Latest / Community D.C. / Community DC Renee Byng Yancey The Community Foundation For NoVa
Transcript
- 0:09Speaker 1: Good morning, and welcome to another edition of Community DC.
- 0:11Speaker 1: I'm your host Dennis Glasgow. This morning, we welcome to
- 0:14Speaker 1: the program for the first time, Renee bing Yancey. She
- 0:17Speaker 1: is the president and CEO for the Community Foundation of
- 0:20Speaker 1: Northern Virginia, founded in nineteen seventy eight and manages charitable funds, ards, grants,
- 0:26Speaker 1: and scholarships, and provides local research to address regional challenges
- 0:30Speaker 1: in Northern Virginia. We cover a lot of ground over
- 0:32Speaker 1: the next thirty minutes, including their very special event called
- 0:35Speaker 1: Raise the Region Gala that's taking place on Friday, October sixteenth.
- 0:39Speaker 1: Here's my conversation with Renee. I hope you enjoy it
- 0:41Speaker 1: as much as I did. Good morning, Renee, Good morning. Well,
- 0:45Speaker 1: it's great to have you on and to feature and
- 0:48Speaker 1: spotlight the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. First time on
- 0:51Speaker 1: the program, So welcome to Community DC. And there is
- 0:54Speaker 1: a lot to talk about. And I have a feeling
- 0:56Speaker 1: that a lot of our listeners have heard of what
- 0:59Speaker 1: you do, but I'd love to talk about the history
- 1:03Speaker 1: for the people that don't know, because that goes back
- 1:06Speaker 1: to nineteen seventy eight and it's pretty cool if you
- 1:09Speaker 1: could kind of just enlighten us. Well, just kind of
- 1:11Speaker 1: a little tidbit about how everything started in the history
- 1:13Speaker 1: of cf NOVA.
- 1:15Speaker 2: Indeed, and thank you again, Dennis for the invitation and
- 1:19Speaker 2: opportunity to be with you and listeners this morning. So
- 1:24Speaker 2: the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia was founded at a
- 1:28Speaker 2: time when imagine Tyson's Corner being a little more than
- 1:33Speaker 2: parking lots, gas stations and farms. So it's a very
- 1:37Speaker 2: different time in the Northern Virginia community and several dedicated
- 1:43Speaker 2: community leaders came together to identify opportunities for generous individuals
- 1:51Speaker 2: of all walks of life, from all walks of life,
- 1:55Speaker 2: and ability to give philanthropically to support the Northern Virginia community.
- 2:03Speaker 2: What's pretty cool and I'm glad you use that term. Pool.
- 2:08Speaker 2: I am the fourth president of the Community Foundation for
- 2:12Speaker 2: Northern Virginia since our founding, and the community looks quite
- 2:17Speaker 2: different than it did in nineteen seventy eight. So here
- 2:21Speaker 2: we are today with a collection of volunteers and fund partners,
- 2:28Speaker 2: a dedicated board of directors. So just as our region
- 2:32Speaker 2: has grown, so has our role. In the current time.
- 2:37Speaker 2: We are supporting critical community needs through grant making and
- 2:43Speaker 2: ability to bring people together to discuss big thorny issues
- 2:49Speaker 2: and match up resources to community need and invest in
- 2:54Speaker 2: innovative solutions, including our research arm So that long evolution
- 3:01Speaker 2: which brings us to almost fifty years in existence. We'll
- 3:06Speaker 2: celebrate our fiftieth anniversary in twenty twenty eight. And I
- 3:12Speaker 2: like to consider the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia a
- 3:16Speaker 2: voice of the Northern Virginia community for regional grant making
- 3:21Speaker 2: and insights.
- 3:22Speaker 1: All right, well, very good. Well, I think you're kind
- 3:24Speaker 1: of eluding this, and we're going to find out exactly
- 3:26Speaker 1: what you do and especially your core services because those
- 3:29Speaker 1: are ultra important. But I know what is also important,
- 3:32Speaker 1: w Ay, is mission and vision. And as we're learning
- 3:35Speaker 1: all about cf NOVA, could you talk a little bit
- 3:37Speaker 1: about the mission and the vision and what they are.
