United Way NCA Selected by the Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers Initiative

Unrestricted grant of $500,000 will enable United Way of the National Capital Area to address the need for place-based resource hubs that provide children and adults with integrated approaches to mental health, physical health, education and economic opportunity.

Washington, DC (Dec. 16, 2021) – United Way of the National Capital Area (United Way NCA) was selected by Citi Foundation as a recipient of the Community Progress Makers initiative, which supports visionary organizations across the U.S. that are working to connect low-income communities and communities of color to greater social and economic opportunity. As a Community Progress Maker, United Way NCA will receive a multi-year, unrestricted grant of $500,000 and access to technical assistance and a supportive learning community from 2022 – 2023.

Through Citi Foundation’s support, United Way NCA will build its staff capacity to integrate its work across its three program areas; develop and implement a longitudinal evaluation process; test innovate approaches and seed the expansion of new resource hubs. United Way NCA will also produce and disseminate extensive reports that detail the effectiveness of its programs in improving the health, education, and economic outcomes as well as its progress in developing community partnerships, mobilizing resources, and shaping policy in the region.

“It is an honor to be recognized by Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers Grant as a visionary organization that champions collaboration, community connections and critical conversations that advance a more equitable society where everyone in our community has fair and equal access to health, education and economic opportunity,” said Rosie Allen-Herring, President and CEO, United Way of the National Capital Area. “We’re grateful to receive this unrestricted investment that will support programs and partnerships that tackle inequity in its many forms, including food insecurity, homelessness and systemic racism. These funds deepen our ability to support our communities with the highest needs and the most significant lack of access to resources, regardless of their intersectional identities. We strongly believe that when none are ignored, all will thrive.”

The newest cohort of Community Progress Makers includes 50 leading nonprofit organizations selected through a competitive Request for Proposals process, with a strong track record of supporting underserved communities across six U.S. cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C. The Citi Foundation will provide a supportive learning community through which grantees can connect to share best practices and strengthen their work as social change agents. Technical assistance will also be provided by the Urban Institute to help measure the cohort’s impact and progress.

“Six years ago, the Citi Foundation launched Community Progress Makers with a vision of empowering community leaders to grow their transformative impact through unrestricted, trust-based funding,” said Brandee McHale, Head of Community Investing and Development and President of the Citi Foundation. “This kind of approach and support is more important than ever as the U.S. continues to address the root causes and impacts of income and wealth inequality. Through the Community Progress Makers initiative, these social innovators and advocates can continue to look for new ways of addressing long-standing societal challenges at scale.”

From 2015 to 2019, the Citi Foundation has provided $40 million in multi-year, unrestricted funding to 72 Community Progress Makers, helping to place over 45,000 people in affordable housing, train over 33,000 people for employment, save over $10 million in energy costs, and expand over 12,000 small businesses.

Below is a full list of 2021 Community Progress Makers.

Chicago:

Elevate

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago

Proviso Leyden Council For Community Action, Inc.

Urban Growers Collective

Working Credit

Los Angeles:

A Place Called Home

Central City Neighborhood Partners

CHIRLA

Clifford Beers Housing

Enterprise Community Partners

Little Tokyo Service Center

PARS Equality Center Los Angeles

Puente Learning Center

Vermont Slauson Local Development Corporation

Miami:

aīre ventures

Community Justice Project

Health Foundation of South Florida

Miami Workers Center

Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida

Solar and Energy Loan Fund, Inc. (SELF)

YWCA of Greater Miami Dade

New York City:

America on Tech

Ariva, Inc

Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation

Bridge Street Development Corporation

Community League of the Heights

El Puente

Fifth Avenue Committee

Graham-Windham

Habitat for Humanity of New York City and Westchester County

Harlem Stage

Korean-American Community Foundation

Solar One

South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBro)

The Knowledge House

YMCA of Greater New York

San Francisco Bay Area:

Centro Community Partners (Centro)

Chinatown Community Development Center

Community Housing Development Corporation

Homeless Children’s Network

Juma Ventures

Old Skool Café

Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services

Rising Sun Center for Opportunity

Washington, DC:

ACT for Alexandria, A Community Foundation

Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development

Homefree USA

La Cocina VA

Tzedek DC

United Way or National Capital Area

For more information about Community Progress Makers, please visit: www.citifoundation.com/cpm.

About United Way of the National Capital Area

United Way of the National Capital Area works to improve the health, education and economic opportunity of every person in the National Capital community. United Way NCA has been improving lives by creating measurable impact in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties for more than 45 years. In 2020, United Way NCA was among 384 organizations across the United States to receive a generous transformational investment from novelist and venture philanthropist, MacKenzie Scott. For more information about United Way of the National Capital Area, visit UnitedWayNCA.org.

About the Citi Foundation

The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant communities. The Citi Foundation’s “More than Philanthropy” approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.