Community First - America's Charities

Public charity · Grantmaker Chantilly, VA EIN: 01-0914846

Community First - America's Charities is a public charity based in Chantilly, Virginia. Formed in 2008, it supports other 501(c)(3) organizations through workplace-giving campaign and campaign-management services.

Community First - America's Charities at a glance

In short: Community First - America's Charities gave $510K across 16 grants in 2025 (avg $32K), top state Virginia. 6% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.

Annual giving (2025)
$509,509
-43.1% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
16
-27.3% vs 2024
Average grant
$31,844
-21.7% vs 2024
Median grant
$25,764
Total assets
$2,020,882
+85.2% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
6% first-time grantees (1 of 16, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Virginia (45% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

How to apply to Community First - America's Charities

Contact

Mailing address: 14200 Park Meadow Drive 330S, Chantilly, VA 20151
Phone: (800) 458-9505

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Community First - America's Charities funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Weta (Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc): $76KWeta (Greater WashingtonEducational…$76KCatholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington: $60KCatholic Charities of theDiocese of Arlington$60KA Wider Circle: $52KA Wider Circle$52KHouse of Ruth: $50KHouse of Ruth$50KMiriam's Kitchen: $43KMiriam's Kitchen$43KSalvation Army NCA: $35KSalvation Army NCA$35KThe Children's Inn at NIH: $34KThe Children's Inn at NIH$34KAnimal Welfare League of Arlington: $27KAnimal Welfare League ofArlington$27KFood for Others Inc: $24KFood for Others Inc$24KShepherd's Table: $21KShepherd's Table$21K

The largest 2025 recipient was Weta (Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc) ($76K). Together the top 10 received $424K.

Grant Size Distribution

111 grants across all recorded years

74<$50K27$50–100K10$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 74 grants of 111 (67%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 45% of grant dollars went to recipients in Virginia, 30% to recipients in Maryland, and 25% to recipients in the District of Columbia. The filing also describes member charity participation in state and local campaigns in DC, MD, and VA, where eligible.

Grant Distribution by State

4states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 16 itemized grants.

Cities

WashingtonArlingtonBethesdaAlexandriaFairfaxFalls ChurchLortonKensingtonRockvilleSilver SpringNorth BethesdaUpper MarlboroJacksonBristowN BethesdaUppr MarlboroWashington DC

Is Community First - America's Charities open to new grantees?

6%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 1 of 16 grantees (6%) were first-time recipients. With only 16 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 6 points. First grants averaged $35K; repeat grants $32K. How we count

Medians: $35K first-time, $24K repeat.

  • 69% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving fell 50% from 2022 to 2025. Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$500K$1M$1.5M24 grants2020 26 grants2021 23 grants2022 24 grants2023 22 grants2024 16 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $510K (2025) to $1.4M (2021). In 2025 it made 16 grants totaling $510K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Weta (Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc) Arlington, VAGeneral Support$76,188
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington Arlington, VAGeneral Support$60,053
A Wider Circle Kensington, MDGeneral Support$51,961
House of Ruth Washington, DCGeneral Support$50,405
Miriam's Kitchen Washington, DCGeneral Support$43,326
Salvation Army NCA Washington, DCGeneral Support$35,486
The Children's Inn at NIH Bethesda, MDGeneral Support$34,331
Animal Welfare League of Arlington Arlington, VAGeneral Support$27,239
Food for Others Inc Fairfax, VAGeneral Support$24,289
Shepherd's Table Silver Spring, MDGeneral Support$20,554
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrants
2025$2,020,882$1,279,415$1,038,439$509,50916
2024$1,091,031$1,294,858$1,181,209$894,86322
2023$566,706$1,397,763$1,393,273$817,63324
2022$530,120$1,603,950$1,608,957$1,013,35823
2021$570,100$1,672,923$1,687,399$1,424,90026
2020$600,257$1,636,777$1,603,909$995,95524

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

Community First’s stated mission is to support and promote other 501(c)(3) organizations that assist children, families, adults, and communities by providing services that further their exempt purposes.

Its filing describes services that help member charities participate in federal, state, local, and private-sector workplace-giving campaigns, along with campaign management, pledge processing, payment services, reporting, and training. In 2025, its listed recipients included organizations with varied missions. For example, WETA says its mission is to produce and distribute content of intellectual integrity and cultural merit; House of Ruth says it helps women, children, and families build safe, stable lives; and Food for Others says it provides free groceries to people experiencing food insecurity in Northern Virginia.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, Community First reported 16 grants totaling $509,509. The median grant was $25,764; grants ranged from $10,226 to $76,188. The filing explains that these disbursements pass donor contributions to member organizations and do not involve recipient selection criteria.

