Contents

Welcome to ACT 1ACT History and Impact 2ACT Initiatives 4Donor Advised Funds 6ACT Founding Funds 8Alexandrians on ACT 10ACT Advisory Board 12ACT with Us 13

1ACT with Confidence

Welcome to ACT – Alexandria’s Community Foundation

ACT for Alexandria helps people who care deeply about our extraordinary city to do the greatest good for those in need among us. The result, from one end of Alexandria to the other, is greater assistance for those who lack basic needs and preschool for their children … new supports to heal or prevent child abuse … and more powerful tools for those who yearn to build a new future or simply need a neighbor’s helping hand today.

ACT magnifies the difference each of us can make by:

• directing generous donations of time and dollars to effective existing services

• creating innovative and successful solutions from the “building blocks” of existing services

• strengthening social service organizations so they can accomplish more with their always-precious resources

ACT is raising the level of effectiveness in giving to our community so we can have the greatest impact on Alexandria’s families and children.

ACT’s History – Five Years of Real Impact

Launched in 2004, ACT for Alexandria was born from generous funding made available by the family of Norma L. Steuerle, a long-time Alexandria resident who lost her life in the 9-11 attacks. From the start, ACT has attracted the financial support and leadership of hundreds of Alexandria residents and businesses. Among its enthusiastic boosters are Alexandrians who are known throughout the world and heroes known only by neighbors on their street. While ACT supporters come from every corner of our community, they all share a desire to act on their affection for Alexandria and their compassion for others in the most effective way possible.

3ACT with Community

How ACT Works

Alexandrians give together through ACT by contributing directly to the ACT Community Fund, by establishing tax-advantaged Donor Advised Funds, and by volunteering their time and expertise.

ACT directs its Community Fund resources to nonprofit service organizations as capacity-building grants to improve the quality and effectiveness of their work … to ACT initiatives that bring more and better services to the community and motivate more people to volunteer … and to efforts that encourage and expand community philanthropy. It helps direct those with Donor Advised Funds to support projects and organizations that each donor feels most strongly about and wants to support in Alexandria or elsewhere.

Most important of all, ACT does work!

In its first five years alone, ACT helped create the Center for Alexandria’s Children, which consolidates previously fragmented services into a single, supportive environment for abused children and their families. It developed Give Back Alexandria, which engages a new generation in fundraising and volunteerism. It launched the Women’s Giving Circle of Alexandria (now The Giving Circle of Alexandria), a philanthropic investment group 300 women strong. ACT has raised and invested almost $1 million to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations such as The Campagna Center, Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc., and ALIVE!. These are just a few examples of what ACT has helped Alexandrians achieve across our community.

ACT’s Initiatives

At the hub of the Alexandria nonprofit community, ACT for Alexandria is able to envision and develop new ways to combine, create, and grow community financial and human resources so they can do the most good.

CollAborATing on soluTions

Center for Alexandria’s Children (CAC). Opened within two years of ACT itself, the CAC is a single, supportive, multi-disciplinary environment for the investigation, treatment and prevention of child abuse.

Alexandria Council of Human Service Organizations (ACHSO) is a consortium of city and nonprofit agencies that has become an innovative, integrated model of human services delivery and needs planning.

inCreAsing nonprofiTs’ effeCTiveness

Capacity-Building Grants. Since 2005, ACT and its Donor Advised Funds have invested more than $5.3 million in grants that improve nonprofit organizations’ performance.

Nonprofit Excellence Forum is an annual half-day session hosted by ACT and funded by Capital One that offers free professional development seminars on nonprofit capacity-building to nonprofit staff and board members serving Alexandria residents. Speakers have included Cokie Roberts, Ted Leonsis, Bill Shore, Mario Morino, and Dr. Elizabeth Boris.

Alexandria Board Leadership Exchange (ABLE) is a partnership between ACT, Volunteer Alexandria, and Leadership Alexandria. ABLE provides nonprofit organizations’ board members access to training, education, and networking opportunities.

5ACT with Compassion

energizing volunTeerisM And philAnThropy

The Giving Circle of Alexandria pools the intellectual and financial resources of its 300 members to serve the children, youth, and families of Alexandria.

Give Back Alexandria connects and encourages next-generation Alexandria philanthropists. Its fun fundraising events raised $15,000 in one year alone.

Spring for Alexandria is an annual three-day citywide celebration of giving and service that combines volunteer activities, fundraising, and ACT’s own Generations of Giving Gala.

