About us - Arlington Community Foundation

staff and board | financials | office directions

Mission
Arlington Community Foundation uses the power of philanthropy and its role as community convener and catalyst to improve the quality of life in Arlington and beyond.

As a grantmaker, convener, and leader of programmatic initiatives, the Community Foundation strives to strengthen local nonprofits, encourage better understanding of the needs of Arlingtonians, and address the most critical issues of our time to ensure that our community provides opportunity for everyone.

To achieve our mission, the Foundation:

community collaboration — **Fosters collaboration** among nonprofits, local government, funders, businesses, and community members to address important issues

Arlington community research — **Conducts research** that informs decision-making within individual organizations and in the larger Arlington community

**Administers donor-advised funds** to facilitate the giving of individuals, families, and businesses in a tax-efficient and meaningful way

**Promotes Arlington nonprofits**, including providing grant support to organizations working on our most pressing community issues

Overview

The Arlington Community Foundation is an independent charitable organization that actively promotes, protects and improves the quality of life for those who live or work in Arlington. The Foundation provides philanthropic leadership and raises capital for grants and scholarships to address community needs now and in the future.

The Foundation supports the full spectrum of charitable needs and purposes in Arlington County, including homelessness prevention, education, arts, youth, and families in need.

Since 1991 the Arlington Community Foundation has awarded more than $16 million in grants and scholarships and created a source of philanthropic capital to address the ongoing needs of our community.

The Foundation provides individuals, families, and businesses the opportunity to create lasting positive change in our our community. For professional advisors, the Foundation serves as a “one-stop shop” offering vetted, cutting edge solutions to assist clients in achieving their charitable goals in a tax-friendly and efficient way. Advisors to Donor-advised funds may suggest grants to any nonprofit organization in good standing and recognized as charitable by the Internal Revenue Service.

The Foundation supports nonprofits with grants through different programs administered throughout the year. Some are regularly available and others are special opportunity grant rounds to address particular needs. The Foundation also manages operating reserve funds for many Arlington nonprofits.

With a unique bird’s-eye view of the Arlington nonprofit landscape, the Foundation serves as a community convener for local nonprofits, and in some cases, drives major community initiatives to create economic opportunities for all.

The Foundation is governed by a board of trustees consisting of prominent business, civic and community leaders.

An impact snapshot from our most recent annual report (fiscal year 2019):

2019 impact ACF — View the 2019 annual report

Spirit of Community

The Foundation hosts the Spirit of Community Award Celebration annually to recognize the William T. Newman, Jr. Spirit of Community Award recipient for that year. This award recognizes an individual, organization, group, or corporation that has demonstrated a tireless and unselfish commitment to improving the quality of life in Arlington.

In 2021, the Spirit of Community Awards honored three individuals to celebrate three decades of service to the Arlington Community. You can watch the event videos here.

Volunteers

We solicit volunteers to support our scholarship program and for special projects as needed. Send a message to info@arlcf.org to learn more about volunteer opportunities.

Learn more