The largest reported grants included $76,188 to WETA, $60,053 to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, $51,961 to A Wider Circle, $50,405 to House of Ruth, and $43,326 to Miriam’s Kitchen. The filing lists each of these grants as general support.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists James E. Starr as president and CEO. It also lists David William Stathis as vice president of IT, Kimberly H. Young as vice president of business development, Robyn Neal as vice president of client engagement, and Lavelle Marie Donnelly as vice president of fund management solutions.

The filing lists Wendell Hall as chair until June 2025 and secretary/treasurer; Tracye Funn as secretary/treasurer until June 2025; Rebecca Pilot as director until June 2025 and chairman; Scott Schenkelberg as director until June 2025; and Ijeoma Adetoye as director as of July 2025.

Community First - America's Charities is led by James E. Starr, President & CEO on every filing since 2020; none of the 11 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • James E. Starr

    President & CEO

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    $6K (2020) → $0 (2025)

  • Scott Schenkelberg

    Director

    Chair → Chair -, 2022

    Chair - → Director, 2024

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Ijeoma Adetoye

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • David William Stathis

    Vice President

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    $3K (2020) → $0 (2025)

  • Kimberly H. Young

    Vice President & Business Development

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    $3K (2020) → $0 (2025)

  • Robyn Neal

    Vice President & Client Engagement

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    $2K (2020) → $0 (2025)

  • Lavelle Marie Donnelly

    Vice President & Fund Management Solutions

    Vice President & Fund Management Solution → Vice President & Fund Management Soluti, 2023

    Vice President & Fund Management Soluti → Vice President & Fund Management Solutions, 2024

    On filings since 2022

    1 hr/week

    $3K (2022) → $0 (2025)

  • Tracye Funn

    Secretary & Treasurer

    Secretary & Treasurer - → Secretary & Treasurer, 2021

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Bela Ahmed

    Controller

    New on the 2025 filing

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Rebecca Pilot - Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Wendell Hall - Chair

    New on the 2025 filing

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (9)
  • Former: Rebecca Pilot (2022–2024) — Director
  • Former: Wendell Hall (2022–2024) — Chair
  • Former: Alec Chappelear (2024) — Vice President & Finance
  • Former: Sook Suragiat (2020–2023) — Controller
  • Former: Larry McDonald (2020–2022) — Director -
  • Former: Meghan Trossen (2020–2022) — Director -
  • Former: Lindsay Jk Nichols (2020–2021) — Vice President, Marketing & Communications
  • Former: Emily Simone (2020) — Secretary & Treasurer -
  • Former: Walt Gillette Acfre (2020) — Immediate Past Chair -

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Compensation Overview

From 2023 IRS filing

James E Starr — President & CEO: $9KJames E StarrPresident & CEO$9KDavid Stathis — VP, It: $4KDavid StathisVP, It$4KSook Suragiat — Controller: $4KSook SuragiatController$4KKimberly H Young — VP, Business Development: $3KKimberly H YoungVP, Business Development$3KLavelle Donnelly — VP, Fund Management Soluti: $3KLavelle DonnellyVP, Fund Management Soluti$3KRobyn Neal — VP, Client Engagement: $3KRobyn NealVP, Client Engagement$3K

The highest reported compensation on the 2023 filing was $9K, to James E Starr (President & CEO). 6 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.

Frequently asked questions about Community First - America's Charities

How much does Community First - America's Charities give each year?

Community First - America's Charities gave $510K across 16 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $895K across 22 grants.

What is Community First - America's Charities's typical grant size?

Community First - America's Charities's median grant in 2025 was $25,764, and its average grant was $31,844, across 16 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Community First - America's Charities that year got $35K on average.

Where does Community First - America's Charities give grants?

Community First - America's Charities's top state is Virginia, with 45% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were Maryland (30%) and District of Columbia (25%). The most frequent recipient cities were Arlington, VA (4 grants), Washington, DC (3 grants) and Bethesda, MD (3 grants).

Does Community First - America's Charities give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Community First - America's Charities's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (16 of 16) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990.

Who are Community First - America's Charities's largest grantees?

Community First - America's Charities's largest 2025 grantees include Weta (Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc) ($76,188), Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington ($60,053) and A Wider Circle ($51,961), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 37% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Community First - America's Charities?

Community First - America's Charities reported $2.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.3M.

What does Community First - America's Charities fund?

Community First’s stated mission is to support and promote other 501(c)(3) organizations that assist children, families, adults, and communities by providing services that further their exempt purposes. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Community First - America's Charities?

Community First - America's Charities has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.

What is Community First - America's Charities's EIN?

Community First - America's Charities's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 01-0914846. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.

Data update history

(7)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS August 13, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 16, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS October 5, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS July 22, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 6, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 1, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Community First - America's Charities funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/community-first-america-s-charities-morg_8cf35e5b23e34258931c19478eee4db7

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_010914846_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Community First - America's Charities funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/community-first-america-s-charities-morg_8cf35e5b23e34258931c19478eee4db7},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-11. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}

The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.

Figures come from Community First - America's Charities's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.

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