Population: BIPOC

Friends of the Arlington County Public Library (FOAL)

EIN: 54-1384245

Mission Statement

The Friends of the Arlington Public Library (FOAL) is a volunteer organization established to support our public library system in Arlington, Virginia. Our mission is to enable a strong, vibrant, engaged community using our libraries as a place to read, learn, work, create, congregate, and share ideas.

Program Summary

Friends of the Arlington Public Library provides funding for 100% of the programming available in the Arlington County Public libraries.

Our largest program is the Summer Reading Program, which draws approximately 8,000 participants.  The 2024 Arlington Reads program of author events had 3,595 attendees and this year’s theme was “Celebrate James Baldwin’s Centennial”, which included “Let Us Descend” author Jesmyn Ward.

We also fund story times, book clubs, crafts and the Central Library maker space.

Impact Statement

Friends of the Arlington Public Library (FOAL) provides 100% of the cost of all library programs at the eight libraries in Arlington County.  In 2024, we provided $410,000 in support of Arlington’s amazing libraries.

Overall in 2024, the library hosted 3,813 free programs and event welcoming more than 122,000 people – all supported by FOAL.

Arlington’s public library system is an incredible resource for increasing literacy and strengthening our community.  FOAL strives to enhance its capabilities by providing support for collections, events and programs.

What ways can the public get involved?

The public can volunteer at our biannual book sales, donate books and other materials, become a member of FOAL or donate monetarily to FOAL.

How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?

Charitable dollars go to support Arlington Public Libraries collections and programs.

Information provided March 2025

Aspire Afterschool Learning

EIN: 54-1705642

Mission Statement

Aspire’s mission is to expand learning opportunities that help historically underserved students fulfill their potential through afterschool and summer learning programs that support and connect families, schools, and communities. Aspire envisions an Arlington where all children have the support they need from family, school, and community so they can succeed as learners and thrive as healthy and happy individuals. We are the only daily academic afterschool program in Arlington that is offered at no cost to 3rd-8th grade students and their families.

Program Summary

We transform summertime and afterschool into a comprehensive, holistic launchpad preparing students to succeed academically, thrive personally, and build the skills needed for future academic and career success. Our holistic programming includes:

1) Daily Afterschool Program for 150 Arlington students: Aspire provides the ONLY daily, accessible academic afterschool programming for 3rd-8th graders in Arlington that is offered at no cost to families. As one parent shared, “I looked into lots of other programs and they wanted $10 more an hour than I make.” We operate at three locations in South Arlington (Arlington Mill Community Center, Drew Elementary School, and Randolph Elementary School) from 3-6 pm every school day. Programming includes: reading activities; social-emotional lessons; enrichment in STEM, the arts, health, and more; 1:1 homework support/tutoring; and a hot meal. We incorporate experiential and project-based learning activities that are tailored to students’ interests and cultural backgrounds, which can spark curiosity and a love of learning, and we build a supportive environment that prioritizes students’ well-being and mental health. Our programming aligns with the school curriculum and reinforces what students are learning in school while also providing instruction, programming, and personalized support that students do not receive in school. 

2) Six-Week Summer Program for 120+ Arlington students: Our full-day summer learning camp reduces the impacts of the summer learning loss, which makes it difficult for students to catch up to their more affluent peers. The camp operates 7 hours/day for 6 weeks. Activities build upon our afterschool programming and school curriculum, and emphasize problem-solving, collaboration, and social-emotional development. We incorporate hands-on learning projects, educational field trips, and unstructured play. 

3) 1:1 and Group Support for 200+ Parents/Caregivers: Our bilingual Parent Engagement Coordinator (the parent of an Aspire alum) connects families to resources for housing instability, food insecurity, and other challenges and hosts workshops to help parents support their child’s education. She also hosts workshops to help parents support their child’s educational development with topics like building healthy relationships, reading report cards, keeping kids safe online, and more. Through holiday parties, science fairs, and other events, families connect with each other and students show off what they are learning. 

Through longstanding partnerships with schools, affordable housing providers, and nonprofit organizations, we identify participants, recruit volunteers, connect families to resources, and advance shared missions.

