Coordinating Equitable Efforts to Address Student Engagement and Learning Loss
Monday, March 8th
2:30pm-3:30pm | Virtual Event
Hosted by the Children, Youth, Families, and Education Working Group
As critical decisions are being made by District leaders to address a range of student engagement challenges– learning loss, reopening plans, and summer programming– we're hosting a conversation with philanthropic and organizational leaders to determine how we can maximize incoming federal funding by ensuring greater coordination of public-private resources.
Featured Speaker: Kim Perry, Executive Director, DC Action
This call is open to all.
Friday Philanthropy Call
Friday, March 12th
10:00am-11:00am | Virtual Event
WRAG hosts a monthly call on topics relevant to the DMV philanthropy community. This call is open to all DMV funders. Registering for this event will automatically register you for all upcoming Friday Philanthropy Calls.
In honor of Women's History Month, we will discuss the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on women in the DMV, highlighting the experiences of BIPOC women.
Speakers:
- Claudia Williams, Program Officer, Washington Area Women's Foundation
- Alana C. Brown, Executive Director, The Safe Sisters Circle
More speakers to be announced!
Please note this call is for funders only.
In February, WRAG Featured #BlackPhilanthropyLeaders on our Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram for #BlackHistoryMonth. We are proud to work with and uplift the voices of so many established and emerging leaders in the DMV philanthropy sector. 
Check out our social media to learn more about the leaders we featured!
Looking For Shared Office Space?
WRAG is currently seeking subtenants for our space at the Navy Yard! Do you know of a nonprofit or foundation with a racial equity integrated mission that is looking for temporary office space? If so, we would love to chat with them in the new year and provide a socially distanced tour. #maskup. Reach out to our Interim CEO Ruth LaToison Ifill at latoisonifill@washingtongrantmakers.org.
#WRAGMember Spotlight
The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) has released a "MEAF Brief" titled Disability Employment Challenges and Opportunities resulting from COVID-19. The publication highlights the difficulty schools, nonprofits, and businesses have had in helping youth with disabilities attain and maintain jobs during the pandemic, but also identifies areas of opportunity to help improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
The brief, developed in consultation with the Foundation’s grant recipients and recognized experts in disability employment, is the second in a series. The first brief, released last October, was titled Distance Learning Strategies to Include and Empower Youth with Disabilities.
Action and Advocacy
Virginia Introduces First-Ever Statewide Strategic Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Governor Ralph Northam recently unveiled ONE Virginia, a first-in-the-nation statewide strategic plan to advance visible diversity, equity, and inclusion across state government.
“To truly move forward as a Commonwealth, we must prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion as our collective goals,” said Governor Northam. "The ONE Virginia Plan is a strategic blueprint to institutionalize equity across state government and effectively address deeply-rooted structural and systemic barriers to access and opportunity. This roadmap will ensure our efforts are accompanied by accountability, measurable results, and sustained impact, and help make Virginia the best place to live, work, visit, and thrive.”
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Other Upcoming Events
Redistricting in Virginia: What Foundations Need to Know and Our Response
Hosted by Virginia Advocacy Funders
Friday, March 19th
9:30am-11:00am | Virtual Event
SPEAKERS:
- Cathy Duvall, Fair Representation in Redistricting, Funders Committee for Civic Participation
- Vik Malhotra, Fair Representation in Redistricting, Funders Committee for Civic Participation
- Nick Rathod, President & CEO, UpRising Strategies
We will also discuss ways foundations could support community power and movement building in Virginia through grantmaking and beyond grantmaking.
Redistricting has been used as a means through which communities of color and other disadvantaged groups have been marginalized; yet, this process could also be a tool for redistributing power to end disparities and demand justice.
The redistricting process in Virginia offers the possibility of either strengthening democracy and representation in Virginia or cementing racialized gerrymandering and slowing progress on every issue foundations and nonprofits care about - from racial justice to environmental justice, from educational equity to worker power, and much more. Redistricting in Virginia reflects the need for civic engagement around the process to build grassroots power, advance racial equity, and ensure truly representative government in which advocates can effectively pursue justice.
ACT for Alexandria, Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties, Consumer Health Foundation, Greater Washington Community Foundation, Meyer Foundation, Prince Charitable Trusts, Virginia Plus, Weissberg Foundation, and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
Issue Forum: Leading Systems Change
Insights from Nonprofit Leaders in the Field
Hosted by Georgetown University, McCourt School of Public Policy, Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership
Wednesday, March 24th
4:00pm-5:00pm | Virtual Event
Join Georgetown University’s Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership for an Issue Forum on How to Lead Systems Change. In this important time of transition, it is imperative that we work to create sustainable change for a more equitable and just society. With a panel featuring nonprofit leaders Tram Nguyen, Co-Executive Director of New Virginia Majority, Tiffini Andorful, Senior Director of Network Engagement at CityBridge Education, and Carolynn Brunette, Managing Director of Prince Charitable Trusts, we will explore questions including:
- What does it take to build sustained power in communities?
- How does data help illuminate inequities and drive systems change?
- How can funders develop trust-based, flexible strategies to support leaders of systems change?
In light of major crises facing our nation in 2020—the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing racial injustice—finding answers to these questions is even more pressing.
We encourage you to review our newly released report, How to Lead Systems Change Work
Speakers:
- Tiffini Andorful, Senior Director of Network Engagement, CityBridge Education
- Tram Nguyen, Co-Executive Director, New Virginia Majority
- Carolynn Brunette, Managing Director, Prince Charitable Trusts
Racial Equity Framework: The Onion Dialogues
Hosted by #WRAGMember Community Foundation for Loudoun and North Fauquier Counties
Thursday, April 29th and Friday, April 30th
9:00am-11:30am | Virtual Event
Cost: $35 | Participants must attend both days
The Onion Dialogues workshop, presented by WRAG Board Member Amy Owen and former WRAG CEO Tamara Copeland, provides participants the opportunity to explore and normalize conversation about race. Just as an onion has many layers, The Onion Dialogues engages participants in a multi-faceted discussion about race. Exploring topics such as language, systemic racism throughout US history, microaggressions, white fragility, and more, Amy Owen and Tamara will lead participants through an interactive dialogue in this two-day introductory workshop.
The Onion Dialogues will be delivered via Zoom.
Eligibility
This offering of The Onion Dialogues is open to any community member. However, seating is limited to 17 participants and tickets are sold on a first-come-first-serve basis.
An important part of The Onion Dialogues is the interaction between the participants. Therefore, it is recommended that attendees plan to participate by video as well as audio.