Catalyst Fund Seeks to Boost Membership
Citizens Interested in Community Service, Philanthropy Invited to Join Community Foundation’s Grass Roots Initiative
Anyone can be a philanthropist. And the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain would like to prove it.
The Foundation has announced that membership in the 2006 Catalyst Fund program is now open. The Catalyst Fund, created in 2003 with the support of the Robert C. Vance Foundation, is a grass roots community service initiative that provides a means by which citizens from all walks of life can participate in the philanthropic process. For a modest annual investment, Catalyst Fund members annually select a charitable focus, convene educational sessions to learn about their issue and, at the end of each year, choose a nonprofit recipient specializing in the issue of choice to receive a grant.
“The Catalyst Fund is a wonderful opportunity for most anyone to give back to their community in a meaningful way, particularly those who have always been interested in philanthropy, but have yet to be engaged or believe such efforts are beyond their means,” said Community Foundation of Greater New Britain President Jim Williamson.
What makes The Catalyst Fund unique is its participatory process. Catalyst Fund members meet three times annually and choose a different, broad-ranging charitable focus each year. The first session features background presentations on the chosen topic and allows members a chance to fine-tune their focus; the second session provides more in-depth education on the chosen focus; and the third session allows members to vote on grant applications from agencies and organizations specializing in the group’s interest.
What emerges is a gratifying educational, social and interactive philanthropic experience that invariably leaves members looking forward to the next year’s challenge.
In 2005, Fund members chose “healthy families” as its issue of focus. In December, Fund members awarded a $10,000 grant to the Community Health Center, Inc./New Britain Oral Health Collaborative for production of an educational video to document the importance of regular, preventive dental care for children and the role that in-school dental hygiene programs can play in ensuring oral health.
The minimum annual donation for Catalyst Fund membership is $250 per “voting unit.” A voting unit can be an individual, or a couple interested in working together on issues of common interest.
Catalyst Fund membership currently stands at 50 voting units and counting.
The first meeting of the 2006 Catalyst Fund group will be in May. The date and time of the first Catalyst Fund meeting will be announced soon. The meeting will be open to members and to anyone who may be considering membership.
To learn more about The Catalyst Fund, please contact Cheryl Farmer or Ann Bova, Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, at (860) 229-6018, or visit the Foundation’s website at www.cfgnb.org.
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