Meet Our Past Community Grant Awardees
FY23 - Cycle 2 Winners
An Open Book Foundation
An Open Book Foundation exists to provide literacy service to students and has offered more than 12,000 books to nearly 10,000 students from Title I schools. Adding to its plethora of work, the organization seeks to ensure representation by authors and illustrators that are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) by inviting them to participate in interactive workshops and book shares with the students.
Learn more about An Open Book Foundation
Beacon House
Beacon House offers intensive support to Edgewood residents by providing services to improve academic and personal development. The organization serves more than 400 children and youth between the ages of 5-18 years old through its after-school and summer education programs.
Capitol Movement Inc. (CMI)
CMI is committed to offering dance classes which uplift Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). The three primary objectives of the program are to ensure excellence, develop next generation dancers and serve the residents of DC.
Children's Legacy Theatre
The Children's Legacy Theatre theatrical productions incorporate classical and historical plays to encourage teenagers to dream about who they wish to become in life by focusing on positive attributes. During its time of operations, CLT has strived to remain inclusive of youth from all walks of life while providing a safe environment where youth can learn and grow together.
Latin American Youth Center
Latin American Youth Center helps youth to achieve a successful transition into adulthood by providing them with ESL courses, employment opportunities and cultural training. Since its launch, the organization has opened a teen drop-in center, multicultural facility and a case management program.
Live It Learn It
Live It Learn It offers support to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders from Title I schools by encouraging them to learn and grow in various areas of their lives.
Multi-Media Training Institute
Multi-Media Training Institute engages youth and young adults, ages 14-21 years old by offering them a unique opportunity to work on media art productions such as videography, radio broadcasting, technical theater support, journalism and digital marketing.
The MusicianShip
The MusicianShip exists to change lives through music. To achieve this goal, the organization serves more than 1,200 students annually through its Youth Development Program.
Peace Thru Culture, Inc.
Peace Thru Culture, Inc. has provided support to more than 2,000 youth ages 6-18 with programs centered around cultural arts, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), civic engagement and global exposure. The mission of the organization is to build respect, tolerance and understanding among diverse individuals through their programs.
Porchfest DC
Porchfest DC incorperates innovative ways to help community members explore local arts and culture. The program creates a space in which local artists can display their craft, businesses can gain exposure, cultural spaces can be uplifted and DC history can be taught to program attendees.
Sasha Bruce Youthwork
Sasha Bruce Youthwork offers services to over 15,000 homeless youth and their families and has discovered creative ways to bring hope and healing to everyone served. Through its music program, youth are provided with an opportunity to use music to address trauma and process their emotions.
Learn more about Sasha Bruce Youthwork
The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts
The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts seeks to bring high-quality dramatic arts to youth and adults in the Washington metropolitan area. The program provides theatre education to all experience levels and has served more than 2,000 students through its programs.
Learn more about The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts
The Washington Chorus
The Washington Chorus is a three-time nominated and two-time Grammy Award winner. Adding to its work, the organization has performed at the National Symphony Orchestra and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. It currently engages in regular partnership with DC Public Schools through DMV Sings, Side-by-Side high school program and DC Honor Chorus.
YAAY Me Inc.
YAAY Me Inc. provides mentorship, social development, educational support and job readiness to young adults and their families. Adding to its supportive services the organization offers opportunities for young adults to engage in leadership development through involvement in curriculum planning and program support.
Capital City Public Charter School
Capital City Public Charter School High School Soccer Program seeks to develop athletic skills, improve confidence and academic performances.
CapoeiraDC
CapoeiraDC promotes Afro-Brazilian martial arts and empower youth and adults to grow together.
Congress Heights Community Training and Development Corporation (CHCTDC)
CHCTDC was founded for the purpose of improving the quality of life for DC residents in economically depressed areas by providing opportunities that would aid in the reduction of unemployment. The organization has aided in building up the Ward 8 community through multiple activities and projects in partnership with the DC Department of Small & Local Business Development.
