The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and the Giving Circle of HOPE Host Seminar on Catalytic Philanthropy

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and the Giving Circle of HOPE presented “Do More Than Give: How Donors Maximize Philanthropic Impact,” on Thursday, April 3, 2014. This program was designed to engage donors in the Northern Virginia region in a discussion of catalytic philanthropy – an innovative approach to supporting a cause and making an impact beyond financial support.

Leslie Crutchfield, the author of “Do More Than Give: The Six Practices of Donors Who Change the World”, and senior advisor with the Foundation Strategy Group, was the featured guest presenter. Her book provides a blueprint for philanthropists to increase the impact of their gifts through active community engagement. In it, Crutchfield highlights six practices that take philanthropy from check-writing to proactively producing change.

This event was made possible with support from Gannett Company, Inc. and Foundation Strategy Group.

Inspired by the messages in Crutchfield’s publication, the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and the Giving Circle of HOPE organized this event to engage donors in a discussion about the best practices in philanthropy.

The program included a panel discussion with three local donors who practice this type of engaged philanthropy. Dr. Alan Harbitter serves as a board member of the Medical Care for Children Partnership (MCCP) Foundation – a unique partnership between the Fairfax County government, the medical community, and private contributors to provide health care for the children of working poor families in Fairfax County. Diana Katz is a co-founder and member of the Giving Circle of HOPE, and serves on the boards of Empowered Women International, Inc., Computer CORE and Nonprofit Northern Virginia. Kristin Pauly, managing director of Prince Charitable Trusts in Washington, DC, serves as co-chair of the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network and of the Washington Regional Convergence Partnership.

For more information on the topic of catalytic philanthropy, please see Stanford Social Innovation Review on Catalytic Philanthropy, or click here.