Fair Chance was a godsend to our young nonprofit organization. Due to our work with Fair Chance, we were able to improve our marketing and communications, fundraising, finance, and Board development systems. In addition, potential funders noted our partnership with Fair Chance as a sign that we were on the right track as a developing nonprofit and that we had the support we would need to continue our growth. We have been able to take advantage of the Fair Chance community of nonprofit partners and philanthropic supporters to strengthen our organizational infrastructure and capacity with speed and quality that could not have been possible without Fair Chance's support.

Fair Chance is intensely focused on understanding and addressing the needs of underserved children in Washington. They have an innovative, effective approach to building the capacity of nonprofits and strengthening the community one organization at a time.

As a Fair Chance board member for over a year, I have been honored to serve with such a hands-on, motivated board and dedicated, resilient staff. In the past several months, I have spent significant amounts of time interviewing the executive directors of the nonprofits with which Fair Chance has partnered. What has impressed me most is the truly transformative effect our capacity building has on these dynamic, community-based nonprofits serving youth, children and their families in Wards 5-8 of Washington, DC. To a person, these executive directors have discussed how Fair Chance has helped to stabilize, strengthen, and sustain their organizations in areas like board development, fundraising, financial management, human resources and succession planning. It is obvious to me that there exists a direct correlation between having a stable, sustainable community-based nonprofit and the positive outcomes these nonprofits can achieve. Moreover, Fair Chance has truly developed the leadership skills of these executive directors, who now feel more effective in their roles as leaders of their organizations. One executive director gave me the following apt analogy of the relationship between her organization and Fair Chance: her organization is the mission, the heart, and Fair Chance is the structure, the skeleton that protects and nutures that heart to ensure that it can do great works in the community. That's a great way to think of what Fair Chance does at its best.

Fair Chance fills a much needed gap in educating small non-profits in neighborhoods on how to more effectively operate their organizations. They've done a terrific job with identifying appropriate organizations and providing them with important organizational expertise.

As a new transplant to the DC region I needed to establish a network. I reached out to many leaders in the nonprofit community and I was impressed with how and what they said about Fair Chance. I wanted to align myself with Fair Chance because it was an organization that spoke to my values to strengthen nonprofits as they pursue excellence in meeting their mission. The beneficiaries of their services were not only the nonprofit organizations they partnered with to support but most importantly the youth that those organization's served. As a volunteer with Fair Chance, I invest my time because I believe in the far-reaching value and impact of capacity building. The Fair Chance staff is passionate and committed to supporting their nonprofit partners to achieve mission success. That's something we should all value. Building stronger nonprofits = Building stronger communities.

Fair Chance’s Capacity Building Partnership with BT strengthened the organization in the areas of fiscal management, fundraising, communications, board development and human resources. During the Fair Chance partnership, BT more than doubled its budget and tripled the number of participants served.

From January to August in 2009, I led a pro bono project team from the Taproot Foundation to research, write, design, and produce new fundraising materials for Fair Chance. As I learned more about the organization, I became increasingly impressed with its unique business model offering free, high quality, one-on-one capacity building services to other local nonprofits. I also enjoyed a close working relationship with the Fair Chance staff, who amaze me with their dedication, responsiveness, knowledge, and passion for the cause. I highly recommend Fair Chance to potential corporate and individual donors (I have become one myself), as well as to future partners, employee candidates, and volunteers.

I first got involved with Fair Chance about 2.5 years ago. I was struck by the mission and the fact that an investment in Fair Chance helps many small non profits in DC that have great visions but don't have the capability to grow or sustain. I first got involved with the organization's search for a new Executive Director. I am proud that I was part of the process to bring on such an experienced and effective leader for the organization. After spending a year on the Board, I accepted the role of Treasurer which I have held for a little over a year. As Treasurer, I see first hand how Fair Chance can help so many worthy non profits with a fairly limited budget. Fair Chance manages expenses and negotiates pro bono support that can be leveraged by many of its partners. I have had the opportunity to talk to the leaders of several Fair Chance partners and they are incredibly appreciative of the help Fair Chance has given them and attribute a lot of their success to this partnership.

Fair Chance has the demonstrated ability to multiply services and opportunities that reach our most impoverished and hardest to reach youth in DC. In my current role with a partner organization and previously as the Development Director at Fair Chance, I have been inspired by the amount of unsolicited praise partner organizations share about the benefits of the one-on-one, client-centered capacity building partnership. I had the honor of working with this wonderful organization for two years, and I know firsthand that investing in Fair Chance results in real and lasting change for thousands of our local children.

I had the privaledge to serve on Fair Chance's Board of trustees for several years. Fair Chance is a dedicated, necessary organization working successfully to improve the lives of Washington DC children who are living in poverty. During FC's partnerships local organizations are taught essentials skills to increase their ability so successfully help thier target population. Partner organizations learn how to apply for funding, develop their internal organization, expand their services, and thrive for years to come.