Uncomfortable conversations led to difficult questions:
Are we who we say we are?
Have
we been welcoming to all people?
What is racial equity?
The first participants in the Nonprofit Equity Assessment Program supported by the Hampton Roads Community Foundation spent months exploring these questions to determine how to pursue racial equity for their organizations.
For the Virginia Stage Company and the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, the examination ranged from their organizations to their programming. Did their boards and staff welcome people of all backgrounds and races? Did their programming actively invite every audience?
For the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, their driving question was fundamental to their mission: are we welcoming to all girls?
“We always had a commitment to diversity and pluralism,” said Tracy Keller, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast. “It’s always been embedded. But maybe it stopped being at the fore. We came to a time that our community needed to be focused on it again.”
than just trying to get to the right numbers.”
The Wells Theatre, home to the Virginia Stage Company, grappled with its history: it opened as a segregated theater, with a separate entrance and balcony for People of Color.
“We’re not going to erase that past,” said Producing Artistic Director Tom Quaintance. “How do we make the theater welcoming to people of all backgrounds and races? How do we make the staff welcoming to all backgrounds and races?”
Spring/Summer 2024
Recent Grants
The Hampton Roads Community Foundation awarded $494,251 in grants to eight nonprofit organizations during its March Board meeting. These competitive grants were awarded for work toward vibrant places and environmental stewardship. The grants awarded were:
Horizons Hampton Roads, Inc. , $84,200 over three years to support “Our Choices – Our World” environmental stewardship program
Girl Scout Council of the Colonial Coast , $45,000 to support renovations to the Norfolk Lodge at Camp Skimino in Williamsburg
Wetlands Watch , $35,000 to support the expansion of an environmental education curriculum to Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ environmental studies program
Genieve Shelter , $25,000 to support the construction of a new safe house
Lynnhaven River NOW, $17,035 over two years to support the Watershed Leadership Academy
Gary Ryan, former executive director of the Virginia MOCA, noted several major exhibitions that focused on racial equity and justice.
“From a content perspective, we live it,” Ryan said. “From the staff and the board there was work to be done. More thoughtful work
The Foundation’s Equity Assessment Program provided funding and a facilitator, consultant Maureen White, for 18 months to help nonprofit organizations evaluate their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and to develop a plan of action to embed racial equity into the day-to-day operations and culture of their organizations. The Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, the Virginia MOCA, and the Virginia Stage Company were the first three recipients of grant funding for the program. This spring, two new recipients, the Virginia Zoo and the LGBT Life Center, were selected for the next round of the program. Like many
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Peninsula Community Foundation , $10,000 to support Give Local 757.
Additionally, the community foundation provided a grant of $203,016 to support the M inus 9 to 5 initiative at Eastern Virginia Medical School. This program was launched in 2016 by the community foundation to focus on early childhood alignment, coordination, and systems building. It moved to EVMS in 2018. Since its launch, Minus 9 to 5 has brought in more than $9 million in early childhood funding, secured 368 child-care slots for underresourced families, and is improving quality in 1,600 classrooms. The grant funding will support operating expenses.
Tracy Keller, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast
Virginia Stage Company Producing Artistic Director Tom Quaintance at the Wells Theatre
nonprofits, Keller’s staff has more work than people. But when the results arrived from the first review with White, Keller said, the work group realized that different girls had different experiences, and not all felt equally welcome.
“How do we represent ourselves? Do they see themselves doing activities – not one group doing one activity, but do all girls get to do the activity?” she said.
One Black volunteer moved from a city to a rural neighborhood, where she heard other People of Color say “Girl Scouts is not for people like us,” Keller said. Some troops failed to recognize that girls of color might need extra time for hair care before swimming.
“Working through this process made it ok to have the conversation,” she said. “One of the goals is to educate people… when you know better you can do better.”
