FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE // Contact: Sharon Dennis // sdennis@impact100dc.org
Washington, DC – September 23, 2021
Impact100 DC President Ann Vaughn; Access Youth Founder and CEO Jodi Ovca; Access Youth Senior Director of Programming Charity Jones; and Impact100 DC Grants Chair Sharon Dennis
Washington, DC – On September 23rd, Impact100 DC awarded its founding year grant of $105,000 to Access Youth, Inc., and announced the challenge to double its 2022 membership and number of high impact grant awards.
Access Youth’s mission is to keep at-risk girls of color in school and out of the criminal justice system through mediation, restorative justice, and positive youth development. “Access Youth is honored and thrilled to be Impact100 DC’s inaugural grantee. Impact100 DC demonstrates the power of women building relationships and coming together with a common goal to make an impact on their community. That is exactly what our girls’ program My Attitude Determines Everything (M.A.D.E.), is built to accomplish. With our $105,000 Impact100 DC grant, Access Youth will expand the M.A.D.E. program to all of our high schools and serve an additional 150 young women, “ said Jodi Ovca, Access Youth’s Founder and CEO.
Impact100 DC is an all-volunteer women’s philanthropic community dedicated to improving lives in the Washington metropolitan area by collectively funding transformational grants to local nonprofit organizations. Says founding president Ann Vaughn: “Our vision is to prioritize proposals that address the roots and consequences of systemic racism; to create a diverse community of women that spans the wide demographic divides in this area; and to empower women as philanthropists and leaders — has served us well in this founding year of national and global challenges, and will continue to be our guiding star as we work to double our membership and financial impact in the coming year.”
The annual Impact100 DC membership contribution is $1,000, every penny of which goes exclusively to funding the grant, and each member receives one vote for the grantee. In the all-volunteer community, women lead all aspects of the grant application and review process. Each woman determines her own level of participation in the organization based on time, talent, and interest.
Grant applications are considered from nonprofits in the District of Columbia, Montgomery, Prince Georges, Fairfax, and Arlington Counties, and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church in five focus areas: (1) Arts & Culture; (2) Education; (3) Family; (4) Health & Wellness; and (5) Environment. The other finalists this year were Bridges to Independence, Free Minds Book Club, Generation Hope, and The Urban Studio in partnership with the Audubon Naturalist Society.
Impact100 DC is part of a global national network of over 60 chapters in the US and beyond. To date, they have donated nearly $90 million to worthy local causes.