In The News …

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Julia Cain

Happy Wednesday, Greater Washington! Are you avoiding the rain? Are you stuck indoors? Just spend some extra time on the Catalogue blog. We have our Mid-Week News today, plus more 7 Questions coming your way tomorrow! We’ve also created a 7 Questions archive. So if you’re like me and enjoy poking through blog histories, you now easily can peruse past interviews.

[ UPDATE: Okay. So I woke up this morning and, lo and behold, gorgeous fall weather. So enjoy the sunshine and then catch up on some non-profit news! ]

Celebrities Hire Philanthropy Consultants to Guide Their Giving — We actually had a blog post about this yesterday, so do check out both that (tell us what you think!) and the LA Times article from this past Sunday. The article examines the “attempt by celebrities to display a deep commitment to issues beyond their next movie or album” and the rising demand for multi-skilled philanthropic advisers who can facilitate just that. Continue reading →

Put Me In, Coach! (Again)

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Julia Cain

A few weeks back, I wrote a post on this NY Times interview with the global head of philanthropic services at JP Morgan Private Bank. Lisa Philp acts as a “philanthropy coach” primarily to wealthy individuals and family foundations, who all are looking “to achieve as much as possible through wise giving.”

At the time, I focused on the language with which Philp describes her work, which drew heavily upon both the sports and finance worlds. I really didn’t think much about the backgrounds and details of her client list — both because she did not name names and because, in this context, the interests and subsequent investments seemed more interesting than the clients themselves.

But what about when the client is more “interesting” (or attention-getting) than the cause? Continue reading →

All About Innovating

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Julia Cain

Many of our grantees’ plans evolve and take on different shapes, and rightly so. In fact, a spectacular “failure” might be more informative and useful than a more modest “success” in terms of helping both the organization and the larger field move forward in addressing the challenges of the new century and the future.

A question I find myself asking is: How does an organization go from being one tackling an innovative project to one with an organizational culture dedicated to innovation?

Good question. Last week, the Chronicle posted a four-installment interview with Ben Cameron, program director for the arts at Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. From 2007 to 2013, DDCF is funding an “an experimental pilot initiative designed to enable a group of artistically outstanding organizations to strengthen their business in a shifting environment.” In other words, these grants don’t support particular programs, but catalyze organizational growth. They don’t sponsor a single change, but rather position companies to change and develop constantly. Ever wanted to re-think (somewhat or very radically) how you do business? These are grants specifically for that.

Continue reading →

Around Town: November 12-13

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Julia Cain

Happy Friday, Washington! Don’t forget: we have a newly-announced 2010-2011 Catalogue class, so be sure to hop over to our main page and learn more about them. They are an incredible group. Also don’t forget: we have plenty of events coming up from an array of our non-profits and the best way to learn about them is to get involved:

Saturday, November 13

9:30 AM — Tutor Training: Basic Literacy Training (Literary Council of Northern Virginia): Looking to combine your love for books and service? Become a LCNV tutor! Training starts this weekend and you can download an application here.

10:00 AM — Free Clay Handbuilding Class (Capitol Hill Arts Workshop): Families and students of all ages are invited to experiment with clay and create their own pots. The class is just one part of ARTdays, a series of free classes and concerts for all families.

Continue reading →

7 Questions – Judy Hijikata (The Reading Connection)

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Julia Cain

Welcome to “7 Questions,” Judy Hijikata! Joining us from Arlington, Judy is the Communications Director of The Reading Connection (TRC), which brings books and literary services into shelters, safe houses, and transitional housing, thus opening the world of literature to all parents and children. She truly has some wonderful things to say about the power and importance of books, so … read on!

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership or event?

Last summer, TRC initiated a summer reading program called We Are Readers. As a direct result, kids in one of our partner sites read upwards of 1,000 hours over the summer. Funded by a grant from The Commonweal Foundation, We Are Readers was built on important elements of literacy development: increasing background knowledge through real-world experiences and time spent in conversation. The program got rave reviews from kids and staff at partner agencies. And it revved us (the staff) up all over again about how much fun reading to kids can be!

