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The Yield Giving Open Call gift is the largest in DC SCORES’ history.

MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving has announced DC SCORES as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees. DC SCORES received $2 million.

The award granted substantial gifts to organizations working with people and in places experiencing the greatest needs in the United States.

DC SCORES serves more than 3,000 young people at over 60 elementary and middle schools across the District of Columbia through its soccer, poetry, and service-learning programs. Operating in 7 of D.C.’s 8 wards, DC SCORES provides this free out-of-school-time programming to ensure that young people experience the joys of childhood: sports, the arts, and being part of a community.

In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.

“This gift is the largest in our organization’s history and will have an enormous impact on young people in D.C.,” says Katrina Owens, executive director of DC SCORES. “We envision D.C. as a poet-athlete city — one where every child has the opportunity to take part in our program. Today’s announcement is game-changing for us in terms of reaching that goal.”

DC SCORES is preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary, beginning in September, and will mark three decades of impact by outlining a vision for D.C. as a “poet-athlete city.” “For thirty years, our poet-athletes have been instrumental in building community in the District. They are serving as coaches, public servants, teachers, artists, and more,” says Owens. “D.C. needs more poet-athletes. Gifts like this one from Yield Giving, alongside the tireless efforts of the wider DC SCORES community, enable us to reach those poet-athletes and transform them into community leaders.”

The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the fall of 2023, organizations ranked highly by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external evaluation panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause before submitting to a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, the Open Call donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.

“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”

More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.