Reframing <Washington>

This program was concluded in 2020.

In 2017 the Foundation launched the Reframing <Washington> program to explore and invest in how power, opportunity, and potential were being built and distributed in the greater Washington region. The program’s Empowerment Fund has supported ten organizations in the DC region tackling racism head-on through advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement to build the economic, political, and social power of those most negatively impacted by racism.

  • Critical Exposure
  • Diverse City Fund
  • Empower DC
  • Identity
  • Justice For Muslims Collective
  • Many Languages One Voice
  • National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) – Virginia
  • ONE DC
  • Progressive Maryland
  • Young Women’s Project

Learn more about our 2018-2020 Empowerment Fund grantees.

As the exploratory Empowerment Fund winds down, we see a need to evolve the initial Reframing <Washington> program into one that will:

1. More boldly and explicitly invest in the strengthening of an infrastructure and culture of power building to advance racial equity.
2. Expand beyond the greater Washington region to include the entire commonwealth of Virginia, where state-wide and state-level advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement are critical to local change.
3. Provide larger grants across a longer time period to support grantees in more sustainably building capacity internally and effecting change externally.

Our new Disrupt, Move, Voice Power (DMV Power) program is grounded in our learning from the Reframing <Washington> Empowerment Fund and will focus on building power of those who have historically been under-resourced in and underserved by social, economic, and political institutions. In particular, the Fund will explore the reclamation of power for those most directly impacted by racism and challenge structures that continually oppress people of color.

Learn more about DMV Power.