This year's Focus Area Committees will review a total of 100 grant applications. The applications are fairly evenly divided among the four committees, with the Economic Empowerment Committee receiving the largest number of proposals at 29. Newly formed for 2021, the Economic Empowerment Committee expands the scope of the former Job Readiness Committee to include several areas that were previously assigned to the Education Committee (shown meeting above), such as college/post-secondary success.

The 2021 applicants range greatly in size, age, and geography. Annual operating budgets range from under $550,000 to $9.3 million, with a median of $1.5 million for all organizations. The newest applicant has been operating for six years, while the oldest organization has served the community for nearly a century. Just over two-thirds of the applicants serve clients in DC; nearly half operate in Maryland; and roughly 40% provide services in Virginia. (These shares sum to more than 100% because many organizations operate in multiple jurisdictions.)

For more information about the Many Hands grants process, including eligibility requirements and Focus Area descriptions, click here. Applications for the 2022 grant cycle will be accepted in fall 2021.

We are excited to announce that Nan Monday, Grants and Communications Manager for 2020 Partner Grantee Homestretch, will join us at our next Coffee & Conversation. Nan will provide an update on Homestretch's work during this challenging time, including the impact of the Many Hands grant, and a glimpse into the pandemic's impact on people experiencing homelessness. In addition, there will be time for connection and casual conversation with fellow members.

When: Thursday, February 25 @ 6:00 pm

Where: Zoom link will be provided to registered attendees

Please contact Membership co-chairs Lynne Battle and Anna Pfeiffer at membership@manyhandsdc.org with questions about Coffee & Conversation or the Book Club (below).

NEW! Member Book Club - Tuesday, March 9

Please join Many Hands for our first Member Book Club! We have selected two books that shine a bright light on the challenges that face women and children living in poverty in the US and the lengths to which they must often go to survive.

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, by Kathryn J. Edin, one of the nation's leading poverty researchers, and H. Luke Shaefer, tells the stories of severely cash-deprived families in Chicago, Cleveland, the Mississippi Delta, and Johnson City, Tennessee, in a manner that is intended both to inspire empathy and to change policy.

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother's Will to Survive is a memoir by Stephanie Land, in which she describes her journey from the middle class to homelessness. President Barack Obama described Maid as "a single mother's personal, unflinching look at America's class divide, a description of the tightrope many families walk just to get by, and a reminder of the dignity of all work."

Read one or both, or parts of each, and join us for what will surely be a rich and open conversation about poverty and income inequality in America.

When: Tuesday, March 9 @ 8:00 pm

Where: Zoom link will be provided to registered attendees

If your background is in finance or accounting, the new Financial Review Committee is a great, flexible way to contribute your professional skills to the grantmaking process. Once the Focus Area Committees have chosen their 12 semifinalists, the Financial Review Committee will review each organization's financials. The commitment is expected to total 8-10 hours beginning at the end of March and ending in mid-April. For more information, please email Grants chair Kathryn Zecca at grants@manyhandsdc.org.

Many Hands Board member Robin Berkley recently sat down (virtually) with Corinne Cannon, founder and executive director of Greater DC Diaper Bank (GDCDB), to talk about how receiving two Many Hands Partner Grants (in 2019 and 2016) has affected her organization. Corinne reported that the 2019 grant of $58,500 helped GDCDB expand its physical footprint by 50%, and, ultimately, serve more than 24,000 families each year--triple the number of families served in 2019. She also complimented Many Hands' grantmaking process: "I have rarely encountered a single funder or a funding group as dedicated and educated as Many Hands. Folks came with incredibly deep knowledge of the nonprofit sector, of the needs of economically vulnerable families, and of the pain points for providing services....Having facetime with a large group of committed philanthropists who truly understand the issues is every executive director's dream!" To read Robin's full interview with Corinne, click here.

Nicole Lynn Lewis, founder and CEO of 2020 Partner Grantee Generation Hope, has written a powerful tale of hope and inspiration in Pregnant Girl: A Story of Teen Motherhood, College, and Creating a Better Future for Young Families, coming out from Beacon Press in May. After becoming pregnant in her senior year of high school, Nicole was told college was no longer an option--advice that she wisely ignored. In her new book, she recounts how she overcame the obstacles in her path and shares the stories of teen parents with whom she has worked.

Pregnant Girl shows how poverty, classism, and systemic racism shape teen pregnancy and identifies programs and policies that can help teen parents earn college degrees, find professional success, and establish a legacy of educational and career achievement for their children.

We look forward to hosting Nicole at a special book preview event on April 22. Watch this space for more details!

In other book news, Robin Berkley joined Generation Hope this week to read two favorite children's titles live on Facebook as part of #GHBedtimeStories, a weekly series created to help college student parents with their bedtime routines. Past readers include broadcast journalist Soledad O'Brien, Trinity Washington University President Patricia McGuire, and Senator Chris Van Hollen. To find out about future events, connect with Generation Hope on Facebook.

2020 Impact Grantee Nourish Now is looking for volunteers to assist them in meeting the needs of families in our community who are suffering from food insecurity as pandemic's impact continues to grow. Nourish Now has individual and group volunteer opportunities for people 16 and older from Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. For more information visit the volunteer tab on their website or, for group volunteer opportunities, email their volunteer coordinator at volunteer@nourishnow.org.

Many Hands is a women's grantmaking organization committed to making a lasting impact on the lives of Washington, DC area women, children, and families in socioeconomic need and to helping its members become well-informed donors. Many Hands is a 501(c)(3) organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. EIN: 51-0486987. Mailing address: Many Hands Inc., PO Box 15048, Chevy Chase, MD 20825.