Grants that Make a Difference
As the oldest and largest giving circle in the Washington, DC area, Many Hands has granted more than $3.5 million to 52 local nonprofits that collectively touch the lives of tens of thousands of people in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Northern Virginia. Every year, we make one Impact Grant of $100,000 and three Partner Grants to organizations chosen by the membership. In 2025, each Partner Grant was $75,000. All Many Hands grants are unrestricted, allowing grantees to decide how best to use the funds. That can mean supporting core programs, launching new ventures, or making capacity-building investments that will increase their effectiveness. Ultimately, the impact of our grantmaking is measured in the changes grantees bring to the lives of the people they serve.
Thanks to the amazing women at Many Hands for standing with Friends of Guest House to give our women returning from incarceration a better start.
Your grant allowed us to stay in [Stanton Elementary School]. It was because of your commitment to collective giving and your understanding of the value of trust-based philanthropy that I was able to make decisions that allowed us to continue to serve the community.
Funders like Many Hands are so respected. The stamp of approval of Many Hands is wonderful!
With your $100,000 grant, you have chosen to confront and elevate the issue of child sexual abuse in our community. This grant is bold, courageous, and impactful.
Because of you, women are getting jobs, learning new skills, improving their health, achieving financial stability, and ending their homelessness for good.
Thanks to this critical grant, our beneficiaries can go from working long hours in multiple low-paying jobs to make ends meet to building a family-sustaining career that leaves them time to spend with their loved ones.
Support from Many Hands is truly transformative for Access Youth. Because of this grant, Access Youth is launching our peer mediation programming as part of our four-year model of student support.
With the grant of $100,000 from Many Hands, College Bound for the very first time was able to support our alumni to and through college completion.
Many Hands’ investment in our work means we have a small army of committed, connected, and caring women who are rooting for us, helping us, and sharing our work far and wide.
I’ve been inspired and impressed by the wide range of dedicated, high-performing nonprofits serving our area. I now have a much better understanding of the entire local ecosystem supporting women, children, and families. This makes me a more discerning individual donor, a better board member, and a better citizen.
Being part of a larger collective movement of women with an aim to make change in the lives of women, children, and families is inspiring. The chosen organizations have the potential to be life-altering for so many. Knowing the work we do makes a difference motivates me to want to do more. I’m so very proud to be a member!
I believe strongly in the exponential power of collective giving, especially female-centric philanthropy, and Many Hands is the perfect way to become part of this movement. My favorite part of Many Hands is the opportunity to learn about the hundreds of nonprofits in the metro DC area. I am inspired every day because of them.
There is great power in the ability of Many Hands‘ membership to combine forces and resources to help effect change. Many small but important nonprofit organizations exist in this area, and it has been a profound learning experience for me to begin to understand some of the challenges they face.
Many Hands gives a boost to dynamic grassroots organizations, while drawing together groups of women from diverse walks of life across the DC metro area. I joined Many Hands to support this exciting “alliance” of women.
I am so happy that I found Many Hands and jumped on the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful organization. Joining has given me the opportunity to become intentional with my philanthropic donations, meet a diverse group of inspiring women leaders, gain exposure to numerous philanthropies in the area, and witness the complexities of a grantmaking life cycle.
I joined Many Hands after having the opportunity to hear speakers from three organizations that had received Many Hands grants–Greater DC Diaper Bank, Horton’s Kids, and Reach Inc.–describe the direct and positive impact Many Hands had on the communities they served. After that incredible introduction, it was a no-brainer to join.
The women I have met through my work in Many Hands have challenged me to think differently, broaden my own views, and inspire new approaches to how we make an impact. But beyond the work, I’ve been fortunate to form deep, lasting friendships with many of them—connections that have become an essential part of my life.
I loved being able to see the breadth of work being done throughout the region by the organizations applying for grants. Narrowing the decision down to one organization wasn’t easy, but we knew the grant would make such a difference to that organization and its constituents. I’m excited to serve on another FAC this year.
In many cases, the fallout of a crisis is not gender-neutral. Seeing the economic toll of COVID-19 on women, in particular, prompted me to take action. I joined Many Hands so I can belong to a community of like-minded individuals working together to have large-scale impacts in helping to support women and families.
Many Hands has been a perfect fit for me. As a feminist and activist, I was looking for a way to make a difference in my community. Through Many Hands, I not only contribute financially but also, equally important, have the opportunity to evaluate firsthand the many local organizations that are transforming the lives of women and children. And finally, I have met amazing Many Hands women who are now my friends.
I love the amplification impact of a $1,000 donation being multiplied many times over. I am aware of how difficult it is for small organizations to raise money and know how impactful a $100,000 or $50,000 grant can be for them. I also love the fact that the funds are contributed by successful women!
Many Hands serves many purposes. Most important, of course, is continuing to raise funds to assist women and children in need in our community, but it also offers a unique opportunity for donors to learn about their community, philanthropy, and grant making while developing meaningful relationships with like-minded women.
Donors Giving Together
Many Hands is committed to being the most meaningful vehicle for giving in members’ lives. By leveraging the power of collective giving, we multiply the impact of donors’ gifts and engage, educate, and empower our members. Since 2004, our giving circle has welcomed more than 1000 donors to Many Hands. Members come from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia and represent a broad range of backgrounds. In Many Hands, members find a diverse community of individuals who care deeply about the challenges facing women, children, and families in under-resourced communities. By participating in the grant review process and education events, they learn about community needs in economic empowerment, education, health, and housing and about the nonprofits that work daily to address them. Many members continue to support or volunteer with organizations they have met through Many Hands.
Recent News
And the 2025 Impact Grant Goes to…
Find out which organization has been selected to receive the 2025 Impact Grant.
2025 Grantees
