Washington region

April 29, 2009, The Washington Post — Twenty-one area nonprofit groups have suspended their memberships in the United Way and joined a fledgling competitor, citing years of frustration with a steady decline in workplace giving in the Washington region and lingering distrust of the local United Way since it was nearly destroyed by scandal earlier this decade.

The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region announced today that its Neighbors in Need Fund is awarding $455,000 in grants to 27 charities that provide essential services such as food, clothing, emergency financial assistance, and shelter to needy residents in Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, MD, and the District of Columbia. Two additional grants totaling $40,000 will help community-based nonprofit organizations work more efficiently during and beyond these difficult economic times. The Neighbors in Need Fund is the only regionwide grantmaking program of its kind.