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Catalogue Blog

Around Town: June 29-July 1

Have a happy almost-fourth of July weekend, friends!

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts (1628 U St NW)

Pop-Up Boutique opens for a 2-day encore event and flash sale on Friday and Saturday: vintage, new, one-of-a-kind, and designer women’s clothing and accessories and 100% of sales will benefit Smith Farm’s programming.

Dance Place (3500 12th Street NE)

A 12-week public art celebration offering free cultural events and promoting creative expression, Artland Temporium events include exhibits, dance, concerts, poetry readings, and games and free to the public. Check out the full schedule for this weekend right here.

District of Columbia Arts Center (2438 18th Street NW)

Two in a row this Saturday night! The Head Doctor: Boy Meets Girl at 7:30 PM and The Head Doctor: Girls Know What Girls Like (an all-woman production for women who love women) at 10:00 PM.

Potomac Conservancy (River Center at Lock 8, 7906 Riverside Drive, Cabin John, MD)

Meet at 10:00 AM this Sunday to clean up the lockhouse area and the nearby towpath, then take a medicinal plant walk at noon or and experience Voices of the River: Stories of the Potomac right afterwards. More info this way!

17,000 Names

As we tweeted yesterday, Washington Examiner has reported that there are “More than 17,000 names on charter school waiting lists:”

Waiting lists for the city’s public charter schools are running a total 17,396 names deep, according to the DC Public Charter School Board.

That’s 51 percent of the total number of students successfully enrolling in the city’s public charter schools in the fall, or 33,699 children. This year, 31,562 students attended charter schools, while 45,630 attended DC Public Schools.

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In The News …

What’s Driving College Costs Higher? (WAMU): Just days before student loan rates are set to double for millions of Americans, President Obama and congressional leaders haven’t reached an agreement on legislation to keep those rates at 3.4 percent. The debate reflects the growing concern over the debt burden many take on to get a college education. About two-thirds of bachelor’s degree recipients borrow money to attend college, and collectively, student debt has topped $1 trillion [...] The average college senior in the U.S. now carries $25,000 in student loan debt at graduation. Those figures rise when graduate degrees are figured into the equation.” We’ve written about the briefing at the White House on College Affordability before and highlighted some of our nonprofits that are dedicated to college affordability. What needs to improve besides interest rates?

County officials, nonprofits fear domestic violence funding cut due to Congressional gridlock (Gazette): “Prince George’s County officials and advocates for domestic violence victims said they are worried that gridlock in Congress could jeopardize essential services to victims and their families [...] nonprofit and government organizations in Prince George’s County received $4 million in VAWA funding last year, through a total of 91 federal grants.” County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks says that “the largest impact will be to the outreach and support efforts for victims, particularly in the Latino community.” You can learn about, and support, nonprofits in Prince George’s right here.

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A Pragmatist’s Guide to Social Media

By Julie Chapman, President and CEO of 501cTech

At 501cTECH, we understand the unique needs that nonprofit organizations face with regard to technology-from hardware to software, social media and cloud technology, we know that harnessing the right tools make achieving your organizational mission that much easier.

Recently, we revamped our own marketing plan in an effort to reach more supporters, volunteers, donors and client partners. As a nonprofit organization, we understand the importance of social media as a tool in a marketing toolkit. By itself, Facebook will not bring you more donations and Twitter will not recruit you more volunteers; but as part of your overall strategy, social media is an important element. There’s no one “silver bullet” strategy in terms of social media — what works for one organization may not work for another. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that there is no “one size fits all” strategy to meet all of your needs.

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Immeasurably Rich

[...] I chose to be a lawyer and ultimately a judge because I find endless challenge in the complexities of the law. I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights.

For as long as I can remember, I have been inspired by the achievement of our founding fathers. They set forth principles that have endured for than more two centuries. Those principles are as meaningful and relevant in each generation as the generation before.

It would be a profound privilege for me to play a role in applying those principles to the questions and controversies we face today.

Although I grew up in very modest and challenging circumstances, I consider my life to be immeasurably rich.

– Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Sonia Sotomayor, born today in 1954

Around Town: June 23-24

Please stay cool this weekend, Washingtonians! Here are some nonprofit destinations:

(And here is some more info on DMV cooling centers from WJLA.)

Calvary Women’s Services (at Anacostia Waterfront Park, 1900 Anacostia Drive SE)

Meet at 9:00 AM on Saturday for 5K Run/Walk to Benefit Calvary (hosted by DC Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority); all levels of runners and walkers are welcome and the sign-up is right here.

Volunteer Fairfax (at Reston Town Center Pavilion, 11900 Market Street, Reston, VA)

Join Volunteer Fairfax and local emergency preparedness professionals on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM for “Ready Reston!,” a fun, family-friendly opportunity to learn what needs to be done to prepare for emergencies, large and small.

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Nonprofit Roundtable 2012

By Marie LeBlanc, Community Partnerships Coordinator

A week ago today, the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington hosted its 2012 Annual Meeting. As a fairly recent newcomer to the Catalogue, as well as to the DC philanthropic and nonprofit scene, I was to learn about more about the initiatives of the Roundtable and see so many Catalogue nonprofits involved in different capacities.

Congratulations to staff from the following Catalogue nonprofits who are participating in the Roundtable’s Future Executive Directors Fellowship program: Mi Casa, City Kids Wilderness Project, Young Playwrights’ Theater, Kid Power, Atlas Service Corps, and Dance Place. The Catalogue would also like to congratulate Tom Raffa, President and Founder of RAFFA, PC, as one of the newest Board members of the Nonprofit Roundtable. Tom also serves as a member of the Catalogue’s Board and is a long-time supporter of the nonprofit sector in the region.

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Teaming Up: Black Benefactors & The Catalogue

By Tracey Webb, Founder, The Black Benefactors

During a recent convening in Washington, DC that focused on issues impacting the black community, a panelist stated, “Black people are more philanthropic than other communities, but we’re not strategically philanthropic.” After reading that comment on Twitter, I thought back to the many conversations I’ve had with my peers who echo the same sentiment. As the founder of The Black Benefactors, a giving circle that provides grants and support to nonprofits that serve the African American community in the DC region, I hope that my giving circle will address this issue, and to date, we have.

How we give back is simple: Members pool our monies and time, and then we decide collectively where to give them away. Since 2007, we’ve granted $11,500 to six organizations that provide mentoring, youth development, college readiness and the arts. Research has shown that members of giving circles give more, give more strategically, and are more engaged in their communities. Specifically, research found that giving circle members are more likely to conduct research to help decide which nonprofit to support, support general operating expenses in addition to or instead of specific programs, check organizational performance data, take into consideration cultural differences and race, class and/or gender when making funding decisions, and make multi-year gifts. These are all hallmarks of strategic giving, and we incorporate these practices into our own grantmaking. So how does the Catalogue for Philanthropy fit in to this?

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Growing Up LGBT

The Human Rights Campaign has published “a groundbreaking survey of more than 10,000 LGBT-identified youth ages 13-17,” delving both into their present challenges and expectations for the future:

With an increase in public awareness about anti-LGBT bullying and harassment and the strikingly high number of LGBT youth who are homeless, in foster care, or living in high-risk situations, it is critical that we get a better understanding of the experiences, needs, and concerns of LGBT youth.

[...] They find safe havens among their peers, online and in their schools. They remain optimistic and believe things will get better. Nevertheless, the findings are a call to action for all adults who want ensure that young people can thrive.

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