Montgomery tries to spur affordable housing (Washington Post): “Over the next few months, county planning and housing officials will propose broad policy changes intended to improve the local housing market [...] Yet the county, which has seen year after year of budget shortfalls, also must deal with less funding. The housing department budget for the current fiscal year is 50 percent of what it was two years ago [...] The shift in county demographics, as well as the nationwide foreclosure crisis a few years ago, has led to increased demand for affordable housing, county officials said.” You can learn more about CFP nonprofits focused on housing and homelessness in Maryland right here.

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Whoa. That was some weekend. For those still without power — “more than 30,000 customers in the District [...] 150,000 in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties and 100,000 in Anne Arundel County” as of last night — we are hoping that it returns quickly and lastingly.

You can find out about the Red Cross’ relief operation here; the storm also “caused the cancellation of more than 50 blood drives, adding up to a loss of approximately 1,500 blood donations. If you would like to sign up to donate, you can call 1-800-RED CROSS. Washington Post Local also has a list of emergency contact numbers, including Prince George’s County’s non-emergency hotline, which should stay active until the afternoon. You also should check out the Post’s list of (safe) clean-up tips here.

Most DC Public Schools will be open tomorrow, as will the Montgomery County schools with electricity. Just as a reminder, now is a great time to support one (or more) of our non-profits as they ensure that all area students have what they need for a strong and healthy start to the school year. Check out the Wish List right here. And if you happen to do some shopping at DC metro area Staples in the coming week, you can take part in the Staples for Students: Do Something for Kids in Need national school supply drive, which will benefit CFP non-profit Neediest Kids.

Have a good and safe week, Washington!

And … we’re back! School started up for DCPS students this past Tuesday; students in Montgomery County will return on Monday and Fairfax County schools open their doors in early September. While the start of September certainly can be invigorating, getting ready for that first day of school can be a real challenge for low-income students and their families.

Ready to help a student in your neighborhood with their back-to-school shopping? Check out just a few of our non-profits who are working to ensure that all kids are ready for class — with books, backpacks, and warm coats. Simply click “DONATE” on the organization’s page to help fund a Wish List item:

Greenbrier Learning Center (Arlington, VA)

$100: 1 year of school supplies for a child

serves low-income, immigrant children, 66% of whom qualify for special services as English language learners or because of learning or behavioral concerns

Neediest Kids (McLean, VA)

$100: backpacks & school supplies for 5 students; $500: eye exams & glasses for 5 students

donates thousands of dollars in clothing, services, and direct payments to meet the urgent requirements of over 12,000 of the region’s neediest, at-risk school-children

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How to make a musical (Washington Post): “The 46 kids with parts in the show (another 16 work backstage or on costumes and lighting) auditioned in April. But rehearsals didn’t begin until the performers arrived at a summer camp that runs every afternoon for six weeks — and requires a lot of hard work [...] But opening night, [director Lorraine] Robinson said, is very special, and gives all the kids an incredible sense of accomplishment.” Do read the full piece to learn more about CFP non-profit Sitar Arts Center’s production of Bye Bye Birdie, which will open this coming weekend in Adam Morgan. All the shows are sold out, but you can arrive one hour before curtain and jump on the waitlist.

First charter school approved in Montgomery County?(Gazette.Net): “Charter schools usually don’t appeal to Montgomery County Board of Education President Christopher S. Barclay. But Monday night, he supported Community Montessori Public Charter School’s application, because he believes it might help the school system consider education from a holistic perspective. Community Montessori, which will serve students in pre-kindergarten through the third grade in Kensington, was approved in a 6-2 vote Monday evening by the Board of Education [...] The school will be run by [CFP organization!] Crossway Community, a nonprofit organization that serves low-income women and children and already operates a Montessori school for children.” Read all »

Welcome to Wednesday, folks! We have a good bundle of local and non-profit news items coming your way …

CSG’s 2011 State of the Washington Region — Following the State of the Union, Greater Greater Washington has an excellent post this week from Coalition for Smarter Growth’s Laura DeSantis on the state of our community, focusing on “our top five opportunities and challenges.” She summarizes that “adopting a range of smart growth policies — from transit-oriented development to a range of housing options — will set us firmly on a course to become the most energy efficient, and environmentally and fiscally sustainable region in the nation.” I would only add that CSG’s call for more mixed-use corridors and broader housing options are particularly apt: “We must ensure every community throughout the region has a full range of affordable housing choices through mixed-use revitalization, housing trust funds, affordable housing preservation strategies, and inclusionary zoning policies.”

