Partnership to End Homelessness

Background

The Partnership to End Homelessness was launched on June 6, 2019 as a public-private partnership between the Washington, D.C. municipal government’s Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Greater Washington Community Foundation aiming to increase the supply of affordable housing in the district, support local nonprofits focused on decreasing homelessness, engage in public advocacy campaigns to change the perception of homelessness, and coordinate public and private institutional participation to complement government efforts. ¹

According to the press release announcing the organization’s launch, the Partnership to End Homelessness was initially funded in large part by a few major donations, particularly $5 million from the Greater Washington Community Foundation’s investment fund and $1 million from the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation. ¹

Advocacy

On April 7, 2025, the president of the Greater Washington Community Foundation Tonia Wellons, writing on behalf of the Partnership to End Homelessness, advocated a series of policy items to be included in Washington, D.C.’s 2026 budget largely consisting of funding, allocations, and grants associated with programs and institutions aiming to reduce homelessness. For instance, policy items noted by Wellons include the funding of 1,260 new Permanent Supportive Housing Vouchers, the allocation of $6.5 million to the Coordinated Street Outreach Network, allocation of $17.3 million to the Local Rent Supplement Program, allocation of $100 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund (including $5 million for “flexible capital”), the creation of a flexible funding program at the D.C. Department of Human Services to cover move-in expenses for voucher recipients, and increasing the Personal Needs Allowance of residents in D.C.’s assisted living facility. ²

Grant Recipients

Grant recipients of the Partnership to End Homelessness’s Waldon Adams Housing Justice grant program include the New Housing Coalition, DC Jobs with Justice, the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, Empower DC, the Fair Budget Coalition, Miriam’s Kitchen, ONE DC (Organizing Neighborhood Equity), the People for Fairness Coalition, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, and the LGBTQ Budget Advocacy Coalition. ³

Funding

Nonprofits and businesses that support the Partnership to End Homelessness include the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation, the Bainum Family Foundation, Bank of America, the Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation, Capital One, the Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Kovler Fund, the LLK Fund, the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, MidCity, the Stewart R. Mott Foundation, the James M. and Virginia W. Newmyer Family Fund, the William and Dorothy K. O’Neill Foundation, the Risa Fund, and the Shiffrin Family Foundation. ^{4 5}

Leadership

The Partnership to End Homelessness’s Leadership Council includes Amanda Andere, CEO of Funders Together to End Homelessness; Rebecca Ballard, founder of Rooted Communities; Karen Dale, market president of AmeriHealth Caritas; Anand Dholakia, program director of the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation; Kimberly Harris, director of community health and social impact at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield; Alecia Hill, vice president and assistant portfolio manager at FCP; Sheara Jennings, dean of Howard University’s School of Social Work; George Leventhal, director of community health at Kaiser Permanente; Kelly Lynch, executive director of the Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation; Alison McWilliams, executive director of the Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation; Andrew Vincent, chief investment officer of Horning Brothers; and Mike Schwartz, program officer at the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. ⁴