DC127's partnership with CHCF

DC127 would not be what it is today without the support of key funders. One group, Capitol Hill Community Foundation, has consistently supported our cause for the last five years. We wanted to take a moment to thank them for all the support they have given to families, volunteers, and churches in the DC127 network and for all the work they do in the Capitol Hill Community. Below is a profile of their organization and the work they have been doing.

The Capitol Hill Community Foundation is a unique institution. It is one of very few foundations around the country that focuses solely on a neighborhood. We were started about 30 years ago by a small set of local business leaders who saw a need to support the Capitol Hill schools and organizations that are needed to make the community a wonderful, diverse, and healthy place for families and individuals to live. All of our funds come from neighborhood residents and businesses and are then granted out to community-based projects and organizations. We are entirely volunteer-run and our volunteer board pays all administrative expenses so that every dollar we raise can go back out to the community through grants. Our typical grant-making occurs twice a year in five categories: schools and teachers; other youth programming; social services; arts and culture; and neighborhood beautification and organizing. We have also stepped in to assemble community support for emergency needs; we funneled community donations to help out after the fires at Eastern Market, Frager's Hardware, and the Capper Senior Housing building. This year, we made a series of emergency grants to local organizations helping our most vulnerable Capitol Hill neighbors in the COVID pandemic

This year may be the most active year for the foundation. We have already awarded over $350,000 in grants in 2020, and we still have a grant cycle coming this fall. Most years, we award $400,000 to $500,000 in grants. But this year, we are focusing a significant amount of time and funding on the two major issues facing the community - and nation - racial justice and systemic racism, and the COVID crisis. As a result, this spring we awarded over $100,000 to social service organizations, well more than twice what we awarded in our most recent round of funding.