Impact Statement

Aspire has a long history of impact in the Arlington community. In 1994, we were founded as Greenbrier Learning Center, a grassroots effort to provide afterschool learning programs for elementary school students. Today, Aspire serves 150 3rd-8th graders who face systemic barriers to educational opportunity – 100% are students of color, 94% come from low-income households, 70% speak a language other than English at home, and 91% entered our program in the fall of 2025 at least one grade level behind in reading (66% are 2+ levels behind).

Recent accomplishments include:

What ways can the public get involved?

Aspire welcomes volunteers who can work directly with our students and help them grow. We have 1:1 weekly volunteer opportunities for volunteers who want to make a high impact and support a student with math, reading, or homework throughout the year.

We also host reading nights for groups to read aloud with our students and see first-hand the impact of your support. Aspire typically holds at least one reading, STEM, or art volunteer night every month. These opportunities are ideal for people who may not be able to commit to weekly volunteering but still want to make an impact. Other opportunities are developed around the schedule of volunteers. During the school year, volunteering can occur between 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM M-F. Learn more at https://www.aspireafterschool.org/volunteer/.

We also have a food pantry for families You can support the pantry by donating the in-demand goods listed on our website at https://www.aspireafterschool.org/food-pantry/.

How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?

Donations help us to close the educational opportunity gap in South Arlington by providing critical learning support to historically underserved students at no cost to their families.

Specifically, your donation can provide the following for Aspire students:

Information provided March 2026

Reading is Fundamental of Northern Virginia, Inc

EIN: 51-0155758

Mission Statement

Books change lives! Reading Is Fundamental of Northern Virginia works to improve children’s lives by providing books to encourage an early and sustained love of reading, to augment reading opportunities and skills through book access and the development of home book libraries (a key metric of reading success), and to help address the alarming and growing U.S. literacy crisis.

Program Summary

RIF NOVA is an all-volunteer nonprofit that provides books for underserved children at 30+ schools and sites in the City of Alexandria and in Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince William counties. The organization has served the Northern Virginia community since 1972, during which time it has provided hundreds of thousands of books to area children who have few – to even no – books in their homes.

Books for Keeps Program: Each year, RIF NOVA raises funds to purchase new books-of-their-own-choosing for 23,000+ children at several child centers and Title 1 schools. Each child served is able to choose at least one book to take home annually; important because children who choose their own books are three times more likely to be frequent readers. According to the U.S. Department of Education, “The only behavior measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the number of books in the home.” The RIF NOVA Books for Keeps Program begins to address this critical need.

Donated Books Program: During the pandemic when schools, school libraries, and public libraries were closed, RIF NOVA began a Donated Books Program to provide additional reading materials to children throughout our community, often delivered in conjunction with school food distributions. As of March 2026, the program has collected over 60,000 new and almost-new books for redistribution – not only to established RIF NOVA schools and sites but also to additional community partners and schools seeking reading materials for children and families.

Authors in Our Schools Program — This multi-year program brings authors and illustrators to RIF NOVA-supported schools to present about their books. Authors/illustrators engage students in the entire book process — from thinking of the idea to completing the finished product — and encourage them to take part in interactive programming throughout the presentations. Each student participant is able to take home an original autographed book, adding to the excitement of the event.

Special Programming: In concert with local business partners, RIF NOVA has been able to offer special programming to augment the number of books available for the children we serve. Additional initiatives are being sought with area partners to provide books and active literacy programming to the children RIF NOVA serves. So far, special programs have included:

Impact Statement

A March 2023 Topic Paper from Scholastic Research & Validation noted that the likelihood of being on track in literacy and numeracy “almost doubled if at least one book was available in a student’s home.” RIF NOVA’s programs ensure that children in the schools we serve get at least one book every year from Pre-K to 6th grade and, thus, the opportunity over the course of their school years to build a home library – also critical for school success. On this, the Scholastic Topic Paper noted: “Children in homes with more extensive home libraries read more, have higher-level reading skills, and attain more years of education overall than those with access to fewer books, even after controlling for parental education level.” The paper continued: “Increasing children’s access to books correlates to ‘dramatically positive effects’ on reading growth and achievement.”

The Scholastic research validates our efforts. The work of Reading is Fundamental of Northern Virginia – to provide at least one book annually to each child we serve and build, over the course of time, a home book library – is helping children to read – and succeed – in school and well beyond.

What ways can the public get involved?

Members of the public can help RIF NOVA to do its work in three major ways: Giving funding, giving time, and giving books. 

