Community Connections Program is sponsored by World Bank Group. Supports nonprofit organizations through employee and corporate philanthropy, volunteerism, in-kind donations, and an internship program for local public high school students.

Community Connections Program | World Bank Group heading-border-spacing-large Our mission at the World Bank Group is to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. Through the Community Connections program, we live these goals in our own communities via employee and corporate philanthropy, volunteerism, in-kind donations, and an internship program for students from local public high schools.

Together, these programs leverage a motivated, highly educated, and international workforce for the betterment of communities around the world. Learn more about what we do in the Workplace Giving, Strategic Grants, and Volunteerism tabs. Corporate Philanthropy Strategy Our giving is informed by our mission, the values of our staff, and the needs of the organizations we support.

Our goal is to maintain diverse funding streams that complement one another. In 2025, we gave over $14 million through these channels. We primarily fund our community through: 1) General operations support: Approximately 90% of our giving each year is provided through our workplace giving program, the Community Connections Campaign (CCC), which collects staff and retiree donations that are matched by the World Bank Group.

In keeping with the needs of nonprofits and philanthropy best practices, those gifts support general operationsof organizations. More information about the CCC can be found in the Workplace Giving tab. 2) Contributions to capital projects: During the CCC, staff can also donate to our General Fund, which usually finances one-time capital projects in the Washington, D.

C. metropolitan area. 3) Measurement & Data Grants: To meet nonprofit demand for building capacity around performance measurement and evaluation, we partnered with the Urban Institute to create Measure4Change to provide grants, technical assistance, knowledge briefs, and a community of practice for nonprofit performance measurement professionals in the D.

C. metropolitan area. Learn more about it in the Evaluation Grants tab.

4) Funding Collaboratives: Our work has been enhanced by collaborating with other funders. These partnerships allow us to benefit from others’ expertise, share our own, and work in partnership to greater effect. 5) Natural Disaster Relief Drives: During natural disasters, our staff often want to be part of the global humanitarian response.

We help them create opportunities to donate to NGOs on the ground in the affected areas. These donations are matched by the World Bank Group. Last Updated: Mar 03, 2026 The most recent Community Connections Campaign (CCC) closed on December 18, 2025, and set new records.

During the Campaign, our staff and retirees in HQ and country offices donated over $7. 3 million, which the World Bank Group matched. Globally, over 86% of staff from 137 countries contributed their own money to the campaign.

The CCC runs each year in November and December and is promoted by a grassroots network of staff volunteers. Staff and retirees can donate to over 500 organizations around the world, all nominated and supported by their colleagues. Their gifts support the organizations’ general operations.

Staff may also donate to the General Fund, which finances projects in the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area.

The CCC is the starting point for nonprofits interested in engaging with the Bank’s corporate philanthropy program. For information about how your organization can join the CCC, please see "Joining the CCC" below. The HQ Community Connections Campaign (CCC) is the workplace giving program of the World Bank Group at its Washington, D.

C. offices, which is conducted over a two-month period in November and December each year. The Campaign's purpose is primarily to provide support to local nonprofit organizations operating in the Washington, D.

C. metropolitan area. Given the nature of the World Bank Group's mission, it also supports some international relief organizations, as well as some national organizations that have substantial activities in the Washington, D.

C. metropolitan area. ​​ To be considered for inclusion in the Campaign, an organization must meet the Campaign criteria, which is set each year.

Application and Approval Process for World Bank Group (WBG) Headquarters Community Connections Campaign (HQ CCC) I. Application and Approval Process for New Non-Profit Applicants to the HQ CCC Step 1: Review the CCC Eligibility Criteria (see below). Step 2: Ten (10) World Bank Group (WBG) staff members, and/or retirees nominate the non-profit.

Step 3: The non-profit completes the CCC application form and submits all required attachments. Step 4: The application and attachments are reviewed by CCC staff to determine the non-profit’s eligibility under the CCC Criteria. Step 5: The non-profit is informed of the decision based on the approval process.

The HQ CCC focuses on non-profits serving the community of the WBG Headquarters in the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area, and on global non-profits operating in WBG client countries.

As a result, non-profits must have active operations focused on supporting communities in either (1) the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area or (2) three or more client countries of the World Bank Group.

(a) provide services and be actively involved in helping to improve the lives of poor and disadvantaged people and/or contributing to the socio-economic, civic, and cultural well-being of said communities on a livable planet; (b) have a record of success in operations, program implementation, and financial management; (c) have an engaged Board of Directors that is involved in its activities; (d) have a policy and practice of equal opportunity; (e) have appropriate permits, authorizations, licenses, and registrations required for activities related to its operations at its location(s); (f) be incorporated as an income-tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Code; (g) account for its funds according to US GAAP, conduct an annual independent financial audit and submit at least two consecutive independent financial audits at the time of application; (h) submit with the application the most recent IRS Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax; (i) produce an annual narrative report to the public and submit it with the application; (j) have objectives and activities that are consistent with the World Bank Group’s mission of a world free of poverty on a livable planet; and (k) does not pose a reputational risk, harm, or damage to the World Bank Group.