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A few weeks back, I wrote a post on this NY Times interview with the global head of philanthropic services at JP Morgan Private Bank. Lisa Philp acts as a “philanthropy coach” primarily to wealthy individuals and family foundations, who all are looking “to achieve as much as possible through wise giving.”

At the time, I focused on the language with which Philp describes her work, which drew heavily upon both the sports and finance worlds. I really didn’t think much about the backgrounds and details of her client list — both because she did not name names and because, in this context, the interests and subsequent investments seemed more interesting than the clients themselves.

But what about when the client is more “interesting” (or attention-getting) than the cause? Read all »

Good morning, Greater Washington. I hope that you had a good-and-haunted weekend. Over on the Hill, we had a sane rally not too far away and an insane number of trick-or-treaters at our door. We went through 8 bags of candy in about 2-3 hours.

Our excessive candy purchases, which came with a Halloween discount from the 14th Street SE Safeway, led me to think a bit about pricing. This evening, I came across this article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which opens with a thorny question: “When non-profit groups set prices for their services, they are often encouraged to follow models set by businesses. But is this the best approach for all?”

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Good morning, folks! A few more intriguing items caught me eye today, so I thought that we’d double up on the news digest this week. On a related note, I spent yesterday evening at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (a CFP non-profit!) on H Street NE for presumptive mayor-elect Vince Gray’s Ward 6 town hall meeting. Do let us know if you were there and have any post-town hall thoughts; I was in the over-flow room with the video feed, so I would certainly be interested in tales from the main room! Speaking of which:

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A few times, yesterday included, I touched on the application (or imposition?) of for-profit business models on non-profit organizations. Should non-profits take the lead from more traditional businesses or are the two models incompatible? In the future, I would like to delve further into this question. But for now, I’d like to raise a more specific one: can and do these two entities meet and talk about one another? In other words, do non-profits have a forum to discuss corporate partnerships and do corporations have one to discuss community outreach?

Enter Companies for Causes, whose aim is just that: bringing together medium-sized local businesses to brainstorm and launch philanthropic endeavours as well as entrepreneurial ones. Essentially, this effort will provide the network and resources for companies to expand their reach (and deepen their impact) in the Greater Washington community. Their first symposium is coming up next Wednesday, October 27. You can see the agenda here, sign up for more info, and check out these interviews:

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Good morning, folks! I’m still thinking about the TIME magazine article and all the buzz surrounding the Facebook CEO’s $100 million donation to the Newark schools. First, the buzz is impossible to escape — just type “mark zuckerberg newark” into Google News. Second, no matter how you consider the issue, this is a serious gift with the potential to be a serious game-changer — not just in Newark, but on the whole. So I thought that I’d add a couple more voices to the mix. Definitely jump into the comment thread with your thoughts. (If you’re reading this on the Catalogue homepage, click BLOG to comment.)

NPR – CEO’S Gift: Philanthropy of Image Control? “Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday to announce a $100 million donation to public schools in Newark, N.J. But the timing of the gift has raised questions about the social networking wunderkind’s motivation…”

The Star Ledger/NJ.com (blog) – Newark schools by the numbers: “Grousing seems like checking the teeth of a gift horse. A hundred million is not chump change, even for a wealthy entrepreneur. But let’s look at the bigger picture [...] if Newark schools cannot produce quality education at $23,500 per student, it seems hard to believe that that they will do much better with an additional $2500 per pupil.”

What do you think?