Good morning, Washington! Let’s see what’s in the non-profit news this week …

Stewards of the Earth: One Planet, Many Faiths – This past Sunday, CBS News aired a “religion special that examines the ways members of faith communities are caring for the environment.” Featured first on the program were Lisa and Chris Bright, founders of CFP non-profit Earth Sangha and practicing Buddhists, “living their dharma (or life’s path) repairing the earth.” You can watch the full video right here.

High school gets teen off the street and into college — Just weeks after their selection for the 2011/2012 Catalogue, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School celebrated its first graduation … and was featured on CNN. The piece centers on newly-graduated Derontae Mason, who went from homeless to college-bound; Mason is part of the school’s “first graduating class of 70 students, all of whom have already been accepted to various colleges and universities.” Read all »

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.”

– George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

… the CFP Class of 2010/2011! We are thrilled to welcome them to the Catalogue.

This year, we are featuring 70 non-profits in the print Catalogue and another 45 will be re-featured on our website. So what the heck are you still doing here? Jump over to our main page to see a complete list of our new charities and learn about the incredible work that they are doing for our community. Every one of these small, high-impact organizations show what can happen when you take a smart, fresh idea and never stop running with it — and we find them truly inspiring.

Once again, don’t wait — check them out right here.

… are the elections. As well we know. So I’m avoiding the results for now, but sticking with the theme. Here are just a couple interesting articles on the intersection of 11/02/10 and the non-profit world. Moreover, how do you think the election outcomes will affect our work? Should our work in the community ever change with our representation? And to what extent can or should we work alongside our governments, local and federal?

Election Will Bring Changes to Congressional Oversight – As of last Friday, the Chronicle of Philanthropy was predicting an overall “less aggressive approach to charity regulation in the Senate.” In particular, were Sen. Hatch (R-Utah) to assume Sen. Grassley’s (R-Iowa) role on the Finance Committee, he could well take a “less confrontational approach to non-profit regulation.” In a Republican-majority House, “chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees nonprofits through its responsibility for tax issues, is expected to move from Sander M. Levin [D-Michigan] to Dave Camp [R-Michigan] … some philanthropy experts say that is good news because Rep. Camp has a history of working well with the non-profit world in his state.” As for limits on social programs and tax breaks for charitable gifts? That remains to be seen. Read the full article here and check out these opinions from experts in the field.

Obama’s step No. 1 after the midterms? — The Post posed this question yesterday to its leadership panel: “Like US presidents, military and non-profit leaders often face the equivalent of “midterm elections” in which they and their strategies are subject to an initial market test or performance evaluation. What’s the first thing President Obama, or any leader, should do or say when confronted with unambiguously negative results?” Professor Howard Gardener from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, suggests that the President “indicate the major messages that he has discerned,” “indicate what he will do differently,” and then “put together a team of advisers with special expertise in addressing those concerns.” While Michael Useem, Director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the Wharton School, simply states that “there is no better avenue for swift strengthening of one’s leadership than to uncompromisingly review the immediate past.”

What would you do?

Welcome to (early) winter, Washington! And welcome to “7 Questions,” Meagan Ulrich, Executive Director of the Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic in Herndon, VA. The clinic offers a medical home to any and all of the over 80,000 people living in Fairfax County without health insurance. Read on to learn about the amazing developments that this organization has made just this year:

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

In January 2010, JSFC moved to a new service center location called “Connections for Hope.” In addition to providing more space for the clinic and a more efficient layout, the new location provides partnership opportunities with other non-profits co-located in the same facility. Our new partners include Reston Interfaith, Vecinos Unidos, Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, Fairfax Community Services Board, and Just Neighbors.

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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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Happy Friday, Greater Washington. And more importantly, Happy Halloween! In between encounters with your friendly neighborhood ghosts and goblins, you should consider celebrating with our great non-profits — visiting a haunting house or dancing Halloween-style in Dupont are also great follow-ups to rallies on the Mall.

Friday, October 29

7:00 PM-9:00 PM — Thriller on H Street (Joy of Motion Dance Center): learn the moves and dance under the stars on H Street NE. Moonwalk contests and door prizes are also involved. Seriously, need I say more?

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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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Good morning! We’re mid-way through the week and ever-closer to Halloween. Check out some interesting non-profit news on this Wednesday morning, as well as some great coverage for CFP’s own organizations:

Where Do You Fit in the Market?: Hop over to Social Velocity for this post on the ideal position of (new) non-profits in the marketplace. The piece makes a smart, concise argument for high-impact services for a specific community, asserting that “a nonprofit is best positioned where their core competencies (those organizational assets they have that cannot be easily taken or replicated) intersect with a community need.”

Going ‘Mad’ for Pro Bono: I am digging this post from the Taproot Foundation, which delves into an intriguing episode of AMC’s Mad Men. Namely, the finale of the fourth season wherein the central ad firm loses Lucky Strikes as a client and goes on to partner with the American Cancer Society pro bono. As the fictional executives ultimately realize, “pro bono service … infuses the power and prestige of business with the vision and passion of the nonprofit sector to give birth to a wealth of entrepreneurial capital.”

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Welcome to GoodWorks, Kris Thompson! Kris is the Executive Director of Calvary Women’s Services, which provides homeless women with both temporary housing and the resources and support to live independently in the future. Read on to learn more about Calvary, Kris, and her heroes:

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

With more women in need of housing, employment and support services, I’ve been working on expanding Calvary Women’s Services’ programs and housing capacity. It’s been great fun talking with long-time supporters about this project and having them respond positively to this opportunity to make further positive change in our community. I really can’t wait to see more women coming in our doors and having the resources to turn their lives around.

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