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 CFP 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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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 CFP nonprofits who are working to do precisely that. We absolutely would suggest learning more about their work and their needs.
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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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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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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 CFP 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 CFP 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 CFP’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.

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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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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