Posted on October 18, 2021

Weissberg Foundation announces Ricshawn Adkins Roane to serve as Executive Director…

Posted on June 1, 2021

It is with profound sadness–and with immense gratitude for an extraordinarily well-lived and exemplary life– that the Weissberg Foundation mourns the passing of Marvin Weissberg, our founder, who died on May 17, peacefully, at his Annapolis home, at 94.…

Posted on May 6, 2021

Community organizing works.

United by organizing as a central changemaking strategy to build power and advance racial justice, a group of funders – Organizing DMV – came together t…

Posted on December 2, 2020 | Jennifer Mendes Dwyer and Yves Brady, Progressive Maryland

Many formerly incarcerated people lack access to the resources necessary to readjust to civilian life. Since 2019, Progressive Maryland’s Reentry Workgroup has been fighting for rights and opportunities…

Posted on November 18, 2020 | Marvin Weissberg , Weissberg Foundation

To our friends and grantee partners, It is with sadness—and deep gratitude for all that she has accomplished—that I share the news that Hanh Le, our Executive Director of the past five years, will be leaving Weissberg Foundation at the…

Posted on November 17, 2020 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

Over the last year, the deeply entrenched racial injustices in our country have been laid bare as Black, Indigenous and people of color suffered disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; too many more Black lives…

Posted on October 22, 2020

The following piece was published by Greater Washington Community Foundation. It is being cross-posted here with their permission. Arts Forward Fund, a partnership between the Greater Washington Community Foundation, The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, and 16 other foundations and…

Posted on October 20, 2020 | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

These feel like heartbreaking days.

The outcome of the Breonna Taylor case reaffirms the value our criminal legal system places on White …

Posted on October 16, 2020

Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s Understanding Our New World live stream discussion series features online conversations with historians, political analysts, government leaders, and social sector leaders about how the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping our world. On October 6th, Institute director…

Posted on August 12, 2020 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

The arts enhance our humanity, stir us to action, and connect us to each other, playing a critical role in activism, movement building, and social…

Posted on July 30, 2020 | Jenell Rosa, Weissberg Foundation

In May, we convened our Disrupt, Move, and Voice Power (DMV Power) and Reframing <Washington> grantee partners to learn about one another and our relation to our work as individuals and to understand the work of our organizations and what inspires it.…

Posted on July 1, 2020 | Ed Reed, Fair Count

In 2019, the Weissberg Foundation created the Marvin Fund in honor of our founder Marvin Weissberg’s commitment to strengthening our American democracy. The theme for our inaugural 2019-2021 Marvin Fund grants is “A Fair & Accurate Census 2020,” and our…

Posted on June 10, 2020 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

Though it might seem obvious given our vision, mission, and values, it is important to explicitly state that the Weissberg Foundation condemns the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd and the injustices that continue to be inflicted…

Posted on May 29, 2020

The following piece was published by Washington Area Women’s Foundation. It is being cross-posted here with their permission. Our new #AskHer series is an interview with our partners, community members and supporters who work tirelessly for women and girls. Our…

Posted on May 8, 2020 | Tamara Lucas Copeland, Daughters of the Dream

Picture this. The coronavirus is over. Scientists have given the “all clear”. One million white people have gathered on the Mall in Washington, DC with signs that read “Black Lives Matter” “I am marching for Armaud Arbrey” “I march for Trayvon Martin” “I march for…

Posted on April 24, 2020 | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

In my last blog, I used a simple Shakespeare quote to link the classic tale of a long-standing family feud, star-crossed lovers, and – spoiler alert – untimely death to the deepening of systemic racism in this country during the…

Posted on April 20, 2020 | Hanh Le and James Liou, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy

The following piece was published by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy. It is being cross-posted here with their permission. We’ve all been hearing the news about the rise of anti-Asian hostility re-surfacing alongside COVID-19, but what does that look and…

Posted on | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

It seems to start with comments, which lead to conversations, which lead to meetings, just like the one I found myself in pre-COVID. I listened, outright impatiently, as white fragility…