Lotsa Helping Hands is a partnership with ACT that organizes virtual communities of support for local projects, family, or friends who face a health or other crisis.

“The capacity-building grant from

ACT enabled us to take the first step

in our new strategic planning effort.

This investment will maximize

SCAN of Northern Virginia’s impact

on vulnerable children and families

for years to come.”

— Diane L. Charles Executive Director, SCAN

“ACT’s generous support has made

Hopkins House a far better and more

effective institution in the delivery of

high-quality programs for children,

youths, and their families.”

— J. Glenn Hopkins President, Hopkins House

Donor Advised Funds

Many Alexandria families and organizations structure their philanthropy through special funds set up in their name that qualify for substantial tax advantages. As a 501 (c)(3) community foundation, ACT for Alexandria is able to host these funds, called Donor Advised Funds, and provide donors with a range of additional benefits.

ACT donor Advised funds help you give generously, conveniently, strategically.

You make a contribution to your ACT Donor Advised Fund. With your gift, you become eligible to take an immediate tax deduction. Your gift can be in the form of cash, appreciated stock, or other assets.

Your Donor Advised Fund has the potential to grow, tax-free. ACT Donor Advised Funds are administered by The Community Foundation of the National Capital Region (CFNCR), which manages more than $300 million in fund assets.

You work with ACT to select charities or projects that will receive donations from your Fund. By working closely with ACT, you can be sure your contributions will do the most good for issues important to you. ACT then awards grants to the projects or organizations you select in the amounts you specify — in your name or anonymously if you prefer.

You can learn more about Donor Advised Funds on ACT’s Web site at www.actforalexandria.org, Donor Advised Funds, FAQs.

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By opening a Donor Advised Fund with ACT …

• You avoid the time-consuming burden of establishing your own 501 (c)(3). Most funds become operational in less than 24 hours.

• You become eligible for tax deductions of up to 50% adjusted gross income (AGI), higher than the 30% limit allowed with a Private Foundation.

• You save the considerable paperwork involved in documenting contributions – ACT takes care of completing and sending you any paperwork required.

• You benefit from ACT’s in-depth knowledge of Alexandria’s charitable needs, its most effective nonprofits, and solutions you might otherwise not be aware of that maximize the impact of your contributions.

• You “recycle” your fund’s annual administration fee of 1.1 % or $500, back into philanthropy — fees help support ACT for Alexandria’s Community Fund.

If you like, ACT can work with your wealth advisor to establish a Donor Advised Fund that best meets your needs and objectives.

ACT with Commitment

ACT Founding Funds

ACT’s Founding Funds campaign permanently honors ACT’s earliest donors. By establishing an ACT Donor Advised Fund during ACT’s Fifth Anniversary year, you can join their ranks.

Today, when our community’s needs and the demands on ACT are greater than ever, your fund will ensure that ACT’s first five years of accomplishments are just the beginning, and that ACT will continue to better our community for decades to come.

for ACT founding funds, permanent recognition and deep appreciation

• Special designation in ACT’s communication materials, including ACT’s Web site, www.actforalexandria.org

• Special recognition at ACT’s annual Generations of Giving Gala

• Advance notice of ACT events

• Invitations to ACT events exclusively for Founding Funds donors

9ACT with Conviction

Join your fellow Alexandrians by establishing an ACT Donor Advised Fund during ACT’s Fifth Anniversary year.

ACT Community Fund Garcia Family Fund

ACT Now Fund Give Back Alexandria Fund

Alexandria Sportsman’s Club Scholarship Fund Giving Circle of Alexandria Fund

Alexandria Third Century Scholarship Fund Harry and Maria Hopper Fund

Arrison Family Foundation Fund Joan Huffer and Robert Dugger Family Fund

Babcock Roberts Fund Lynch Family Fund

Beyer Family Fund Maury Lane Fund

Bruhn-Morris Family Fund Neuhaus-Speck Family Foundation Fund

Christopher W. Brown and Mimi Conger Fund O’Shaughnessy Family Fund

Collis Warner Foundation Fund Paul Weeks II Memorial Fund

Cryor DiNardo Family Fund Ross Family Fund

Davis-Kenimer Fund Rita Susswein Gottesman Fund

Derek and Ellen van Bever Fund RunningBrooke Fund

Erin MeWhirter and Richard Glick Fund R. Graham and Sue Ellen Setliff Fund

Fiske Family Fund Sarah King and Lyles Carr Charitable Fund

Frank Fannon IV Fund Wheeler’s List Fund

Alexandrians on ACT

When members of the Alexandria Sportsman’s Club learned it could set up a Donor Advised Fund under ACT to fund its scholarship program for Alexandria high school athletes, then-President of the Club, John Villar, decided it made sense. “Why reinvent the wheel?” he said. “We know the money we place there is safe and in good hands.” With its new ability to attract larger donations, the Club has been able to increase its scholarship awards. “It’s helped us tremendously.”

