Diverse City Fund

MISSION STATEMENT

The Diverse City Fund works to nurture community leaders and grassroots projects which are acting to transform DC into a more just, vibrant place to live. Through our grantmaking, we identify, support, and connect people in communities of color who are engaged in change work.

We support the development of community-level social change by funding projects that have less access to traditional funding sources.

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The DC Fund came about with a vision to support community projects and leaders working to bring about justice in Washington DC.  We want to see a city as rich in its present diversity as in its history, grounded in respect for the work that has brought so many neighborhood institutions into being, and with a readiness to support a new generation of community leaders.

Our support will come in the form of small grants to projects powered largely by volunteer labor.  Smaller, volunteer-driven community initiatives have few options for funding, but it is often these very projects that work to build institutions by and for communities with the least access to resources. Ultimately, we envision the DC Fund as a glimpse into the political and historical context for citywide social change, as well as a place to foster community among fund supporters and put a spotlight on less visible community-level projects.

In early July of 2011 the DC Fund inaugurated its 9-person Board and a separate 10-person grantmaking team.  Social Change-makers of color are at the center of our grantmaking process. We want to go beyond the scope of most donor-led initiatives by breaking down the usual walls around giving. Now more than ever it’s imperative that people of color building innovative programs to support community-building and resist displacement have a say in how philanthropic resources are utilized in the District.

The DC Fund is one of two sponsored program funds of the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region. All contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law.  We anticipate giving away all donations (minus administrative costs) received each year.  Our first round of grants  – totaling  $45,000 – will be distributed in November 2011.

If you’re interested in making a donation to the DC Fund or finding out more, contact info@diversecityfund.org.