Around Town: June 23-24

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Julia Cain

Please stay cool this weekend, Washingtonians! Here are some nonprofit destinations:

(And here is some more info on DMV cooling centers from WJLA.)

Calvary Women’s Services (at Anacostia Waterfront Park, 1900 Anacostia Drive SE)

Meet at 9:00 AM on Saturday for 5K Run/Walk to Benefit Calvary (hosted by DC Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority); all levels of runners and walkers are welcome and the sign-up is right here.

Volunteer Fairfax (at Reston Town Center Pavilion, 11900 Market Street, Reston, VA)

Join Volunteer Fairfax and local emergency preparedness professionals on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM for “Ready Reston!,” a fun, family-friendly opportunity to learn what needs to be done to prepare for emergencies, large and small.

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Teaming Up: Black Benefactors & The Catalogue

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Spur Local

By Tracey Webb, Founder, The Black Benefactors

During a recent convening in Washington, DC that focused on issues impacting the black community, a panelist stated, “Black people are more philanthropic than other communities, but we’re not strategically philanthropic.” After reading that comment on Twitter, I thought back to the many conversations I’ve had with my peers who echo the same sentiment. As the founder of The Black Benefactors, a giving circle that provides grants and support to nonprofits that serve the African American community in the DC region, I hope that my giving circle will address this issue, and to date, we have.

How we give back is simple: Members pool our monies and time, and then we decide collectively where to give them away. Since 2007, we’ve granted $11,500 to six organizations that provide mentoring, youth development, college readiness and the arts. Research has shown that members of giving circles give more, give more strategically, and are more engaged in their communities. Specifically, research found that giving circle members are more likely to conduct research to help decide which nonprofit to support, support general operating expenses in addition to or instead of specific programs, check organizational performance data, take into consideration cultural differences and race, class and/or gender when making funding decisions, and make multi-year gifts. These are all hallmarks of strategic giving, and we incorporate these practices into our own grantmaking. So how does the Catalogue for Philanthropy fit in to this?

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Growing Up LGBT

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Julia Cain

The Human Rights Campaign has published “a groundbreaking survey of more than 10,000 LGBT-identified youth ages 13-17,” delving both into their present challenges and expectations for the future:

With an increase in public awareness about anti-LGBT bullying and harassment and the strikingly high number of LGBT youth who are homeless, in foster care, or living in high-risk situations, it is critical that we get a better understanding of the experiences, needs, and concerns of LGBT youth.

[...] They find safe havens among their peers, online and in their schools. They remain optimistic and believe things will get better. Nevertheless, the findings are a call to action for all adults who want ensure that young people can thrive.

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To Be Free

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Julia Cain

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

– “Blackbird” by Paul McCartney, born today in 1942

Around Town: June 15-17

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Julia Cain

Deciding where to spend your weekend? How about with a Catalogue nonprofit, such as …

Dance Place (3500 12th Street NE)

A 12-week public art celebration offering free cultural events and promoting creative expression, Artland Temporium events include exhibits, dance, concerts, poetry readings, and games and free to the public. Check out the full schedule for this weekend right here.

DCAC (2438 18th Street NW)

Loose Ends, the final exhibition of the current members of Sparkplug, DCAC’ artists collective, opens this Friday at 7:00 PM. Through video, photography, painting and sculpture these artists study themes of shifting frames, deconstruction of systems, and neo-romanticism. Plus, DADA Returns continues this weekend and the Capital City Showcase is coming up on Saturday.

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts (One-day retreat)

All day Saturday, the Smith Center’s Retreat helps participants strengthen their innate healing mechanisms; the schedule includes gentle yoga, stress reduction, discussions, creative activities, and talks on nutrition and healing. To all participants, have a relaxing and affirming day!

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Catalogue: By The Numbers

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Marie LeBlanc

By Marie LeBlanc, Community Partnerships Coordinator

The Catalogue for Philanthropy is excited to celebrate its tenth year of publication this year with the 2012/13 Catalogue. The following figures give a snapshot of the Catalogue, its applications, and community of nonprofits since the first Catalogue was published in 2003. We are also extremely proud to announce that as of this month, the Catalogue for Philanthropy has helped raise over $18 million for our nonprofits during the past 10 years!

