Past Conferences

Information About Past Conferences, Including Speakers, Subjects, and Schedule

The Role of Foundations: Foundations, NGOs, and Community Life
April 22, Anne Allen, The Cafritz Foundation

Anne Allen worked for many years for the Cafritz Foundation before retiring last year. The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation is the largest independent grantmaking foundation focused exclusively on the Washington Metropolitan area. The Foundation is the legacy of Morris Cafritz, one of Washington's leading commercial and residential real estate builders from the early 1920's to the mid-1960's. Morris Cafritz was an outstanding civic leader known for his generosity. He established the Foundation in 1948. His wife, Gwendolyn, one of Washington's leading hostesses in the post World War II years, was President of the Foundation from 1964 to 1988. Their eldest son, Calvin, currently Chairman, President and CEO, said, "In keeping with my father's wishes, we have continued to broaden the scope of our grants' program to meet the ever-changing needs of our metropolitan area."

In videoconference #3, Anne Allen spoke of her fifteen years as executive director of the Cafritz Foundation and the important role that foundations play in community life. She recounted her experiences as a journalist in Washington and her stint in Vietnam as a correspondent and answered a number of questions about funding, the difficulty of choosing among many worthy recipients, and the need to monitor where the money from the organization goes. In 2005, she was named "Washingtonian of the year" by Washingtonian magazine for her work in the Washington community.