Reimagine (formerly Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative) Sunsets After 17 Years of Impact
Graduates from a employment certification program supported by Reimagine in 2012.
After seventeen years of impact across the region, Reimagine (formerly known as the Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative) is sunsetting. The move comes as the Greater Washington Community Foundation continues its investment in a range of economic mobility programs and initiatives providing direct resources, training and skills development to community members.
In 2008, as our country and region grappled with economic recession, local philanthropic partners came together with an early recognition that traditional job training efforts alone were insufficient. The collaborative emerged from a shared commitment to fund differently—to make systemic change in the workforce landscape so that more individuals could access family-sustaining employment.
Graduates from an adult learning program supported by Reimagine in 2015
Founding partners included The Community Foundation, The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, if, a Foundation for Radical Possibility (formerly the Consumer Health Foundation), the Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the Northern Virginia Health Foundation, United Way of the National Capital Area, The Moriah Fund, Kaiser Permanente, and the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. JP Morgan Chase and individual donors Marian Osterweis and Patricia Weiss Fagen also made significant contributions.
The Community Foundation was one of only ten organizations nationwide selected by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions to launch this collaborative approach. That foundational investment and sustained commitment throughout this journey was invaluable and a testament to the vision and potential its initial partners saw in this approach from the beginning.
Participants at So Others Might Eat (SOME)’s Center for Employment Training in 2018.
Over the years, Reimagine became a regional vehicle for investing in policy and advocacy organizations, convening local stakeholders, funding research, building the capacity of workforce professionals, partnering with local governments advancing racial equity, and launching sector partnerships across DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
It's difficult to fully capture Reimagine’s impact on the economic justice ecosystem over these seventeen years, but a few milestones reflect the breadth and depth of what we've achieved together in our region:
Raising more than $12 million for workforce efforts through partnerships with over 30 organizations
Helping more than 6,000 workers in the region earn credentials, secure promotions and raises, and launch family-sustaining careers
Leveraging more than $50 million in state and federal workforce funding through investments in workforce systems change and policy efforts
Partnering with JP Morgan Chase to launch Greater Washington Works – a $1 million grantmaking initiative to help residents launch living-wage careers in the IT & healthcare sectors
Contributing to legislative successes on issues ranging from minimum wage increases and paid family and sick leave to transportation subsidies for individuals in training programs and better utilization of federal and state job-focused programs
The Community Foundation would like to thank all of our incredible supporters, donors, philanthropic and community partners, and grantees who played an essential part in this incredible collaborative for nearly two decades. Reimagine demonstrated our collective commitment to adaptive, community-responsive philanthropy and was instrumental in helping to shape The Community Foundation’s current vision of promoting systemic change and economic growth across our region.
As regional economic conditions continue to shift dramatically, we've applied the lessons learned through Reimagine to support both crisis response and long-term economic justice through our expanded portfolio of programs - including robust support for guaranteed income programs, comprehensive small business support initiatives, and more.
While these programs cannot replace Reimagine's unique contributions, we are excited by their potential to advance our economic mobility priorities and our collective commitment to economic justice. We also know that these programs would not be possible without the decades of incredible lessons and community-centered legacy established by Reimagine and our partners.