December 2021 Newsletter
MANY HANDS UPDATES
Join Us for 2022!
As you consider your year-end giving, we hope you will include Many Hands in your plans. This past year, gifts from donors like you allowed us to provide more than $315,000 in flexible support to four outstanding, small, local nonprofits. These grants are funding housing for survivors of domestic violence, tutoring for students in schools disrupted by COVID, transformative play for children experiencing homelessness, and job training for immigrant women and others looking for a fresh start. (Scroll to the bottom for an update on our 2021 Impact Grantee, The Homeless Children's Playtime Project.)

If this is the type of impact you want your giving to achieve, we invite you to become a Many Hands member with a gift of $1,000 or more ($500 for members under 35). We gratefully accept gifts by credit card, check, and donor advised fund through our website, which also offers several monthly payment plans. If you would like to set up an employer-sponsored match, or to make a gift of securities or as a distribution from an IRA, please contact Margaret Vassilikos at treasurer@manyhandsdc.org. (Please consult a financial advisor about these options.) If you have questions about membership, please contact Lynne Battle and Wendy Gray at membership@manyhandsdc.org.
More Ways to Give
A Many Hands membership makes a wonderful ecofriendly gift for the philanthropist in your life! Instead of a candle or fruitcake, consider the gift of membership or a gift at any level in honor of a friend. To donate now, click here.
Already a member? Recruit just one friend and double your impact! Our new toolkit makes it easy, with sample email language, links to videos and the latest Impact Report, facts and figures, and more. Contact us at membership@manyhandsdc.org to receive your copy.
Grant Review Begins in January
Members who have joined by December 31 will be eligible to serve on a 2022 Focus Area Committee (FAC). Don't miss the deadline--join today!
The four FACs meet from January to April; each selects one grantee. In May, Many Hands members vote to decide which of the four will receive the $100,000 Impact Grant.

Meeting information for this year's FACs appears below. Two committees will meet in person, subject to local and CDC health guidelines, and two will meet on Zoom. We will provide details about policies for in-person meetings, as well as our new sign-up procedure and other aspects of the FAC process, in an email to current and recent members on December 15. Please contact us at membership@manyhandsdc.org with any questions.
Economic Empowerment Committee
When: Thursday mornings
Where: Chevy Chase, MD

Education Committee
When: Tuesday evenings
Where: via Zoom
Health Committee
When: Wednesday mornings
Where: via Zoom

Housing Committee
When: Tuesday mornings
Where: Bethesda, MD
Racial Equity Learning Series Concludes--Work Continues
We are grateful to everyone who participated in "Head, Heart, and Hands" this fall. Series participants engaged at many levels with the relationship between racial equity and our work as a primarily white collective giving circle, while connecting more deeply with other members. To read a summary of the sessions and access the resources we've compiled to accompany the series, click here. Please also read below about upcoming listening sessions that will continue our diversity, equity, and inclusion work.
MEMBERS CORNER
Member Listening Sessions - December 13 & 14
All current and recent (2021) members are warmly invited to participate in one of two listening sessions led by Conditioning Leaders consultant Brianna Boggs. These small group conversations will focus on the member experience through the lens of belonging, equity, inclusion, and diversity (BEID). Together with the results of the survey members completed in September, this feedback will help identify areas where we are doing well and where we can improve.

Please sign up for one of the following sessions by December 10:
  • Monday, December 13, 10:00 am-11:00 am, on Zoom
  • Tuesday, December 14, 4:00 pm-5:00 pm, on Zoom

We hope to hear from a broad cross-section of the membership, so please share your voice! BIPOC members who prefer to meet informally as a group with Board members Karen Murrell and Mary Kwak are invited to email president@manyhandsdc.org to coordinate a time.
The ABCs of FACs - Sunday, January 9
Current Many Hands members are invited to join us for a virtual Coffee & Conversation on Sunday, January 9 at 3:00 pm to learn more about serving on a Focus Area Committee. The event will include an overview of the FAC process and the opportunity to meet this year's FAC chairs. Bring your coffee and your questions!
Member Spotlight and Book Review: Winners Take All
Since joining Many Hands in 2013, Elizabeth Bausch has served on and chaired numerous Focus Area Committees, as well as serving on the Board. We asked Elizabeth to tell us more about herself and her history with Many Hands and, as an avid reader, to recommend a recent title related to Many Hands' work.

Why did you join Many Hands? After spending many years focused on my family and (then) young children, I wanted to broaden my perspective, learn more about what was happening in my community, and get to know the nonprofits working to address the complex challenges in our area. Mission accomplished! What focus area attracts you most? They're like my children--I love them equally. However, I have a particular fondness for Housing since I believe a safe, healthy, and affordable home is the foundation for building a stable life. How do you stay inspired? I am inspired by the many very talented leaders I have met through Many Hands who dedicate their lives to the betterment of our community. Their creativity, energy, and passion are inspiring and make me want to do all that I can to support their work.

Elizabeth shared her thoughts on Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas, explaining that the book "really influenced how I think about philanthropy and the systemic issues that keep us trapped in a culture of inequality." She describes the book as an incisive critique of how corporate and private philanthropy have been used to burnish the image of companies and individuals who actively work against the systemic change that is so desperately needed to achieve a more equitable society. To learn more, click here.

We'd love to feature your Many Hands story and book recommendations in an upcoming newsletter! Please reach out to Charis Keitelman at communications@manyhandsdc.org.
GRANTEE NEWS
Catching Up with The Homeless Children's Playtime Project
As 2021 comes to a close, we remain thankful for our ability to support incredible organizations like The Homeless Children's Playtime Project, the 2021 recipient of the $100,000 Impact Grant. Many Hands Board member Robin Berkley spoke recently with Playtime's founder and executive director, Jamila Larson, to learn more about the evolution of Playtime's work, the impact of the pandemic, and the importance of Many Hands funding. "The general operating funds we received from Many Hands help us plan strategically and shift suddenly when we need to," Jamila expained. "As Playtime expands, we need to be flexible. We need to be focused. We need to follow the children as we always have."

Jamila also spoke eloquently about the importance of advocacy to Playtime's work: "Our commitment to the families we serve requires an eye towards social justice. It requires us not just to serve and meet immediate needs, but to use our expertise to help change the system that produces so many homeless children in the richest nation on earth. As direct service providers, we believe we have an ethical responsibility to work our way out of business." To read more from the interview, click here.
 
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.