NeighborShare ALX’s pilot program, which supports residents facing financial hardship, has been expanded from its original three-month run to a full year.
The program, launched in November by ACT for Alexandria in partnership with online donation platform NeighborShare, provides up to $400 in monetary support to Alexandrians facing an unexpected financial hardship.
“We received some generous donations from the community; we were able to extend it a little bit longer,” Chief Program Officer of ACT for Alexandria Brandi Yee said. “… [NeighborShare] is continuing on the program past the pilot. They have committed to working with these partners over the next year and continuing to offer the NeighborShare platform, as well as supporting the needs that get posted.”
Since its launch, the program has assisted 220 neighbors, which inspired the expansion of the program to include a wider array of needs and expand the service to a full year, organizers said.
The program was originally launched in response to the federal government shutdown, Yee said. The 43-day shutdown spanning from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, 2025, left at least 670,000 federal employees furloughed, while about 730,000 others worked without pay, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
During the six-week span, federal workers and contractors in Alexandria especially felt the plight of job insecurity.
According to a recent presentation to City Council, the number of federal employees residing in Alexandria has decreased by nearly 5% since January 2025, while private employment decreased by more than 1% in the same time frame.
The amount of assistance awarded to Alexandrians through the NeighborShare ALX program as of March 4 totals $30,000, with $8,000 coming directly from individual donors, ACT for Alexandria Program Manager Shelley Spacek Miller said.
But in February, NeighborShare ALX broadened its funding goals to include those impacted by the federal shutdown and those with more general needs. This means Alexandrians can request funding through the program regardless of if their requests are related to the shutdown or ongoing ripple effects, according to Yee.
Yee said ACT for Alexandria and NeighborShare decided to expand the program to include those not impacted by the government shutdown because of the outpour of donations and the continued financial gaps for families in Alexandria.
A partnership with NeighborShare appealed to ACT for Alexandria because it allows community members to rally to support those in need while bolstering the city’s preexisting nonprofit network, Yee said.
“Because I think the time we’re in now – when it feels like there’s a lot of things that are out of our control – a lot of people look at the local level to see, ‘How can I make a difference in my own backyard?’” she said. “Having a platform like this is an opportunity that allows people to take action, really meaningful action.”
The program connects donors directly with needs, which local nonprofit partners help identify. The financial gaps are posted on the website with their story and dollar amount requested, and donors can directly fund the request online. The donation goes directly to the nonprofit partners, who funnel the assistance to the person requesting help.
Or as Yee puts it: NeighborShare is “a platform that would help connect neighbors to neighbors.”
Local partners referring cases include Community Lodgings, Christ Church and the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia. As of March 17, four requests are active on the site for needs like housing payments and other bills.
“I think we always see that there is a real deep need in the community,” Spacek Miller said. “Whether it’s the high cost of living, the current environment here, it’s just really something that is pervasive and [has continued] even after the shutdown.”
If neighbors do not donate to the posted needs within two weeks, Yee said, then ACT for Alexandria donates to unmet needs using the organization’s reserves and donations from individual donors. This ensures that all needs posted to NeighborShare ALX are met.
Yee said she and the ACT for Alexandria team have been encouraged by the generosity of Alexandrians.
“We had hoped that this pilot would … also just be able to educate just the community about what the existing needs are,” she said, “and how even just a short pause in income can have ripple effects for stability and insecurity for families.”
With the expanded timeline of the NeighborShare program, Yee said the next challenge is continuing to get the word out so Alexandrians in need can be financially supported.
“When one person is struggling, the whole community feels that,” Yee said. “NeighborShare ALX is about shared responsibility and collective action.” Needs are updated daily at the program’s website. Donations of any size are tax-deductible and go toward meeting the listed needs, the site states.
“Every dollar matters,” Spacek Miller said. “Every dollar, every donation, we hope, is approachable. That’s one thing we appreciate about NeighborShare is that there’s an opportunity [to donate] that doesn’t have to be triple digit donations. It can be $5. It can be $10. It can be $15. Every time a neighbor supports another neighbor, that matters.”
By Ella Mitchell | Alexandria Times
