December 2014

Fair Chance is excited to welcome two new nonprofit partners, The Grassroot Project and Young Playwrights' Theater. Learn more here.

SPECIAL EDITION:

Two Youth-Serving Nonprofits Selected for Fair Chance Partnership

Message from the Executive Director

Bring on 2015 - Deeping our Impact; Expanding our Reach!

Fair Chance is celebrating a fantastic end to 2014 by announcing a new Director of Development, the selection of two new terrific nonprofit partners, and the most successful Butterfly Bash to date raising $460,000 to support our capacity building with promising youth serving nonprofits to achieve life-changing results for children in poverty. Also at the Butterfly Bash we released a new video that shows the impact of our work.

We are proud of our 2014 accomplishments, but have even more ambitious goals for 2015. In October the board approved a three-year campaign to Deepen our Impact and Expand our Reach. To that end we will be working on new metrics and are exploring other communities of poverty where Fair Chance might be a resource. On December 10th, the Alexandria Community Trust hosted a meeting for Fair Chance and a group of youth-serving nonprofit leaders to discuss the possibility of bringing the partnership program to Alexandria. We are having similar conversations with other jurisdictions and are thoughtfully and carefully learning the landscape and considering opportunities. We remain deeply committed; however, to the communities we currently serve. If you know of a nonprofit in DC that could benefit from a year of intense, comprehensive organizational transformation to achieve greater outcomes for children in poverty, please let us know. We have decided to recruit a larger spring class as we consider moving to one application cycle per year. The application goes live on January 12th and will be due on February 20th.

Thank you for your generous support of Fair Chance in 2014 and expect great things from us and our partners in 2015!

Sincerely,

Grechen Van der Veer, PhD

Introducing our Fall 2014 Partners

Young Playwrights' Theater

Brigitte Moore, Executive Director

Young Playwrights' Theater (YPT) inspires young people to realize the power of their own voices. By teaching students to express themselves through the art of playwriting, YPT develops students' language skills, and empowers them with the creativity, confidence and critical thinking skills they need to succeed in school and beyond.

The Grassroot Project

Ryan Pettengill, Executive Director

The Grassroot Project uses sports to educate at-risk youth in the community about HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. The curriculum focuses on creating a fun, friendly and safe environment where youth can learn about healthy lifestyle choices. By using the vehicle of sports to influence social change, student athletes are combating the high rate of HIV/AIDS in D.C.

Fair Chance's New Director of Development

We are excited to announce that Benjamin Bradburn will join us January 5th as our new Director of Development. Ben comes to Fair Chance from Friendship Place, where he served as Director of Individual and Corporate Giving among other roles, and brings with him a proven record in fundraising, donor cultivation and event management. We look forward to introducing him to you in the new year.

Special Feature: The Washington Post

Over the past month, Washington Post readers have met the troubled teen whose hope was renewed in earning a high school diploma, the recovered addict and matriarch who made Thanksgiving dinner a reality, and the abused single mom turned case worker and mentor. These stories and more have been recounted by The Post's John Kelly as part of The Washington Post Helping Hand, which helps raise funds for three Washington-area nonprofits. Community of Hope, Homestretch and Sasha Bruce Youthwork are Helping Hand's first-ever beneficiaries. Learn more about these organizations this holiday season and read columnist John Kelly's moving stories here.

Fair Chance Featured at "Gifts for Good" Fair

Every year St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School sponsors a "Gifts for Good" Fair, a student-run alternative holiday gift fair that is open to the public and benefits more than 30 local, national, and international charitable organizations. This year, 6th graders Maggie Farina, Genevieve Johnston, and Laila White made custom t-shirts, a beautiful poster, and raised money for Fair Chance. Thank you for being our ambassadors in the community!

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