Learn more about Congress Heights Community Training and Development Corporation
DC SCORES
DC Scores seeks to create a safe space for students to learn soccer while engaging in the art of poetry. For more than 30 years, the organization has served over 3,000 elementary and middle school students throughout DC. Each year, students participate in soccer matches along with poetry writing and performances.
Fight For Children
Fight For Children seeks to improve the lives of underserved youth in DC by providing them with access to high quality sports programs. In 2018, the organization turned its attention towards strengthening its Sports-Based Youth Development (SBYD) a division which aims to help youth participants create positive relationships with their peers, ignite social and emotional skills and improve performances in sports.
Grassroots Health
Grassroots Health uses sports as a pipeline to promote healthy lifestyle practices among middle school students through the development of health and wellness.
Horizons Greater Washington
Horizons Greater Washington advances educational equity by building long-term partnerships with students, families, communities, and schools to create experiences outside of school that inspire the joy of learning.
Metroball Youth Outreach
Metroball Youth Outreach regularly hosts sports camps, youth travel teams and mentoring programs. During its time of operation, the organization has supported more than 600 students between the ages of 7-18 years old.
NOMIS Youth Network
NOMIS Youth Network believes that children must be given access to opportunities that promote success, foster teamwork, support healthy self-esteem and self-discipline. Since its program started, the organization has supported at-risk youth between the ages of 5-24 years old from Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8.
Open Goal Project
Open Goal Project provides support to low-income families through free soccer training programs along with health and education courses. The mission of the organization is to use soccer as a vehicle for growth for program participants by equipping them with the tools and resources needed to thrive in their lives.
Teens Run DC (TRDC)
TRDC has two fundamental beliefs which continue to shape the vision and direction of the organization: (1) positive change and growth occur within the context of long-term, caring relationships and a welcoming community; and (2) bolstering the physical, social, and emotional well-being of at-risk youth leads to lasting achievement in academics and beyond.
Over the last eleven years, TRDC has grown from a pilot project at one high school serving 19 students to a nationally recognized organization with innovative and research-driven programming, serving around 500 middle and high school students throughout the District of Columbia.
FY23 - Cycle 1 Winners
Angels of Hope Ministries, Inc.
The Angels of Hope Ministries, Inc. incorporates a holistic approach to address the needs of the mind, body and soul. Created to strengthen academic reinforcement, life-skills and character-building programs, the organization has been serving youth and young adults between the ages of 15-30 in selected neighborhoods throughout Wards 7 and 8.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington
Help boys and girls of all backgrounds, especially those who need us most, build confidence, develop character, and acquire the skills needed to become productive, civic-minded, responsible adults.
Building Bridges Across the River
Building Bridges Across the River (Building Bridges) provides residents East of the Anacostia River access to the best-in-class facilities, programs, and partnerships in arts and culture, economic opportunity, education, recreation, health, and well-being.
Dance Institute of Washington, Inc.
The Dance Institute of Washington, Inc. (DIW) was founded in 1987 in Columbia Heights.The organization has grown to become one of the District’s largest African American arts organizations and a cultural resource.
DC Way Academy
DC Way Academy is a Capitol Hill-based travel soccer club, founded in 2013. The organization is dedicated to impacting the development of youth in the community by providing soccer and life-enriching opportunities. The core values of the organization are family oriented, community, affordability, injury prevention, sportsmanship, growing individuals outside of the team and fostering balanced life off the field.
DC Youth Orchestra Program
DCYOP offers group lessons and ensemble training on all orchestral instruments for students ages 4 ½ to 18. More than 600 students participate in group classes, ensemble rehearsals, and performances each semester through DCYOP’s main-site programming at Takoma Education Campus as well as DCYOP’s school partnerships. All concerts are free and open to the public.
East of the River Boys & Girls Steelband, Inc.
East Of The River Boys & Girls Steel band is a music training, performing and touring program for youth 12 to 18 living east of DC's Anacostia River.
The Fishing School
Founded in 1990, The Fishing School (TFS) helps to prepare elementary and middle school students for high school success by improving their academic performance and life skills.
Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute
The Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute (HTCMLI) was founded in 1995. The organization uses children martial arts, traditional Chinese lion dance and Dragon dance to help students stay in school, incorporate healthy practices and stay away from the criminal justice system. HTCMLI has taught more than 2,200 students between the ages of 5-18 and have seen child students transition
into adulthood.
Junior Tennis Champion Center (JTCC)
Founded in 1999, the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) provides high performance premier tennis instruction to motivated junior players in pursuit of college scholarships. In 2009, the organization started “Tennis for Everybody” a program which provides sports opportunities to participants regardless of age, skills and financial status.
Life Pieces to Masterpieces, Inc.
Life Pieces to Masterpieces (LPTM) was co-founded in 1996 by local artists Larry Quick and Mary Brown. The program first launched in the Ward 7 Lincoln Heights community and later established its afterschool home at Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School in Ward 7. LPTM remains committed to its goal of preparing Black boys and young men to transform their lives and communities.
Mikva Challenge DC
Mikva Challenge DC develops youth to be empowered, informed and active community members. After its foundational start in 1998 at four Chicago schools, the program extended its mission to DC community members. Through partnership with teachers, the organization integrates action civics into classrooms and provides students with opportunities to engage in real-life democratic experiences outside of the classroom through initiatives such as Issues to Action, Project Soapbox, Elections in Action, Student Voice Council and Summer Fellowship Programs.
MOVEIUS Contemporary Ballet
The mission of MOVEIUS Contemporary Ballet, DBA Dance Loft on 14, is to catalyze new dance works and expand access to dance and the performing arts in Washington, DC. Founded in 2013, MOVEIUS began as a performance ensemble with successful presentations at the Kennedy Center, Atlas Performing Arts Center and Dance Place.
National Capital Fencers Club
The National Capital Fencers Club (NCFC) was founded in 2011 by coach G. Franklin King and has been competing in up to 10 local and national fencing tournament per year. NCFC uses the sport of fencing to enrich the lives of young people from underserved communities in the DC metropolitan area.
One World Education
The mission of One World Education is to transform students into writers with voice, knowledge and purpose. The organization impacts 5,000 middle school, high school and adult learners in 25 schools across DC. One World was started as the SEED Public Charter School in 2007 and has been an
impactful writing program.
Oye Palaver Hut
Founded in 2003, Oye Palaver Hut (OPH) has used stimulating performing arts activities to lead children and parents to realize their own value, talent and potential. The organization incorporates music, dance, history, literacy and health to address the whole child and family.
The PEN/Faulkner Foundation
The PEN/Faulkner was established in 1980 when National book award winner, Mary Lee Settle created the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. The organization celebrates literature and fosters connections between readers and writers.
Learn more about The PEN/Faulkner
Project Create
Founded in 1994, the mission of Project Create is to provide opportunities for creative youth development through accessible, multidisciplinary arts education. Serving community members in Ward 8, the organization strives to create a “home away from home” in which youth participants can attend afterschool programs, enjoy a prepared meal and engage in communication with caring adults-all while promoting creativity.
Shout Mouse Press
Shout Mouse Press is dedicated to centering and amplifying the voices of marginalized youth, ages 12 and older, through writing workshops, publications and public speaking. Founded in 2014, the organization has built a catalog of 51 diverse and inclusive books by 500 young authors between the ages of 12-24.
Sitar Arts Center
The Sitar Arts Center engages students in affordable, high-quality arts education and workforce development. The organization serves youthbetween the ages of 7-18 from low-income households throughout Wards 1-8.
Studio Acting Conservatory
Studio Acting Conservatory became an independent nonprofit organization in 2018 after its departure from Studio Theatre. Located in the Columbia Heights area, the organization believes that quality actor training should be accessible to all. Each year, the program supports between 250-300 students with expected increases each year.
Teatro de la Luna
Teatro de la Luna was founded in 1991 and has been providing DC residents with high quality theatre in both English and Spanish. The mission of the program is to promote Hispanic culture and foster cross-cultural discussions among participants.
