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INVEST

2025 Grant Awards

AAWGT is excited to share the results of the vote by our members to determine which nonprofits should receive 2025 grant awards. This year’s 55-member Grants Committee was challenged with the task of thoughtfully considering a record number of worthy proposals from local nonprofits. Thanks to contributions from our members (350+ currently), we were able to award grants totaling $226,316, the largest annual amount in our history. Since our founding in 2006, we have provided over $2.1 million to nonprofits to help improve the quality of life for underserved women and families in Anne Arundel County.

Annapolis Immigration Justice Network: Legal Assistance for Vulnerable Immigrants in Anne Arundel County - $25,000 – To provide financial assistance for legal representation for five immigrant women and/or families with female heads of households and ongoing legal support for over 300 clients per year.

Anne Arundel County Court Appointed Special Advocates: Operations -$25,000  Support of their advocacy for children in the foster care system.

Asbury Church Assistance Network: Food Pantry - $25,000 – Provide healthy food choices to low-income/underserved families in Anne Arundel County.

Charting Careers: Advancing Positive Outcomes for Scholars and Families - $25,000 – Support youth and their families in a holistic manner as they set and achieve goals, increase their self-sufficiency, and work toward bright futures.

Journey to Joy Recovery House/Joy Reigns Lutheran Church: Journey to Joy Recovery House Life Skills Program - $14,018 – Provide an affordable sober living home in our county where women can reunite with their children while continuing their recovery journey.

Kindness Grows Here: Anne Arundel County “Kid Kindness Grants” - $4,298 –Provide micro-grants and support to teams of local students who work with an adult sponsor to plan and carry out projects that spread kindness and belonging.

Little Yellow Bird Foundation: Dental Services for Homeless and Underserved Residents in Anne Arundel County - $25,000 – Support at least 100 underserved county women and families who need dental services and emergency care.

Mt. Zion United Methodist Church: Breakfast Club - $8,000 – Alleviate food insecurity, promote education, and restore dignity to families facing hardship.

OIC of Anne Arundel County: Career Pathways - $25,000 – Help fund the Career Pathways program, which provides quality education and training services that enable economically disadvantaged and unemployed people of all races and backgrounds to become productive, more fulfilled members of society.

PlayAnnapolis, Inc.: Equitable Access to Recreation - $25,000 – Funding to increase equitable access to sports for underserved youth, focusing on Title I schools, Spanish speakers, and female athletes.

Seafarers Foundation, Inc.: Summer Youth Program - $25,000 – Enhance the safety and sustainability of swimming lessons for underserved children during their Summer Youth Program.

We very much look forward to partnering with these amazing nonprofits as the year goes forward!

INFORM

Grantee Spotlight

ACAN Food Pantry

ACAN partners with the Anne Arundel County Police to provide the underserved community with backpacks, school supplies, hand sanitizer, and other items needed for school.

Asbury Church Assistance Network Food Pantry (ACAN) is a partner with Anne Arundel Women Giving Together. The partnership supports ACAN’s ability to operate its give-away pantry three days a week. ACAN offers clients a variety of canned goods, fresh produce, meat, dairy, bread, beverages, sweets, and snacks in addition to other items which are often available upon request. These items include diapers and wipes through our baby pantry as well as household cleaning products, male and feminine hygiene bags (toothbrush and paste, deodorant, lotion, feminine products, razors) and incontinence products.

ACAN currently serves individuals from diverse backgrounds such as Caucasians, African Americans, Africans, Middle Easterners, Asians, Asian-Americans, Hispanics and Refugees from war torn countries. The food that ACAN rescues on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, is given away on Monday through Wednesday every week. Food that may not maintain its freshness until Monday is given to our neighbors at senior communities. Our services support: (1) Baby Pantry; (2) Home Deliveries; (3) Homeless Communities; (4) Pop-Up Pantry; and (5) Senior Pantry.  We also provide emergency food assistance when requested from the Maryland Food Bank hotline and support Anne Arundel County Police (AACP) community events. 

The ACAN pantry is located in Severna Park and serves clients in a wide area. Each month we serve more households and more individuals than the previous month. We expect this trend to continue as food and gas prices remain high. Additionally, we expect these factors to bring new patrons to ACAN who are not necessarily low-income but whose income can’t keep pace with their rising expenses.

In 2023, ACAN provided food for approximately 46,924 household family members. Many families we serve experience food insecurity and visit the pantry on a weekly basis. The family demographic ranges from single mothers to the elderly, single fathers, and married couples from all ethnic or racial backgrounds.