3.

The following types of organizations are NOT eligible for the CCC: (a) Schools - elementary, middle, or high school; college or university; parent-teacher association or similar school-related groups; (b) Hospitals or hospital foundations; (c) Fraternities or sororities; (d) Sports clubs or centers; (e) Organizations organized primarily for religious, political, or think tank purposes; (f) Organizations organized primarily to fund a government entity and/or program.

4. The non-profit must attest that funds received from the CCC will not be used to directly support political, soldiers/military, governmental or religious purposes. II.

Renewal Application Process for Non-Profits Already in the HQ CCC Step 1: Review the CCC Eligibility Criteria (available in March), including additional eligibility criteria applicable to renewing non-profits. Step 2: The non-profit completes the CCC renewal application form and submits all required attachments.

Step 3: The application and attachments are reviewed by CCC staff to determine the non-profit’s eligibility for renewal and inclusion in CCC. Step 4: The non-profit is informed of the decision based on the approval process. Eligibility Criteria for Renewing Non-Profits: The non-profit must continue to meet the CCC Eligibility Criteria.

To join the next CCC, a renewing non-profit must have received donations from at least ten (10) donors that together total at least $1,000 in the prior CCC. If a renewing organization does not meet the minimum support level, World Bank Group staff, and/or retirees can re-nominate it for inclusion in the next CCC as a "new" non-profit.

However, if the organization is re-nominated and fails to meet the minimum requirement for a second consecutive CCC, it will be removed from the list and will remain ineligible for two years. The World Bank Group typically provides a corporate contribution to match staff and retiree donations. In addition to the nonprofits supported by the HQ CCC, many of our country offices support locally registered NGOs.

The nomination process is managed at the individual country office level in alignment with the HQ criteria noted above. Measurement and Evaluation Support Measurement and Evaluation Support Measuring and evaluating programs are an integral part of nonprofits’ ability to deliver quality interventions, but nonprofits often lack support in this area. The Community Connections Program is engaged in a variety of ways to meet this demand.

Our Measure4Change program, described below, provides training, a community of practice, and other resources. More information can be found here: https://www. urban.

org/measure4change . Nonprofits recognize the importance of measuring their program's effectiveness, but their abilities vary widely, and resources for improvement are scarce. With Measure4Change, we join the Urban Institute to fill this long-standing gap between what nonprofits in the Washington, D.

C. metropolitan area want and what they can do. This program provides practical, accessible training in performance measurement.

Our goal is for local nonprofits to better understand how they are helping their constituencies and how to better achieve their missions. Measure4Change hosts a broader community of practice, which includes professionals from many nonprofits. This series of seminars creates learning opportunities and exposes nonprofits to the tools and best practices they need to build their performance measurement program.

The sessions also make performance measurement more accessible by helping nonprofit leaders learn from their peers, understand the range of performance management practices, where they fit into that continuum, and how they can advance their own programs.

Topics covered have included: Developing logic models and results frameworks Building a high-performance culture around measurement, evaluation, data, and learning Setting performance targets for programs and staff Performance management and measurement software Qualitative data collection and analysis Working with secondary data and making use of mapping (geographic information system) tools Quantitative data analysis Displaying data, data visualization, and data storytelling Communicating data to clients and client feedback loops Performance-based financing Data security and client protections for nonprofits Performance measurement–evaluation continuum If you would like to join this Community of Practice, please contact measure4change@urban.

org . Nonprofit leaders need more resources about the early stages of performance measurement programs and about how to overcome the practical challenges they will face as they build their programs. Complementing the community of practice, the Measure4Change team has published a series of knowledge briefs that explain key concepts and address relevant topics in performance measurement.

You can find them here: https://www. urban. org/measure4change/learning_tools .

Our staff gives their time and expertise to their communities, echoing our mission in their own neighborhoods by volunteering thousands of hours annually in the cities where they work, from Ankara to Yaoundé. They build homes in Washington, D. C.

, metropolitan area, distribute food in Manila, plant trees in Almaty, evaluate programs in Arlington, mentor students in Johannesburg, and much more, all in service of a more prosperous world. All World Bank Group staff receive one paid day off each year to volunteer.

In addition, each year we host a Volunteer Awareness Day to help staff find opportunities for themselves and their families and provide guides to the top local volunteer opportunities in the DC area. In our Washington, D. C.

headquarters, we also have a longstanding relationship with the Urban Alliance to hire talented young men and women from public and charter high schools in the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area for summer internships.

Our staff train and mentor these students through their first professional employment opportunities, which help propel them to future success. Together, we have provided meaningful summer employment, mentorship, and training to over 450 students over the last 20 years. These students are bright, talented, and hardworking, and these internships are an opportunity that would not otherwise be available to them.

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