Feature of the Month: Gift Cards

It’s an obvious choice. But we are heading into the midst of the holiday season, so what better time to talk about gift cards? First, click the “How to Give” tab on the Catalogue mainpage and then click “Gift Cards” on the left hand menu. This screen will pop up:

 

 

 

 

 

So what is a Catalogue gift card? It works just like a traditional gift card for a website or store; but rather than spend the contents, the recipient donates it to the Catalogue charity (or charities) of his or her choosing. You can purchase a card for a friend or family member in denominations of $25, $50, $100, $150, and up and we will send it to them, along with instructions for visiting our website and learning about the great nonprofits in our network. And redeeming the card is pretty simple: just click “donate” on any charity’s page and select a donation amount. Same procedure as usual! But once you get to the payment page, you enter the code on the card instead of a credit card number.

With Catalogue’s wide range of organizations, from charter schools to preservation groups to dance companies, these gifts cards really can appeal to anyone. So if you’re interested, here’s how to get started: just head to the “Purchase a Gift Card” page and fill it out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can mail the card to you or directly to the recipient, along with a personal message. Just one important heads-up: we receive quite a few gift card orders during the holidays, so please order by December 12 if you would like the card to arrive by December 25. If you’re reading this entry after December 12 … we do e-cards of course!

Any questions? Just leave a comment and we’re happy to help out.

Day of Giving

Happy Thanksgiving, Greater Washington! If you’re looking to support or volunteer with an organization in your neighborhood on this coming holiday weekend, we have the list for you. Check out what’s needed and what you can do at some of Catalogue’s human service nonprofits. (And we’ll be back to our regular GoodWorks programming on Monday)

Carpenter’s Shelter: Alexandria, VA

Each family, more than 100 in total, in the Aftercare program receives a basket full of essential ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. Items needed range from boxes of stuffing to mashed potatoes to ziploc bags. Full list right here:

Doorways for Women and Families: Arlington, VA

Doorways, which strives to end domestic violence and homelessness, offers 6 ways to help out throughout this holiday season, including sponsoring a family and purchasing cards drawn by a child in the housing program.

FACETS Cares: Fairfax, VA

Seeking cooks for Turkeys and side dishes (ingredients provided) on November 22-24, volunteers to assemble and deliver food on Thanksgiving, AND food drive assistants that weekend! All info is right here.

Food for Others: Fairfax, VA

A full calendar of volunteer opportunities from 9 AM to 5 PM today and tomorrow includes directing truck traffic, sorting food, and distributing it to clients. Interested? Read the full schedule here or email nclifford@foodforothers.org.

Lorton Community Action Center: Lorton, VA

In serving clients of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, LCAC is not seeking the traditional American Thanksgiving provisions. A complete list is right here. The drop-off date was last Sunday, but give LCAC a call (contact info below) to see if they have everything that they need.

Manna Food Center: Gaithersburg, MD

Check out Channel 9’s report on Manna’s “need for turkeys” (and other protein items) from earlier this month. You can drop off food donations from 8 AM to 4 PM today and tomorrow, but locations are closed on Thursday.

Miriam’s Kitchen: Washington, DC

All volunteer spots are booked for Thanksgiving, but do check out the coverage of Miriam’s Kitchen on USA Today. This holiday, Miriam’s will be serving 150 homeless people its first all-organic or local Thanksgiving dinner (turkey included).

Our Daily Bread: Fairfax, VA

Every Saturday, November 5 through December 10, Our Daily Bread and Combined Properties host a fall food drive; full list of locations here. You also can sponsor a family through the holiday season.

Thanksgiving Week

Friendships begin with liking or gratitude — roots that can be pulled up.

— English novelist George Eliot

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

— 35th US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

This Thanksgiving week, we’re giving thanks for the incredible nonprofit community of Greater Washington — for cleaner rivers and parklands, innovative schools and enrichment programs, diverse theater and dance performances, and aid for our region’s neediest residents.

Are you a Catalogue nonprofit with particular volunteer or support needs this week? Let us know so that we can feature you right here!

Feature of the Month: E-Links

Welcome to mid-November! Just one week ago today, we introduced you to our new class of Catalogue nonprofits. So now, we’d like to show how you can learn even more about them online.

First, head to the “Our Nonprofits” section of the Catalogue homepage and click on any of the five categories. Let’s go with “Nature.” From there, let’s get to know one of our new organizations: Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment. And if you scroll down on ACE’s page, you will see this menu:

 

 

 

 

 

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What Inspires You?