Tech Turn Up
Tech Turn Up was created in response to the lack of mentors of color in the creative technology field. The organization has offered support to more than 40 under-resourced youth from ages 12-17 and have hosted workshops at Howard University, American University and George Mason University. The primary focus of the organization is to assist students with creative technology skills and promote a comprehensive STEM curriculum.
The Washington Ballet
Founded in 1944, the Washington Ballet is committed to its three-part mission to bring the joy of dance to the nation’s capital and the world stage through professional presentation of classic and contemporary ballet. The core objective of the organization is to foster an environment of equality and inclusion.
Washington Performing Arts
The first independent U.S. presenter to become a non-profit organization, Washington Performing Arts (WPA) is guided by its founder’s motto “Everybody in, nobody out.” Over the past 57 years, WPA has led as one of the first local organizations to present world-renowned and diverse artists to meaningful partnerships with DC area community institutions, performance venues and artists.
Words Beats & Life, Inc.
Words Beats & Life (WBL) is on a mission to transform lives and communities through Hip Hop culture in the forms of emceeing, deejaying, graffiti, street art, spoken word poetry, dance, beat production and knowledge of self. Over the last 20 years, WBL has developed a framework around four key principles-arts education, creative employment, cultural diplomacy and centering marginalized voices.
Young Playwrights' Theatre
The Young Playwrights Theater (YPT) inspires young people to realize the power of their own voices. The organizations believe that creative expression and theater are valuable tools for education, enrichment and self-actualization among young participants.
FY22 - Cycle 2 Winners
An Open Book Foundation
An Open Book Foundation provides literacy support through collaboration with authors and illustrators to host writing workshops, science demonstrations and art projects to students in Title 1 schools across all 8 Wards. Each year, AOB hosts over 150 events and donates more than 12,000 books to students and libraries.
After-School All Stars, Washington DC (ASAS DC)
After-School All-Stars provides programs and transformative opportunities that help students develop the skills, knowledge, and habits needed to succeed in life, school, and their future career. We deliver comprehensive, community-oriented programs to under-resourced students in five program areas: health and fitness, academic readiness, STEM, career exploration and visual & performing arts.
Children's Legacy Theatre
Children’s Legacy Theatre (CLT) creates extraordinary theater experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire teens to dream and connect to different cultures and ideas. Through our presentation of classical and historical plays, youth question and explore the complex world, composing and directing their own plays, thus, producing positive contributing members to society.
Empowerment Enterprise 2
Empowerment Enterprise 2 (EE2) seeks to empower individuals and change communities. We create sustainable change by providing community enrichment through programing that is focused on youth development, HIV/AIDS prevention, Life Skill development and community development. EE2 was founded in 2008 and is located at 5201 Ames St NE, Washington, DC 20019. EE2 is a 501c3 tax exempt organization that sets out to impact communities through equipping individuals with viable skills.
Gearin' Up Bicycles
Gearin’ Up Bicycles’ purpose is to create career development opportunities and teach essential workplace skills to youth from under-served communities, while encouraging cycling as a practical, healthy means of transportation. Gearin’ Up provides access to quality, affordable, used bicycles for those in need and hosts various community outreach programs throughout the year. Our community-focused organization focuses on four pillars to achieve our mission: job training, refurbished bicycles, experiential education and community engagement.
Horton's Kids
Horton’s Kids empowers children growing up in DC’s most under-resourced communities so that they graduate from high school ready for success in college, career, and life. We serve 600 children and their families living in Wellington Park & Stanton Oaks – neighborhoods that have been profoundly impacted by decades of disinvestment and barriers to opportunity.
Horizons Greater Washington
We advance educational equity by building long-term partnerships with students, families, communities, and schools to create experiences outside of school that inspire the joy of learning.
Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens
Welcome to the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post, where every visitor is greeted with an experience inspired by the life of its founder and her passion for excellence, gracious hospitality, art, history, and gardens.
Whether you are a first-time visitor or long-time member, there is always something new to discover at Hillwood. Most guests spend close to three hours enjoying all that Hillwood has to offer.