- 3:41Speaker 2: Yes, the mission of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia
- 3:45Speaker 2: is to build a community that works for everyone. The
- 3:49Speaker 2: vision is to become a strategic hub for long term
- 3:55Speaker 2: and formed philanthropy. So that's a mouthful. So in general,
- 4:00Speaker 2: the Community Foundation works with clients and fund partners and
- 4:05Speaker 2: community members and donors to build permanent endowments for community need.
- 4:12Speaker 2: We work with philanthropists from all walks of life, much
- 4:17Speaker 2: like our roots and our founding, to match up donors
- 4:23Speaker 2: and community needs, so our nonprofits are champions in the story.
- 4:29Speaker 2: They are providing critical services day to day, and those
- 4:33Speaker 2: services may range from health and affordable and attainable housing,
- 4:41Speaker 2: to arts and the environment and education access. These are
- 4:47Speaker 2: across a range of topics that really emphasize the ability
- 4:52Speaker 2: of our community to reach a higher level of economic mobility.
- 4:58Speaker 2: So as we think about in our own early careers,
- 5:02Speaker 2: likely there's been a progression, and that progression brings people up,
- 5:08Speaker 2: up the earnings, income and up the ladder of economic prosperity.
- 5:14Speaker 2: And a community foundation such as the Community Foundation for
- 5:18Speaker 2: Northern Virginia does that by matching donors and needs. We
- 5:24Speaker 2: identify gaps in the community, and we identify the funding
- 5:30Speaker 2: needed and matching up those donations to those needs, and
- 5:34Speaker 2: we guide and work with and collaborate with donors to
- 5:40Speaker 2: help them what I call level up their giving and
- 5:45Speaker 2: to work on strategic philanthropy to achieve their goals.
- 5:49Speaker 1: Well, I'm glad you mentioned that because this is a
- 5:51Speaker 1: great segue that's featured on your website about your strategic plan,
- 5:56Speaker 1: and it's really cool and you have kind of four
- 5:59Speaker 1: key priorities that I'd love to you kind of spotlight
- 6:01Speaker 1: each one of them. They are social and economic mobility,
- 6:05Speaker 1: opportunities for all inclusive systems of economic growth, and community resilience,
- 6:10Speaker 1: which are all very important. I was hoping we could
- 6:12Speaker 1: start with social and economic mobility. Can you talk a
- 6:15Speaker 1: little bit about that as we spotlight each one?
- 6:18Speaker 2: Yes, So, social and economic mobility really speaks to who
- 6:23Speaker 2: we are and what our individual goals are and vision
- 6:30Speaker 2: for our own lives. We each seek to achieve more
- 6:35Speaker 2: and grow within, whether it's our careers, our educational attainment,
- 6:42Speaker 2: our civic engagement, and so the conditions required often require
- 6:48Speaker 2: some supportive services. We have significant need in the community.
- 6:53Speaker 2: Many Northern Virginia families still struggle with the high cost
- 6:58Speaker 2: of living, housing, wildcare, and that puts pressure on one's
- 7:03Speaker 2: ability to achieve economic mobility. So the philanthropic dollars, the
- 7:09Speaker 2: charitable gifts that support services for families and individuals ease
- 7:16Speaker 2: that burden. Opportunity really speaks to how businesses grow, how
- 7:23Speaker 2: individuals can grow, and how communities thrive. There are some
- 7:28Speaker 2: fantastic examples of communities coming together to pull their resources
- 7:35Speaker 2: and I'll use one as an example, the Business Women's
- 7:38Speaker 2: Giving Circle. So this is a network of women in
- 7:42Speaker 2: the Northern Virginia region who've said, you know, I can
- 7:46Speaker 2: do much more collectively than I can do individually. So
- 7:50Speaker 2: they've identified a stem related grant making supports that they've
- 7:56Speaker 2: ben pulled their resources together, and they're working across the
- 8:01Speaker 2: Northern Virginia region. That's an excellent example of being able
- 8:06Speaker 2: to move folks around again opportunity and growth, and the
- 8:13Speaker 2: same goes for individuals who are considering entrepreneurial pursuits and
- 8:21Speaker 2: resources that might support other economic development activity through grant making.
- 8:28Speaker 2: Inclusive systems of growth are back to our mission. It's
- 8:33Speaker 2: building a community that works for everyone, and that Northern
- 8:38Speaker 2: Virginia composition of everyone means just that everyone, that no
- 8:43Speaker 2: one is left behind that opportunity. This is a very
- 8:50Speaker 2: fortunate area in that we do have pockets of our
- 8:55Speaker 2: community with significant capacity not only to give, but to
- 9:01Speaker 2: live a robust and healthy and happy life. We see
- 9:06Speaker 2: that vision as being important for every single individual, every
- 9:11Speaker 2: single zip code. Since this track within the community and
- 9:15Speaker 2: community resilience, you know, we have no further than to
- 9:20Speaker 2: look at the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. Many parts
- 9:25Speaker 2: of the community are still struggling, whether it is with
- 9:29Speaker 2: mental wellness, building rebuilding capacity. But as challenges come our way,
- 9:37Speaker 2: and they do in life, there is a resilience that
- 9:41Speaker 2: is supported and we are surrounded by again our nonprofit
- 9:46Speaker 2: champions and caring individuals in the community who are looking
- 9:50Speaker 2: to reduce that human suffering so that when a challenge arises,
- 9:58Speaker 2: those services are available and that can happen because of
- 10:02Speaker 2: it unexpected layoff, a job position, elimination, a housing crisis.
- 10:08Speaker 2: Many families are within one or two paychecks of a crisis.
- 10:14Speaker 2: And so when there is community resilience, we can come
- 10:17Speaker 2: together through mutual aid and philanthropic services to support the
- 10:23Speaker 2: nonprofits who are providing those baseline services for individuals so
- 10:28Speaker 2: no one is falling between the cracks.
- 10:30Speaker 1: Very good Renee, thank you for all that and for
- 10:32Speaker 1: our listeners. Once again, as far as coverage for the
- 10:36Speaker 1: Community Foundation Northern Virginia, you are serving the counties of Fairfax, Louden,
- 10:41Speaker 1: Arlington and Prince William and cities Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas,
- 10:46Speaker 1: m Nassas Park. With that said, you know I can
- 10:50Speaker 1: imagine that you know, because Rene, there are so many
- 10:52Speaker 1: people need for so many things. How do you and
- 10:55Speaker 1: your team and then your donors and everybody else decide
- 10:57Speaker 1: about how money is going to be allocated. I do
- 11:00Speaker 1: want to talk about donations and how people can help,
- 11:03Speaker 1: but how do you start from scratch about who to
- 11:05Speaker 1: help and who needs it most?
- 11:08Speaker 2: Yeah, so ears to the ground is important for us.
- 11:12Speaker 2: We value deep community engagement and collaboration across other foundations
- 11:21Speaker 2: and grant makers. We have a board of directors bringing
- 11:25Speaker 2: voice and perspective and insight from parts of the Northern
- 11:29Speaker 2: Virginia community. We have pulled people together through important dialogues
- 11:36Speaker 2: and conversations, activities like suppers around a pressing topic. We've
- 11:44Speaker 2: had conferences and convenings such as our Shape of the
- 11:49Speaker 2: Region conference. We also rely on cutting edge and relevant
- 11:55Speaker 2: research so that we can identify the needs and structure
- 11:59Speaker 2: our grant making opportunities around what the data are telling
- 12:04Speaker 2: us are the needs of the community. But data alone
- 12:08Speaker 2: will give us certainly an important part of the story.
- 12:12Speaker 2: But being out and about in the community across these
- 12:16Speaker 2: various regions and cities gives us a direct tie in,
- 12:20Speaker 2: especially to the service providers, and we also work with
- 12:26Speaker 2: public officials, elected and appointed officials to identify what are
- 12:32Speaker 2: the pressing needs in their particular jurisdiction. We employ a
- 12:38Speaker 2: group of expert volunteers, both subject matter experts so across
- 12:43Speaker 2: these range of topics education, housing, environment, the arts, and
- 12:49Speaker 2: across a gamut of topics, and those volunteers serve as
- 12:54Speaker 2: reviewers and expert insights, so that further deepens our understanding
- 12:59Speaker 2: of what's going on in the community, from education to environment, etc. So,
- 13:05Speaker 2: of course with a team of staff members it's impossible
- 13:11Speaker 2: to have full insight into every need, but together with
- 13:17Speaker 2: a volunteer network a board of directors, we've got a
- 13:20Speaker 2: great pulse on relevant pressing needs in the community.
