#GivingTuesday is here! How will you make an impact in your community today?

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Spur Local

Since Thanksgiving, retailers have been promoting incredible steals and deals to help you complete your holiday shopping. What if you could turn the pennies you saved from those deals into pennies given to our Catalogue for Philanthropy charities?

The Catalogue’s #APennySaved campaign, in partnership with #GivingTuesday, combines the thrill of saving with the thrill of giving. We encourage you to turn your holiday savings into tangible good in the community through your support of our 350+ vetted charities.

After you give, don’t forget to tell us about it on social media! Use the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #APennySaved to tell us about how you’re supporting our community with the money you saved. Together we can make this a season of getting AND a season of giving.

Looking for ideas on ways to give? Think about how you saved, and use the wish lists below to guide your giving! Remember, this is only a small sample of our network of 350+ charities. Go to cfp-dc.org/nonprofits to learn more about them.

Saved $10 on a gift for your sibling? Use that $10 for:

One (1) load of laundry and a shower for a homeless individual (Carpenter’s Shelter)
Five (5) student poetry books (Split this Rock)
One (1) adoption or foster care themed children’s book to a local school (The Barker Foundation)
A package of energy efficient CFL light bulbs for a first time homebuyer (Housing Initiative Partnership)
Diapering a baby for two (2) weeks (DC Diaper Bank)
A three (3) piece winter set (hat, gloves, scarf) for one formerly homeless adult or child (Community Family Life Services)
One (1) student workbook (Literacy Council of Montgomery County)
Two (2) books for the “Ready to Read” program for homeless families (The Literacy Lab)
Art supplies for one (1) student for an entire month (Joe’s Movement Emporium/World Arts Focus)
Transportation for one (1) unemployed individual to travel to job interviews (Jubilee Jobs)

Saved $25 on a gift for mom or dad? Use that $25 for:

Books for one (1) student for English as a Second Language classes (Language ETC)
Cab ride for an injured service member and his spouse to go out to dinner and a movie (Yellow Ribbon Fund)
Superhero action figures and capes for kids fighting life threatening illnesses (to enjoy when superheroes come visit) (Hope for Henry Foundation)
32 heavy duty trash bags to haul 640 pounds of trash from the Potomac (Potomac Conservancy)
One (1) pair of ballet shoes for a young dancer in need (Joy of Motion Dance Center)
Books for one elementary school student to read over the holiday break (Reach, Inc)
Three (3) books to help build a student’s home library (Reading Partners)
A teddy bear or other comfort toy for a child grieving the loss of a loved one (Wendt Center for Loss and Healing)
Two (2) native tree seedlings for restoration work in DC area parks (Earth Sangha)
Rechargeable batteries to power audio recording equipment (Stone Soup Films)
Complete Writing Program (guide, teacher training, evaluation) for one (1) student (One World Education)
Teaching a teen financial literacy skills (Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/Prince George’s County)
A Social Club outing for one (1) adult with a disability (ArtStream)
Destination Graduation: 2nd semester school replenish kit (pencils, notebooks, paper, memory cards, and highlighters) (The House, Student Leadership Center)

And for the really savvy shoppers out there…Did you save $50 on a holiday gift?Use that $50 for:

One (1) Know-Your-Rights session to inform shelter residents of their rights under Federal and Local law (Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless)
Thermal underwear for seven (7) people (Georgetown Ministry Center)
One (1) professional actor into a local classroom to perform students’ original plays (Young Playwrights’ Theater)
One (1) poet-athlete with soccer equipment and writing supplies for one DC SCORES season (DC SCORES)
Framing a student photo and hangs it in an art gallery (Critical Exposure)
A week’s worth of snacks in the after-school program (Mary House)
One (1) raincoat to outfit a child for a backpacking trip (City Kids Wilderness Project)
Sponsors a student’s participation at the Global Kids youth leadership conference in NYC (Global Kids)

Happy Giving!!

Reflections from the Road: Holiday Journeys and #GivingTuesday

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Spur Local

As we prepare for the holidays – packing suitcases, loading up the car, battling traffic or airport lines – it seems that the process of getting to our destination has become as much a part of holiday tradition as turkey, stuffing and that awkward annual dinner toast from a distant relative.