Latin American Youth Center
Our mission is to empower a diverse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood through multi-cultural, comprehensive, and innovative programs that address youths’ social, academic, and career needs.
The MusicianShip
The MusicianShip’s mission is to change lives by facilitating music lessons, experiences, and opportunities to benefit those who need us most. At our core, we are a youth development organization that offers a wide range of music education programs, geared towards enriching the lives of students, their families, and the communities in which they live. Our After-school, Summer, Master Class, and Ensemble Programs, such as the Washington Youth Choir, serve youth ranging from 5 years old all the way through the age of 24. And while we are based in Washington, DC, we reach students as far as South Africa, Paris, and Sint Maarten.
The Nicholson Project
The Nicholson Project is an artist residency program coupled with a neighborhood garden that works to support artists and serve as a creative and innovative cultural hub. We aim to become a community anchor that celebrates the community’s authentic identity while infusing new vibrancy into Southeast DC.
NOMIS Youth Network
NOMIS Youth Network provides physical health and sports programming services, health and wellness guidance, and counseling and mentoring to at-risk youth in D.C. Operating since 2004, NOMIS moved into the new Boxing Community Center in Ward 7, PSA 507, in January 2015. Those who attend the NOMIS programs come from all over D.C., but predominantly from Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8, and Capitol Hill.
NOMIS Youth Network programs include an After-School Boxing Academy, Elite Boxing Team, and two summer camps. Our students are welcome to visit the facility anytime to workout, hangout, and socialize with their peers.
Open Goal Project
To create opportunities for young players from low-income families and underserved communities to access high-level soccer and grow with the game, on and off the field, to provide resources that empower those players and families to navigate the costs and overcome hidden barriers associated with playing, and to use soccer as a vehicle for cultural enrichment, higher educational opportunities, and greater life experiences.
We’re here to make U.S. youth soccer more equitable and more diverse. we’re here to give black and brown kids a real opportunity to reach the highest levels of the game.
Peace Thru Culture, Inc.
Our mission is to build tolerance, respect, and understanding among humans through interactive cultural education, STEM, civics, and global exposure.
Smart Activities for Fitness and Education (S.A.F.E.)
Smart Activities for Fitness and Education (S.A.F.E.) is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 community youth sports development organization that uses tennis programs to provide opportunities for youth in the District of Columbia to build their character and self-esteem and improve their academic performance. Through comprehensive tennis and educational programs and cultural enrichment activities, S.A.F.E. encourages youth to make better choices and teaches youth to become confident, responsible, and valuable members of their community.
Learn more about Smart Activities for Fitness and Education (S.A.F.E).
Step Afrika! USA Incorporated
Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities; traditional African dances; and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into a cohesive, compelling artistic experience. Performances are much more than dance shows; they integrate songs, storytelling, humor and audience participation. The blend of technique, agility, and pure energy makes each performance unique and leaves the audience with their hearts pounding.
Shaw Main Streets, Inc.
Shaw Main Streets is an award-winning commercial revitalization and historic preservation nonprofit organization that has facilitated the community-driven redevelopment of Washington, DC’s Shaw neighborhood since 2003.
The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts
The Theatre Lab’s uniquely nurturing, inclusive environment is felt through small classes that stress personal and artistic growth. We set high expectations for students at all skill levels and we believe that all students have limitless potential. Theatre Lab classes boost success on stage and off by teaching skills applicable to a career in theatre or elsewhere. Students and parents tell us that Theatre Lab classes result in heightened confidence, flexibility, social ease, and ability to work on a team. These benefits power success on the larger stage of life, not only in the theatre.
Learn more about The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts
Teens Run DC (TRDC)
TRDC was founded in 2009 with two fundamental beliefs, which continue to shape the vision and direction of the organization: (1) positive change and growth occur within the context of long-term, caring relationships and a welcoming community; and (2) bolstering the physical, social, and emotional well-being of at-risk youth leads to lasting achievement in academics and beyond.
Over the last eleven years, TRDC has grown from a pilot project at one high school serving 19 students to a nationally recognized organization with innovative and research-driven programming, serving around 500 middle and high school students throughout the District of Columbia.
The STAND Foundation
The STAND Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports marginalized youth in the DMV area. Our programs are strategically designed to provide the mental, emotional, social, physical, and developmental needs of the children we serve.
FY22 - Cycle 1 Winners
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington
Help boys and girls of all backgrounds, especially those who need us most, build confidence, develop character, and acquire the skills needed to become productive, civic-minded, responsible adults.
Building Bridges Across the River
Building Bridges Across the River (Building Bridges) provides residents East of the Anacostia River access to the best-in-class facilities, programs, and partnerships in arts and culture, economic opportunity, education, recreation, health, and well-being.
Capitol Hill Arts Workshops
CHAW’s mission of “building community through the arts” is rooted in the belief that art and community-building are synergistic. A diverse constituency creates more dynamic art experiences, and more dynamic art experiences engender greater empathy by giving rise to myriad voices in a highly collaborative and creative environment. Our goals are to uplift local arts and artists, promote artistic literacy, and share creative resources. Collectively, this sets the stage for our vision: “to connect and transform.” This mechanism for propelling social change is at the heart of all we do: better art makes better justice. We offer instruction in the visual and performing arts for students of all ages and abilities; artist residencies; and outreach. We also produce public art. Classes are taught by professional artists and educators. Our youth programs include after-school courses, camps, outreach workshops, and internships. In our history, we have never turned a person or organization away for an inability to pay.
Our constituency spans a wide income range but is primarily concentrated in Ward 6. In a typical year we serve approximately 5000 people both directly through our in-house programs and outreach, and indirectly through the many non-profits that call CHAW their home, as well as through partnerships with a wide variety of community organizations and schools.
Collaborative Solutions for Communities
Originally founded in 1996 as the Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative, Collaborative Solutions for Communities (CSC) is a DC-based organization committed to helping families and neighborhoods realize a brighter future through engagement and support. At CSC, our vision is simple - to empower urban neighborhoods to become environments where families and youth flourish.
Over the early history of CSC, our work primarily focused on providing services to neighborhoods of Wards 1 & 2 in Washington, D.C. In recent years we have expanded to provide critical services to residents, families and neighborhoods throughout DC and beyond. We believe that the solution-focused approach we use has the power to impact the lives of people of all locales and ethnicities.
DC Youth Orchestra Program
DCYOP offers group lessons and ensemble training on all orchestral instruments for students ages 4 ½ to 18. More than 600 students participate in group classes, ensemble rehearsals, and performances each semester through DCYOP’s main-site programming at Takoma Education Campus as well as DCYOP’s school partnerships. All concerts are free and open to the public.
GALA Inc.
GALA (Grupo de Artistas LatinoAmericanos) Hispanic Theatre is a National Center for Latino Performing Arts in the nation’s capital. Since 1976, GALA has been promoting and sharing the Latino arts and cultures with a diverse audience, creating work that speaks to communities today, and preserving the rich Hispanic heritage for generations that follow. By developing and producing works that explore the breadth of Latino performing arts, GALA provides opportunities for Latino artist, educates youth, and engages the entire community in an exchange of ideas and perspectives.
Hung Tao Choy Mei
Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute is a 501(c)(3) leadership development organization focusing on developing life-long skills for adults and children of Washington, DC. Since its establishment in 1995, and incorporation as a nonprofit in 2003, HTCMLI has put the community back into martial arts.
Life Pieces to Masterpieces
Life Pieces To Masterpieces uses artistic expression to develop character and leadership, unlock potential, and prepare Black boys and young men to transform their lives and communities.
Our vision is that our boys and young men will be catalysts for positive change in the world.
Midtown Youth Academy
Midtown Youth Academy is a boxing gym for youth that aims to promote success in education and wellness through boxing. For over 45 years, the organization has served as a safe haven for thousands of inner-city youth and neighbors. It was the dream of Mr. Hughes and still is the organization’s goal, for Midtown Youth Academy to live long and continue to stand strong as “A Balance in the Community”.
