Getting To Know You (More)

Last Thursday, we posted a question-and-answer walk-through of the Catalogue application process. Applications are due in one month and one day, so we’re adding a few more FAQs — and just leave a comment or tweet us @cataloguedc with any other questions:

Have you announced the dates for the financial supplement workshops yet?

We have! Two workshops will be held, one on February 14th, 2-4 PM and the other on March 5th 2-4 PM, at Smith & Wollensky’s, 1112 19th Street NW. You can sign up online right here.

When and how do you notify applicants of the decisions?

If we need to see financial information, we will request it in early to mid-April. Final decisions are made in early to mid-May and we will be sure to email you the decision either way. The new Catalogue comes out in early November in time for the giving season.
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In The News …

Why Low-Income Kids Miss Out On Play (DCentric): “‘Free play’ helps boost childhood development and leads to better behavior in schools. But a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics found low-income children in cities have limited opportunities to play […] Low-income kids are more likely to see recess cut from their school day [and] there are fewer playgrounds in low-income, urban communities [and] Parents are busy insuring their families? day-to-day survival.” So definitely get to know the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project, whose 100+ volunteers give children a much-needed opportunity to play and relax.
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Getting To Know You

Applications are now open for the 2012/2013 Catalogue for Philanthropy and due on February 13 at midnight. So let’s talk details:

Who is eligible? We try to keep the process as open as possible to a wide range of nonprofits. You just need to be a 501(c)3 organization, operating in the Washington region, with a budget below $3 million. That’s about it. And if you were featured in the 2008/2009 print Catalogue and earlier, you can apply for it again this year.
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Giving Today?

Still deciding about year-end giving? First, check out our “How To Give” section:

– You can donate easily to any Catalogue nonprofit or the Catalogue itself online. You can browse through the five nonprofit categories here and donate directly from any nonprofit’s page as you go.

– Just as easily, you can download a Giving Form here, make a list of charities and contribution amounts, and send one check to us. We’ll handle the rest!

Second, a good way to learn what your donation will mean to a particular nonprofit is to check out the Wish List:

– At Montgomery Countryside Alliance, $100 covers two Agricultural Reserve tours for elected officials and $500 covers 1 year of action alert emails.

– For Educacion Para Nuestro Futuro, $500 buys 10 textbooks for children learning English and $1000 provides a university field trip for 10 college-bound students and their parents.

– Or for Partner for Surgery, $100 buys transportation and care for two patients post-surgery and $500 covers pre-surgical nutrition support for children with cleft palates.

In other words, gifts of all sizes can make a major difference for these high-impact nonprofits. So consider spending a part of New Year’s Eve day getting to know all of them and helping them better our communities. They are amazingly good at it!

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.”

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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In The News …

DC parents raise concerns about middle schools (Washington Post via Greater Greater Washington): “Middle schools are the latest hot spot in DC public education. With preschool and elementary enrollment ticking up for the first time in decades, parents and policymakers are scrutinizing the lack of attractive middle-grade options with increasing urgency […] Without dramatic improvement in middle school quality, the long-term prospects for reform are bleak.” Back in March, we commented on a New York Times piece on the development of middle school pedagogy. Arguably, the “middle years” are neglected nationwide as much of the attention goes towards elementary school (formative years) or high school (pre-college years). Has the same been happening here?

Dismal DCPS Statistics Shared at Council Hearing (DCist): “[Tuesday] afternoon, D.C. Public Schools chancellor Kaya Henderson and other officials appeared in front of the DC Council’s Committee of the Whole to talk about middle school education […] Among the figures that Henderson and DCPS officials quoted: 18.4 percent of DCPS middle schoolers have missed classes because they didn’t feel safe traveling to school; 13.9 percent of middle school students were afraid of being beaten up at some point in the last year; around 40 percent of DCPS ninth graders repeat the grade, while one in three DCPS ninth graders fail algebra.” In other words, many of the most dire problems in DC middle schools have little to do with academics. Schools need to be effective, absolutely, but they also need to feel safe and protected.

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Around Town: September 24-25

So … what would you like to do in this final weekend of September?

Support A Non-Profit:

Enjoy a Taste of Arts, complete with festive music and dancing, to benefit the Alzheimer’s Family Day Center tonight (Friday) at 6:00 at Westwood Country Club in Vienna. On Saturday at 6:30, ASHA for Women (Asian Women’s Self Help Association) hosts their annual gala dinner in Fairfax; learn about Hope Through Empowerment here. And on Sunday at 11:00, Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL) will hold their 14th Annual Fall Brunch at the Mandarin Oriental in DC; you can support LGBTQ youth, who face discrimination everyday in their homes, schools and communities.

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More In The News …

(We’re doubling up on the news-front this week. Comment away with any additions.)

Soaring Poverty Casts Spotlight on ‘Lost Decade’ (New York Times): “Another 2.6 million people slipped into poverty in the United States last year […] and the number of Americans living below the official poverty line, 46.2 million people, was the highest number in the 52 years the bureau has been publishing figures on it […] Joblessness was the main culprit pushing more Americans into poverty, economists said. Last year, about 48 million people ages 18 to 64 did not work even one week out of the year, up from 45 million in 2009.” And when it comes to the jobs bill, could these bleak figures make a case for or against it? Continue reading

Rare Interview

Given the volume of coverage over the past few days (260 articles in my latest Google-powered count), I thought that I should touch upon the recent “rare and remarkable” interview that the UK’s Daily Mail landed with Bill Gates.

The most oft-quoted element of the interview, it appears, concerns his three children’s inheritence. Deducting the $28 billion donated to charity, Gates is now worth $56 billion. Yet his children “aren’t going to inherit anything like that much [as he doesn’t] think that amount of money would be good for them.” He also added that he has denied their requests for iPods and that they own the Windows equivalent. A Zune music player, if you are curious. But overall, as the Wall Street Journal blog Tech Europe summed up: “What did we learn? Sadly not a huge amount.”

That said, the WSJ latched on to this particular quotation, as did the Huffington Post:

I don’t want a legacy. […] I want a malaria vaccine. If we get one then we’ll have to find the money to give it to everyone, but the impact would be so huge we would find a way. Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied. What I’m doing now involves understanding maths, risk-taking. The first half of my life was good preparation for the second half. Continue reading