In the past ten years …
- Over 2000 applications have been submitted for the Catalogue for Philanthropy, including 788 applications from new nonprofits and 360 applications to be re-listed in the Catalogue.
The Catalogue has maintained around a 30% acceptance rate since 2004.
- 480 unique organizations have been featured in the Catalogue since 2003 — over 500 including the Class of 2012/13. About 50% of Catalogue nonprofits are featured more than once.
- Of the 71 nonprofits featured in the first Catalogue in 2003, 32 nonprofits are still active members of the Catalogue network and have been relisted multiple times.

In 2012 …

- 204 total applications were reviewed by the Catalogue?s team of over 100 reviewers.
- 74 nonprofits were accepted into the print catalogue — 31 are new to Catalogue and 43 are relisted organizations. 11 organizations will be re-featured online.
- This year, 42% of nonprofits in the print catalogue are new, which is on par with past years. The odds have increased slightly in favor of re-lists over time. With so many quality organizations featured in the past 10 years, it’s hard to turn them down for a second or third feature!
- Of the 31 new nonprofits this year, 12 organizations had applied for the first time, but 14 organizations had applied unsuccessfully in the past before their acceptance this year — some as many as 4 or 5 times! 5 other nonprofits were previously featured in the Catalogue before 2008.
- 7 nonprofits have grown beyond the Catalogue’s budget threshold of $3 million and will also be re-featured online.

To learn more about the 2012/13 Catalogue nonprofits, check out the list here, and stay tuned for our updated website coming this fall!

In The News …

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Julia Cain

DC hasn’t reached universal pre-K (Greater Greater Washington): “Just a few years after setting a goal of “universal” pre-kindergarten, DC education officials claim they reached it. But many parents are still getting turned away at their local schools. Do we really have universal pre-K? Local auditors and independent reports conclude that the answer is no. The problem is worst east of the Anacostia, but reaches all wards,” write Celine Tobal and Ken Archer. The audit finds that at least 50% of Pre-K programs in all Wards have waiting lists; Ward 5 is the lowest with 52%, while Wards 1 and 3 are around 88%. Wards 2 and 7′s current programs are both well over 100% capacity too.

75% of Young Adults Gave to Charity Last Year, Study Finds (Chronicle of Philanthropy): “… a new survey of more than 6,500 people ages 20 to 35 shows they are inclined to give and are more than willing to ask their friends and relatives to do the same when they feel passionately about a cause.” About 75% of those surveyed gave to a charity last year and 63% volunteered with a nonprofit in that time; the vast majority of those did their giving online. “What we found is that there is a continuum of involvement that starts with communicating, then moves on to volunteering and leadership roles,” says Angela White, chief executive of Johnson, Grossnickle and Associates. [...] “They want real responsibilities and an opportunity to put their skills and expertise to work.”

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A Woolly Season

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Julia Cain

For many of our performing arts nonprofits, next season is already in the works!

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (which was in our first Catalogue class back in 2003!) has announced its 33rd season. Right here, you can check out the footage from their live season announcement and get a glimpse into what 2012/2013 has in store:

According to Woolly Mammoth, the 33rd season (entitled My Roots, My Revolution) “is a heart-stopping excavation of our cultural souls, encompassing both the joy of cultural expression and the struggle of cultures in conflict. With a unique global perspective, these ambitious new plays will carry you to far flung destinations including Africa, North Korea, Disneyworld, Zucotti Park, and the world of professional wrestling. Each destination is a hot zone where human emotions are bombarded by the complex forces of religion, heritage, politics, and ethnicity.”

What Kind of Life

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Julia Cain

What is a scientist after all? It is a curious man looking through a keyhole, the keyhole of nature, trying to know what’s going on. (1971)

We have to prepare for what life could become in 40 years. We need to outline what is possible and what is impossible with the non-renewable resources of the Earth. What role will technological improvement play? Taking all this into account, what kind of life can we produce in the best way for 10 billion people? That’s a problem that needs to be solved. (2004)

– Jacques-Yves Cousteau, French researchers & naval officer, born today in 1910

Learn more about Catalogue’s nature nonprofits right here.

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