Social Scene

Jade Floyd • September 21, 2012

As August draws to a close, fundraising drives are sprouting up across the U.S. targeting old and new individual donors for support. As donors, we have hard decisions to make with more than 1.5 million tax-exempt organizations in the United States vying for our dollars. In fact, individual giving increased by 3.9 percent last year, according to Giving USA’s Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2011, accounting for nearly $218 billion in contributions to organizations.

Despite this positive influx in giving, nonprofits nationwide have struggled during difficult economic times leading to reductions in programs, cuts in staffing and sometimes shutting their doors for good. This can result from funding cutbacks and often lack of stringent financial oversight. Nonprofits are witnessing firsthand the struggles that come with budget shortfalls, and many are now in “the red”, carrying significant debts. It is a precarious situation that staff and boards of directors must quickly address so that future donors, foundations and corporations can have confidence in an organization and continue supporting programs without hesitation. As donors, we sometimes waver in our support of organizations for fear that our money may not be spent wisely or that we can truly solve a social problem.

“No one wants to give their hard-earned money to an organization that isn’t financially sound,” says Barbara Harman, president and editor of the Catalogue for Philanthropy of Greater Washington. “We all want our gifts to have impact, but it isn’t just a question of financial stability. Donors should want to know whether the organization they are giving to is worthy, whether it’s doing a good job, whether it’s effective in meeting the needs of the community.”

Supporting a non-profit that is truly in need can mean your dollar stretches father. “If donors only invested in healthy organizations, there would be very little nonprofits out there to support,” said Brett Norton, director of development for Fair Chance – a Washington D.C. based organization that works to identify promising community-based youth and family organizations in Wards 5 through 8 and increase the sustainability of their programs. “Donors should have realistic expectations for what their dollars can accomplish and realize they are only one piece of the solution.” Authors Thomas Tierney and Joel L. Fleishman in the book, “Give Smart,” address this same issue. They argue that a donor’s good intentions can lead to wishful thinking that they can solve complex problems with only a few dollars.

Assuaging your fear as a donor is achievable. Donors can invest their dollars fully informed and to align themselves with causes where they then make a difference – both big and small. It is important to research the potential impact of your investment and the stability of a non-profit. You owe it to yourself and your hard-earned money to do your due diligence. With just a few clicks through online resources, donors can research potential organizations and understand how their dollars are utilized. A number of resources are ready for your use, for example:

•Guidestar: Donors can track down financials and nonprofits’ annual Form 990 which they are required to submit to the Internal Revenue Service each year. Form 990 provides information on the organization’s mission, programs, and finances – such as employee salaries and annual revenue. However, these forms are often more than a year old. Visit www.guidestar.org

•Charity Navigator: Analyzes financial data from Form 990 for organizations that acquire at least $500,000 in giving from individuals and have a total annual revenue of more than $1,000,000. Visit www.charitynavigator.org

•Catalogue of Philanthropy: Working with Raffa auditing firm, audits nearly 250 metropolitan D.C. nonprofits each year for cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and financial transparency. They then select 70 who are featured in the Catalogue, a publication that enables donors to choose and donate to nonprofits by theme (i.e. education, human services, nature, etc.), region and the donors overall interest. Visit www.catalogueforphilanthropy-dc.org

•Twitter & Facebook: Nonprofits use social media networks to keep in contact with their supporters and attract new ones. Consider sifting through their posts, photos and tweets to learn more about programming, events and what messages they portray to the outside world.

•Annual Reports: Review annual reports from the non-profits you are considering, and speak with the executive director and board president to learn more about the accomplishments, goals, funding needs and challenges the organization is facing.

Jade Floyd •

Washingtonians are no stranger to
fine dining. Travel + Leisure and
Food & Wine have both given the
city’s food scene notable accolades, and a
number of chefs have joined the ranks of James
Beard Foundation finalists, including Cathal
Armstrong of Restaurant Eve, Johnny Monis
of Komi, Peter Pastan of Obelisk, and Vikram
Sunderam of Rasika. Yet these chefs weren’t
always on top. They all started somewhere—
perhaps in the back kitchen cleaning dishes as
a teenager, or mirroring their mentor just out of
culinary school. Throughout the District, youth
are being groomed to take the reins of the next
great eatery gaining critical skills to succeed in
the workforce.