Continue reading →

In The News …

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Julia Cain

Good morning, Washington! I hope that November is treating you well. Just wanted to share a couple interesting articles with you, plus a couple great news items from our non-profits!

Donations by the Wealthy Dropped – Yesterday, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that “gifts to charities from wealthy Americans plummeted by an average of nearly 35 percent from 2007 to 2009.” That said, the decline in the economy is a much more likely cause than a decline in interest or investment, as the study “found an uptick in volunteering among wealthy Americans. More than 3/4 of the wealthy donors volunteered at least some time last year the average number of volunteer hours rose from 241 to 307.” The article also has some cool insight into why donors give when and how they do. Check it out right here.

Continue reading →

Introducing (drumroll) …

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Julia Cain

… the Catalogue Class of 2010/2011! We are thrilled to welcome them to the Catalogue.

This year, we are featuring 70 non-profits in the print Catalogue and another 45 will be re-featured on our website. So what the heck are you still doing here? Jump over to our main page to see a complete list of our new charities and learn about the incredible work that they are doing for our community. Every one of these small, high-impact organizations show what can happen when you take a smart, fresh idea and never stop running with it — and we find them truly inspiring.

Once again, don’t wait — check them out right here.

Inspiration to Action …

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Julia Cain

… is coming to the Harman Center for the Arts! Today marks our 8th Annual Catalogue Kick-Off and we are psyched to introduce our newest class of high-impact non-profits.

We’re in full-on event-preparation mode here at the Catalogue, so this likely will not be my longest blog post. But suffice it to say that we are pretty pumped for tomorrow. We’ll be welcoming more than 500 guests from around the Greater Washington area, honoring our new and re-featured non-profits, and showcasing the winners of our 2010 Enterprise Awards and Power of 8 video contest. We are so looking forward to a keynote address by Ted Leonsis (Founder and Chairman of Monumental Sports & Entertainment) and some killer performances from Joy of Motion and City Year DC.

Check back for some event coverage — and for the 2010/2011 Catalogue for Philanthropy!

Around Town: November 6-7

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Julia Cain

Welcome to November, Greater Washington! Who doesn’t like umbrella-reversing wind and freezing rain? Lucky for you, our non-profits offer some wonderfully entertaining ways to escape the cold. A day in a beautiful gallery or a night at the theatre are great ways to start the month:

Saturday, November 6

10:00 AM — Heart of L’Arche Tour (L’Arche of Greater Washington DC): Take a one-hour tour, meet core people and board members, and hear from a family whose life has been touched by L’Arche. Get to the heart of it all!

3:00 PM — The Best Haunted House Ever (Encore Stage & Studio): Catch an afternoon performance of this hair-raising tale at The Children’s Theatre. Think deliciously scary, but not too scary. Performances run through November 7. Full schedule here and tickets right here.

Continue reading →

Always An Election Day

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Julia Cain

… For astute leaders looking to grow, treat every day like election day — a new opportunity to learn, to build trust, to forge commitment, and to get out the vote in support of your organization’s better tomorrows. It’s not easy, but over time it’s a leadership journey many will sign on to.

Yesterday, I linked to this On Leadership page from the Post website. Just to re-cap, the Post asked its panel what the first thing that President Obama, or any “military or non-profit leader,” should do when confronted with an “unambiguously negative evaluation” of their performance or their organization. And I am seriously digging this brief, yet incisive answer from Susan Peters, VP of executive development and chief learning officer of GE.

Is an election equivalent to an evaluation? I’m not so sure. And can we say definitively that the radical re-shuffling of Congress was an “evaluation” of the President and not, say, Congress? I’m not sure about that one either. But I think that Peters’ point still stands. A good “leadership journey” does not (and should not) entail a biannual self-assessment, but a daily one. Maybe even an hourly one. A constant one.

Continue reading →

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