RSVP Today! DC Kids: Three Years Into COVID - April 26

Please join us for Many Hands' spring education forum on Wednesday, April 26 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Kevin Hinton, CEO and executive director of 2022 Partner Grantee Beacon House, and Jodi Ovca, founder and executive director of 2019 Impact Grantee Access Youth—will join us to talk about how the pandemic has affected the students and families they serve, the support they have been providing throughout this crisis, and what needs to be done to address learning loss, trauma, and the other challenges they face. Stephanie Nealer, former Beijing bureau chief for Voice of America and a Many Hands member, will moderate the discussion.

When: Wednesday, April 26 | 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm | Panel starts at 7:00 pm

Where: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St NW, Washington, DC 20004 | Metro Center (Directions available on our website.)

Who: This event is open to Many Hands members and friends, including the Hogan Lovells community. Invite a friend!

Please register by Sunday, April 23. If you have questions about the event, please email Anna Gunnarsson Pfeiffer at events@manyhandsdc.org.

Save the Date 2023 Annual Meeting - May 18

Mark your calendars on Thursday, May 18 for the Annual Meeting, when representatives of the newly chosen 2023 grantees will join us to talk about their work and respond to questions. At the conclusion of the evening, we will distribute an electronic ballot to all members to determine which organization will receive the 2023 $100,000 Impact Grant and which three will receive Partner Grants of at least $50,000 each.

Many Hands members and their guests are invited to attend the Annual Meeting at Chevy Chase Village Hall or watch the livestream. Doors will open at 6:30 pm; the program will start at 7:00 pm.

There's still time to become a Many Hands member, vote, and support our grantees. Click here to learn more or email Mary Kwak at membership@manyhandsdc.org. If you're already a member, start thinking about your guest list! The Annual Meeting is the perfect time to invite a friend to discover collective giving.

If you're looking for a rewarding opportunity to put your time, talent, and treasure to work, consider service on the Many Hands Board. We welcome expressions of interest on a rolling basis throughout the year. Vacancies may be filled at any time; typically we identify a slate of new directors in the spring.

The Many Hands Board is a working board with fiduciary, legal, and practical duties. The Board carries out organizational oversight and planning, as well as the day-to-day activities necessary to achieve our mission and goals. Directors serve three-year terms and may be re-elected to a second term. Click here for a detailed description of Board responsibilities and other considerations.

The Board is currently recruiting members with interest and expertise in the following areas:

To learn more and express interest in Board service, click here. If you have questions about the nominating process or would like to talk with a current or past Board member before deciding if Board service is right for you, please email Susan Sarver at nominating@manyhandsdc.org.

Many Hands is grateful for every member who offers to serve. As a result of our need to ensure access to a complex range of skills and perspectives, we may not be able to offer a Board position to every member who expresses interest. Members who are not elected this year may be considered in the future.

Gerri Walsh has been a Many Hands member since 2019. She currently serves as senior vice president for investor education at FINRA and as president of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. Before joining FINRA, she worked for more than a decade at the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

As an experienced grantmaker, how do you view the work of Many Hands? One reason I find Many Hands and its mission so appealing is the philanthropic approach that’s built into its values. It’s unfortunate when organizations are certain they have a solution for a community that’s struggling, when in fact the community itself knows what it needs. So I really love the idea of trust-based philanthropy. At Many Hands, we trust the organizations to whom we give our funds to do the right things and to have impact in a way that truly meets the needs of the organization, the community, and the individuals in the community that the organization serves.

Click here to learn more about the inspiration behind Gerri's commitment to investor education, the importance of financial inclusion, and what she gains from being a Many Hands member.

What's on our radar this month:

READ: The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives, and Where We Go Now (PublicAffairs, August 2022)—NPR education reporter Anya Kamenetz paints a vivid picture of the pandemic's toll on children, parents, and caregivers, while exploring the forces and systems that left them so vulnerable in the first place.

WATCH: De-Mystifying Trust-Based Philanthropy—The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project is offering a six-part webinar series addressing common questions and misperceptions. The series starts April 19 and will address such topics as how trust-based philanthropy approaches issues like risk, due diligence, and accountability.

LISTEN: Holy Week: The Story of a Revolution Undone—Vann R. Newkirk II, senior editor at The Atlantic, hosts an eight-part podcast that brings to life the incandescent anger and backlash that swept the country, including Washington, DC, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968.

A new partnership between the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Philanthropy Together aims to survey the landscape of collective giving in the United States. The last landscape study, which was undertaken in 2016, found more than 1,600 giving circles active nationwide, with more than 150,000 members and $1.29 billion in total giving. The 2023 study will examine the goals that members bring to collective giving and evaluate the impact that giving circles have on their members and their communities.

Click here to learn more about the study and complete the individual survey. Share your voice by April 12!

Many Hands leverages the power of collective giving to support nonprofits serving and empowering Washington, DC area women, children, and families in socioeconomic need. Many Hands is a 501(c)(3) organization. EIN: 51-0486987.