Founders of the Giving Circle of HOPE celebrating Million Dollar Milestone.
Herndon — The Giving Circle of HOPE celebrated a major milestone this year – more than $1 million raised and granted to support small nonprofit organizations in Northern Virginia.
GCH’s members voted for the fund’s 2016 grantees at a special event at Refraction in Reston Town Center on Thursday, Nov. 17.
“This milestone proves the power of collective giving because we reached it with many individuals giving as little as one dollar a day or volunteering for one event a year,” says founding member Linda Strup. “Reaching this $1 million milestone is exciting, but I am even prouder of the lives we have changed, both within the Giving Circle of HOPE and in the greater community.”
Eight grants were funded for a total of $56,000. The 2016 grant award winners are:
- Fairfax Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Advocating for Abused/Neglected Youth
- Friends of Guest House for Workforce Development Project Pilot
- Josh Anderson Foundation for Our Minds Matter: Website Development
- La Cocina for Free Bilingual Culinary Job Training, Placement & Food Assistance
- NAMI Nova for Peer Support of Youth and Adults Living with Mental Health Conditions
- OAR Arlington for Employment Assistance for Individuals Returning Home After Incarceration
- Women Giving Back for Women Giving Back Transportation Project
- The Reading Connection for Child, Youth Development & Education
A giving circle is a form of participatory philanthropy where groups of individuals donate their own money to a pooled fund, decide together which charities to give to and, in doing so, increase awareness of and engagement in issues in their community.
Prior to this year’s vote, GCH awarded 125 grants to 52 local nonprofits. Funds have been awarded in the areas of Child, Youth Development and Education; Health, Mental Health and Aging; Poverty Relief; Immigration; and Poverty Escape. Organizations throughout Northern Virginia have received funding including: Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fauquier, Loudoun, Manassas and Prince William.
“Reaching the $1 million means we got to a landing in a long staircase,” says founding member Diana Katz. “We can take a breath, look back to see what we have done, and we can look upward to see how much more we can do. It’s a step that gives us perspective.”
GCH is a component fund of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and was created in 2004.