roundtable on Workforce Literacy: Aligning Literacy and Skills Training for Better Family Economic Outcomes.
On Thursday July 1, 2010, a group of nearly 20 representatives from local government, community colleges, nonprofit organizations and key thought leaders and policy stakeholders attended the first Roundtable on Workforce Literacy: Aligning Literacy and Skills Training for Better Family Economic Outcomes. Convened by the Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative – an initiative of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region - and hosted by the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, participants enjoyed a rich conversation on workforce literacy and engaged in brainstorming around opportunities for regional collaboration.
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Let’s Get Off Our Butts and Make Change Happen!
How do you make change happen? By getting up off your butt -- or at least that was the perspective of Devin Schain, President and CEO of Campus Direct and panelist at our recent annual meeting titled “Give Back, Get Results: How the Right Combination of Time, Talent and Treasure Creates Change.” 
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A Salute to Giving in Montgomery County
By Hon. Jeffrey Z. Slavin Mayor, Town of Somerset Member, The Community Foundation for Montgomery County’s Advisory Board of Directors On Tuesday, June 15, 2010, I was proud to join with the many donors, friends, and my fellow Community Foundation for Montgomery County (CFMC) Advisory Board members as County Executive Ike Leggett commended the The [...]
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Recovery for Some, Recession for Others
What is the state of workforce development in the National Capital Region? Recently, a group of area funders, convened by The Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative and Washington Grantmakers, got together to share our collective successes, challenges, and observations on the topic, and the takeaways were a mix of good – and not so good – news. 
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Advocacy + Grantmaking = Power!
It’s state budget planning season and the outlook for government revenues and spending looks very grim.
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