“There are many well-run, successful organizations that work to improve healthcare and reform public education.

Our goal is to support these existing non-profits to advance the good they already do.”

— John Thompson III

Our Community

The John Thompson III Foundation aids organizations working in the Washington, D.C. area to address dire community conditions such as:

Economic

  • The 2005 estimated poverty rate was 19.8 percent of all residents, or 98,069 persons, living below the federal poverty level
  • 36 percent of all children and 42 percent of all African-American children were living below the federal poverty level in 2005.
  • While the District ranks second highest in per capita personal income among the states, it also ranks third highest in overall poverty rates and highest in poverty rates for children.
  • More than 40% of youth in the District do NOT complete high school.
  • Nearly 49% of the youth that are enrolled in the majority of the District’s high schools are truant.
  • In 2005-06, only 27 percent of all DCPS and public charter school students tested at a proficient or advanced level in math.

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Health

  • Cancer is the second leading cause of death among District residents (22% of all deaths are due to cancer alone). Cancer is 27 percent more prevalent among blacks (512.8 cases per 100,000 population) than whites (404.5 cases per 100,000 population).
  • District of Columbia has higher rates of heart disease, stroke and all cancers on average than the rest of the United States.
  • The Infant Mortality Rate for the District of Columbia has decreased from 11.9 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 10.6 per 1,000 live births in 2001. The rate has declined by 42 percent over a 10-year period since 1992. But is still almost double the national average.

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Education

    • Only 1% of children from low-income communities graduate from college.
    • The achievement gap between students living in poverty and students of higher income levels continues to increase.
    • The District of Columbia has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country.
    • The discrepancy in education among children costs the U.S. billions of dollars each year.

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