Letter of Inquiry Nonprofit Letter

Letter of Inquiry

Nonprofit Letter of Inquiry

Jenny Shilling Stein

Executive Director

Draper Richards Foundation

California Street, Suite 2925

Dear Ms. Stein,

Thank you for considering the Community of Hope DC as a possible recipient of a Draper Richards Foundation Fellowship. The Draper Richards Foundation is well-known to us for its careful selection of high quality and high impact projects, and we are honored to be among those considered for sponsorship.

Community of Hope DC was founded by Dr. Tom Nees in 1975 with the aim of improving the health and quality of life for low-income or homeless families and individuals. We are a faith-based organization with ties to the Church of the Nazarene, but we consider it our imperative to offer our services to all who need them regardless of their faith.

In the last 35 years, Community of Hope DC has made a significant difference in the lives of the poor and homeless in Washington, DC. We currently have programs operating in three areas: Health Services, Housing and Supportive Services, and Educational and Spiritual Services. Our Health Services program operates a clinic in the Adams Morgan community that provides free medical, dental, and mental healthcare to over 4,000 patients a year. Our Housing and Supportive Services program is able to provide housing for over 100 homeless families, including over 400 children who would otherwise be on the streets. Our Educational program offers low-income and homeless individuals a broad range of opportunities to learn, from life skills classes and diabetes management seminars to math tutoring and group spiritual therapy.

One area into which Community of Hope DC would like to expand is the area of food provision. Through our the shelters operating as part of our housing program, we are able to offer regular hot meals to those who stay with us, but the problem of hunger in DC extends far beyond what we are able to serve within our walls. The U.S. Census indicates that one is six residents in the Washington, DC metropolitan area is at risk of or is already regularly experiencing hunger (U.S. Census ACS 2006-2008). We believe that hunger should not exist in a nation as blessed with resources as the United States, especially among children. That hunger exists to such an extent in the nation's capital is especially unacceptable.