Lori Morris was one of ACT’s founding board members. Along with her husband Nigel, Lori established the Bruhn-Morris Family Fund, an ACT Donor Advised Fund. “Because of ACT,” Lori says, “we are seeing sustainable, systemic change here. ACT brings the right people to the table in a collaborative spirit and follows through. Things get done.”

“The Campagna Center has been fortunate enough to receive two generous capacity-building grants from ACT for Alexandria,” said The Campagna Center President and CEO Karen Hughes. “The first grant enabled us to develop a state-of-the-art strategic measurement system and the second funded an important study. The Campagna Center sincerely appreciates ACT’s continued support.”

11ACT with Creativity

Founding Fund members Lisa Collis and her husband, Senator Mark Warner, established their Donor Advised Fund, the Collis Warner Foundation Fund, with ACT. The family also donates to ACT’s unrestricted funds and Lisa is active on the ACT committee that awards capacity-building grants to local nonprofits. Lisa says of ACT, “There’s a synergy not just in terms of the money, but in coming together as a community to work in a really smart way. It’s a great organization.”

When the Alexandria Seaport Foundation’s Managing Director Paul Weeks passed away in 2005, his many friends created the Paul Weeks II Fund — a separate, designated Donor Advised Fund — as a memorial to him. Foundation Executive Director Joe Youcha says that because of ACT, the mechanics of the fund “are pretty much headache free.” In his almost two decades in the area, he says, “ACT is the single biggest step forward I’ve seen in Alexandria’s philanthropic community.”

ACT Advisory Board

Leslie Ariail

Bill Babcock, William L. Babcock, Jr., PC

Andrew Blair, Colonial Parking, Inc.

Bob Calhoun, Redmon, Peyton & Braswell, LLP

Lyles Carr, The McCormick Group, Inc.

Debra Collins, City of Alexandria - Department of Human Services

Lisa Collis, Collis-Warner Foundation

David DeJesus, The Potomac School

Allison Cryor DiNardo, Carroll Wireless, LP

Rob Dugger, Hanover Investment Group

Mayor Bill Euille, City of Alexandria

Kim Fiske, Fiske & Harvey, PLLC

Lauren Garcia

Brian Kennedy, Cardinal Bank Trust & Investment Groups

Rev. Pierce Klemmt, Christ Church

Amy Liu, Brookings Institution

Lori Morris, Bruhn-Morris Foundation

Alice Paik, Brown Advisory

John Porter, ACT for Alexandria

Scott Price, Office of Senator Mark R. Warner

Stephen Rideout, Judicial Consultant

David Speck, Speck-Caudron Investment Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC

Eugene Steuerle, The Urban Institute

Jean Traub, Capital One

Richard Wong, Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education

ACT for Alexandria is a community foundation in every sense. Its Advisory Board is composed of people who have strong ties to our community and are profoundly committed to it. They contribute their time, energy, and considerable abilities to ACT, recognizing that by working and giving together, each of us can do more.

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ACT with Us!

For more information on how you can support and get involved with ACT for Alexandria, contact Sharon Block, Development Director, at (703) 739-7778 or sharon.block@actforalexandria.org. You can also visit our Web site www.actforalexandria.org.

To take action now …

Please return this card

With your donation to ACT’s Community Fund

If you would like to discuss establishing a Donor Advised Fund with ACT

If you would like to learn more about making a major or planned gift to ACT

Your Name ______________________________________________________________________

Email address ______________________________________________________________________

Best phone number ______________________________________________________________________

Thank you!

ACT with Us

1421 Prince Street, Suite 400Alexandria, VA 22314

www.actforalexandria.orgPhone: 703.739.7778

writing: Jean Podgorsky Advertising Servicesdesign: six | half | dozen : design studioprinting: DigiLink, Inc.