Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington
Barbara Harman
info@cfp-dc.org
202-955-6538 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Safety Net List"
WASHINGTON, DC; Dec. 6. 2008 -- As the economy continues on its unnerving and unpredictable path -- unemployment and foreclosures rising, housing prices falling, and markets gyrating -- the fate of those with no houses and no holdings in the market hangs in the balance. Reports of bare cupboards at food pantries, and a growing list of clients in need, has everyone appropriately concerned.
But worry can be turned to good purpose. The Catalogue for Philanthropy receives phone calls and requests from people who are eager to help. They want to share their resources with those who need them most, and they want to give where their giving will have the most impact. Those twin desires are common to the "giving season," but they feel even more pressing this year when donors have less and recipients need more.
Today the Catalogue has posted to its website a "Safety Net List" of Catalogue organizations that focus on food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Donors can click a link on the homepage (cfp-dc.org) and find, by name, kind, and location, 44 nonprofits in the metropolitan region that work with the most vulnerable among us. For donors who want to give or volunteer where they live, this is a simple way to identify trustworthy, vetted nonprofits that are meeting basic needs in a time of economic crisis.
President-elect Barack Obama said it best when he invited Americans to embrace "a new spirit of patriotism, of service and responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but others." The Catalogue invites Washingtonians to do just that.
About the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington
The Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington connects effective, trustworthy nonprofits with individuals who want to contribute to, and make a difference in, their community. An independent nonprofit organization, recognized by its annual publication, the Catalogue has helped its featured nonprofits raise more than $1.75 million in the last year, bringing its total amount raised since 2003 to more than $6.5 million. Charities receive 100 percent of each donation thanks to support from local sponsors, including the Harman Family Foundation, Meyer Foundation, Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Philip L. Graham Fund, J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Booz Allen Hamilton, CGI, TTR Sotheby's International Realty, and others. For more information, visit cfp-dc.org.