Alexandria Housing Nonprofit Wins $73k Grant From DC Organization

ALEXANDRIA, VA – An Alexandria housing nonprofit has been awarded a $73,000 grant from the Washington, DC, philanthropic organization Many Hands.

Alexandria’s Community Lodgings was one of three nonprofits to receive a $73,000 partner grant. The District of Columbia’s School Justice Project took home the $100,000 impact grant.

Subscribe

The nearly 40-year-old Community Lodgings offers transitional housing, affordable housing and youth education programs in Alexandria’s Arlandria-Chirilagua community, which is home to many immigrant families and first-generation Americans.

According to the organization, it provides transitional housing as well as support toward gaining educational and job skills to 8 homeless families. Their permanent housing program provides housing at below-market rents to 40 families earning 60% or less of the Alexandria median income for a family of four, and their youth education program provides year-round academic support to children in grades 1-12 living in the Arlandria-Chirilagua community.

For this work, Community Lodgings was given the Governor of Virginia’s Housing Innovation Award in 2025 and was named the Overall Business of the Year by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce the same year.

Executive Director Lynn Thomas addressed Many Hands’ annual meeting in May and discussed the results of their programs, particularly youth education support. In speaking of the educational attainment of children who have passed through Community Lodging programs, she said, “It’s because someone cared. It’s because communities were there. It’s because organizations helped us to help these families.”

See more about the grantees here.