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Catalogue Blog

Around Town: December 17-18

Still making weekend plans? First, we suggest that you check out the awesome City Paper feature on our 2011/2012 nonprofits — very cool. Second, we have some indoor & outdoor events coming right up …

The Child and Family Network Centers (116 South Alfred Street, Alexandria)

Tea with Santa at the Morrison House on Sunday at noon! Kids will also enjoy holiday crafts and story time. Purchase tickets, and support CFNC, right here.

Dance Place (3225 8th Street NE, Washington)

Usher in the holiday season with Dance Place’s annual Kwanzaa Celebration, featuring Coyaba Academy, Coyaba Dance Theater, and special guests to celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Performances throughout the weekend; learn more here.

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“Give It Up” Is Up …

… and we couldn’t be more psyched to see our seventy 2011/2012 nonprofits as the feature of this week’s issues of the Washington City Paper:

[…] Ordinarily, we’d sit around grousing about holiday materialism before schlepping out to pick up stocking stuffers. But this season, we decided to do something different.

For the better part of a decade, the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington has been vetting top local nonprofits to include in its annual giving guide. The process, which takes about six months, involves selecting 70 organizations with budgets under $3 million and rock-solid financial and organizational structures. The vetting is conducted by expert volunteers from the nonproft sector as well as by accountants from the auditing firm RAFFA. Traditionally, the Catalogue has bound its list into a book and distributed thousands of copies to “high net worth individuals” in the area. This year, we’ve worked with the organization to highlight its list in our pages, with the idea that you don’t have to be rich to want to give a little.

Read the full piece here (or hurry to the nearest City Paper box!), and get an awesome glimpse into our newest nonprofits. We’ve also highlighted volunteer opportunities, so you can give with time or money this season.

In The News …

Little known about DC’s young homeless, except that numbers are growing (Washington Post): “Though relatively little else is known about them, the number of homeless youths in the District has jumped, according to numbers released Tuesday by the National Center of Family Homelessness […] In 2010, 4,309 children were found to be without stable housing in a city where 27% of households pay more than 50% of their income for rent.” According to the State Report Card on Child Homelessness, “Virginia and Maryland ranked 18th and 22nd for risk for homelessness;” and the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates finds that a growing number of homeless individuals are also parents under the age of 24.

Foundation Funding for Hispanics/Latinos (Philanthropy News Digest: PhilanTopic): “Our colleagues here in the Research Department have just released a new report that examines foundation giving to Hispanics in the U.S. and for Latin America over the last decade […] Foundation Funding for Hispanics/Latinos in the United States and for Latin America found that over the past decade, U.S. foundation giving intended to benefit Latinos remained steady at about 1% of total foundation giving, even as the Latino population in the US grew significantly.” The report, which gave particular focus to the 2007-2009 period, also found that the greater Los Angeles area received the largest share of both grant dollars (17%) and grants (13%) of any US metropolitan area in that time.

Theaters’ Fiscal Outlook Improves Slightly (Chronicle of Philanthropy): “The latest round of an annual survey of nonprofit theaters’ finances offers some optimism […] Theater Facts 2010, compiled by grant-making and advocacy outfit the Theater Communications Group, found total assets, including box office, gifts, and endowment earnings, exceeded expenses last year for the 113 organizations that have participated in the study for each of the last five years.” TCG head Teresa Eyring points out that rising attendance, at readings and workshops as well as full productions, also “bodes well for the health of theater overall.”

Around Town: December 10-11

Making weekend plans? Check out what’s happening at our nonprofits …

Gifts that Give Hope (Trinity Presbyterian Church, 5533 North 16th St., Arlington)

From 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday, a dozen nonprofits will provide a unique, stress-free holiday shopping experience. Looking for a good holiday gift? Consider making a contribution in honor of a family member of friend. Half of the participating nonprofits hail from Catalogue network: Arlingtonians Meeting Emergency Needs, A-SPAN (Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network), Borromeo Housing, Inc., Doorways For Women and Families, Homeless Children’s Playtime Project, and Just Neighbors.

Anacostia Watershed Society (Bladen Woods Condos, 5208 Newton Street, Bladensburg, MD)

Join a neighborhood clean-up near the Quincy Run tributary on Saturday at 8:00 AM; all supplies and instructions will be provided on site!
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Closing The Skills Gap

Yesterday’s “In The News” highlighted this piece from DCentric; and I think that its thesis bears repeating. As author Elahe Izadi points out, “Many of the available jobs in the District, the ones that attract people from around the country, require advanced degrees. This mismatch, or skills gap, means many of those born and raised within the District are increasingly being left out of its economic success.” Many residents of low-income DC communities also lack access to computers and high-speed internet and “about 20 percent of District adults are functionally illiterate.”

How, and when, can we resolve the “skills gap” problem? To start, here are a few Catalogue nonprofits who are working to do precisely that. We absolutely would suggest learning more about their work and their needs.
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In The News …

Division of Labor: The Gap Between Skills and Jobs (DCentric): “While much of the country struggles with job creation, DC is in the unique position of having more jobs than residents […] Many of the available jobs in the District, the ones that attract people from around the country, require advanced degrees. This mismatch, or skills gap, means many of those born and raised within the District are increasingly being left out of its economic success.” According to the DC Department of Employment Services, professional, technical, or scientific or federal government positions make up nearly half of the area’s jobs; and 65% of November online job postings stipulated that applicants needed a minimum of a bachelors degree.
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Outside Voices

Via “Helping Nonprofits Benefit From Fresh Ideas,” published on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Mission: Innovation blog yesterday:

Nonprofits that are tackling big questions about their mission benefit greatly from seeking ideas from people outside their organization — including those who work in other fields, says Jeff Leitner. The former advertising executive has started a charity to help organizations do just that.

Insight Labs, in Chicago, brings business executives, scholars, government officials, and others together with a charity’s leaders for a three-hour strategy session to thrash out possible solutions to a tough issue the group faces.
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Around Town: December 2-4

First events blog of December! Plenty of ways to meet our non-profits coming up …

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (545 7th Street SE)

Free Tango Practica! Tango dancers of all levels have an opportunity to practice, collaborate, and learn in a collective space on Friday at 7:00 PM.

WSC Avant Bard (at Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA)

Last chance! The one-evening adaptation of Shakespeare’s enthralling history plays Henry IV: Parts 1 and 2, closes this weekend. Catch it on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM. Tickets right here.
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New Chances

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to December. I just tuned into Morning Edition on WAMU and caught this story:

JUNE KRESS: As the previously incarcerated in our city know all too well, finding a job is essential to getting their lives back on track. But they face many obstacles. My organization, the Council for Court Excellence, recently conducted a survey of 550 District residents who had served time in prison or jail and found that 46 percent were unemployed.
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In The News …

Law Change Intended To Spur School System Food Donations (Leesburg Today): “Some altered language in the annual spending bill that funds the US Department of Agriculture will most likely translate into more donated food for local food banks and pantries […] The change clarifies the law to make it clear that public school districts can donate excess food without any concern that they are not covered under the Good Samaritan Act, which protects donors who give to food banks in good faith from all liability.” To find a list of Catalogue nonprofits focused on hunger and housing, head this way.

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