Posted on April 17, 2020

The COVID-19 virus does not discriminate — it can infect anyone. However, when an indiscriminate virus is unleashed in a country where racially unjust systems have long decided …

Posted on April 14, 2020 | Shaady Salehi, Trust-Based Philanthropy Project

The Weissberg Foundation in Arlington, VA is a justice-oriented family foundation that has always leaned on its values to drive its grantmaking. In 2016, Hanh Le took the helm as the organization’s executive director, which…

Posted on April 10, 2020 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

At the same time the COVID-19 crisis creates an unprecedented demand for emergency relief services, it also glaringly exposes and exacerbates deep social, political, and economic inequities that are foundational to our country. True to form with our nation’s ilk…

Posted on March 24, 2020 | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

For many of us, these times are unprecedented. While a lot of us have been on this earth long enough to see the impacts of war, horrific natural disasters, devastating genocides, and…

Posted on March 17, 2020 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

As the gravity of the COVID-19 outbreak intensifies at an alarming pace, we want to reach out, check in, and invite you to do the same. Operating through a pandemic is deeply unfamiliar terrain for all of us. This makes it all the more amazing to witness the leadership, …

Posted on March 4, 2020 | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

Last September, the Weissberg Foundation issued a request for proposals (RFP) for our inaugural Disrupt, Move, Voice Power (DMV Power) program area. The DMV Power fund invests in communities of color building power in the District, suburban Maryland, and Virginia…

Posted on February 27, 2020 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

The Weissberg Foundation is a small, family foundation based in Arlington, Virginia. It was started in 1988 by real estate developer and engaged citizen Marvin Weissberg. We have always operated with a broad vision for social justice. In the past several years, we have worked to better articulate our mission, to advance …

Posted on February 21, 2020 | Marcia Huff, Young Women's Project

Youth face many barriers to employment. In DC, obtaining work permits is unfortunately another obstacle. In 2016, 81% of DC youth…

Posted on February 18, 2020 | Edward M. Jones

The Weissberg Foundation is pleased to announce that Edward M. Jones has joined our board of directors!…

Posted on January 13, 2020 | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

A new year is often a time of transformation as we re-evaluate ourselves, critically examine our place in the world, and imagine a better future. This year promises to bring…

Posted on December 18, 2019 | Monica Cooper, Maryland Justice Project

High unemployment and joblessness for returning citizens are direct indicators of high recidivism rates. The Maryland Justice Project has been working…

Posted on December 13, 2019 | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

In mid-September, the Weissberg Foundation gathered staff and board representatives from our Equitable Justice grantee partners at our offices in Arlington. In building the grant program, we had hoped convening would be part of the program offerings, but it was important to us that we only convene if grantee partners saw value in it.…

Posted on December 9, 2019 | Dr. Jeanine Abrams McLean, Fair Count

In 2019, the Weissberg Foundation created the Marvin Fund in honor of our founder Marvin Weissberg’s commitment to strengthening our American democracy. The theme for our inaugural 2019-2021 Marvin Fund grants is “A Fair & Accurate Census 2020,” and our…

Posted on November 8, 2019 | Farah Fosse and Tia Watkins, Diverse City Fund

Founded in 2010, DC Fund is a grantmaking organization dedicated to racial justice that invests financial and social capital for social justice. We fund and support efforts in DC, led by and rooted in…

Posted on November 5, 2019 | Claudia Williams, Washington Area Women’s Foundation

Every day, we see targeted efforts to limit the rights, diminish the dignity, and harm the lives of immigrants, in particular immigrants of color. Throughout American history,…

Posted on October 18, 2019 | Kimberly Mckenzie , Sylvia Rivera Law Project

Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) believes that the system itself is part of the problem, and that while we work to change laws and policies, we must also address the root causes of our conditions in seeking to shift narratives and our relationships to power. SRLP…

Posted on October 8, 2019 | Darakshan Raja and Dr. Maha Hilal, Justice For Muslims Collective