Cohn’s Kitchen, founded by Elizabeth
Scott and Paul J. Cohn’s of Georgetownbased
J.Paul’s, Paolo’s and Neyla, is part of
Cohn’s Culinary and Hospitality Management
Academy. Working with local chefs, restaurateurs
and local business leaders, Cohn’s partners
with the District of Columbia’s Department of
Employment Services (DOES) and the Summer
Youth Employment Program (SYEP) to provide
students exposure into the industry.

“Local chefs and restaurants recognize the
need for well-trained employees. Cohn’s Kitchen
youth are educated and empowered by the
opportunity to learn about kitchen management
and leadership, preparation and cooking, recipe
and menu development and restaurant management,”
Co-Founder and Executive Director Elizabeth Scott explains.
“We teach the kids to work their way up and a set of skills that go well
beyond the kitchen. They learn responsibility.”

Like Cohn’s Kitchen, D.C.-based Brainfood
provides after school and summer programs that
allows youth to spread their culinary wings.
Brainfood first opened its doors with the goal of
using food and cooking to provide high school
students with supervised and structured after
school activities.

For two days a week, the All Star Program
introduces participants to life and leadership
skills through food and cooking workshops at
their Chinatown, Columbia Heights and Mount
Vernon Square locations. Graduates of the program
have thrived and gained the opportunity to
work with guest chefs and food industry professionals
like Chef Teddy Folkman of Granville
Moore’s and Chef Sina Molavi of Occasions
Caterers who is also a Brainfood alumnus.

“While driving youth toward a culinary
career has not been our primary goal, it does
certainly happen,” said Executive Director Paul
Dahm. “We have had some participants go to
culinary school, including the Culinary Institute
of America. But the skills we are teaching are
those that translate to and beyond the kitchen.”
Dahm touts the program’s success in teaching
the students reading, math, science and how to
communicate with others and to demonstrate
their creativity. “These are all skills necessary
to do well in school and to compete in the job
market,” he said.

However, the opportunity to learn doesn’t
always start in the kitchen, it can be rooted in
local community gardens. Kid Power has provided
nutritional and service-learning programs for
more than 1,000 youth throughout the D.C. area.
Founded by Max Skolnik nearly a decade ago,
Kid Power tackles issues around food insecurity
and creates budding entrepreneurs one farmers
market at a time.

“Kid Power works with students from lowperforming,
under-served public and charter
schools that typically reside in food deserts. Too
many of our students and their families did not
have access to fresh food, nutritional information,
or cooking classes,” said Skolnik. “We
created VeggieTime to attack the root causes of
food insecurity. Youth and their families manage
city-wide gardens, incorporate high-quality
produce into their daily lives, raise funds through
market sales and support food-related service
projects and advocacy initiatives.”

More than 50 Veggie Time gardens are located
throughout D.C. where students sell a portion
of their harvest at farmer’s markets in Columbia
Heights and Petworth, partake in weekly cooking
classes and local schools harvest sales that
target the surrounding communities and donate
to families in need.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Cohn’s Kitchen: The 2nd annual Battle of the
Bistros takes place July 30th at Clyde’s Gallery
Place. Battle of the Bistros challenges teams of
students to put their summer job training and
education to the test in a friendly competition
for the “Best New Restaurant Concept.” Tickets
are $10 a person at http://battleofthebistros.
eventbrite.com

Kid Power: Visit the Kid Power table at the
Columbia Heights Farmer’s Market on August
4th or donate a greenhouse, gardening equipment
or irrigation systems for their larger garden
sites. Email katie@kidpowerdc.org for more
information.

Brain Food: The 6th annual Brainfood Grill-
Off fundraiser hits D.C. September 13th.
Sponsorships are still available and guests can
purchase tickets at http://brain-food.org/brainfood-
grill-off ?

