AT A GLANCE: - The mission of the World Bank’s Community Outreach Program is to improve the quality of life of people in the Washington metropolitan community. The Program aims to make a difference in the lives of local families and children in lasting, sustainable ways – particularly in the areas of education and youth development.
- The Program encourages World Bank Group staff, whose daily work is focused on promoting economic development and reducing poverty in developing countries, to show their concern and generosity to the most disadvantaged populations of Washington.
- Activities focus on four main areas: charitable giving, capacity building, staff volunteerism, and partnerships. Bank staff raise money annually for local nonprofits through a charitable giving campaign, and also for international disaster relief as the need arises. Staff volunteer with community groups, which can also benefit from donations of recycled equipment, furniture and supplies. A grants program provides financial support to local nonprofits. Local high school students are offered summer internships. A new, three-year initiative was launched in FY07 to provide capacity building support to nonprofits working in education and youth development in Wards 6, 7 and 8 of Washington.
Program Overview Grants Program. The Community Outreach Grants Program awards small grants to nonprofits in the Washington area. In FY07, the Program awarded grants totaling US$960,000 to 18 local charities and 5 funding collaboratives undertaking the following activities: education support programs in the District of Columbia’s public schools, including after-school tutoring; renovating low-income housing; HIV/AIDS prevention; skills training for unemployed workers; distribution of meals to street residents; Latino youth support; and prenatal and well-baby care. The Program is managed by a Grants Committee comprising both Bank staff and representatives from local grant-makers such as the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region. The Grants Committee recently narrowed its criteria to focus on supporting nonprofit organizations that work in education and youth development in Wards 6, 7, and 8 of Washington. Funding Collaboratives. The Outreach Program actively participates along with other local grant-makers in five local funding collaboratives that are testing innovative approaches to addressing underlying social problems. A total of US$230,000 has been distributed to five collaboratives in FY07: the DC Education Compact (US$50,000), the Community Development Support Collaborative (US$50,000), the Washington AIDS Partnership (US$50,000), the Washington Partnership for Immigrants (US$50,000), and the Common Ground Fund (US$30,000). Staff Volunteerism. Bank staff provided more than 10,000 hours of community service to charities in the Washington metropolitan area in FY07 – at all levels – from hands-on direct service to leadership roles such as serving on Boards of Directors of nonprofit organizations. The Bank has a Volunteer Day policy, which allows staff to take administrative leave one day a year to offer their time to a charity. The Community Outreach Program works with Bank departments to organize community service projects and integrate team-building activities with these projects, such as Rebuilding Together’s National Rebuilding Day held every year in April. The Dollars for Doers Program complements the Bank’s local grant-making efforts by encouraging Bank staff to volunteer and awarding contributions of US$500 to nonprofits for which Bank staff and retirees volunteer regularly. In-kind Donations. The Community Outreach Program recycles office furniture, office supplies, and computer equipment by donating these items to charity. The total value of donated goods and services in FY07 was more than US$150,000. East of the River Initiative. I n FY07, the Community Outreach Program launched a three-year, US$750,000 East of the River Initiative to engage poor and underserved youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the District of Columbia in Wards 6, 7, and 8. The main component of this initiative focuses on building the capacity of nonprofit organizations working in the education and youth sectors east of the Anacostia River to identify, measure and communicate the effectiveness of their work in the community. Partners include The Urban Institute, Nonprofit Roundtable, Georgetown Cause Group, and other local funders (DC Youth Investment Trust Corporation, FBR, and Kimsey Foundation). The other component focuses on improving support services for youth by, among other things, utilizing pro bono private sector partners and Bank staff volunteers to transform previously unused classroom space into student resource centers in four high schools – Anacostia, Ballou, Eastern, and HD Woodson. A local partner NGO – Communities In Schools (CIS) – is serving as the point-of-contact coordinator for each resource center and will monitor and track the outcomes of service providers and progress with the students. Other partners include the DC Public Schools, Catholic University of America Design Collaborative, Microsoft Corporation, Paradigm Service Group, and Howard University School of Social Work. Student Internships. The High School Internship Program provides local high school students from low-income communities with the opportunity to learn job skills. During the summer of 2007, 21 students from several Washington public schools worked as interns in units throughout the Bank. The interns are paid a salary and are also provided paid training one day a week. The program has also included homeless students for whom this experience has often proven to be an important self-affirming opportunity. The Program was recently expanded to include year-long internships for several students. Annual Giving Campaign. The World Bank Community Connections Fund is an independent nonprofit organization set up to oversee the allocation of charitable donations raised via the Bank’s annual workplace giving program, known as the Community Connections Campaign. Staff make donations via payroll deductions or cash and also organize special fund-raising events. The Campaign benefits over 215 locally based charities such as Bethany House, DC Central Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity Washington DC, Doctors without Borders USA, Latin American Youth Center, and Whitman-Walker Clinic. The FY07 campaign was an unprecedented success: nearly US$900,000 was donated by staff – either directly or via more than 55 special fund-raising events. The Bank made a 50 percent corporate matching contribution of about US$450,000, and numerous Bank departments donated all or a portion of their budget for holiday parties (totaling about US$90,000) to the Campaign, which brought the final total raised in FY07 to well over US$1.4 million. Disaster Relief. During FY07, natural disasters killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions, leaving them without food, shelter, or resources. Bank Group staff often spontaneously mobilize to respond to such natural disasters around the world by setting up donation tables at cafeterias in Bank buildings. These funds are also managed through the World Bank Community Connections Fund. During FY07, staff raised US$28,000 total for several international relief campaigns in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Suriname and Uruguay. Together with Bank corporate matches and matches provided by the World Bank Community Connections Fund (WBCCF), the total amount donated for these four disasters came to about US$41,000. Funds raised through such donation drives are provided to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that are directly involved in the disaster relief operations. In FY07, these organizations included the American Red Cross, the Pan American Development Foundation, and AGOHELD, an indigenous NGO in Ethiopia that the Bank’s Country Office in Addis Ababa supports. Highlights - In FY07, Community Outreach grants totaled US$960,000.
- Bank Group staff typically donate more than 10,000 hours of community service per year.
- The Community Connections Campaign raised over US$1.4 million in FY07.
- The total value of donated goods and services in FY07 was more than US$150,000.
- The Bank, together with local partners, has launched a three-year, US$750,000 “East of the River Initiative” focused on capacity building for nonprofits working in the education and youth sectors in Wards 6, 7, and 8 of Washington.
- ### - Contact: Viki Betancourt, (202) 473-9127 vbetancourt@worldbank.org Updated October 2008 |
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