Girl Scout properties host ‘Gaga Ball’ pits. “When the girls see it, they just go in,” Keller said. “If someone doesn’t know how to play, they say, ‘just come on and I’ll show you.’
That’s how our world should be.”
White, the consultant, said “the work is difficult, in part because many in the world of nonprofits are conscientious people. They are trying to make their communities better”.
“I think that’s why I really appreciate the Foundation’s approach,” White said. “So many organizations want to make a change but don’t know where to start, or they start and they get stuck. The Hampton Roads Community Foundation acknowledges that we know it’s hard. We are going to resource you to go through this intensive process, especially at this moment when people are feeling overwhelmed.”
Recent stories in the New York Times and The Washington Post have described efforts to stop diversity, equity, and inclusion work, including the suspension of state investments. Yet the need has not diminished, White said, and she is heartened by the Hampton Roads
Community Foundation’s continued commitment to the work.
“I think it’s important for humanity,” White said. “Whether you live in Kansas or Hampton Roads or London, the history of the planet is one that is marked by extreme racial inequity. I just believe that together we can undo racism.”
At Virginia Stage, Quaintance said striving to become an actively anti-racist organization has led to changes in everything from how the Wells Theatre is arranged to welcome different groups, to training for ushers and volunteers, to working toward better recruitment and retention of board members.
“It helped us put the conversation in every planning meeting,” Quaintance said. “We acknowledge that if we are working with a partner such as Norfolk State University or Teens with a Purpose, or a Black-led partner organization, it puts a more focused lens on questions we need to answer before we welcome them to the space.”
The weight falls on the theater until the organization reflects the community, Quaintance said.
“What we can’t do is say that we treat everyone equally so it’s not an issue,” he said. “We can’t say we’re not going to get past it because we are all enlightened.”
That issue is a challenge for many in the nonprofit community, White said. Even in diverse organizations, often leadership is not.
“That’s a reality of where we are as a sector right now,” White said. But she takes it as a good sign that so many White people are supporting this work. “Because White people created systemic racism, it is our responsibility to dismantle it. We need to do this in partnership with People of Color in order for it to be most effective.”
The work, while difficult, Ryan said, brought her team closer together. One outcome, she said, “was knowing each other as people.” The team spent time together at two events outside of work. “We are after progress, not perfection.”
Progress includes creating action steps from the discussions, such as plans to strengthen diversity in hiring and to ensure diversity in programming. For the Girl Scouts, it led to change at the national level.
Ericka Spratley volunteered as a Girl Scout troop leader in Virginia Beach for years, including leading a troop that included her own daughters. But later, when she moved to Isle of Wight County, she asked another African American mother where to find a Girl Scout troop. That’s not for us, the
other woman told Spratley. Spratley went to work, first founding a troop and striving to diversify it. Then, she became a delegate to the national Girl Scout council. She met others who had shared her experience, including a girl who had never before seen another brown-skinned girl like herself in a Girl Scout troop.
When the delegates began to discuss whether to add an anti-racism statement to its constitution, Spratley realized she had an opportunity. When her turn came at the microphone, she said:
“It is important that the Girl Scouts make a very clear stance that racism is not tolerated. Anti-racism is uncomfortable, but it is time for us to be uncomfortable, because from that comes change. We cannot play it safe. We must be bold and let everyone know that racism will not be tolerated.”
With support from Spratley and other delegates, the Girl Scouts incorporated an antiracism statement into its national constitution.
“Girl Scouts advance diversity, pluralism, and anti-racism and actively identify and oppose racism by removing systemic barriers to participation in our Movement and the communities in which we live.”
The work has not ended, Keller said. Girl Scouts continues to retool its training to ensure volunteers and staff understand how to be inclusive. They have developed clear values and definitions regarding racial equity, and communicated them to troops.
The Equity Assessment Program paved the way.
“People have to learn first,” Keller said. “Everyone needs the opportunity to learn first.”
