Tuesday, September 20, 2016

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Overview of The Community Foundation for the National Capitol Region (CFNCR)

The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region (CFNCR), formerly Foundation for the National Capital Region was formally incorporated in 1973 in Washington, DC when a group of leaders in the region including Hank Strong, Robert Linowes, and Katharine Graham came together. This organization is a public charity that serves in the greater Washington, D.C metropolitan region.

It is part of a network of over 700 community foundations in the United States. Each of the parties in this network are public charities that are exempted from taxes and are funded by organizations, corporations, families and individuals. According to the Council on Foundations, CFNCR happens to be 5th largest community foundation in the United States

With annual grants surpassing $ 90 million, it is the largest supporter of non- profit organization based in the metropolitan Washington region. This is based on the amount of grants paid. In terms of gifts received, it is the 9th largest in the country.

CFNCR primarily operates in various communities spreading from the District of Colombia, Northern Virginia and Maryland. The organization also has offices in Prince George’s county and Montgomery County where two affiliate foundations are based.

GOALS/ MISSION

The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region documents its main goal as seeking to improve and develop the metropolitan Washington region. It aims to achieve this by promoting charitable giving and effectively utilizing the funds to benefit the communities in the region. CFNCR offers leadership channels through which critical issues that affect the communities can be effectively handled.

The foundation also hopes to improve employment in its areas of operation by creating, offering and retaining jobs that can benefit the people living in the region. It is very important to note that the foundation does not limit its goals to the Washington metropolitan region.

It is also dedicated to driving change in areas beyond its bases of operation. CFNCR hopes to achieve this by helping other organizations, businesses and people realize their goals and consequently, this helps the community at large.

This community foundation offers competitive grant opportunities and these cover a variety of areas including but not limited to the arts, education, workforce and employment development, organizational and individual capacity-building, emergency services, violence prevention, family and children development as well as family literacy.

AREAS OF INTEREST

CFNCR currently has some key areas of interest as grant makers. Below is a detailed and comprehensive account of some of these areas.

EDUCATION

This foundation made it part of its goals to ensure that the youth who graduate from high school have access to post-secondary opportunities, education-wise or career-wise. Its main focus is on young people (16 – 24 years) who are disconnected.
Through intervention and prevention strategies, the foundation seeks to increase the number of such youth who would go on to achieve employment and education outcomes. It administers various scholarship funds for higher education. It is important to note that each of these scholarships bears specific qualification criteria and application processes and guidelines.

INDIVIDUAL GRANTS

CFNCR awards scholarships and grants to individuals from the Washington metropolitan region who have recognized talent, creativity, leadership qualities and vision. These grants are meant to stimulate productivity in the areas.

GREATER WASHINGTON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

The Greater Washington Workforce Development is a collaborative effort from several donor groups. It functions to assist low-income individuals in the Greater Washington region in getting and retaining jobs. This program achieves this by providing workers with top quality career training and other supportive services through which they may improve their skills. Through these actions, it aims to offer proper opportunities, wages and benefits that will bring about development in the area.

BLOGS

CFNCR uses their blog as an effective platform to keep Internet users informed on current events and developments concerning all the areas of interest of community foundations. This platform is also used to strengthen their agenda on improving communities through philanthropy. This was evident on a number of blog posts in response to the current gun violence issues that are affecting the country.

CFNCR has done an admirable job of improving the lives of the residents of the Washington region. This community foundation still has a lot to offer to children, the youth, seniors, economically disadvantages persons and low-income families through effective funding.

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from Will Radle http://www.willradle.net/non-profit-organizations/overview-community-foundation-national-capitol-region-cfncr/

Friday, August 19, 2016

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Featured Non-Profit Organization: Jill’s House

Featured Non-Profit Organization: Jill’s House

Jill’s House is a resort-like center that offers overnight stays, which renew families by providing them with essential breaks during the difficulties associated with caring for special needs children. It’s specially equipped environment offers engaging activities for children who are disabled. The House aims at reforming the disability ministry and grants the families with special needs children, an accessible and affordable respite.

How Jill’s House was conceived

The idea of this respite center was brought along by Jill’s parents, Brenda and Lon Solomon. Jill was born with a seizure disorder, and while they cared for her, her parents felt the urge to provide her with some quality time out. The overnight respite was initiated and supported by McLean Bible Church members just in the time when Jill’s parents were in dire need of it. The vision was expanded on the realization of the need to incorporate many other families. From the time it was started, individual donations have been the backbone of the center. It also receives foundation grants but no federal funding.

The target group

The age range of children privileged to attend the overnight programs is between 6 to 17 years. The children are also allowed to bring their siblings along. For every child, there are safe and enjoyable programs customized to meet their individual needs. The center can house roughly 45 children in one night. Jill’s House is equipped with over 120 trained employees as well as over 1,000 volunteers as well as medical staff to support the needs of each individual child.

Available facilities

There is a large fireplace for gathering, an indoor pool, library, music room, computer room, a fully equipped playground, sensory rooms, gymnasium and a chapel. The nutritious meals consider dietary needs and the three neighborhoods have a medical clinic, room for playing games and another for watching movies. Each child has his/her room though they can share with their siblings. The facilities are adequate and ideal for the kids’ special needs.

The center covers a square footage of 42,000; it is equipped with 45 beds and innovative facilities to entertain the children. At the same time, it ensures their safety. All children engage in a specific activity that makes them active, rejuvenated, entertained and gives them the experience to learn new things. Backed up with the support of parents and guardians, the impact of these activities encourages the young ones to be the best in the things they do.

Most of the children get their first-time opportunities to party, swim, sing, create crafts, go camping and play their favorite games. It’s an all-fun moment that gives these children and their families a new exciting view on disability.

The relevance of Jill’s house

In the U.S., there are over 2 million families that have children with special needs. This is according to the 2010 US Census Bureau and most probably; the number has almost doubled now. The parents are often struggling to meet the emotional demands of their children since hiring qualified individuals who can be of help is expensive. Further, these children rarely get chances to take part in sleepovers, party with their friends or go camping. Their moments of entertainment are usually limited, and this is why Jill’s House comes in to fill the gap.

Additionally, children with intellectual disabilities require much attention, and their families are always on toes to fulfill their needs. These families need some resting time, to catch up or do the things they’ve been longing for but are caught up in attending to their needy children. They can only do this when they know that their beloved children are in safe hands.

The costs involved

Many trained volunteers are determined to improve the lives of the intellectually disabled children. With their help and support, Jill’s House has been able to offer its services at affordable rates. The average cost for an overnight stay per child is $600; this includes the cost of the full medical care provided. With the financial support from donations, individual families are left to contribute an approximate of $3 per hour for one child. These relatively cheap costs have encouraged parents from several states near Virginia to bring their children to get a gist of what the House offers.

Location

The headquarters of Jill’s House is in Vienna, Virginia and families from Maryland, Washington, California, Texas and Colorado can access its services. For more inquiries, or to take a virtual visit, go to JillsHouse.org.

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Monday, August 1, 2016