ACAN utilizes the 2024 AAWGT grant to support the drivers who go out to rescue food weekly from grocery stores and other locations, for maintenance and gas for vehicles, and to support the Senior Pantry, Homeless Pantry, and Baby Pantry with staples and supplies.

“As one of the participants noted - “The esthetics program with Ms. Kandice is so cool. Being in this program has helped increase my confidence, make new friends, and makes me want to come to school. I can’t wait to do it again next year!”

Inspire

Black Philanthropy

By Sonja Swygert, AAWGT Member Since 2020

The reasons that African American individuals, families and organizations make philanthropic contributions are as diverse and disparate as the black community itself. Historically, as now, African Americans often donate to address the myriad disparities caused by the persistent and pernicious systemic racism that has plagued our country since before its inception. Of course, other motivations for Black philanthropy align with general rationales for giving including social and civic engagement, shared interest, personal experience with a particular cause, or faith-based affiliation. 

Per capita, African Americans give a larger percentage of their income to charity or nonprofits than White households, according to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. There are certainly examples of business leaders and other financially successful people who may give substantial amounts, but a lot of Black giving is in the form of more personal mutual reliance such as money in an envelope given to a family to help with funeral expenses or family giving circles to cover college tuition. There are also indirect contributions such as providing meals to a neighbor in need or taking in a child rather than seeing them go into foster care.

Black Philanthropy generally falls into three categories: “Cornerstone” (giving to higher education and the arts), “Kinship” (donating to organizations serving the Black Community), and “Sanctified” (supporting Black churches), according to Michelle Singletary of The Washington Post.

For example, The Links, INC is a Black women’s social organization established in 1946. It is one of the nation’s largest volunteer service organizations committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and others of African ancestry. I have been a member of the founding chapter in Philadelphia.

The United Negro College Fund, founded in 1944, has raised billions of dollars to provide scholarships for students who attend HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities).

AAWGT  members may have heard about The Divine Nine which has been in the news lately. These are the most prominent African American college fraternities and sororities mainly founded at the turn of the 20th century. Generally, they are committed to public service, scholarship, economic empowerment and social change. The Divine Nine and their members wield substantial influence in society and culture.

The Divine Nine are:

  • Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. - 1906-Cornell University
  • Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. - 1908-Howard University (I am a member of Alpha Delta chapter at Morgan State University)
  • Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. -1913-Howard University
  • Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. -1911-Indiana University Bloomington
  • Omega Psi Phi, Inc. - 1911- Howard University
  • Phi Beta Sigma Inc. - 1914-Howard University
  • Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. - 1920-Howard University
  • Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. - 1922-Butler University in Indiana
  • Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. - 1963-Morgan State University - Founded during the Civil Rights Movement

As to faith-based giving, Asbury United Methodist in Annapolis and St. James Episcopal Church in Baltimore both serve the local community through their ministries and are supported by their congregations’ donations. St. James Church provides food pantries and sponsors seminars and health screenings that have included diabetes, prostate, mental health, HIV, skin cancer, high blood pressure and healthy eating. Asbury United Methodist Church is a dues paying member of Anne Arundel Connecting Together (ACT). Asbury was one of the founding congregations of what is today the Annapolis Light House Homeless Prevention Support Center. They continue their ministry by providing meals and other items to those in need.

African Americans give for complex reasons. They want to help the community at large but want to know that our community is included. I look to the organizations I give to, to have diverse boards, diverse memberships and diverse communities that they support. We do give to St. Jude, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. Sylvia and Eddie Brown gave $6 million to the Maryland Institute College of Art. To attract new donors, we need to tell our story person-to-person. What is compelling about AAWGT is that our contribution goes  to the giving circle and the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County and is a two-for-one.  Contributors have a say in the grants to be funded and we all get a vote. Also, AAWGT is a way to network and engage in fellowship with other women. I think if we tell the stories of women in the giving circle and stories from our grantees, it will make an impact.<</p>

Younger potential Black donors are interested in measurable and tangible impacts from their contributions. They also want to make sure that Black voices are an authentic part of the grant-making decision process. Strategies for attracting young Black donors could include targeted outreach to fraternities and sororities which include specific descriptions of expected outcomes and impact. As with any donor cultivation plan, there should be multiple ways for young donors to contribute, and at various levels – and AAWGT has made that a reality.


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Anne Arundel Women Giving Together | giving@givingtogether.org
AAWGT is a component fund of the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County
AAWGT is a member of Philanos: Accelerating Philanthropy through Women’s Collective Giving


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