The Girl Scout Council of the Colonial Coast offers a diversity library in the lobby of its Chesapeake offices.
Planting Seeds for a Brighter Future Soundings
Years ago, during my first act as an English professor turned community college president, I characterized education as the single greatest act of optimism that we have for the future.
The mantra still resonates in my second act as the Hampton Roads Community Foundation’s President and CEO but with this lesson learned—that literacy has always undergirded the pathway to power.
Deborah M. DiCroce President and CEO
In late April, the Foundation partnered with Collaborative Classroom and Norfolk State University to host a regional screening of the documentary “The Right to Read.”
The film depicts the extraordinary power accessible to those who can read, and the enduring consequences wreaked on those
who cannot. It illustrates this gap and the struggle to close it through reading teachers, literacy experts, the stories of families in several communities, and activist Kareem Weaver, an NAACP organizer in Oakland, California. Did you know that 37 percent of all fourth graders in the United States read at a “below basic” level—meaning they cannot read? Even more alarming is this: Fifty-six percent of Black fourth graders, 50 percent of Hispanic fourth graders, and 57 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native fourth graders are reading “below basic.”
Attention must be paid.
Research suggests that adults who struggle to read are more likely to be unemployed, underemployed, or incarcerated. In fact, according to Gallup (2020), 54 percent of Americans who are 16-to-74 years old read below the equivalent of sixth grade. For now, suffice it to say that low third-grade literacy constitutes a powerful warning for future learning and earning potential. Indeed, it is a strong predictor of future success.
The time to act is now. Stay tuned.
Learn more about the documentary at www.therighttoreadfilm.org and the Foundation at www.hamptonroadscf.org. And please share your thoughts on the topic with Dr. DiCroce at DDiCroce@HamptonRoadsCF.org.
Community Leadership Partners See Their Dollars Work Harder
Tackle community needs by combining resources with other philanthropists, and then see your dollars in action. Join the Community Leadership Partners, a giving circle of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.
Through his membership, Chris Topping has expanded his charitable giving to include supporting educational services and children in foster care.
“I have enjoyed learning about the great work that our area nonprofits are doing,” said Topping, who serves on the grantmaking committee of the Community Leadership Partners. The group “allows me to give back to the community and have a voice in which organizations are funded by our giving circle. I have been introduced to several nonprofit organizations that I am now personally involved with, and have made lifelong friends that I am truly grateful for.”
“I like the idea of magnifying donations, so that my charitable dollars can go further and have a greater impact,” Steil said.
Chris Topping Justin Steil
Justin Steil, who has been a member for six years, said he loves to learn about the community and to see first-hand the impact of his charitable donations.
Meeting other members of the giving circle as well as visiting nonprofit organizations has provided Steil with new perspectives and experiences along with networking opportunities, he said. “It helps to open my mind and to see all that is happening in our community. I get a broader view of how I can help. You feel good about the contribution you have made.”
Join the Community Leadership Partners today. Visit www.communityleadershippartners.org
A Continuing Commitment to Racial Equity
Staff from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation visited the Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum on Elm Avenue in Portsmouth.
This nationally registered historic site was the only library for Portsmouth’s African American community from 1945 until 1963. During the visit, staff learned from African American Historical Society of Portsmouth President Charles E. Johnson Jr., who shared a historical portrayal of a visit to the library, and Society Vice President Mae BreckenridgeHaywood, who shared the story of her arrest for her 1960 civil rights protest in Petersburg.
We at the Foundation believe that racial equity is essential to the success of our region and its people, and it is our call to action to educate ourselves and offer
learning opportunities to our community. Staff members used the museum visit to develop cultural awareness and cultural competency, gain a deeper understanding of challenges that impact communities of color, and strengthen the Foundation’s organizational culture and staff relationships.
The Foundation has long supported the museum, including with a 2009 grant to support restoring and renovating the library as a museum.
Scan here for more on Mae Breckenridge-Haywood and her fight for civil rights in Portsmouth.
