Tzedek DC has been selected by Citi Foundation as a recipient of the Community Progress Makers initiative, which supports visionary organizations across the U.S. that are working to connect communities with low incomes and communities of color to greater social and economic opportunities. As a Community Progress Maker, Tzedek DC will receive a multi-year, unrestricted grant of $500,000 and other assistance from the Citi Foundation from 2022-2023.
Through Citi Foundation’s support, Tzedek DC plans to expand the capacity of our team by, among other things, launching a pilot financial counselor project to complement our legal services as well as adding a dedicated community outreach and education professional. These positions are especially vital for meeting community-level needs now that DC’s emergency debt collection moratoria have expired. With the end of these protections, our client community now faces risks from an onslaught of debt collection, lawsuits, plummeting credit scores, restricted credit, and ever more scams and frauds.
Tzedek DC’s Founding President & Director-Counsel Ariel Levinson-Waldman said, “We deeply appreciate Citi Foundation’s vote of confidence through this unrestricted grant funding, which allows us to expand our work of empowering all DC residents, particularly community members of color with lower incomes and historically lower access to power, to live more financially stable and secure lives.”
“Six years ago, the Citi Foundation launched Community Progress Makers with a vision of empowering community leaders to grow their transformative impact through unrestricted, trust-based funding,” said Brandee McHale, Head of Community Investing and Development and President of the Citi Foundation. “This kind of approach and support is more important than ever as the U.S. continues to address the root causes and impacts of income and wealth inequality. Through the Community Progress Makers initiative, these social innovators and advocates can continue to look for new ways of addressing long-standing societal challenges at scale.” For more information about Community Progress Makers, please visit www.citifoundation.com/cpm.
About Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. The Foundation invests in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant communities. The Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.
About Tzedek DC
Tzedek DC’s mission is to safeguard the legal rights and financial health of DC residents with lower incomes facing the often-devastating consequences of debt collection and credit-related obstacles. This mission is carried out as anti-racism work in response to the massive wealth gaps tracking race in DC and nationwide. Tzedek DC serves a client base of 90% African American, 60% women, and 25% disabled community members. Our strategic approach combines three synergistic activities: (i) free legal representation and advice; (ii) working in coalition to make systemic change; and (iii) providing community legal education on debt collection, identity theft, and credit management. Since 2017, Tzedek DC has served over 2,200 client households in legal matters, saving an average of $2,151 per full representation case, and helped catalyze systemic reforms benefiting hundreds of thousands of DC residents.