This inevitable “are we there yet?” mentality stretches beyond just the holiday travel season — it extends to our personal goals, career objectives and other milestones in life. Yet, while we’re on these personal journeys, it’s important that we use this time of year to stop and reflect — here, in this moment — on the things that have brought us to where we are today…and be thankful.

This Tuesday, December 3rd, #GivingTuesday gives us that unique opportunity after both Thanksgiving and the holiday shopping that follows to further reflect on all that we’ve been given, and turn our gratitude into impact.

As an official #GivingTuesday partner, the Catalogue for Philanthropy encourages you to reflect and re-think your approach to holiday shopping: as you shop for loved ones this year during the sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, turn your pennies saved into pennies…given.

With the Catalogue’s #APennySaved campaign, think about using your holiday shopping savings to lift up those in need in our community through your support of our 350+ local, vetted charities (You can learn more about them and give at www.cfp-dc.org/nonprofits). Use the money you save on items purchased this holiday weekend to change your community for good.

This holiday season, travel safely, reflect on the journey, and give thanks by giving back.

Around Town: April 27-28

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Sherika Brooks

Looking for a great way to spend your weekend? Catalogue nonprofits have great events that you can not only attend, but volunteer at as well!! If you go to an event, tweet about it using hashtag #CatalogueCheers!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

The Race to End Poverty

A Wider Circle
Featuring a 4K run/walk and a tot trot! In 2012, A Wider Circle furnished 3,650 homes. This year, we hope to furnish 4,000 homes – 4K! Run or walk on April 27 and help us accomplish a 4K in service! Enter as an individual, as a team, or join the Bed Brigade.
When: Saturday April 27, 2013 (09:00 AM)
Where: Meadowbrook Park, 7901 Meadowbrook Lane, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Fee? yes $33 for individual 4K entries; $20 for ages 11 – 20; free for 10 and under 4K participants and Tot Trot participants free; $33 for the Bed Brigade
Contact: Ann Marie Schaeffing, (301) 608-3504
For more information: click here

Living Well With Cancer One-Day Retreat For Caregivers

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts
One-day Caregiver Retreats aim to help strengthen innate healing mechanisms through group support, yoga and stress reduction, creativity, and nutrition.
When: Saturday April 27, 2013 (09:00 AM – 4:00 PM)
Where: Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Fee? yes $40 per person
Contact: Smith Center, (202) 483-8600
For more information: click here

Grocery Deliveries to Low-Income Seniors in Columbia Heights

We Are Family Senior Outreach Network
We Are Family will be delivering free grocery bags to over 250 low-income seniors in the Columbia Heights, Petworth, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods.
When: Saturday April 27, 2013 (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
Where: Kelsey Apartments, 3322 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20010
Fee? no
Volunteer Info: Volunteers will help assemble and deliver grocery bags. Although a car is not needed, it is helpful. Some of our delivery routes can be done on foot, while others require a car.
Contact: Mark Andersen, (202) 487-8698
For more information: click here

REVISION dance company

Dance Place
In JUST BE, Artistic Director Shannon Quinn leads REVISION dance company in exploring the raw emotions and personal experiences of working with people with disabilities. The evening length modern dance work invites the audience and dancers to focus on the abilities of individuals, instead of the challenges and stereotypes associated with disabilities.
When: Saturday April 27, 2013 (8:00 PM)
Where: Dance Place, 3225 8th Street NE, Washington, DC 20017
Fee? yes $22 General Admission; $17 Members, Seniors, Teachers and Artists; $10 College Students; $8 Children (17 and under)
Contact: Carolyn Kamrath, (202) 269-1608
For more information: click here

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Mass in B Minor featuring Agnes Zsigovics

