The Northwest Fund was started in 2005 by long-time Mt. Airy resident, Cindy Bass. Rather than competing with other Northwest-based nonprofits, the organization was started with the intent of supporting existing and start-up organizations in the community. Because of her background in local politics, Mrs. Bass saw an opportunity to connect the myriad non-profits that serve our diverse community in the Northwest to funding and training opportunities that may not otherwise be available to them.

Over the years, TNF has made grants to local organizations, offered trainings in community organizing and restorative justice practices, removed guns from the streets, and provided support to individuals who were unable to pay outstanding energy bills.

The Northwest Fund has applied a relatively unique model of accessing funding for a cluster of communities in a geographic region. With more than 100 worthy organizations serving our section of Philadelphia, the Northwest Fund has been able to advocate on behalf of the entire section of the city and give many organizations that would not otherwise have had access to these funds much needed support. For example, in 2011, we distributed $297,000 in Federal Appropriation dollars to 45 organizations. The reality is that the majority of these groups have never received Federal dollars and probably never would have had access to a Federal Appropriation. Through our Change Agent Award program, we made these dollars more accessible to the community through a transparent RFP process.