Hampton Roads Community Foundation staff visited the Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum in February.
Mae Breckenridge-Haywood
The Hampton Roads Community Foundation has continued its commitment to racial equity with events for staff and for the community. Two such events happened in February.
The following week, the Foundation convened the region’s first Community Peacemaking Circles event to bring the community together around truth-telling, reconciliation, and racial healing. The Foundation joined with the YWCA of South Hampton Roads to host the circles.
Each circle, or three groups of about 20 people each, is designed to create a safe space to uplift all voices, build trust, connect with the community and start racial healing conversations. Peacemaking Circles involve group interactions and intimate conversations in a safe space, said Vivian Oden, the Foundation’s vice president for equity and inclusion. The circle conversations, led by trained facilitators, can lead to transformational experiences, foster trust, build authentic relationships and promote compassion and empathy.
The February peacemaking circle kicked off the series of six. They are the first such events in Hampton Roads, and are designed to allow participants to communicate, even on difficult topics.
“We want to lead our community in conversation about how to encourage authenticity and create welcoming, inclusive environments in our cities and neighborhoods,” Oden said.
To read about the Foundation’s commitment to racial equity, visit www.hamptonroadscf.org.
Hampton Roads Community
Each circle featured a colorful focal point.
Circle membership is set for the year with participants who came to the mandatory first event.
Participants enjoyed dinner together before their conversations.
Grant Allows Western Tidewater Free Clinic to Serve Many More Patients
Patients recline in four new dentist chairs in a bright, sun-filled office with gleaming instruments and warm wood cabinets.
A full-time dentist and a full-time hygienist attend to patients, who have come to the Western Tidewater Free Clinic’s dental office for care they could not otherwise afford. The expansion of the Clinic’s dental care practice from two dentist chairs to four with increased staff — including that full-time dentist — means it has been able to dramatically increase the number of patients it serves. That means more of the uninsured, underinsured, and underserved residents in the clinic’s 2,200 square-mile service area will be able to receive treatment.
Western Tidewater Free Clinic Executive Director Ashley O. Greene
The free clinic provided care to 1,473 patients last year, who made more than 11,419 visits to the offices located on Meade Parkway in Suffolk.
“Many have multiple, chronic health issues,” said Executive Director Ashley O. Greene. “We are their primary medical, vision, dental, and mental health provider. We are definitely part of the safety net.”
The $1.1 million project, completed in November with the first patients seen in December, was supported in part by a $100,000 grant from the Hampton Roads Community
Foundation. The grant continued the Foundation’s longtime support of the clinic. In 2011, the Foundation accepted the Western Tidewater Free Clinic into its Building Excellence Development Capacity program. The clinic’s participation led
them to hire a development director and ultimately raise the funds needed for the expansion.
In addition to the expanded dental office, the clinic added nearly 1,000 square feet to accommodate higher capacity equipment, a larger lab, a staff work area, a training room, and a mental health and telehealth room. The clinic’s mental health program has grown by 250%, Greene said. Additionally, the clinic created areas with greater privacy for eligibility review.
“We gave everything a facelift. We got everything painted,” Greene said. “It’s a modernized, efficient space. We care very much about patients feeling good about the space they are served in.”
The clinic also provides a place for dental hygiene students from Old Dominion University to gain work experience. Greene hopes to expand that program to students from other colleges with the new space.
The clinic added staff as well as additional space.
Now, Greene is focused on reaching more of the population who are eligible for care at the clinic and the dental office.
“A sick mouth is a sick body,” Greene said. The clinic is always looking for ways to expand care to more people who need it. “It takes everyone in the community to create the community we all want to live in.”
The clinic doubled the number of dentist chairs in its space to serve more patients.
Makailah Lee’s Scholarship has Allowed Her to Help People
When she was in middle school in Victoria, in southside Virginia, Makailah Lee already knew she was headed to law school.