Washington Bach Consort
Johann Sebastian Bach Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 We end our 35th Season with the monumental Mass in B Minor, a work Bach returned to again and again during his life. Although it draws upon Lutheran and Catholic traditions the B Minor Mass holds deep significance for people of all religious and cultural origins. Bach scholar Christoph Wolff describes the B Minor Mass as a summary of his writing for voice, not only in its variety of styles, compositional devices, and range of sonorities, but also in its high level of technical polish … Bach’s mighty setting preserved the musical and artistic creed of its creator for posterity. Pre-Concert Lecture: 2:00pm, Talking Bach is a series of free pre-concert lectures by noted Bach scholars one hour before performances at National Presbyterian Church. The lectures focus not only on the musical elements of the work that will be performed, but also on the historical context in which the music was created. Talks are designed to enhance the concertgoers’ appreciation and enjoyment of the music they are about to hear. The series is open to all ticket holders.
When: Sunday April 28, 2013 (3:00 PM)
Where: National Presbyterian Church, 4101 Nebraska Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
Fee? yes Tickets $23-$65, Students 18 and younger $10, Pay Your Age 18-38
Volunteer Info: Usher, Sell Tickets, Direct Patrons, Clean up after Reception
Contact: Washington Bach Consort, (202) 429-2121
For more information: click here

In The News …

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Julia Cain

White House estimate spells out tough road for Washington region economy (Washington Post): “… the upcoming automatic spending cuts the Obama administration detailed Sunday would strike a tough blow, with nearly 150,000 civilian Defense Department employees facing furloughs and an estimated average loss of $7,500 in pay […] funding for elementary and secondary education across the region would be slashed by $29 million.” Economist Anirban Basu (Sage Policy Group) points out that sequestration will have a deeper effect on this region than the nation as a whole, as DC, Maryland, and Virginia are “among the most reliant communities in the nation on federal spending.”

Nonprofit Branding 2013: What Has Changed? (Nonprofit Quarterly): “First, we needed to see information technology not as a peripheral function within our organization but central to our mission pursuits. Second, we needed to see our identity less as an extension of our mission statement, but more as a link between the public perception of the impact we create and our higher calling to strengthen communities.” Carlo Cuesta, founder of the Saint Paul-based firm Creation in Common, goes to point out that “We have access to the tools and resources needed to build meaningful relationships with our stakeholders, what we lack are the capabilities to do it in a way that advances authenticity and mobilizes the public will.” Do you agree?

Gray aims high with sustainability plan; can agencies deliver? (Greater Greater Washington): “Last week, the Gray administration unveiled its sustainability plan, which sets some very ambitious, yet very important objectives for 2032, like attracting 250,000 new residents and making 75% of trips happen by walking, biking, and transit.” GGW argues that “to achieve these goals, agencies will have to push forward not just on their existing laudable initiatives, but go beyond.” For example: “it would be better to focus more new housing near Metro stations, streetcars, and high-frequency bus corridors. To do that, though, some administration will have to modify the Comprehensive Plan and zoning to create denser areas somewhere.”

In The News …

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Julia Cain

In speech, DC mayor pledges investment in affordable housing, other city programs (Washington Post): “A ‘prosperity dividend’ from the District’s continued economic growth should be used to make investments in key city government programs, Mayor Vincent C. Gray said in his annual State of the District address Tuesday.” In the third year of his term, Gray has his first opportunity to “pursue significant new spending — starting with a $100 million commitment to affordable housing.” Additionally, the mayor’s upcoming budget proposal “will include a $15 million ‘investment fund’ for city nonprofits. The fund would make competitive grants to groups involved in arts, job training, the environment, health and other areas.”

A Million Strong: Helping Them Through (New York Times: Education): “As often as not, they float in and out of college like nomads, juggling deployments, families and jobs. If they are in service, they take classes at night or on weekends, studying between combat patrols and 12-hour duty schedules […] Some have physical injuries or mental health issues that can strain their ability to study.” Thus the questions arise: are veterans given the information that they need to make the best enrollment decisions, and then provided with the resources to complete the degree requirements? To answer them, federal agencies are “creating new metrics that reflect military and veteran students’ tendencies to attend multiple colleges and to take more than four to six years to graduate.”