From yesterday’s “Inspiration to Action 2011” at the Harman Center for the Arts:

Here we are. YEAR NINE. To the 2011-12 charities featured in our new Catalogue and to those of you being re-featured on our website this year, it is truly an honor, and a pleasure, to see you here today. I hope you are already feeling inspired by what we are doing together. […] Here at the Catalogue we believe in the power of telling stories — and in the hard work that makes it possible for donors and volunteers to tap into the in-depth information and guidance that is the foundation of our work. We want people who read the Catalogue and visit us on the web, to explore their own philanthropic interests and find what matters to them — knowing that we have already done the hard work that makes meaningful personal choice possible.

— Barbara Harman, President, Catalogue for Philanthropy

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Around Town: November 4-5

Welcome to November, Greater Washington! So, what would you like to do this weekend?

Enjoy Great Music …

On Saturday at 8:00 & Sunday at 3:00 PM, National Philharmonic presents an “All Beethoven” evening; tickets over this way. Enjoy an afternoon of exquisite solo virtuosity from the Washington Bach Consort on Sunday at 3:00 PM at the National Presbyterian Church (tickets here) or catch the American Youth Philharmonic‘s “Orchestral Brilliance,” also at 3:00 PM.

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In the (Halloween) News …

Happy Halloween, Greater Washington! Just doing a quick “In The News …” a couple days early this week, as we stumbled upon some ghoulish news items.

Halloween Charity Treats For Those In Need” (Huffington Post): “When it comes to choosing your costume this Halloween, try this one on for size: go as a do-gooder. Even though Halloween typically takes the back seat to Thanksgiving and Christmas when it comes to charitable holidays, this festive day has plenty of potential to serve as an opportunity to help those in need.” The article highlights UNICEF, Operation Shoebox, and OneSight. What are your (perhaps local?) suggestions.

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Around Town: October 22-23

Good morning, Washington! Plenty for you to do this weekend at our non-profits …

Volunteer Fest @ Volunteer Fairfax (10530 Page Ave, Fairfax, VA)

A region-wide day of community service held in conjunction with National Make a Difference Day, Volunteer Fest mobilizes hundreds of volunteers to help nonprofits accomplish tasks that they would not have the time or resources to do on their own. Check it out on Saturday at from 9:00-4:00.

Fall Frenzy @ DC SCORES! (at Kelly Miller Middle School, 301 49th Street NE)

Do swing by for this celebration of the DC SCORES fall season filled with soccer games, relays and arts and crafts, and other activities on Saturday from 10:00-2:00.

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In The News …

DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (WUSA9: Brightwood): “Councilmember Mary M. Cheh and colleagues [joined] the [Catalogue non-profit] DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on the steps of the John A. Wilson Building for a press conference to highlight the continuing challenges the District of Columbia faces with teen pregnancy and its effect on the economic well being of our residents and the city at large. […] Due to the work of groups like the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the District of Columbia has recently seen a reduction in the rates of pregnancies for teenage women aged 15-19 years old; however, rates in the District far exceed the national average.” In DC, the rate is 67 out of every 1,000.

Michael on Being Down for Da Struggle (People’s District): Michael, a poet, vividly desribes how Catalogue non-profit Free Minds Book Club & Writing workshop made a critical difference in his life. He recounts, “I eventually started getting into trouble with the law. Which also lead to me going to prison more times than anyone would ever want to. [Free Minds] really helped me become more diverse and more open minded. I started to do a lot of reading; also, I became very intrigued by poetry […] Every Friday, I would get up early to prepare to go to the book club because it was a way to free my mind. Free Minds Book Club gave me a positive outlet to express myself and has opened several doors for opportunity and success.”

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Feature of the Month: Gift Registry

Hope that you all had a good long weekend! So, do you have a fall wedding or anniversary coming up this month? Why not combine philanthropy and celebration with another cool Catalogue web feature: gift registries.

First, just create a Catalogue account. We talked about this last month, and it’s both free and simple. Once you’ve done that, browse our non-profits as much as you like. If a particular organization captures your interest, click the bolded “add to favorites” link at the bottom of their description (see below):

Once an organization is one of your “favorites,” you can add it to your Gift Registry:

Just keep adding non-profits in the same way and, once you have saved all your favorites, you can publish your registry: including a title, personal message, and easy-t0-share URL. And friends and family can make gifts to your chosen non-profits in celebration of your event. Moreover, if you would like visitors to your registry to consider specific wish list items from a certain non-profit, you can leave a comment on that non-profit’s page — which only your visitors will see. And you can update your registry at any time. Think of it as a celebratory way to customize the Catalogue site for your event: