24 Washington-Area Nonprofits That Help Local Causes

When you give money to a charity, what is it actually used for? Here are 24 nonprofits recommended in this year’s Catalogue for Philanthropy Greater Washington—and how your donation could help someone in need.

Education

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Reach for College!

$125 buys: Application fees and postage for two cash-strapped DC college applicants.

Higher Achievement

$500 buys: An overnight college visit for four academically motivated but economically disadvantaged students in the District.

Future Link

$1,000 buys: An employer match that, together with the donation, finds a three-month internship for an at-risk, disadvantaged Montgomery County student.

Essential Services

Nourish Now

$100 buys: Prepared meals for 100 people in need in Montgomery County, using “rescued” food from licensed providers that would otherwise go to waste.

Arlington Thrive

$250 buys: Same-day emergency assistance for Arlington residents, such as dental work for one uninsured person.

DC Center for the LGBT Community

$1,000 buys: Funding for DC’s only LGBTQ violence-response hotline for three weeks.

Community Arts

American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras

$500 buys: Sponsorship for one pair of Music Buddies, which partners an AYPO student musician with a financially disadvantaged peer needing music lessons at Alexandria’s T.C. Williams High School.

Art Works Now

$1,000 buys: A year of art classes for a student with developmental disabilities at the group’s Mount Rainier headquarters.

The Dance Institute of Washington

$5,000 buys: A year of pre-professional dance classes for five at-risk students in the District.

Veterans & Military Families

Our Military Kids

$100 buys: A season of sports-team fees for the child of a National Guard or Reserve member deployed overseas.

Operation Second Chance

$500 buys: Emergency travel for a family member to visit a wounded soldier at military hospitals such as Walter Reed medical center.

thanksusa

$3,000 buys: One college, technical-school, or vocational-training scholarship for a military spouse or child.

Personal Safety

District Alliance for Safe Housing

$100 buys: New security locks for one domestic-violence survivor in DC.

Crossway Community

$1,000 buys: Furnishings for a one-bedroom apartment for a vulnerable mother and her children in Washington.

Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project

$5,000 buys: Legal representation to appeal an unsafe-custody ruling
for a local victim of domestic violence.

Women & Girls

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Young Ladies of Tomorrow

$100 buys: Two weeks of transportation to afterschool programs for girls who have been or are at risk of being in trouble with the law.

Girls on the Run of Northern Virginia

$500 buys: Financial aid to support three Northern Virginia elementary- and middle-school girls enrolled in a ten-week running program that also teaches life skills and goal-setting.