Leading ACTor: The City of Alexandria

This month we highlight the City of Alexandria as our Leading ACTor! The City has been a longtime supporter of ACT and its initiatives, and clearly values the nonprofit sector. They seek opportunities to bring together strengths and resources to effectively serve Alexandria and ensure a vibrant community for all.

In the past year, the City has partnered with ACT by:

  • Co-founding and largely funding the Alexandria Resilience Fund (formerly the ACT Now Fund), ultimately raising $3M to support 127 nonprofits on the frontlines of COVID-19 response;
  • Leading an effort with ACT and community organizations to distribute 7,412 grocery gift cards totaling over $2.5M;
  • Responding to national events by providing a platform for conversation and action around social justice;
  • Co-investing in Census Mini Grants for outreach and engagement that resulted in a complete count for Alexandria;
  • Being the lead sponsor of Spring2ACTion, Alexandria’s Giving Day;
  • And collaborating with ACT, the school system, and youth-serving nonprofit organizations to ensure that children have safe, productive learning environments that enable them to excel with online learning.

When asked why the City chooses to partner with ACT, Mayor Justin Wilson responded, “Our City has an incredibly diverse and significant nonprofit community. You can find a nonprofit organization in this city that addresses just about any need that we find in Alexandria. However, one of the challenges has always been that coordinating function, that orchestration. And that is where ACT is plays an essential part – they are the backbone and the glue. They have the capacity to quickly mobilize and address any challenge. ACT helps make the partnership between the nonprofit sector, government and philanthropy work better for our residents.”

A special thanks to Mayor Justin Wilson, City Manager Mark Jinks, Deputy City Manager Debra Collins, members of City Council, Director of DCHS Kate Garvey, Director of Communications Craig Fifer, Project Manager Debbie Anderson, Lillian Vagnoni, and Lesa Gilbert and her team.

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