Jade Floyd is a managing associate at a
D.C.-based international public relations firm
and has served on the board of directors for
several non-profits. She is a frequent volunteer
and host of fundraising events across the
District supporting arts, animal welfare and
education programs. Follow her on Twitter @
DCThisWeek. [gallery ids="100919,129145,129121,129139,129127,129135" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

In conjunction with Eat Local First, a campaign to make locally-grown food more accessible to the D.C. community, on July 16 Ris restaurant hosted a happy hour reception celebrating women leading the local food movement. Three finalists vying for a $1,000 award spoke of their initiatives. Lauren Biel and Sarah Bernardi of DC Greens, which promotes school gardens, won the prize. Mitch Berliner, co-founder of Central Farm Markets, generously donated $500 to runners up Allison Sosna of PINES and MicroGreens and to Kathryn Warnes and Lisa Jordan of Taste of Place. [gallery ids="100920,129161,129154,129142,129150" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

The weather may have been steamy but so was the gala vibe as Ambassador of the Czech Republic Petr Gandalovi? welcomed guests on July 19 for a “Red Carpet DC” event showcasing work by photographer Patrick Ryan and insider comments from legendary movie critic Arch Campbell. The evening was a prelude to Mutual Inspirations Festival 2012—Miloš Forman celebrating the accomplishments of the transatlantic film industry. Arch shared stories of waiting for stars to arrive, and Patrick hailed his own work as “a fun gig.” There was lots of glam. [gallery ids="100921,129198,129192,129157,129186,129166,129181,129174" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. (DTSB), the Washington area’s premier modern dance company, celebrated its 20th anniversary season at a summer “friendraiser” on July 10 at Mie N Yu Venetian Bar on M Street. Among those in attendance were board members and donors, members of the Dance Giving Circle which is providing financial support to the company, government officials, dancers and other friends of the nonprofit dance company [gallery ids="100922,129217,129188,129210,129197,129205" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

The American News Women’s Club celebrated 80 great years as members and guests gathered
at the National Press Club to “Roast & Toast” CNN’s chief political correspondent and
anchor of “State of the Union” Candy Crowley. Host Kimberly Dozier of AP led Dana Bash,
Molly Boyle, Governor Bill Richardson and Judy Woodruff in a hilarious roast of Candy,
culminating with the presentation of the ANWC Award for Excellence in Journalism — the
“Why? What?” Sculpture: a tribute to inquiring minds, created by noted sculptor Lolo Sarnoff.
The annual gala funds scholarships to outstanding young women majoring in journalism. [gallery ids="102465,120836,120844,120856,120828,120850,120862" nav="thumbs"]

Alexis Williams •

Who said museums are a no-play zone? The National Building Museum’s interactive miniature golf course exhibit features a one-of-a-kind, 12-hole course that people of all ages are welcome to play on.

Designed by some of the D.C. area’s most innovative architects and construction firms, such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Hargrove Inc., and District Design, the indoor mini-golf course debuted on July 4 and will stay open until Sept. 3. With mini-golf history facts highlighted on the museum walls, the exhibit allows visitors to learn about the game while playing on the designers’ challenging courses.

For $5 per round or $3 per round with purchase of the full-price museum exhibition admission ticket, the mini-golf course is a nice afternoon get-away for families, co-workers or friends. Visit www.nbm.org for more information, or call 202 272 2448. [gallery ids="100898,128282,128270,128275" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

At the Ronald Reagan Building, June 22, the American Cancer Society collaborated with Cure by Design, a fashion show event celebrating cancer survivors. The Cure by Design DC 2012 celebrated the survivorship of 40 persons with fashion. Walking down the runway, the true stars of the evening were dressed in spectacular designer outfits done by Barbara Bates, Sondra Falk and Luis Machicao. For more information on the event and any future events, check out the charity’s twitter @curebydesign. For more fashion photos of the event, visit www.jasondixson.com/American-Cancer-Society-Cure. [gallery ids="100897,128268" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

NBA all-star MVP Kevin Durant returned home to Washington D.C. after a heartbreaking loss in the NBA finals. The D.C.-native sipped Moët Rose Imperial with his entourage a celebrity hot-spot Eden last night. The 23 year old enjoyed a cigar with his friends until he left the club just after 2 a.m. Talk about a fun way of coping!