Bread for the City

Winner of The Washington Post 2004 Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management, the agency provides direct services for low-income DC residents: medical care, legal and social services, food and clothing.

How do you help people in my community?

Bread for the City helps low-income residents of Washington, DC.  We have been working successfully in the community since 1974.  Additionally, we hire many DC residents, some of whom have been clients, to work with us.

Bread for the City has a tremendous volunteer program ? these volunteer opportunities do two things: they help the agency provide more services than we could otherwise afford; in addition, the individuals who volunteer with us learn first-hand about the needs in the low-income community and tell us how incredibly rewarding the experience has been. We started as an entirely volunteer organization, today volunteering is a cornerstone of the agency, we would never be able to serve our clients without our volunteer doctors, lawyers, grocery baggers, intake workers, receptionist and many more people who help us every day.

Why do you need my support?

Every dollar counts; there is no steady stream of funding that enables us to help people.  We started by filling a gap, meeting a need.  We continue to see needs in the community that are not met, and so we do what we can to meet them.  Our fiscal year starts on July 1, at the beginning of each fiscal year, we start at zero and set about raising what we need to sustain the agency. A significant portion of our revenue each year is in-kind, these are donated goods and services.  Whether a donor hosts a clothing drive in her office, or makes a holiday donation to us in lieu of buying gifts, or sets up a monthly donation of $10, each and every donation makes a difference to our clients. Our largest source of support is from individuals ? these donations accounted for 41.8% of all support last year. 

Our vision is of Washington, DC, as a nurturing community where all residents have access to the basic resources needed for survival and for the growth and prosperity of their social, emotional, and spiritual lives.  We work hard to realize this vision by providing an array of services to our community's under-served.

How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?

We have a thirty-year track record of fiscal responsibility, and last year, 87% of support received went directly to program services.  Our audits and 990s are available upon request, and we publish our annual report on our website.

Can I Volunteer? How?

Yes. We have a volunteer coordinator who oversees the process. There is an application on our website, it is also available by mail or fax.  The prospective volunteer would use this form to tell us what their interests are and how often they?d like to help.  There is a mandatory orientation for all new volunteers where they learn about Bread for the City, client confidentiality and other important information.  To learn more log on to www.breadforthecity.org or call Nico Fertakis at 202-265-2400.