- 13:25Speaker 1: Very good, And you had mentioned grants, and once again
- 13:27Speaker 1: I think this is an excellent segue to talk about
- 13:30Speaker 1: grants and scholarships. As I go on the website, there
- 13:34Speaker 1: are so many different kinds of grants, including several that
- 13:36Speaker 1: involve children that I think is wonderful. So you're trying
- 13:39Speaker 1: to cover as much as you can. And then also
- 13:42Speaker 1: you know, the scholarships really amazing as I was reading
- 13:45Speaker 1: that from the Community Foundation and what you offer there
- 13:49Speaker 1: on the scholarships Open and also the Open Scholarship Fund
- 13:53Speaker 1: and how to apply, which will tell people in volunteering.
- 13:56Speaker 1: I hope you could cover both of those categories for
- 13:58Speaker 1: us as well.
- 14:00Speaker 2: We're so proud of our scholarship program. In the twenty
- 14:06Speaker 2: twenty six year, as an example, we awarded close to
- 14:11Speaker 2: one hundred scholarships totaling nearly four hundred thousand dollars to
- 14:16Speaker 2: students pursuing higher education and working to build up that
- 14:22Speaker 2: next generation of leaders to achieve their educational goals. We
- 14:27Speaker 2: have two parts of our grant making. One area of
- 14:31Speaker 2: the Foundation's grant making includes working with fund holders and
- 14:38Speaker 2: clients and partners who have established charitable funds with the
- 14:43Speaker 2: Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, and we provide philanthropic advisory
- 14:48Speaker 2: services to those individuals and companies and other organizations. In
- 14:56Speaker 2: the prior fiscal year, fiscal year twenty five five, we
- 15:01Speaker 2: awarded close to eight million dollars in grants working with
- 15:06Speaker 2: donors based on their recommendations and our insights into the
- 15:12Speaker 2: grant making needs. So that's a significant amount of resource
- 15:17Speaker 2: going out to meat pressing needs. And then the second
- 15:21Speaker 2: part of our grant making is the grant making where
- 15:24Speaker 2: we bring in our volunteer resources, and those grants are
- 15:30Speaker 2: dedicated to Northern Virginia over sixty nonprofits addressing a range
- 15:38Speaker 2: of needs including mental health and wellness, military families and personnel,
- 15:45Speaker 2: intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the basic needs that we
- 15:50Speaker 2: spoke about a moment ago, including resources for children and youth.
- 15:55Speaker 2: That was over nine hundred and fifty five thousand dollars
- 16:00Speaker 2: and grants dedicated across these jurisdictions that the regional as
- 16:06Speaker 2: a Regional Community Foundation, we serve to sixty two nonprofit organizations.
- 16:12Speaker 2: When you think about that force multiplier effect, that effect
- 16:17Speaker 2: is tremendous, and it reinforces back to our mission and
- 16:21Speaker 2: to our strategic pillars around opportunity and social and economic mobility.
- 16:29Speaker 2: Can see it's very reinforcing in that way. These are
- 16:33Speaker 2: more than words on a website. This is the work
- 16:36Speaker 2: we live, This is the work we're passionate about, and
- 16:39Speaker 2: this is the work we deliver every day for our
- 16:43Speaker 2: Northern Virginia region.
- 16:45Speaker 1: Very good, Rinny. We're at the halfway point, and I
- 16:47Speaker 1: think it's great to talk about donations and how to give,
- 16:50Speaker 1: and you and your team have given everybody of many
- 16:54Speaker 1: ample opportunities in several different ways to establish funds and
- 16:59Speaker 1: join a get circle. There are ways to give. Can
- 17:02Speaker 1: you tell our listeners how they can be a part
- 17:04Speaker 1: of cf nova and how they can give and donate.
- 17:08Speaker 2: Absolutely, so we do encourage take a look at our website,
- 17:13Speaker 2: reach out to anyone on my team or to myself.