Moveius Contemporary Ballet
MOVEIUS Contemporary Ballet’s mission is to catalyze new choreography in the National Capital area, and to increase opportunities for dancers, audiences, and students to experience dance and the performing arts. They manage both an innovative dance performance company and a trailblazing facility with its own artistic and community programming.
Shaw Community Center
Founded in 1991, Shaw Community Center’s mission is to enhance the lives and expand the opportunities of Shaw residents in NW DC. As a 30-year community anchor and the sole, remaining community-based afterschool program in Shaw, our Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) families have relied upon the “Center” as a place for refuge, talk, and emotional support. As a direct result of listening to the community, they developed program services in accordance with what they say they need – not what they want to provide. In return, families have developed a “currency of trust” that cannot be bought or faked.
Years ago, SCC realized that arts and humanities program would be key to its success - that by creating a cultural knowledge store grounded in Black heritage and instilling pride in their cultural identity they could promote connection and investment within the Shaw community. Today, as a recognized arts organization, SCC integrates the arts and humanities into its programs starting with the youngest, who receive weekly art instruction and participate in a number of cultural activities throughout the year and culminating in a workforce development program in which older youth, among other things, learn Afrocentric design, create a culturally - informed fashion line, and act as brand representatives, models, and social media influencers.
SOUL Program
SOUL (Student-Athletes Organized to Understand Leadership) connects high school-aged youth who are involved in sports to diverse opportunities that build the life skills needed to succeed in academics and careers. They do this by engaging students in our six core programs including College Access Study Hall, Sister Circle, Young Men’s Roundtable, Sustainability Education, and College 101. Through these programs, they assist students with their academic, interpersonal, and professional development. They place great emphasis on providing our student-athletes with the resources required to be critical thinkers, effective communicators, problem-solvers, self-advocates, and practitioners of positive sportsmanship. They encourage student-athletes to take the lessons they have learned in life and through SOUL programs to reimagine the future.
Teatro de la Luna
Teatro de la Luna was founded in 1991 whose purpose is to provide the Washington capital area –both to its Spanish-speaking community and to its English-speaking community as well – with a source of high-quality theater as seen from a Latin American perspective. Its mission is to promote Hispanic culture and foster cross-cultural understanding between the Spanish- and English-speaking communities of the region via Spanish-language theater and bilingual performing arts. They forward our mission by producing plays, teaching theater workshops to adults and children, organizing poetry marathons, and by producing International Festivals of Hispanic Theater. All these activities provide opportunities for community dialogue, participation, reflection, and support.
Their vision is for a living, working theater with salaried actors, that trains Hispanic and non-Hispanic actors and theater technicians, provides bilingual theater-related workshops and camps for children and teens, promotes the beauty of the Spanish language, and introduces new and unique forms of Hispanic theater to the greater Washington area.
The Fishing School
Their mission is to prepare elementary and middle school youth for success in high school and life by improving their academic performance and life skills; and engaging them and their parents in intensive, multi-year, and research-based out-of-school and parental engagement programs and activities.
Washington Performing Arts
Washington Performing Arts champions the arts as a unifying force. Through collaborations with artists, educators, community leaders, and institutional partners, they bring wide-ranging artistic programs to stages, schools, and neighborhoods throughout our nation’s capital and, with our virtual platform, share our work throughout the world.
One of the most established and honored performing arts institutions in America, Washington Performing Arts has engaged for more than half a century with artists, audiences, students, and civic life. The city is truly their stage: for decades, in venues ranging from concert halls and clubs to public parks, they have presented a tremendous range of artists and art forms, from the most distinguished symphony orchestras to both renowned and emerging artists in classical music, gospel music, jazz, culturally-specific genres, dance, and more. They also have an ever-expanding artistic and educational presence on the internet, envisioning ongoing opportunities for online connection and community.
Young Playrights' Theater
Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT) is a community-responsive organization that inspires young people to realize the power of their own voices.
