Understanding the broad and changing needs of the communities in and around Washington, D.C., the Philip L. Graham Fund is dedicated to supporting organizations that provide a wide array of direct services to individuals and families. The Fund awards grants across four focus areas and a geographically vast area that includes 7 counties in Virginia and Maryland as well as the District of Columbia.
The Fund is always looking for innovative and efficient organizations to support. Over the past several decades, the Fund has invested tens of millions of dollars in the physical infrastructure, information technology, and transportation needs of local nonprofit organizations. The Fund’s five-member board weighs requests for one-time projects or expenses equally with requests for program or operational support. Multiyear grant requests are also considered.
In response to the unprecedented challenges caused by and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philip L. Graham Fund made a number of changes to our standard practices in an effort to increase our commitment to the community and alleviate unnecessary burdens on our grantee partners during this crisis. The Fund increased our grants budget, streamlined our application process, relaxed reporting requirements and increased flexibility around the use of grant funds.
In addition to direct grants to local nonprofits, the Philip L. Graham Fund has contributed to the collective emergency response efforts of the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund and Arts Forward Fund, United Way of the National Capital Area’s Emergency Assistance Fund, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s COVID-19 Response Fund for Northern Virginia, and Arlington Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Prompt Response Fund.
In 2021, the Philip L. Graham Fund awarded $8.36 million in grants to 167 organizations across Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
DC Diaper Bank
Focus Areas
Reflective of its determination to respond to a wide range of community needs, the Fund's grant recipients are broad and varied. Grants are awarded across four interest areas.
Recent Grants
A detailed listing of the Fund’s grants from the past 36 months can be viewed here.