PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   Contact: Whitney Hicks Monday, October 5, 2009                                                                     (202) 232-7356, x320
                                                                                                                       whicks@cohdc.org

Community of Hope’s Executive Director
Receives Prestigious Exponent Award

Washington, DC – Community of Hope is proud to announce that its Executive Director, Kelly Sweeney McShane, has been chosen by the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation as one of the recipients of the Foundation’s 2009 Exponent Award. The award includes a $100,000 grant over two years to be used for leadership development.

The goal of the Exponent Award is to celebrate the accomplishments of nonprofit leaders, raise their visibility, and increase their leadership skills. In selecting its awardees, the Foundation considered each nominee’s track record as a manager and leader, including his or her success at increasing the quality and impact of the organization’s work, instituting sound financial management, working in partnership with an engaged board of directors, and taking on leadership roles in the broader community.

Over the last eight years, Kelly Sweeney McShane has led Community of Hope through a tremendous transformation – from a struggling, debt-laden organization to a fiscally sound, forward-moving one. Community of Hope has more than doubled the number of people it serves in all of its programs, including healthcare, housing with supportive services for homeless families with children, and education. Part of the expansion is due to the organization’s health clinic receiving Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) status in 2006, and to the addition of permanent supportive housing services in 2008. With the FQHC designation, the clinic has been able to generate more income; the permanent supportive housing program gives more families in crisis a chance to become stable and strong. Community of Hope will continue its transformation by using its Exponent Award grant to strengthen its organizational infrastructure.

Ms. McShane says, “I’m honored to receive this award. It is recognition of the dedication and hard work of so many people at Community of Hope – staff, board members, volunteers, and most importantly, the people we serve. I want to thank the Meyer Foundation for all the ways they support Community of Hope. I look forward to leading Community of Hope for many years to come. The Exponent Award will help to enhance the effectiveness of Community of Hope and allow us to serve even more people, especially in these difficult economic times.”

Please visit www.communityofhopedc.org for more information on how Community of Hope serves DC’s most vulnerable residents. To learn more about the Meyer Foundation and the Exponent Award, please visit www.meyerfdn.org or the microsite.

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Community of Hope works to improve the health and quality of life for low-income, homeless, and underserved families and individuals in the District of Columbia by providing healthcare, housing with supportive services, educational opportunities, and spiritual support.

The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation is one of the Washington, DC region's oldest and most experienced private grant making foundations.  It strengthens Greater Washington as a community by supporting capable, community-based nonprofit organizations that foster the well-being of all people in the region.