Giving funding: Our most pressing need each year is to raise funds to purchase new books for 23,000+ underserved children at mainly Title 1 schools in Northern Virginia. Members of the public can help with this need by giving donations themselves, helping to identify and connect with potential donors (individuals, foundations, businesses, etc.), providing hands-on help with fundraising activities such as a biannual 5K, and helping to communicate the dire need for books for children in the NOVA community. We are particularly seeking business partners for funding and to develop and co-sponsor literacy-related programming that engages children in reading.

Giving time: Among those needed are volunteers with backgrounds or skills in fundraising, event planning, social media expansion, program development, grant writing, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement. Time contributions can range from helping with a specific project to joining our board for a more sustained commitment. Anyone with these skills or interests is encouraged to contact RIF NOVA at our email address: info@rifnova.org. We are particularly seeking committed volunteers to join our board. 

Giving books: RIF NOVA augments its new book purchases by soliciting new and very gently (like new) used books from the community through book drives organized by individuals, businesses, and organizations. Volunteers are also needed to organize new/gently used book drives, to sort books for quality, and to help transport and distribute books at schools and community events.

How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?

Every $4.00 donation purchases one book for one child. The cost to provide one book each for 23,000+ children means an annual need to raise over $90,000. Additional funding supports expanding special programming, including STEAM It Up! and Authors in Our Schools. Contributions to the Authors program can be used to bring local authors to schools for on-site visits, along with books signed by the author for each student participant. Additional funding is also used to increase the number of books given to each child annually or to increase the number of schools participating in RIF NOVA programming. The all-volunteer board that raises funds and administers book distribution programming is not paid. Mandatory expenses (such as insurance, tax preparation, etc.) are kept to an absolute minimum and totaled six percent of expenses in Fiscal Year 2024, our most recent tax filing.

Information provided March 2026

Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC)

EIN: 54-1473207

Mission Statement

We are an independent, community-based non-profit food pantry that provides dignified access to nutritious supplemental groceries to all our neighbors in need.

Program Summary

AFAC provides free groceries to Arlington residents in need at our warehouse on S Nelson St, at 20 other distribution sites around the county, and through a home delivery for home-bound individuals and families. We provide a choice of items including eggs, milk and other dairy products, fish, chicken, hot dogs, ground beef, fresh fruit & vegetables, cereals, beans, pasta, breads, pastries and a number of other items to choose from.

Impact Statement

In FY 2024, 183,558 trips to AFAC were made for groceries. All of our families are below 30% average median income – 30% more families than the prior year.  Our families are 53% Hispanic, 12% Black, 10% Caucasian and the remainder are a number of other minority groups.

What ways can the public get involved?

Individuals and families can help AFAC by volunteering in our warehouse, to assist in distributing food to our families, by collecting food for donation – over 1.5 million pounds of food is needed every year in addition to the 3.5 million pounds of food AFAC purchases every year.  Finally, AFAC receives no federal or state funds and must rely on financial donations from individuals to fulfill our mission.

How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?

All donated funds are allocated directly to AFAC’s food purchase budget to purchase groceries that will be distributed to individuals and families. AFAC purchases 60% of the groceries we distribute, at wholesale cost, from local and national distributors. In FY24, AFAC had a food purchase budget of $1,500,000. 40% of the groceries AFAC distributes are donated through partnerships with local grocery chains, gleaning networks, farmers markets, community food drives, schools, corporate/walk-in donations, etc. All donated food is checked thoroughly, sorted, and then distributed to AFAC’s families. AFAC distributes over 80,000 pounds of food each week to over 4,100 families in need.

AFAC's bright yellow truck is photographed in front of the AFAC Shirlington distribution site on a sunny day.

Information provided March 2026

ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia (ECNV)

EIN: 54-1302368

Mission Statement

Empowering People with Disabilities to Live Independently. 

The ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia (ECNV) is a community resource and advocacy center run by and for persons with disabilities. ECNV’s mission is to END dependence by empowering people with disabilities to live independently. We are a cross-disability organization and work with people of all ages who have every type of disability. ECNV’s experience is extensive in peer-lead advocacy and support. We can bring best practices, strategies, success stories, and firsthand experiences to the table related to how peer-led advocacy can effectively empower people with disabilities (PWD) and promote self-advocacy.

