Where We Give

Our philosophy for funding projects that have a tangible impact on society across our three primary focus areas of American Democracy, Arts & Culture, and Jewish Causes.

Overview

Philanthropy is more than check writing. It represents an opportunity to leverage private sector dollars for social good.

Our grantees reflect the diversity of our board’s interest and passions, and the spectrum of our investment also reflects on the extraordinary pool of talent that we have in our nation’s capital.

We are not able to fully solve any one social issue or challenge, but through calculated risks, social investments, patience, listening and chronic learning, we hope to make thoughtful decisions on who to fund.

We look forward to being active partners with our grantees and continue to improve on our grant making.

Convergence

Our family grants are concentrated in the Greater Washington, D.C. area.

We have a wide range of investments from both small organizations to large institutions. Each focus area has a diverse portfolio of grantees, yet collectively they represent a snapshot of innovative leaders who are all working toward having positive impact in their respective areas.

This diverse portfolio allows us to have our finger on the pulse of what it means to fund people and ideas and to seek the greatest impact for that investment. There is no doubt that some of our investments are risky and diverse, but we appreciate the opportunity to CONVERGE Arts & Culture and Jewish Causes, or American Democracy and Arts & Culture, with the goal of creating greater results through leveraging these talents across focus areas.

No single grantee operates in a vacuum; instead it is an ecosystem of interdependence and imagination. We look forward to forging new pathways among our grantees to accelerate and maximize their good work for the future.

Thoughtful Giving

We are committed to living out our founder’s legacy and vision in all aspects of our foundation’s work.

Therefore, not only should our grants supporting people and ideas in the Washington, DC area be made for the betterment of society, but so should the investments that we make for the purpose of endowing and sustaining our foundation.

This is why we are committed to participating, supporting, and amplifying the growing trend of Impact Investing, and pivoting and ensuring our investments support positively impactful business practices.

Meet Our Grantees

Grant Guidelines

Our grant-giving is divided across our focus areas, and is allocated by the Board of Directors to fund projects in the geographic area of Washington, DC.