dcpolicefoundation

Our Mission:

The mission of the Washington DC Police Foundation is to bring together business, professional, civic and nonprofit organizations and individual citizens to promote public safety by providing financial and in-kind resources to the Chief of Police and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Our goal is to make Washington, DC a safer place to live, work and visit for everyone.

Our History:

The Washington DC Police Foundation (DCPF) is a young and growing organization. DCPF began in 2000 as a public safety program initiative of the Federal City Council (FCC). The “Police Fund” provided assistance in many forms, ranging from direct financial grants to in-kind donated goods and services, to the development of specific public safety legislative proposals. At the behest of Charles Ramsey, then Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the FCC organized and formally established a police foundation in the Nation's Capital in March of 2007. We received our official IRS 501(c) 3 advance ruling to operate as a nonprofit organization that October.

The Washington DC Police Foundation was founded in order to generate resources to support crime prevention programs in the District's most troubled neighborhoods, especially programs directed towards at-risk young people. The Foundation originally operated as an advised fund under the auspices of the Community Foundation of Greater Washington, which handled all financial and administrative matters.

The initial capitalization funding was provided by thirteen corporations and foundations providing $10,000 each, and individuals provided $41,000, for a total of $171,000. Initial programs supported by DCPF included the evening basketball league for 100 young men aged 16 to 25, who also participated in educational workshops. This successful initial offering was made possible to a large extent by DC area legal and corporate leaders Robert Linowes and Pat Clancy. It quickly gained interest and support from Bob Mulligan, then Chairman of Woodward & Lothrop and other influential funders. Another program was the "Bigs in Blue" where 70 young boys and girls were mentored in the sixth and seventh police districts by officers. During this formative time a meeting was held at the 30 year old NYC Police Foundation that attracted interest from 40+ cities and helped inform the foundation regarding governance and programs.

In 2004 DCPF built a young children’s playground in Sursum Corda. In 2005, the Foundation directed grants to a variety of DC youth violence prevention projects, plus several direct law enforcement grants in areas like specialized in-service training for 500 MPD detectives and investigators on advanced interrogation techniques. In 2006, DCPF awarded just over $204,000 in project grants ranging from underwriting of the popular DC-wide National Night Out Celebration community event, to $50,000 in start-up costs for a new Youth Division Cyber Crimes Unit to help combat internet sexual exploitation of DC youth.