At Annual Meeting, GT Awards $150,000 to DC-Area Organizations
Updated: 12 hours ago
At Giving Together's Annual Meeting of the members on September 24th, 2026, our giving circle voted for a total of $150,000 in grants to area non-profits. The two-year Thematic category focused on food insecurity, with the top award of $70,000 over two years going to Crossroads Community Food Network. In the Accelerator Grants category, where the focus is on local BIPOC-led non-profits, the top award of $46,000 over two years went to Hearts of Empowerment.
THEMATIC GRANT AWARD Crossroads Community Food Network (CCFN) was founded in 2007 at the Takoma Park/Langley Park crossroads, bordering Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Its mission is to make healthier food available to the Latinx and immigrant communitiesprimarily through its Crossroads Farmers Market. CCFN will use GT's grant for general operations. Rising food insecurity has increased demand for its programs. CCFN hopes to expand its Fresh Checks program, in collaboration with three community partners, to support families who lack or are afraid to register for government food benefits. It would also expand its training program for food-based businesses and its licensed Kitchen facility for small-business food production. CCFN plans to pilot a program to help 8-12 immigrant women -- whose families have been destabilized by ICE deportations -- develop licensed food businesses.
The runner-up for the Thematic award was DC Greens, which advances health equity by tackling food access and nutrition challenges primarily in DC Wards 7 & 8. They were awarded $17,000.
ACCELERATOR GRANT FOR BIPOC-LED NON-PROFITS
Hearts of Empowerment (HOE) serves high school students in five Washington, D.C. public high schools located primarily in Wards 7 and 8. Hearts of Empowerment's signature initiative is Pathways to Opportunity, an after-school program operating three days per week in the five schools. Students are referred by school counselors because they are academically struggling, chronically absent, or engaged in behaviors that place them at risk of failing or dropping out. HOE’s high program completion rate reflects the success of its relationship-driven, engagement-first approach.
The organization serves 100% youth of color, with the current participant population consisting of approximately 55% male and 45% female students. Hearts of Empowerment will use GT's grant funding to support both program services (60%) and general operating expenses (40%).
The runner-up for the Accelerator Grant was RISE - Resources to Inspire Students and Educators. It received an award of $17,000
IN OTHER BUSINESS
The meeting, which was held at the Woman's Club of Chevy Chase, also included the election of four board members to the seven-member GT Board of Trustees. Incumbents Courtney Dinsmore and Ester Kurz Scheibel were re-elected. They were joined by new board members Christine LaPaille and Denys Resnick. Each will serve a two-year term. A special award for outstanding service was presented to GT member Nedra Weinstein, who is leading Giving Together's Strategic Planning Initiative. Nedra's ad hoc committee has had numerous sessions throughout 2026, including one that invited the membership at large to participate. They recently released a report and are preparing for next steps in such areas as membership, impact, governance and operations.
Finally, special thanks go to GT and Woman's Club dual members Marlene Kaplan and Carol Wilburn for arranging for the Annual Meeting's outstanding location.