Justice For Muslims Collective (JMC) works to dismantle institutional and structural Islamophobia through raising political consciousness and shifting narratives,…

Posted on September 25, 2019 | Megan Macaraeg, Many Languages One Voice (MLOV)

When you meet with Francis, it’s easy to see the smiling, cheerful 15-year-old who loves soccer and…

Posted on September 12, 2019 | Patrick Gregoire, ONE DC

ONE DC’s Right to Housing campaign supports long-time DC residents struggling against displacement…

Posted on September 4, 2019 | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

With political gaps widening across parties, economic gaps deepening within communities, and social gaps solidifying among individuals, we are at a critical time in examining race and…

Posted on August 21, 2019 | Cherice Hopkins, Rights4Girls

Every few weeks, the Weissberg Foundation features a story from one of our Equitable Justice grantee partners to shine a light on their critical work. Learn more about these powerful organizations by visiting their websites. Rights4Girls is a Washington, D.C.-based…

Posted on August 5, 2019 | Nora Morales, Identity

The Padres Latinos Conectados Parent Leadership Program recognizes that a child’s first teacher and natural life-long advocate is their parent. Our…

Posted on July 25, 2019 | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

At the end of last year, Washington Area Women’s Foundation released “A Blueprint for Action: Supporting Young Women of Color in the District of Columbia.” This report, through the creation of…

Posted on July 11, 2019

Over the last year, Young Women United (YWU) facilitated an Art and Organizing Institute bringing together eleven Indigenous women and…

Posted on July 8, 2019 | Jenell Rosa, Weissberg Foundation

Last month, the Weissberg Foundation joined Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy-DC, …

Posted on July 1, 2019 | Jennifer Dwyer, Progressive Maryland

Progressive Maryland was founded to empower communities to act for social and economic justice by developing leaders and cultivating allies in order to build a grassroots movement …

Posted on June 14, 2019 | Vivian D. Nixon, College & Community Fellowship

College & Community Fellowship (CCF) was the first organization in the country working at the intersection of criminal justice and higher education for women. The mission of CCF is to enable women with criminal convictions to earn their college degrees…

Posted on June 7, 2019 | Leni Dworkis, Weissberg Foundation

The Weissberg Foundation’s Reframing Empowerment Fund explores and advances efforts to change how the greater Washington region sees and therefore transforms itself…

Posted on June 5, 2019

The Weissberg Foundation is pleased to announce that Tamara Lucas Copeland has joined our board of directors! …

Posted on June 4, 2019 | Miae Bok, NAKASEC VA

NAKASEC-VA (National Korean American Service & Education Consortium – Virginia) organizes Korean and Asian Americans to achieve social, economic, and racial justice; project a progressive voice; and promote…

Posted on May 15, 2019 | Nadia Gold-Moritz, Young Women's Project

On April 9th, 22 youth health educators from the Young Women’s Project (YWP) presented testimony to the DC Council Committee on Health as part of the budget …

Posted on May 9, 2019 | Chloe Jo and Josh Randolph, Beloit College

As a “Bomb Cyclone” storm system was bearing down on Colorado in March 2019, Superior Murphy, a sophomore at Beloit College in Wisconsin, headed west…

Posted on April 16, 2019 | Julia Sharpe-Levine and G’Ra Asim, African American Policy Forum

The African American Policy Forum first marched under the banner of Black women killed by the police on…

Posted on April 4, 2019 | Joel Simon, Committee to Protect Journalists

Beloit is a small liberal arts college in southern Wisconsin, seemingly far from the front lines of the global press freedom battles…

Posted on April 1, 2019 | Marisa Stubbs, Critical Exposure

It’s no secret that police in schools disrupt the learning environment for youth of color. Black and Latino students face…

Posted on March 18, 2019 | Farah Tanis, Black Women's Blueprint

Over the past year, the #MeToo crisis has triggered unprecedented interest in sexual assault and other gender-violence. Service programs for survivors of gender-violence …