“I knew early on I wanted to have a career that would allow me to go out into the world and help people,” Lee said.
Lee won the Willcox Savage Scholarship, first awarded in 2022, for African American or Black law students from Virginia. Her mom had encouraged her to apply for scholarships. The Willcox Savage Scholarship seemed, she said, “like this was specifically geared for me.”
Lisa Murphy, an attorney at Willcox Savage, said the law firm founded the scholarship “to increase the number of diverse candidates in the legal profession.”
The scholarship has supported Lee as she completes her juris doctor at Washington & Lee University in Lexington. She will work in the Richmond area after she completes her degree this spring.
“From here, it’s the world,” she said.
Lee won the Willcox Savage Scholarship, first awarded in 2022, for African American or Black law students from Virginia.
A new recipient for the Willcox Savage Scholarship will be named soon. The scholarship supports first-yearlaw students, students attending a law school in Virginia, and/or students from Hampton Roads.
New to the Team
Andrew Roper recently joined the Hampton Roads Community Foundation staff as the information security officer.
Before joining the Foundation in December 2023, he was a cyber-security consultant in private practice. He has more than 20 years’ experience in information technology and information systems and was a chief technology officer for a local healthcare group and a local technology services company. Andrew holds multiple industry and vendor certifications.
Michelle Washington joined the team in December 2023 as vice president for communications and marketing. Michelle previously was director of communications for Norfolk Public Schools and a public relations manager for the City of Norfolk. She also worked in print journalism for more than 20 years, including at The Virginian-Pilot.
Michelle is a graduate of Washington & Lee University.
101 W. Main Street, Suite 4500 Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-7951 www.HamptonRoadsCF.org
Board Of Directors
Sharon S. Goodwyn, Chair
John O. Wynne Jr., Vice Chair
Dawn S. Glynn, Treasurer
Deborah M. DiCroce, Secretary President & CEO
Frank Batten Jr.
L.D. Britt, M.D.
Joan P. Brock
Thomas R. Frantz
Hon. Jerrauld C. Jones
Howard P. Kern
Miles B. Leon
Lemuel E. Lewis
Suzanne Puryear
Cynthia C. Romero, M.D. Rony Thomas
Change Service Requested
The mission of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation is to make life better in Hampton Roads through leadership, philanthropy, and civic engagement. Its vision is a thriving community with opportunity for all. Established in 1950, the community foundation is a 501(c)3 public charity that helps residents of southeastern Virginia lead better lives.
Full Sail Ahead
Memorial Funds Allow You to Cherish the Memory of a Loved One
Memorial funds offer a heartfelt way to honor the memory of a cherished individual. For example, after the tragic murder of young journalist Sierra Jenkins, the Virginia Press Association and the Virginia Press Foundation established the Sierra Jenkins Scholarship Fund to support Virginia students pursuing a degree in journalism or communications. It was generously supported by her friends, family, and colleagues.
In 2013, when Virginia Beach High School teacher Jennifer Mooney Greene died after fighting melanoma for several years, her family asked those who loved her to contribute to a scholarship fund in her name. That fund continues to provide support for students to attend college. We will assist you with the entire process. Should contributions meet the minimum balance required to establish
Kay A. Stine Vice President for Development
a permanent fund, our Foundation will collaborate with the family to facilitate its creation. Contributions of less than the permanent fund threshold may be directed to an existing Foundation fund of the family’s preference.
If you’d like to explore these compassionate avenues further, we encourage you to connect with a staff member at the Foundation, who will be dedicated to assisting you through this process with care and understanding. For more on memorial funds and other ways to support charitable organizations in your community, visit hamptonroadscf.org/ giving-your-way/ways-to-give
We are happy to help you establish a memorial fund. All you need to do is let us know by calling Kay Stine, vice president for development, at 757-622-7951 or emailing her at KStine@hamptonroadscf.org.