Since 1995, YPT has served young people across the Washington, DC region with high-quality arts education programs, production of plays and performances written by young people, professional development for educators, and antiracism initiatives with arts organizations
FY21 - Cycle 2 Winners
D.C. Creative Writing Workshop
The D.C. Creative Writing Workshop, based in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Southeast D.C., unites parents, teachers and students to create a literary renaissance in this often ignored part of the city.
Since 1995, when Charles Hart Junior High became the first school in Washington to have an extra-curricular creative writing program, the Workshop’s writers-in-residence have introduced thousands of students to the joys of self-expression and the written word, opening for them a world of opportunity that exists outside of the historically neglected area in which they live.
While continuing to serve Hart, now a middle school, the Workshop expanded its programs in 2004 to neighboring Ballou High School and Simon Elementary. Students from these schools and nearby charter schools have attended readings, plays and other literary events, won hundreds of writing awards, and enjoyed a wealth of new experiences not otherwise available to young people in Ward 8.
DC SCORES
DC SCORES creates neighborhood teams that give kids the confidence and skills to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom, and in life.
DC Strings Workshop
DC Strings Workshop is a dynamic and versatile chamber orchestra composed of musicians committed to presenting high-level concerts to diverse audiences.
D.O.L.L.S & DREAMS INC.
Daughters Overcoming Life's Lessons (D.O.L.L.S) & DREAMS INC is a 501(c)(3) that delivers quality life skills and educational support to girls and young women whose life's experiences has prevented them from reaching their full potential by achieving set goals for themselves.
Learn more about D.O.L.L.S. & DREAMS INC.
Dreaming Out Loud
DOL is rebuilding urban, community-based food systems through cooperative social enterprise: increasing access to healthy food, improving community health, supporting entrepreneurs and cooperatives from low-income communities; and creating opportunities for at-risk residents to earn sustainable, family-supporting wages and build wealth. We believe that all communities deserve equal access to fresh, healthy food choices, but that achieving this requires moving beyond the “access” paradigm to a focus on community self-determination and food sovereignty. We are working to create an integrated pipeline to jobs, economic opportunity, and community wealth-building for our most marginalized communities, utilizing the food system as the catalyst.
East of the River Steelband
East Of The River Boys & Girls Steel band is a music training, performing and touring program for youth 12 to 18 living east of DC's Anacostia River.
Horton's Kids
Horton’s Kids empowers children growing up in DC’s most under-resourced communities so that they graduate from high school ready for success in college, career, and life. We serve 500 children in grades K-12 living in Wellington Park & Stanton Oaks – neighborhoods that have been profoundly impacted by decades of disinvestment and barriers to opportunity.
National Capital Fencers Club
The National Capital Fencers Club is one of two Fencing Clubs located in Washington, D.C. and the only non-profit fencing club. This small, independent fencing club serves the Washington metropolitan area (DC / MD / VA), and specializes in saber fencing.
Nomis Youth Network
Sports based intervention services to inner city youth as an alternative to crime and gang activity.
Peace thru Culture
Peace thru Culture provides cultural enrichment programs for children and youth in under-resourced communities.
Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) Education Foundation
Educated Eats is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the restaurant & foodservice industry as a career of unlimited opportunity!
Teens Run DC
Teens Run DC Empowers Youth to envision and work toward the achievement of personal goals through a distance running, mentoring, and social emotional learning program.
Dance Institute of Washington
Dance Institute of Washington (DIW) is the leading minority-led, pre-professional dance equity organization in Washington, DC. DIW supports students from underserved communities, balancing artistic excellence at the highest level while building life-long skills and confidence through compassion, empowerment, academic discipline, emotional support and nutritional guidance. Through our innovative DIW Barnes Method, the industry’s proven model, our efforts impact and inspire racial and economic equity in dance locally, nationally and across the globe.
The Theatre Lab
The Theatre Lab is DC’s largest and most comprehensive independent institution for dramatic arts training. We offer classes for all ages and levels of experience in a wide range of styles, including drama, comedy, musical theatre and film.
The TraRon Center
Helping those affected by gun violence heal through the arts.
Visionaries of Creative Arts, Inc.
Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC presenting the talents of deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing artists through various forms of creative arts.