Posted on February 5, 2019 | Parisa Norouzi, Empower DC

Maybe you’ve noticed the trend – everyone is using the word “equity” these days, including DC government, the philanthropic sector, and…

Posted on December 5, 2018 | Amy Green, Identity

Identity is honored to have supported the successful growth and development of tens of thousands of individual…

Posted on November 29, 2018 | Farah Fosse, Diverse City Fund

Diverse City Fund (DC Fund) nurtures community leaders and grassroots projects that are acting to transform DC into a more just, vibrant…

Posted on November 16, 2018 | Jenell Rosa, Weissberg Foundation

After nearly a century of organizing and protesting for the right to vote, Women’s Suffrage was finally ratified in 1920. And just this November, almost 100 years later, more women than ever were elected to Congress. It is the determination…

Posted on November 1, 2018 | Amanda O'Meara, Weissberg Foundation

The Weissberg Foundation has announced the 2018-2020 Equitable Justice Fund grantees…

Posted on October 29, 2018 | Darakshan Raja and Dr. Maha Hilal, Justice for Muslims Collective

Justice For Muslims Collective (JMC) works to dismantle institutional and structural Islamophobia through programming focused on raising political consciousness and shifting narratives,…

Posted on October 12, 2018 | Claire Cook, ONE DC

ONE DC’s Black Workers and Wellness Center (BWWC) in Anacostia officially opened. The BWWC is affiliated with a national consortium of Black Worker Centers. The BWWC is a resident-led space…

Posted on October 5, 2018 | Parisa Norouzi, Empower DC

Empower DC is a citywide community organization with a 15-year track record of organizing impacted residents and promoting racial, economic and environmental…

Posted on September 17, 2018 | Marisa Stubbs, Critical Exposure

Starting in January 2018, Critical Exposure (CE) joined with DC Alliance for Youth Advocates (DCAYA), and Mikva Challenge to host a youth mayoral forum planned, organized, and led by a 15-member Youth Leadership Team…

Posted on August 22, 2018 | Miguel Castro Luna, Many Languages One Voice (MLOV)

MLOV’s Summer Institute for Student Organizers (SISO) is a six-week leadership training with the intention of bringing political education with hands-on training for English Language Learner (ELL) immigrant youth…

Posted on August 6, 2018 | Khadijah Wilson, Young Women's Project

The Young Women’s Project has been leading the youth organizing and fieldwork of the Vote 16 DC Campaign – educating and mobilizing youth, adults and public officials to support legislation that lowers the DC voting age to 16 for local and national elections…

Posted on June 28, 2018 | Sookyung Oh, NAKASEC

National Korean American Service & Education Consortium works to achieve social, economic, and racial justice, project a progressive voice, and promote the full participation of Korean and Asian Americans within the larger society. Have a look at what they’ve accomplished…

Posted on June 15, 2018 | Jennifer Dwyer, Progressive Maryland

In a criminal justice system in which defendants are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, cash bail causes a massive injustice—the incarceration of individuals who have not yet been tried simply because they cannot afford bail. Over Mother’s Day weekend, Progressive Maryland bailed out six mothers from Prince George’s County jails…

Posted on May 23, 2018 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

Through Equitable Justice, we will support organizations and efforts building the leadership and advocacy capacity of system-impacted women, girls, trans, and gender non-conforming individuals of color to advance equity and change the narrative about who they are, what our criminal justice system is, and what it can be…

Posted on April 27, 2018 | Amanda O'Meara, Weissberg Foundation

At the end of March, a team of Weissberg Foundation trustees and staff traveled to Beloit College in Wisconsin for Weissberg Week, which is part of the Weissberg Program in Human Rights (WPHR) at Beloit…

Posted on | Nina Weissberg, Weissberg Foundation

2018 Women Working for the World Conference: An International Forum for Collaboration on Gender and Development…

Posted on March 26, 2018 | Corinne Goudreault and Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

Feedback from Applicants on Our Grantmaking Process: This second post in our series focuses on feedback we received about our grantmaking process – both what worked and what could be improved…

