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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Have a healthy and happy holiday, Greater Washington!

We’ll be taking a brief blog vacation and returning just before 2012. In the meantime, keep your eye on CFP Happenings for volunteer opportunities & performances at our nonprofits.

… and we couldn’t be more psyched to see our seventy 2011/2012 nonprofits as the feature of this week’s issues of the Washington City Paper:

[...] Ordinarily, we’d sit around grousing about holiday materialism before schlepping out to pick up stocking stuffers. But this season, we decided to do something different.

For the better part of a decade, the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington has been vetting top local nonprofits to include in its annual giving guide. The process, which takes about six months, involves selecting 70 organizations with budgets under $3 million and rock-solid financial and organizational structures. The vetting is conducted by expert volunteers from the nonproft sector as well as by accountants from the auditing firm RAFFA. Traditionally, the Catalogue has bound its list into a book and distributed thousands of copies to “high net worth individuals” in the area. This year, we’ve worked with the organization to highlight its list in our pages, with the idea that you don’t have to be rich to want to give a little.

Read the full piece here (or hurry to the nearest City Paper box!), and get an awesome glimpse into our newest nonprofits. We’ve also highlighted volunteer opportunities, so you can give with time or money this season.

Attention, CFP nonprofits. This morning, we wanted to give you an extra boost of encouragement to enter our 2011 Video Contest — if you have not already done so. (In which case, thank you and good luck!) We’ve just extended the deadline to September 29.

So here’s the deal. No need to have a multi-camera, crazy cinematography production. You are more than welcome to create the video on your phone or laptop in one shot. Think compelling, simple, and 2-minutes in length.

This year’s topic is Heroes and Heroines. More specifically, what person’s spirit and energy and determination encourages you to do what you do every day? The top three (heroic) videos will be screened at Inspiration to Action on November 7, 2011 and … the nonprofit with the winning video will receive a $1,000 prize. Cool, yes? Voting is open to everyone, do encourage your friends and supporters to vote for you.

Full instructions are right here. And check out this video from CFP President Barbara Harman to learn more.

Today marks National HIV Testing Day and, as the Post reported last night, “DC clinics and health groups have organized testing sites across the city and hope to reach out to a large swath of the community. [This day] encourages people to get tested in an effort to help identify those who have the disease so they can receive treatment and prevent transmission.”

A June 15 Post article pointed out that, while the number of new cases has dropped significantly (nearly 50%) in the past two years, “the number of District residents living with HIV or AIDS remains high enough to rate as an epidemic.” A recent survey by the Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that “more than a third of city residents single out HIV/AIDS — first identified 30 years ago — as the city’s biggest health concern.” And with reason. More than 3% of DC residents over the age of 12 are HIV positive and well over half of the population “say someone they know has the disease or has died of it,” compared to 41% nationwide.

Whitman-Walker Health has offered testing around the city for the past week and will offer extended testing hours tomorrow, from 9 AM to 7 PM. Says Dr. Raymond Martins, chief medical officer at Whitman-Walker: “Last week’s report from the DC Department of Health showed that more than three percent of adults in DC have been diagnosed with HIV. However, an additional two-three percent may also be infected but hasn’t been diagnosed. That is why it’s so important.”

CFP non-profit Metro TeenAIDS also offers testing all week (at a range of hours) at at 651 Pennsylvania Avenue SE. MTA works to prevent the spread of HIV through youth leadership teams and in-school health education — because knowledge is one of the best ways to ensure that the number of new cases keeps on dropping.

Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service to our country. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. [...] By the late 1800s, many more cities and communities had begun to observe Memorial Day, and after World War I, it became an occasion for honoring those who had died in all America’s wars.

– “A Day of Reflection,” PBS.com

If you’re looking to support our servicemen and women and families, today and throughout the year, do check out Operation Homefront DC and the Yellow Ribbon Fund of Bethesda.

Industrialist, audio pioneer, dedicated philanthropist, and founder of the Catalogue, Dr. Sidney Harman died on April 12 in Washington, following a battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He was Executive Chairman of Newsweek and Chairman of the Academy for Polymathic Study at the University of Southern California. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Catalogue in Dr. Harman’s honor. Read all »

Wishing a happy birthday to our first President — and a good Presidents Day to you all! Just for a small technicality, George Washington’s actual date of birth is tomorrow and he would have been 279 years old.

Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.

– Farewell Address, 1796

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others? Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little.

– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As a reminder, we also have several CFP non-profits who are offering programming today. Check them out here.

‘Tis the day for mid-week news and notes… And let us know if you have anything to share with the CFP crowd!

How to Find Generous Donors — Just before 2011, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on three new giving studies, conducted by Blackbaud, Network for Good, and the Daily Beast. Their findings? Our area stacks up quite well! In the Blackbaud study, DC and Maryland ranked #1 and #2 respectively for the number of donors with incomes over $100K. And Network for Good reported that DC is #1 and Virginia #8 in average giving per household.

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