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Catalogue Blog

Women’s History Month

We are nearly to end of March — and thus, near to the conclusion of Women’s History Month. And in visiting the National Park Service exhibit on Eleanor Roosevelt, this particular quotation caught my attention:

Champion of domestic social reform, economic justice, and human rights, Eleanor believed citizenship demanded participation, saying “We will be the sufferers if we let great wrongs occur without exerting ourselves to correct them.”

This month does indeed focus on women’s history, but in remembering and honoring great women leaders of the past, we must strive to give women and girls the resources to become great leaders in the future. Since the successful passage of the 19th Amendment, and since Roosevelt’s tenure in the White House and the United Nations, this country has made incredible progress: in education for women, in representation, in leadership. Yet countless women still need and deserve the resources to make their own personal progress — which is why non-profits focused on women and girls are such vital parts of our community:

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Learning & Housing

From “How a GED Is a Real Advantage…” by Ralph da Costa Nunez, President of the Institute For Children, Poverty & Homelessness, from Saturday’s Huffington Post:

Recent data demonstrate that obtaining a GED has employment and income benefits for all recipients. Nationally, high school dropouts who obtain a GED on average increase their earnings by $115 per week or $3,500 per year.

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In The News …

Welcome to the first Wednesday in March and your weekly news round-up!

State Arts Agencies — Over at Createquity, Ian David Moss follows up on this post by pointing to two new, online national resources for arts advocates. At the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, you can find a simple (albeit unpleasant) breakdown of “major restructuring or funding elimination proposal” by state. The State Arts Appropriation Network, an affiliate of Americans for the Arts, even provides a click-able US map where you can access past and proposed budget numbers. Moss also makes a great point: check to see if your state representatives are already “in the tank for arts funding” so that you can reach out to friends and networks elsewhere!

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Story Store

Just to venture (a bit … or more than a bit) outside the Beltway, do check out this news item from the Rochester, MN, Post Bulletin:

Rick Weiss, who owns Insty-Prints in Rochester, is taking a different tack this year for his annual search for groups deserving of help. He has made annual donations to local organizations for the past 11 years.

Using Facebook and LinkedIn, he launched “a $1,000 Nonprofit Challenge” last week. Weiss is asking people whose lives have been touched by a local non-profit to share their stories. “We want to hear the stories of those organizations that are making a difference,” he says.

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In the News … (Part 1)

Welcome to Wednesday, folks.

First, to address the questions that are arising both in the wake of the President’s budget proposal and from the debate to come, do check out yesterday’s coverage at Chronicle of Philanthropyand in the Nonprofit Quarterly. The former takes a more level approach, pointing out that “the news wasn’t all bad. The president proposed adding money, for example, to programs to help homeless people and provide rental assistance to low-income families.” The latter then offers a partial “list of program terminations and reductions … tucked into one of the supplemental volumes” of the President’s proposal and concludes that his “middle-of-the road … strategy might be part of the reality that nonprofits have to address.” In terms of indirect effects, the plan also “proposes limiting the value of itemized deductions for the better off deductions could only be claimed against a 28% rate.”

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Question for the Day

Courtesy of Elizabeth Hampton at the Huffington Post:

It’s a rare occasion when you find someone with little to say about education. Everyone, it seems, has a finger to point, two cents to toss in […]

This is completely understandable. Not every American can speak knowledgeably on the political backdrop catapulting unrest in the Middle East. Even fewer (some politicians included) can deftly navigate the health care debate. But if you’re a citizen of this country, you have likely spent time in a school building and therefore, when it comes to education, you’ve darn well got something to say.

Amid the cacophony of opinions, there is one set of voices I think we need to hear more from: teachers.

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In The News …

Welcome to Wednesday, folks! We have a good bundle of local and non-profit news items coming your way …

CSG’s 2011 State of the Washington Region — Following the State of the Union, Greater Greater Washington has an excellent post this week from Coalition for Smarter Growth’s Laura DeSantis on the state of our community, focusing on “our top five opportunities and challenges.” She summarizes that “adopting a range of smart growth policies — from transit-oriented development to a range of housing options — will set us firmly on a course to become the most energy efficient, and environmentally and fiscally sustainable region in the nation.” I would only add that CSG’s call for more mixed-use corridors and broader housing options are particularly apt: “We must ensure every community throughout the region has a full range of affordable housing choices through mixed-use revitalization, housing trust funds, affordable housing preservation strategies, and inclusionary zoning policies.”

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Mentoring Month

On this chilly Monday, January comes to a close — as does the first month of 2011, as does National Mentoring Month.

In the interest of full disclosure, I had not thought about this month’s moniker until I saw it pop up around the non-profit blogsphere: on Social Media & Social Justice, Allison Jones catalyzed a discussion on mentoring and age — and how youth need not be barrier to providing career advice and support. She aptly points out that, through mentoring, “You’re forced to think about your choices: Saying “just because” doesn’t fly when you are mentoring someone. They want to know why you made certain choices and the consequences (good and bad).” And writing from the Indianapolis non-profit community, Jessica Journey blogs a tribute to three of her mentors, highlighting leaders who have transitioned from one sphere to another: from for-profit to n0n-profit or from foundations to education.

Taking her theme a bit farther, mentors have a particular power when they can alert a young person to the simple breadth and versatility of life. Especially for middle and high school students, who they are now can feel like who they will be forever — so a mentor who not only has incited social change and justice, but who took a few turns or alternative routes to get there, can provide hope and motivation. According to the MENTOR: National Mentoring Partnership:

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Quote for the Day

What’s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea — the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That’s why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It’s why our students don’t just memorize equations, but answer questions like “What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?”

The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can’t just stand still.

— President Obama, State of the Union 2011

In The News …

Welcome to Wednesday, DMV folks! Just passing along some mid-week news …

Student Test Scores Show US Science-Education Deficiency — The results from the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress were released this week and, according to the Wall Street Journal, may well “reinvigorate the national debate over America’s future competitiveness in science and technology.” Possible reasons for the science deficiency “included shortages of qualified science educators and of advanced science classes in low-income and rural schools” and many teachers “blamed the lackluster showing on No Child Left Behind.” While the results are a cause for concern, do they clearly indicate that science education is lacking? Or rather, could they suggest that standardized tests are the wrong medium for assessing that education — or fairly assessing ability for students of all backgrounds?

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