As a former nonprofit employee, it has always been important to me that my work has an impact on the larger world and greater good, which is why I was happy to join Mal Warwick Donordigital (MWD) as an employee in 2016, a company that not only works exclusively with progressive causes, but also pioneered the reduction of the environmental footprint of the direct mail industry. What I didn’t know when I accepted this position was how fully the company lives its progressive values.

Each year, our DC and Berkeley offices select a local community based nonprofit organization to receive our Exceptional Cause Award. This year, the DC office proudly chose, N Street Village. The Village is located just a few blocks from our DC office, and has been empowering and providing DC’s homeless and low-income women with housing and services for over 40 years.

N Street Village began as a temporary night shelter and has adapted to meet the needs of their clientele as the city and its neighborhood has changed. In 2017, the Village more than tripled the number of meals provided to over 200,000, and secured critical funding to preserve and upgrade their services. We are proud that our donation will cover the cost of one month of meals!

N Street Village provides day services to nearly 2,000 women and safe housing for 739 women and 51 families annually. The Village’s Day Center is open 365 days a year to any woman in need, and provides laundry facilities, showers, and meals as well as a Wellness Center with medical, dental and mental health services. In addition to the day services, the Village also provides a full spectrum of housing across five locations – from emergency and permanent supportive housing for individuals, including for women living with HIV/AIDS, to affordable housing for families.

In addition to the direct services the Village provides, the leadership also advocates for policies to improve the lives of the women and their families they serve, including by working in partnership with our local government and community partners to find solutions to the issues facing their organization and clientele.

Learn more about N Street Village and the work they provide our DC community from this Washington Post article on Evelyn, a woman who sought services from the Village and ultimately became its day services manager.

Stephanie Drahan is an Account Executive at Mal Warwick Donordigital. MWD has nearly 40 years of experience managing integrated direct marketing fundraising programs, from acquisition to high-dollar fundraising, from regional non-profits to large national organizations. Its direct marketing fundraising programs have enabled nonprofit organizations to build membership and donor bases yielding over $1 billion dollars in support of their work. MWD has offices in Berkeley, CA and Washington, DC, and is a certified Benefit Corporation.