Supporting William Penn House
"All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness... the important thing is they should be a part of our daily lives." The Dalai Lama
William Penn House relies on contributions to keep rates affordable for school groups as well as peace and social justice activists. Schools and groups count on our low rates so they can continue to have programs and activities in Washington, DC. Donations to William Penn House account for one-fourth of the yearly operating budget.
Combined Federal Campaign
William Penn House # 85937
Carriage House Green Roof
At William Penn House, we provide programs and services that promote social, economic and environmental justice. Living in harmony is fundamental to our mission as we let our lives speak by being an urban model of environmental stewardship. This demonstrates that our work starts literally in our own backyard. Over the past few years we have renovated our front and back yards to include native plants and rainscapes to help restore clean air, water and wildlife. The next step is
to put a vegetative or green roof on the historic 2 story 570 square foot Carriage House that was built in the 1870s.
This continues our work toward contributing to a more sustainable world. A grant from the District of Columbia Department of the Environment http://ddoe.dc.gov/ will fund a significant portion of the work on the Carriage House. This grant is included in the Anacostia River Initiative. The Anacostia River Watershed covers portions of Prince George's and Montgomery County in Maryland and roughly 25% of its land area lies in the District. The river is entirely tidal in the District while the upstream land area in Maryland is primarily non-tidal. The Anacostia River, once a pristine river is now degraded, mainly due to its highly urbanized character. The River is the focus of large-scale restoration efforts by District Government.
Our engineer’s report requires that the weight of the new roofing system be absorbed by an infrastructure that removes that burden from the 140 + year old walls. This is an expense not anticipated nor funded by the grant. The engineers report also drew attention to the structural instability of the rear wall that requires reinforcement and strengthening. This structural work increased our budget by $16,000 over the $21,000 grant. As good stewards of this historic property, this is work that would be needed with or without the vegetated roof.
Our Annual Appeal funds ongoing programs and repairs and maintenance of the House. This capital improvement is over and above the funds received. Your gift will enable us to continue to improve not only our real property but our community as well.
Annual Operating Fund
William Penn House uses these funds to operate and maintain the house, develop programs, pay staff and pay for all the expenses of a small nonprofit organization. To donate to the Annual Operating Fund, simply make your check payable to William Penn House and indicate "donation" or "contribution" on the memo line.
Washington Quaker Workcamps
Since Washington Quaker Workcamps is a program of William Penn House, you can make a designated contribution to support the Washington Quaker Workcamps program. Contributions designated for Washington Quaker Workcamps help keep workcamp fees affordable, provide scholarships so that all may participate, and allow the program to continue to expand and improve our workcamps.
