When you give to charity, you might wonder if your donation—no matter the size—will have an impact. Here are the actual ways that 22 local charities, all recommended by the Catalogue for Philanthropy Greater Washington, can make your donation count.
$50 Can Buy . . .
- Birthday cards for youth incarcerated far from their DC home, sent by Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop.
$100 Can Buy
- Food bags for 30 Montgomery County children who would have nothing to eat on weekends, through Kids in Need Distributors.
$100 Can Buy . . .
- Native plants to restore habitat in Rock Creek Park, through Rock Creek Conservancy.
- A spay or neuter procedure for a rescued dog or cat, through City Dogs Rescue.
- Instrument rental for a school year for one DC child, through the MusicianShip.
- Five weeks of produce for one Prince George’s County family, through Eco City Farms.
- A thousand handmade valentines for teens in foster care, through Volunteer Fairfax.
- One hour of a forensic expert’s time to review evidence and potentially reopen a case, through the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project.
- Gas gift cards for 20 survivors of domestic violence, through Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter (LAWS).
$150 Can Buy . . .
- Eight weeks of afterschool arts classes for one student, through Creative Cauldron.
$500 Can Buy . . .
- A robot to help Latino children in Northern Virginia learn STEM skills, through Edu-Futuro.
- Two pairs of prescription eyeglasses for seniors in need, through Fellowship Square.
- A year’s worth of garden supplies for an afterschool teaching garden in DC, through Kid Power.
- Art supplies for a cancer patient in isolation during bone-marrow treatment, through Tracy’s Kids.
- A read-aloud library for an elementary school in the District, through Reading Partners.
$,1000 Can Buy . . .
- Two computers for a District shelter that takes in homeless LGBTQ youth, through the Wanda Alston Foundation.
$1,000 Can Buy . . .
- A year of health care for an infant in a low-income family, through Arlington Pediatric Center.
- Textbooks to teach immigrant adults English, through the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia.
- A year of service-dog trainingfor a puppy that will eventually work with a veteran, through Hero Dogs.
- Five weeks at summer day camp for a child in need, through Little Lights Urban Ministries.
$2,500 Can Buy . . .
- 50 primary-care visits for uninsured people in Montgomery County, through Mobile Medical Care.
$10k Can Buy . . .
- A four-year college scholarship for the child of an incarcerated parent, through Scholarchips
For more information on these and other charities, and to donate or volunteer, visit the Catalogue for Philanthropy Greater Washington.
This article appears in the December 2019 issue of Washingtonian.
Editor in chief
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