Posted on March 14, 2018 | Hanh Le and Jayne Park

What would a racially equitable Montgomery County look like? On October 18, 2017 the Racial Equity Working Group of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG) partnered with IMPACT Silver Spring to explore this question…

Posted on March 12, 2018 | Corinne Goudreault and Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

Part 1: Advancing Racial Equity in the DC Area; We are excited to share some key learnings from the early stages of our new Reframing Empowerment Fund! …

Posted on January 19, 2018 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

The Weissberg Foundation has announced the 2018 Reframing <Washington> Empowerment Fund grantees …

Posted on December 20, 2017 | Amanda O'Meara, Weissberg Foundation

At the close of the first year of our Diversity in Theater Initiative, we invited cohort members to share successes and challenges in their work.…

Posted on December 12, 2017 | Hanh Le and Rosie Abriam, AAPIP-Metro DC Chapter

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIP) Metro-DC Chapter Co-Chairs Rosie Abriam and Weissberg Foundation’s Hanh Le reflect on a recent discussion about advancing racial equity…

Posted on September 5, 2017 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

New Frames to Help Us See More Clearly and Do More Effectively Today we launch our new website! This is much more than a website redesign. It’s the official roll-out of our new strategic framework; an announcement of our newest…

Posted on August 31, 2017

NCRP has announced their 2017 Impact Awards acknowledging the work of grantmakers serving as examples of bold, high-impact giving that puts emphasis on leading by example, being true partners to communities they serve and standing up for the most marginalized…

Posted on August 22, 2017

As a social justice foundation deeply committed to advancing racial equity through funding, amplification, capacity building, and collaboration, and as a member of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG), the Weissberg Foundation stands behind this statement on Charlottesville…

Posted on August 11, 2017 | Corinne Goudreault, Weissberg Foundation

Last year, the Foundation kicked off a year-long process to develop a strategic framework for our philanthropy, which we’ll roll out at the end of this summer. First we wanted to share the values that are embedded in the new strategic framework and will guide how we implement it…

Posted on May 17, 2017 | Amanda O'Meara, Weissberg Foundation

With more than 2.3 million Americans behind bars, there is no question that our country has a mass incarceration problem. 1 in 10 African American men in their thirties is imprisoned, 94% of federal prisoners have nonviolent convictions, and 2.7 million children have a parent in jail…

Posted on May 8, 2017 | Hanh Le, Weissberg Foundation

In 2016, the Foundation kicked off a year-long strategic planning process to chart a course for our work over the next several years. In this post Executive Director, Hanh Le, shares the feedback we gathered from our grantees and applicants that’s informing our strategy…

Posted on December 19, 2016 | Nina Weissberg, Weissberg Foundation

Unpacking a social construct as complicated as race takes work, patience, and time. We are exploring diversity and inclusion with the objective of making continued learning of equity, diversity, and inclusion a central theme in all of our future work…

Posted on August 18, 2016

Our 2016-2019 Fund for Diversity in Theater is a $1,000,000 commitment to engage and expand new voices and audiences in DC-area theaters. This initiative includes capacity building support to selected grantees and shared learning with the theater and philanthropic communities…

Posted on July 27, 2016

New York is one of only two states that treats 16 year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system; it’s one of nine that does the same for 17 year-olds. They are often incarcerated far away from families and support systems, leading to a lifetime in the justice system…

Posted on July 15, 2016

Innovative college-in-prison programs have been awarded Second Chance Pell Grants, part of a federal pilot program to sponsor prison education. As many as 12,000 prison inmates will be able to use federal Pell grants to finance college classes…

Posted on June 7, 2016

The Weissberg Foundation is pleased to announce that Hanh Le has joined the staff as our Executive Director! Hanh is a multi-faceted nonprofit leader with extensive experience in the social sector…

Posted on November 12, 2015

This holiday season, the gifts we purchase for our loved ones (and ourselves!) have a global impact no matter what, but by focusing your purchasing power on handcrafted, artisan goods, you can contribute to the empowerment of artists and craftsmen worldwide…