Frederick nonprofits serving women receive more than $200,000 in grants

Jun. 30—Grant recipients Aavanee Advocates for Homeless Families Advocates for the Aging of Frederick County, Maryland, Inc. Andrea's House, Inc. Centro Hispanio de Frederick Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership Frederick Community College Foundation Frederick Rescue Mission, Inc. Heartly House Housing Authority of the City of Frederick Literacy Council of Frederick County, Inc. Mission of Mercy, Inc. Partners in Care Maryland, Inc. Second Chances Garage, Inc. Seton Center, Inc. Spanish Speaking Community of MD, Inc. Supporting Older Adults Through Resources, Inc. (SOAR) The Love for Lochlin Foundation, Inc. The Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs The Salvation Army United Way of Frederick County Women to Women Mentoring, Inc.

Twenty-two Frederick-area nonprofits focused on helping women received a total of $270,000 in grants in June from the Women's Giving Circle of Frederick County.

The Giving Circle, founded in 2006, is part of the Community Foundation of Frederick County and pools contributions from its members to support local nonprofits who serve women.

The organization awarded grants this year to several organizations serving disadvantaged women, including nonprofits that provide support to women experiencing domestic violence and an organization that offers free car maintenance services to economically vulnerable women.

"It's about pulling together all our resources financially and then having programs to help women lift themselves up," said Karlys Kline, who founded the Women's Giving Circle and is the organization's chair emerita.

The largest grant was awarded to Heartly House, an organization providing services to survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, child abuse and human trafficking.

The nonprofit received $20,000 to provide shelter and rental assistance to survivors of abuse. The funds will help provide offsite shelter services for about 12 families and rental assistance for 14 to 15 families, said Melissa Nearchos, Heartly House's grants manager.

"There may be reasons why someone shouldn't stay in our shelter and may need to be in a confidential location," Nearchos said. "This augments our services to keep victims safe."

Kline said that since its founding, the Giving Circle has awarded about $3 million total in grants. Most of the grants go to organizations focused on helping women move forward in their careers, she said, whether through providing childcare services, workforce training or other measures.

Aavanee, a nonprofit that received a $9,500 grant from the Giving Circle, provides services to survivors of domestic abuse and workforce training to women. The organization's workforce training is especially geared toward women who are the head of their household and women who are entering the workforce after staying at home, said Lakshmi Darbha, the nonprofit's president.

This is the third year that Aavanee has received a grant from the Giving Circle, Darbha said, adding that she appreciates the organization because it's helped Aavanee direct the women it serves to other resources where needed, such as housing or a vehicle.

"We are certainly thankful to Women's Giving Circle because they are totally understanding how we're evolving," Darbha said. "Women's Giving Circle serves as a platform for us to find the rest of the resources for the people who we are training."

Several of the nonprofits who were awarded grants, including Aavanee, serve women in ALICE (asset limited, income constrained, employed) households, who have jobs but are unable to afford basic living expenses.

United Way of Frederick County received $5,000 to provide free income tax services and financial education to women who lead ALICE households. Women to Women Mentoring, Inc. received $15,600 for a workforce mentoring program geared toward ALICE women.

Kline said the Women's Giving Circle is unique because members who contribute funds have a clear idea of where their contributions go and the resulting work that nonprofits do.

Mimi Galanis, the chair of the Giving Circle's grants committee, agreed. The Giving Circle carefully chooses grant recipients by observing the work each applicant is doing and talking with each nonprofit, she said.

About 37 area nonprofits applied for grants this year, Galanis added. She said the Giving Circle prides itself on giving funds to organizations that have created "measurable change" in the lives of Frederick women.

"I think the message is collectively, 'women can make a big difference in the lives of other women,'" Galanis said.

More information about each of the grant recipients is on the Community Foundation of Frederick County's website.