The Keller and Franzén Grants
The Keller and Franzén Grants are the largest annual grants made by the Foundation, at $25,000 each. Annually, the Foundation awards one Keller grant to support new initiatives or programmatic expansions that can make significant contributions to the life of the Capitol Hill community.
The Foundation established the annual $25,000 Franzén Award for the Arts to commemorate John Franzén, a long-time Foundation board member and devoted supporter of the Capitol Hill community. In addition to his work on the Foundation, John was a leader in the early years of the Hill Center, helping to guide it from its opening in 2011 to become the cultural center of our neighborhood that it is today. John was also a founder of the Ruth Ann Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project, which records oral histories from longtime residents to create a permanent, accessible record of the history of Capitol Hill. When John passed away, he left a substantial bequest to the Foundation. This annual grant continues his legacy of support for the arts on Capitol Hill, helping one organization or individual to increase their impact and reach in the community.
To learn more about applying for a grant, please visit our Apply page.
RECENT RECIPIENTS OF THE ARNOLD F. KELLER, JR. GRANT
2019 · Eastern Senior High School Marching Band
2020 · Everybody Home DC
2021 · Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid
2022 · Story of Our Schools
2023 · Everybody Wins DC and Reach Incorporated
2024 · Sasha Bruce Youthwork
RECENT RECIPIENTS OF THE FRANZÉN GRANT FOR THE ARTS
2022 · Chiarina Chamber Players
2023 · Music Programs at Eliot-Hine Middle School and Eastern Senior High School
2024 · Mosaic Theater Company
Previous Keller Grantees
2019 · Eastern Senior High School Marching Band
Eastern Senior High School’s Blue and White Marching Machine — consistently ranked one of the best marching bands in the mid-Atlantic — received a well-deserved boost with the receipt of a $20,000 Arnold F. Keller Jr. Grant from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation. The grant recognizes the outstanding commitment of the band’s student members and all-volunteer leaders and instructors by responding to the urgent need to repair and replace its aging instruments.
To learn more about the Foundation’s efforts to support the repair of additional instruments and replace the band’s formal uniforms moving forward, click here.
2018 · Payne Elementary School – Responsive Classroom
With about one-third of its students living in shelter at D.C. General Hospital, Payne Elementary School has challenges beyond those faced by other Capitol Hill primary schools. Historically, its student test scores have been dramatically lower than those of neighboring schools, but recent changes are encouraging. Following its two-year modernization and buoyed by an increasingly engaged parent body, community support, and an outstanding new principal who introduced elements of Responsive Classroom techniques, Payne saw an almost 90 percent improvement in test scores in one year. It is poised and eager to build on this momentum.
The Responsive Classroom program is an innovative approach to developing students’ social and emotional skills. Focusing on making students feel welcomed, acknowledged, and safe, it creates a setting that facilitates learning. The program has been demonstrably effective in enhancing the educational environment and improving academic performance.
Affirming its commitment to educational excellence benefitting all our neighborhood’s youth, the Capitol Hill Community Foundation awarded Payne Elementary School its 2018 Keller Grant to fund in-depth Responsive Classroom training and follow-up observation and consultation for 30 Payne teachers.
Learn more about Payne Elementary School at www.paynedc.org and Responsive Classroom at www.responsiveclassroom.org.