- 17:18Speaker 2: We'd love to talk with you about what your goals are.
- 17:21Speaker 2: But our website address is www dot cf nova dot org.
- 17:29Speaker 2: And what we heartily believe and what we've seen demonstrated
- 17:34Speaker 2: over nearly these fifty years since we were founded, was
- 17:38Speaker 2: that when people come together around a shared vision for
- 17:41Speaker 2: our community, we can accomplish far more than anyone organization
- 17:46Speaker 2: can do alone. I often think about philanthropy from my
- 17:52Speaker 2: early engagement with philanthropy, and my earliest engagement was as
- 17:58Speaker 2: a recipient of philanthropy. And so now to be able
- 18:01Speaker 2: to have a role where I am working with individuals
- 18:05Speaker 2: and families and companies to help them move their philanthropy
- 18:09Speaker 2: to the next level. There's an African proverb, if you
- 18:14Speaker 2: want to go fast, go alone. If you want to
- 18:16Speaker 2: go far, go together. So we welcome supporters at all
- 18:22Speaker 2: levels of giving, and that includes establishing a fund that
- 18:27Speaker 2: includes a general donation to support the work of the
- 18:32Speaker 2: region for economic mobility and the betterment of our Northern
- 18:38Speaker 2: Virginia community.
- 18:39Speaker 1: Very good, and we always get the attention of a
- 18:41Speaker 1: lot of people that do have the opportunity and the
- 18:45Speaker 1: means to help. Whether there are a small, medium, larger business,
- 18:48Speaker 1: or maybe an entrepreneur out there, reny once again, if
- 18:51Speaker 1: they want to help or at least maybe find out
- 18:54Speaker 1: more how they can be a corporate partner with you.
- 18:55Speaker 1: What's the best way to do that.
- 18:58Speaker 2: It can contact me. I am facing on the website
- 19:04Speaker 2: and I invite an opportunity for a conversation. I think
- 19:09Speaker 2: individuals often will know this intuitively, but it's worth amplifying.
- 19:15Speaker 2: Philanthropy is more than charity. It is a tool for
- 19:18Speaker 2: creating opportunity and for individuals and companies corporate sponsors who
- 19:24Speaker 2: want to be a part of this movement to bring
- 19:28Speaker 2: the voice of the community into philanthropy. We welcome that opportunity.
- 19:33Speaker 2: That includes serving as a sponsor. We have an upcoming
- 19:38Speaker 2: gala that we would invite and heartily welcome their participation
- 19:43Speaker 2: as a corporate sponsor. We also partner with companies to
- 19:48Speaker 2: manage their charitable giving, and that is another way where
- 19:53Speaker 2: we can bring our deep insights and local knowledge to
- 19:58Speaker 2: help them advance their philanthropic or civic engagement goals for
- 20:04Speaker 2: the community.
- 20:05Speaker 1: And RENEE less than two months away from your gala
- 20:08Speaker 1: that you had mentioned on October sixteenth, can you please
- 20:11Speaker 1: talk about that because I know that's a really big evening.
- 20:14Speaker 2: It is and this year there will be two honorees
- 20:19Speaker 2: recognize for their tremendous service and engagement in the community.
- 20:25Speaker 2: Raise the Region Gala on Friday the October the sixteenth
- 20:30Speaker 2: celebrates philanthropy, community leadership, and the future of Northern Virginia.
- 20:36Speaker 2: A NOVA Health System will be recognized as a community
- 20:41Speaker 2: leader and then a family Liz and Gil Blanca spor
- 20:47Speaker 2: They are the supporters behind the rest In Scholarship Fund,
- 20:52Speaker 2: one of the funds that we partner with an individual
- 20:57Speaker 2: or family to advance the scholars goals and reduce the
- 21:04Speaker 2: financial burden of attending college or post secondary education. It's
- 21:10Speaker 2: a great evening, it's fun. We have a stellar MC
- 21:15Speaker 2: this year. Our MC is from one of our local
- 21:19Speaker 2: news stations. He's going to bring a lot of energy. So,
- 21:22Speaker 2: whether you've supported the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia's Gala
- 21:28Speaker 2: A Long Time Ago, a short time Ago, or our
- 21:31Speaker 2: brand new. I invite you to come to this event
- 21:35Speaker 2: and I know you will leave inspired. We will feature
- 21:38Speaker 2: a silent auction, a live auction, entertainment and networking that
- 21:43Speaker 2: will be unparalleled. By joining us for the annual Gala,
- 21:49Speaker 2: you will be supporting the Community Foundation's mission and long
- 21:54Speaker 2: term work across our region. So you can learn more
- 21:58Speaker 2: about the region's pressing challenges here stories and of impact
- 22:03Speaker 2: and innovation, and connect with other change makers, other like
- 22:07Speaker 2: minded individuals who are committed to investing in Northern Virginia's future.
