By Marie LeBlanc, Catalogue Community Partnerships Coordinator
Every year, the Washington Business Journal honors the top corporate philanthropists in greater Washington. Last Friday May 11, the 2012 Corporate Philanthropy Awards breakfast recognized the area’s top ten corporate donors, as well as a handful of other corporations for the time and money they dedicated to social causes in 2011. Two Catalogue for Philanthropy partners were among those acknowledged at the event.
Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) was recognized as one of the top ten Corporate Philanthropists, donating $3.49 million locally in 2011. BAH sponsors the Nonprofit Conference on Fundraising and Development speaker series, and the Catalogue for Philanthropy serves on the planning committee for these events. BAH also cultivates a strong culture of employee giving, pro bono work, and volunteerism.
Catalogue nonprofit DASH (District Alliance for Safe Housing) also received recognition for its work with corporate partner the E&G Group, as a recipient of the MassMutual Citizenship Award. The award honors “the region’s most active and inspiring partnerships between local businesses and nonprofits.” DASH provides support for survivors of domestic violence, ensuring safe housing and freedom from violence for those enduring violence. E&G Group, a real estate development and consulting firm focused on urban development, worked with DASH “even before one of real estate company’s employees was the victim of domestic abuse.”
The Catalogue wholeheartedly thanks these partners, as well as all other recognized companies for their support of the nonprofits in general, and specifically the Catalogue nonprofit community. As government funding for nonprofits hovers on the brink in many sectors, and foundations feel the effects of the lasting economic recession, the engagement of corporate donors is more important than ever. Here’s hoping that many more and more diverse Washington-area businesses will make the choice to include corporate philanthropy as a key area of their institutional development.
Read more about the top ten corporate philanthropists here.