Three Key Takeaways from Nielsen’s 2012 Social Media Report (Nonprofit Quarterly): “Social media is here to stay, and even as others catch up, Facebook remains miles ahead of the pack […] If you want to go where the growth is, go mobile. Mobile technology really took root in 2012 with a whopping 120 percent increase in mobile app usage.” And of those surveyed, more than 50% shared their positive and negative reactions about brands over social media — implying that organizations that are not on Facebook or Twitter “could be missing out on helping your stakeholders understand or resolve issues or concerns.”

In The News …

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Julia Cain

Amid change, affordable housing revitalizes parts of Ward 5 (Greater Greater Washington): “As development along Rhode Island Avenue and New York Avenue take shape over the next few years, much of DC’s Ward 5 will see major changes. But can these changes draw new residents without displacing existing ones? A key element will be to preserve and expand the availability of affordable housing.” This past week, Housing For All Campaign hosted a town hall meeting focused on the options, both small and extensive, for accessible housing in Ward 5. “Ward 5 will continue to benefit from the investments in affordable housing that build vibrant spaces for current and future District residents.”

Online Giving Streak Continues With 13% Rise Last Week (Chronicle of Philanthropy): “Online giving to 8,700 charities rose 13.3 percent last week when compared with the same days last year, according to Network for Good […] What’s more, the number of donations grew nearly 7 percent.” The week of Thanksgiving, online giving actually rose an impressive 61 percent; and after Thanksgiving, giving rose by 42 percent — primarily as a result of Giving Tuesday. The Chronicle has created an interactive graphic that compares 2012 giving with 2011 giving on a day-by-day basis; check it out here.

Obesity in Young Is Seen as Falling in Several Cities (New York Times: Health): “After decades of rising childhood obesity rates, several American cities are reporting their first declines. The trend has emerged in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, as well as smaller places like Anchorage, Alaska, and Kearney, Nebraska.” While the the drops are small (5 percent or less in Philadelphia and Los Angeles), experts say they are significant because they offer the first indication that the obesity epidemic, one of the nation’s most intractable health problems, may actually be reversing course.” However, others point out that “the current declines, concentrated among higher income, mostly white populations, are still not benefiting many minority children.”

In The News …

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Julia Cain

For homeless single dad, nothing’s easy, even when it’s good (Washington Post: Local): “Hours later, after he produced his ID with no fixed address, his Social Security card, his medical records, the paperwork for Kai, the letters from readers, two tellers still wouldn’t cash it. Finally, a branch manager took him into her office, closed the door behind them and listened to his story. […] If this is the process to simply cash a check when you’re without an anchor, imagine how hard it is to find work, housing and child care when your address is a shelter and a 1-year-old is clinging to your neck.” Juan Jordan, who recently received a place at the former DC General Hospital with help from the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, daily faces a specific array of challenges in securing food and shelter for himself and his daughter — precisely because it is just the two of them.

Program That Sends Urban Students to Elite Colleges Comes to Houston This Fall (New York Times via the Texas Tribune): Catalogue nonprofit the Posse Foundation is now expanding to the Houston Independent School District! “Teachers, principals and community leaders will get to nominate students to become members of the city’s inaugural “posses” — groups of students from large, urban districts organized by the Posse Foundation, which sends them to elite colleges and universities as a unit to serve as a pre-established peer support network.” Since its inception in 1989, Posse has grown “grown tremendously, sending more than 4,000 students from eight of the country?s largest cities to about 40 universities. Those students have netted nearly $500 million in scholarships […] and have a graduation rate of 90 percent.”

How Do Your Nonprofit’s Online Numbers Compare? (Huffington Post): “The 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study showed nonprofit online fundraising grew for a second year in a row, driven largely by an increase in gifts to rights-based nonprofits. While the response rates to fundraising email messages stayed fairly consistent for nonprofits in 2011, the average rates of new Facebook fans, mobile subscribers, and people who took action from an advocacy email soared.” Among the notable results? By December 2011, “nonprofits on average had 70 percent more Facebook fans than they did at the start of the year” and “the number of email subscribers responding to calls to action online [… had] increased 28 percent.” M+R principal Bill Wasserman suggests taking similar stock of your own numbers and brainstorming how to improve them in 2012.

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