- 22:13Speaker 2: The Raise the Region Gala is a chance to celebrate
- 22:16Speaker 2: what's possible, and it is the opportunity to demonstrate what's
- 22:22Speaker 2: possible when generosity meets purpose.
- 22:26Speaker 1: Very good and once again to reiterate about the twenty
- 22:29Speaker 1: twenty six Reads the Region Gala that is on Friday,
- 22:32Speaker 1: October sixteenth, Hilton Maclin Tyson's Corner six point thirty till
- 22:36Speaker 1: ten o'clock, live entertainment, silent, live auctions. As Renee had mentioned,
- 22:40Speaker 1: hundreds of business in, civic and philanthropic leaders and if
- 22:44Speaker 1: you want to do a sponsorship, they start at fifteen hundred.
- 22:47Speaker 1: That's a great bargain and you can do that. There's
- 22:49Speaker 1: all the information on the website that will give one
- 22:51Speaker 1: more time and get tickets to the evening. And I
- 22:54Speaker 1: think that sounds like a wonderful evening, Renee. I did
- 22:56Speaker 1: want to ask you about challenges, And every time I
- 22:59Speaker 1: talk to leaders, they say challenges are sometimes opportunities for us,
- 23:03Speaker 1: and I know that you have a lot of those.
- 23:05Speaker 1: But in today's climate, in twenty twenty six, what kind
- 23:07Speaker 1: of challenges present you in your team?
- 23:10Speaker 2: What are nonprofit partners site? Most often is increased demand
- 23:17Speaker 2: for their services at a time when some individuals just
- 23:22Speaker 2: don't have the capacity to give at the same giving levels.
- 23:26Speaker 2: So they're stretched, if you will, often to a point
- 23:31Speaker 2: of providing a sense of burnout, a sense of how
- 23:37Speaker 2: can we do more with less? Community challenges, though, do
- 23:42Speaker 2: require community solutions, and we remain committed to helping our
- 23:48Speaker 2: nonprofit community to do more to do so collaboratively. We
- 23:55Speaker 2: have committed also resources to build up capacity. We've made
- 24:01Speaker 2: our grant making focused on general operating support, which gives
- 24:06Speaker 2: nonprofits tremendous flexibility to do the work that they need
- 24:12Speaker 2: to do. We hear additional challenges, especially around food security
- 24:20Speaker 2: resources for our children and youth that has continued to grow.
- 24:26Speaker 2: Affordability here in Northern Virginia remains an issue that needs
- 24:35Speaker 2: needs to identify additional solutions. And these are community issues
- 24:42Speaker 2: that also have an effect on the Northern Virginia region's
- 24:47Speaker 2: economic competitiveness. These are issues that are wrapped up around
- 24:54Speaker 2: workforce retention, and these are the issues that help our
- 24:58Speaker 2: community to grow from a long term perspective when we
- 25:03Speaker 2: invest in resources today to address these challenges. So if
- 25:08Speaker 2: you have children who are hungry and they are attempting
- 25:11Speaker 2: to learn and then be successful in school, and if
- 25:16Speaker 2: we have families who have uncertainty and there is a
- 25:21Speaker 2: need to support their families and themselves economically to have
- 25:27Speaker 2: safe and affordable housing and attainable housing, these are all
- 25:31Speaker 2: intertwined issues. I once heard a leader say, you know,
- 25:36Speaker 2: issues such as this, health access and other related issues,
- 25:40Speaker 2: they don't show up by themselves. These are issues that
- 25:44Speaker 2: are intertwined and related and there are solutions. Resources and
- 25:50Speaker 2: dollars are one of those solutions. But also bringing together
- 25:54Speaker 2: our collective insight and wisdom will will yield tremendous results
- 26:01Speaker 2: as well.