Program Summary

ECNV is peer-led by people with disabilities, including staff, volunteers, and the Board of Directors, who have unique perspectives and understandings of living in the world with a disability. 

We offer:

Impact Statement

Our workshops equip participants with practical life skills and navigating daily challenges with greater ease. ECNV mentorship programs establish connections, provide guidance, and encourage personal growth. Collaboration with the community, schools, and our outreach efforts break down societal barriers, promoting understanding and acceptance.

What ways can the public get involved?

Volunteering/mentoring opportunities and donating gently used Durable Medical Equipment to our DME closet. Corporate sponsorships.

How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?

Donations go to our general operating funds used to continue to provide support and services for people with disabilities.

Photo of the END dependence staff

Information provided March 2026

Doorways

EIN: 54-1087829

Mission Statement


Doorways creates pathways out of domestic violence, sexual assault, and homelessness, leading to safe, stable, and empowered lives.

Program Summary

Doorways’ response to domestic and sexual violence spans a spectrum—from preventing violence, to supporting survivors and their families throughout our community, to providing shelter and housing. We offer a wide range of trauma-informed services designed to meet survivors’ complex needs. All services are free, confidential, and available in all languages (multiple languages spoken in-person onsite, and more available through a language line). Through the generosity of our partners and supporters, we provide safe harbor, healing, and hope.

Community Engagement

Doorways partners with our neighbors, supporters, and fellow service providers to realize our mission every day.

Community-Based Services

Doorways supports survivors throughout our community with a wide range of crisis response services, advocacy, and counseling.

Shelter, Housing, and Supportive Services

Doorways provides Arlington’s only emergency safehousing for survivors experiencing homelessness due to domestic and sexual violence. HomeStart, Doorways’ housing program, supports clients transitioning out of shelter to a home of their own.

Impact Statement

2025 was another record-breaking year for Doorways:

Read Doorways’ annual report to learn more about how supporters like you make a difference for survivors like the ones quoted here:

“Doorways saved my life and has changed everything.”

“Doorways has helped my child open up, express her feelings, and communicate. She loves to attend play therapy where we see a huge change with issues we had prior to coming.”

“I have learned to understand my situations and got help with getting custody of my son. This is a great resource for victims of domestic violence.”

“My mental health has improved greatly post-assault. I was having trouble taking care of myself because I was mentally in a sad state. Doorways’ therapy sessions have taught me how to cope and recover in a healthy way. I feel fully supported here.”

What ways can the public get involved?

How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?

Every year, half of Doorways’ budget comes from private donations. These monetary gifts from individuals, businesses, foundations, and corporate, faith, civic, and community groups ensure that Doorways is able to provide safe haven to every survivor in-need.  

Information provided March 2026

True Ground Housing Partners (formerly APAH)

EIN: 54-1414133

Mission Statement

We exist to provide quality affordable housing and resident-centered programming to help our residents make the most of their home.

Program Summary

Our homes provide residents with the foundation to live their dreams. Our resident services program strives to propel residents’ efforts to achieve their personal and professional goals. Together, these programs strive to elevate residents across lower levels of economic status throughout our community.

Specifically, our resident services program is centered around a mission to provide assistance to all True Ground residents and help them eliminate barriers to obtaining self-sufficiency. This is achieved through more targeted goals for four programmatic pillars: housing stability; economic mobility; health and wellness; and children, youth and families. Ultimately, it is our hope that True Ground residents either break the cycle of poverty and their children have the academic and social capital to receive post-secondary education/training and acquire a family-sustaining job, or that adults are able to age in place in their apartment living a healthy, quality life in pursuit of their own professional and personal goals

Impact Statement

True Ground’s vision guides our work: Everyone deserves a place to call home – a foundation to live their dreams.

Our growing Resident Services program and regional real estate development projects positively impact the resilient, diverse populations that True Ground serves.

What ways can the public get involved?

True Ground accepts charitable and in-kind donations as a charitable nonprofit organization.

Volunteers are critical to our regular operations; they help with supplemental nutrition distribution, after-school activities, community-building events, and much more.

Neighbors and housing advocates can support local initiatives that advance affordable housing priorities in their communities

How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?

Philanthropic funding at True Ground supports our mission to provide affordable housing in the region and resident-centered programming to benefit those who call our communities home. Our resident services program is funded entirely through philanthropic gifts like yours.

Information provided March 2025