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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — ACT for Alexandria's Fund for Racial Equity distributed more than $200,000 in grants to 29 local organizations and community leaders over two years, according to a new impact report released Wednesday that charts the progress and lessons of one of the city's most ambitious community-driven philanthropic experiments.
The report, titled A Journey in Hope, documents how a nine-member Community Advisory Board of Alexandria residents — not professional grant administrators — led three rounds of grantmaking from early 2024 through late 2025, directing flexible, unrestricted funds to organizations working to advance racial equity and dismantle systemic racism in the city.
"The Fund for Racial Equity wasn't just about making grants, it was about sharing power," said Heather Peeler, president and CEO of ACT for Alexandria. "By trusting community members to make funding decisions, we demonstrated that the strongest solutions emerge when residents have a meaningful voice in shaping investments in their own community."
The nine Community Advisory Board members — Patricia Amaya, Bill Campbell, Cecilia Garcia Meruvia, Lisa Guernsey, Kimberly Hurley, Naima Kearney, Richard Merritt, Lawrence Smith, and Mahlet Tefera — came from various walks of life and all lived or worked in Alexandria. ACT offered opt-in stipends for participation and covered related expenses including transportation and childcare.
The grantmaking unfolded across three rounds, each shaped by what the board was learning. The first round, in October 2024, awarded $38,000 to 19 organizations and community leaders, prioritizing work in health, housing, education and child welfare — areas with the highest racial disparities. Applications were accepted in Amharic, Arabic, Dari, English, Pashto and Spanish, and handwritten submissions were welcome.
The second round came amid a dramatically different landscape. In 2025, the CAB navigated what the report describes as sustained attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, reductions in nonprofit funding, unprecedented cuts to the federal workforce, and increased targeting of immigrant communities. The board responded with a simplified $2,000 award process supporting existing grantees to go deeper in their racial equity work.
The third round moved away from applications entirely. The CAB chose not to require any application or justification of an organization's existence, instead awarding general operating support grants of $12,000 or $20,000 to 10 organizations building community power and racial equity capacity. The round was informed by conversations with more than 70 community members in English, Spanish and Amharic, as well as focus groups with three youth groups totaling more than 30 participants.
Grantees included a wide range of Alexandria organizations: ALIVE!, Carpenter's Shelter, Casa Chirilagua, Communities in Schools, Community Lodgings, Friends of Guest House, Inspira Dance, Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid, Muslims for Just Futures, Northern Virginia Family Service, Restoration Immigration Legal Aid, Senior Services of Alexandria, Tenants and Workers United, The Campagna Center, Together We Bake, Wesley Housing and others.
The report is candid about the challenges. The second round took place amid what it describes as an "increasingly hostile environment" for racial equity work, affecting fundraising, organizational safety and public discourse. The CAB also had to navigate the learning curve of trust-based grantmaking while developing a shared language around racial equity.
ACT says the first chapter of the Fund's grantmaking journey has concluded, but the Fund itself remains an enduring resource and continues to accept donations. The organization is seeking to raise $75,000 to launch the next iteration of the Fund.
"We leave not with all the answers, but with a stronger sense of what can happen when we are willing to learn together, lead together, and imagine together," one CAB member wrote in the report.
The full report is available at actforalexandria.org. To support the Fund or learn more, email grants@actforalexandria.org or visit actforalexandria.org/the-fund-for-racial-equity.