- 26:02Speaker 1: Very good. Well, listen, Renee, We've got about three minutes
- 26:04Speaker 1: left and I'd love to just get some final thoughts
- 26:07Speaker 1: from you, and we'll mention the gala one more time
- 26:10Speaker 1: to remind people and give the website. But everything we
- 26:13Speaker 1: talked about, and I know we're just hitting the tip
- 26:15Speaker 1: of the iceberg because you just you have so many
- 26:18Speaker 1: different pockets and tentacles and balls in that you're juggling.
- 26:21Speaker 1: It really truly amazing what you and your team are doing.
- 26:25Speaker 1: But just some final thoughts of what we talked about.
- 26:27Speaker 1: The floor is yours.
- 26:29Speaker 2: Thank you. So everyone has a role to play in
- 26:32Speaker 2: strengthening our community. Whether you give, volunteer, lead, or simply
- 26:37Speaker 2: show up, your contribution absolutely matters. An endowment is one
- 26:44Speaker 2: of the most powerful expressions of optimism. It's a way
- 26:48Speaker 2: of saying I believe in this community, not just today,
- 26:52Speaker 2: but for generations to come. I often encourage families and
- 26:58Speaker 2: individuals and organizations with whom I am working to ask
- 27:03Speaker 2: the question, what's the legacy you would like to leave
- 27:06Speaker 2: behind for your charitable giving? How will the world know
- 27:10Speaker 2: you or you were here and what you did as
- 27:14Speaker 2: a gift to the community to support its future. I
- 27:19Speaker 2: encourage you to think of the region as we are
- 27:23Speaker 2: often listed as one of a place of abundance, but
- 27:27Speaker 2: not everyone shares equally in that abundance. Our role the
- 27:31Speaker 2: Community Foundation for Northern Virginia is to work with community
- 27:35Speaker 2: members to help ensure opportunity reaches every single corner of
- 27:40Speaker 2: our community. Please check out our website Wwwpanova dot org.
- 27:49Speaker 2: And the future of Northern Virginia depends on all of us.
- 27:53Speaker 2: You are invited, We welcome you. We are Northern Virginia.
- 27:58Speaker 2: I am Northern Virginia. We want you to have a
- 28:03Speaker 2: place in the philanthropic future and to be able to
- 28:07Speaker 2: be a part of that story of how this community
- 28:11Speaker 2: comes together in times of need and plans for the
- 28:15Speaker 2: future to match up with the needs of the future
- 28:19Speaker 2: and the needs of today.
- 28:21Speaker 1: I'm standing Renee. Well said, and thank you so much
- 28:23Speaker 1: for being on the program for the first time, and
- 28:25Speaker 1: I love to have you back. We have our guests
- 28:27Speaker 1: back every six months just to catch up on the
- 28:29Speaker 1: new things that are happening. And I can't wait to
- 28:32Speaker 1: hear about the gala because it does sound like a
- 28:34Speaker 1: wonderful evening once again. That's on October sixteenth, and tickets
- 28:38Speaker 1: are on the website. Let's just and I want to
- 28:41Speaker 1: do this because I know we've been in a couples.
- 28:42Speaker 1: Let's give the website just one more time for everybody.
- 28:46Speaker 2: Www dot cf nova dot org. Please check us out,
- 28:53Speaker 2: check us out across our social platforms Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn.
- 28:59Speaker 2: We all post information there. We'd love to have you
- 29:03Speaker 2: be a part of this community of philanthropists and this
- 29:07Speaker 2: community of generosity to make Northern Virginia better, stronger, bigger,
- 29:14Speaker 2: and better. We want to build on this fabulous legacy
- 29:18Speaker 2: and continue to advance now and into the future.
- 29:21Speaker 1: That's Stanny, Reneie. Thank you so much for joining us
- 29:23Speaker 1: on Community DC. Continue success, give my best your team,
- 29:27Speaker 1: and thank you for joining us on the program.
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