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Arlington County is awarding more than $1.8 million to 23 nonprofits working on needs ranging from health care and legal aid to education, housing and food assistance.

The County Board approved the grants March 18, 2025, through the fiscal 2026 RACE to Rebuilding Trust & Community program. Individual awards were capped at $150,000.

Board Chair Takis Karantonis said the county remains committed to advancing racial equity and supporting minority and marginalized residents despite political headwinds at the national level.

The program drew 55 completed applications. Arlington worked with the United Way of the National Capital Area, community members and county employees with relevant professional or lived experience to evaluate the proposals.

Five technical-assistance sessions were held between October and December 2024. This year’s process was adjusted to make participation easier for smaller nonprofits, and five applicants reported operating budgets below $250,000.

Written applications and oral presentations each accounted for half of an applicant’s final score. Proposals scoring at least 95 received their full requested amount, while those scoring from 93 to 94.9 received 75% and those scoring from 92 to 92.9 received 50%. Several proposals scoring above 85.59 also received half of their requests based on strong reviewer support.

The 23 grant recipients

  • 1st Road South — $37,500: Scholarships allowing 30 students to attend five weeks of summer camp and participate in school-year activities outside the classroom.
  • AHC Inc. — $75,000: Academic support, career preparation and leadership programs for 160 young people.
  • Arlington Free Clinic — $150,000: Comprehensive health care and connections to community resources for more than 1,500 uninsured adults.
  • Arlington Neighborhood Village — $67,715: Practical and social services for 535 older adults, particularly those with lower incomes.
  • Aspire! Afterschool Learning — $149,064: Free after-school and summer education serving 150 students in grades three through eight during the school year and 120 students in the summer.
  • Ayuda — $112,500: Legal help and case management for 60 low-income immigrants, along with eight emotional-support groups.
  • Center for Youth and Family Advocacy — $44,720: Training for youth restorative-justice staff and peer ambassadors, plus expanded Spanish-language capacity in the ambassador program.
  • Challenging Racism — $109,654: Diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and accessibility training and mentorship for 24 human-services nonprofits.
  • City Center Nova, doing business as Our Stomping Ground — $126,000: Inclusive programming for people with developmental disabilities, including 288 health, wellness and social events, four employment sessions and 48 food distributions.
  • Dream Project — $27,500: Mentoring, scholarships and broader support for 28 to 35 immigrant students and their families.
  • English Empowerment Center — $54,393: English reading, writing, speaking and comprehension education for 60 low-income residents.
  • Friends of Guest House — $50,000: Health, housing and employment assistance for 75 women returning from incarceration.
  • La Cocina VA, doing business as Kitchen of Purpose — $75,000: Workforce-development services for as many as 100 people and family dinners serving 720 individuals.
  • L’Arche Greater Washington, D.C. — $75,000: Housing for eight core members, community programs for 540 adults with developmental disabilities and an increase in assistants’ hourly pay from $12 to $20.
  • Legal Aid Justice Center — $75,000: Legal representation, guidance and education, including two clinics, immigration assistance for 60 households and six Know Your Rights events.
  • Meals on Wheels of Arlington, Virginia Inc. — $37,500: A year of prepared meals for 24 homebound clients.
  • Northern Virginia Family Service Inc. — $112,500: Healthy Families services for 100 families with new parents and babies.
  • NovaSalud Inc. — $75,000: HIV and sexually transmitted disease prevention for 720 people, 180 educational sessions and care services for approximately 150 individuals.
  • Read Early and Daily — $26,520: Two thousand culturally relevant books distributed in book bags to 400 families at the VHC Outpatient Clinic.
  • Restorative Arlington — $150,000: A restorative-justice conferencing program intended to address harm outside the criminal legal system through 12 cases and 12 community circles.
  • Rock Recovery Inc. — $30,000: A BIPOC therapist providing sliding-scale eating-disorder treatment to more than 175 clients.
  • Shirlington Employment and Education Center — $150,000: Job placement, employment assistance and referrals for at least 325 immigrant day laborers.
  • The Salvation Army — $60,960: Emergency assistance for 150 low-income households, food distributions reaching 4,000 people and after-school programs for 46 children.