These 5 DC nonprofits won $500K Citi Foundation grants

D.C. digital inclusion nonprofit Byte Back added to its list of recent funding wins on a national stage last week.

The 20-year-old org was a recipient of a $500,000 grant from the Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers Fund. 

Byte Back, which opened a new office and announced an expansion to Maryland in the year before marking two decades in operation in March, will use the funding to offer its tech training and career prep to 120 adults in D.C. and Maryland. The latest funding follows January’s $360,000 award for Byte Back at the WeWork Creator Awards finals in New York.

Byte Back is one of five D.C. organizations to receive the $500,000 grants from the Citi Foundation. Others include:

• Groundswell, a community solar nonprofit enabling customers to purchase solar power from a local solar project.
• The Latino Economic Development Center is exploring nonprofit mergers and acquisitions. It will use the funding to replicate a pilot started in 2017, and work with Citi to create a toolkit for other nonprofits looking to grow through M&A.
• Building Bridges Across the River, which runs arts and education center THEARC, and works to improve the quality of life for residents east of the Anacostia River.
• Mary’s Center, a community health center that also offers education and economic opportunity with with eight locations in D.C. and Maryland, is looking to hire more staff and offer professional training opportunities.

In all, the Citi Foundation provided $20 million to organizations in grants in six metro areas, which also include New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.

“We launched this program in 2015 as our version of ‘venture philanthropy’ – a chance to invest in the vision and mission of these organizations who are helping positively transform their communities,” said Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation.