Daddying – more than who you are, it’s what you do!

 

 

The DADDY Wishes Fund (DWF) is a donor-advised fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation (GWCF). It is designed to inspire and motivate fathers, grandfathers, and others who play fatherly roles to be mindful of the dads they want to be and to articulate and act on their intentions. Through grants to like-minded nonprofits, we facilitate modest financial awards and other resources to fathers* for well-conceived activities/projects with their children. Through this means, DWF makes an investment in and offers support to their efforts.

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Proposed DWF activities/projects are as diverse as the supported father figures themselves. We collect and post short videos, photo images, or other evidence of supported activities, to share ideas that can be adapted or emulated by others. By shining a spotlight on these activities, the DWF celebrates and publicizes the importance, benefits, and joys of positive father-child engagement.

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The DWF concept is grounded in research documenting the benefits to children’s overall well-being of positive father-child engagement. This research also affirms the value of such engagement to fathers and families alike.

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Although we have made a few grants to date, DWF is still in its pilot phase in order to test our procedures, internal guidelines, rubrics and processes in anticipation of a full launch in the fall of 2019.

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The pilot phase is being conducted in collaboration with several not-for-profit organizations that share our interest in promoting “fathers, grandfathers, and others who play fatherly roles to be mindful of the dads they strive to be and to articulate and act on their intentions.” DWF has recommended grants from DWF ’s donor-advised fund with GWCF to our partner organizations, who, in turn, have made awards to deserving recipients based on DWF ’s recommendations, as outlined here.

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*Whenever the word father is used it should be read to include grandfathers and men who play fatherly roles as well and we plan to fund projects for kids of all ages because you are never too old to share a positive experience with a dad, granddad or “child.”

 

These organizations have identified, help to pre-qualify, and with DWF ’s input, have been able to make awards from DWF-granted funds to fathers from their communities. We have encouraged them to provide whatever support may be needed to strengthen their nominees’ application(s).

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Frequently Asked Questions:

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• What is a DWF award? During our pilot phase, DWF recommends grants from the GWCF to selected not-for-profit organizations, which offer direct awards of up to $200. We have avoided placing rigid limitations on the kind of proposed activities/projects other than that they are safe, age-appropriate, legal, preferably fun, and, most important, they demonstrate forethought about the father the applicant wants to be and how the activity contributes to that goal.

• Publicity We seek assistance from and encourage our partner and affiliate organizations to spread the word to potential applicants/nominees in their communities about how to apply.

• DWF Application Process As smartphones are virtually universal, or at least accessible through the partner organizations, applicants are encouraged to submit a short video/audio clip (30-180 seconds) describing something they would like to do with their child(ren) that the DWF award would facilitate. If they do not have access to a smartphone, they can submit a narrative/song/poem of fewer than 500 words describing their idea. Applications will be selected based on the following mandatory elements:

 

1. The idea flows from the father figure’s articulation of “the dad he wants to be.“ Applicants may find it useful to think about how they want their son/daughter to describe them as a dad five years from now.

2. The applicant should, if he earns the award, complete the activity within 30 days of receiving the award.

3. The father figure articulates critical features, including: a specific idea; a place; participants; cost; and the way he will document it (e.g., sending a video clip, a short narrative, an audio file, photo[s], a song, a story).

4. The final element is the submission of evidence they have completed the activity/project. We encourage this post-activity summary to be a collaborative and fun effort through which they describe what they did through video, audio, or any other media acceptable for their application and following the same time/length limits as the application.

 

Review Process

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1. The DWF selection team reviews the video or audio clips or text descriptions, photos, songs, other application formats uploaded by applicants to a link on the DWF homepage.

2. The applications are reviewed within 10 days of the submission deadline.

3. then recommends to its partner organizations that awards be made.

 

Size and Scope of Award

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Awards will not exceed $200 to enable father figures to engage their child(ren) in an activity/project they plan (if multiple children are involved, the award can be increased at the discretion of the selection team and partner organization). A stipend of $50 is made to the partner organization.

 

Timing

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1. We make every effort to announce awards by partner organizations and DWF within 10 days of the application submission; applicants receive word of their award based on contact information they provide and are asked to inform the partner organization and DWF how soon they will complete their proposed activity.

2. Award funds will be distributed by the partner organization based on the projected start time and must be used within 30-days of the award being made (some flexibility is possible, but not encouraged).

3. Awardees are expected to submit evidence (see above) within 10 days of completing the awarded activity. We encourage “reports” to include the children and the father.

4. All applicants will be asked to permit (via signed waiver) their application materials and follow-up “report” to be posted to and displayed on the DWF website so that as many fathers as possible are motivated to apply and share their positive experiences with children of all ages.

 

During the DADDY Wishes Fund's pilot phase, we will only consider applications for grant awards through our five partners: REEL Fathers, Armor Down, Girls on the Run (Montgomery County, MD), Native Health Initiative, and The Strong Families Commission of Pennsylvania.

 

The DADDY Wishes Fund is a project of the DADvocacy Consulting Group. For more information about how to submit your DWF grant application after the initial pilot phase is complete, please CONTACT US and write "Daddy Wishes Fund" in the subject line.