You need to upgrade your Flash Player This is replaced by the Flash content. Place your alternate content here and users without the Flash plugin or with Javascript turned off will see this. Content here allows you to leave out noscript tags. Include a link to bypass the detection if you wish.

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2005
CONTACTS:
Marget Maurer, Director
marget@projectcreatedc.org
202-320-9608

Washington, DC-based Project Create Chosen for New 2005 Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington

WASHINGTON, D. C. - Washington, DC-based Project Create has been selected as a featured charity in the 2005 Catalogue for Philanthropy. This is the Catalogue's third year in the Washington, DC region. Supported by local foundations (Harman, Meyer, Cafritz, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Marriott and Fowler) as a service to the community, the Catalogue profiles environmental, cultural, educational, human services, and international organizations. Seventy-five new nonprofits are featured each year, and those from previous years are re-listed as well. Organizations from 2003 through 2005 are live at the website, www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/dc.

First established in 1994 by Western Presbyterian Church, Project Create is a feisty little non-sectarian organization that has found its niche as an after-school provider for children living in poverty. Working in partnership with three transitional housing programs--Community of Hope (in Columbia Heights), Thea Bowman Housing Program (run by So Others Might Eat), and SOME Place for Kids (run by So Others Might Eat)--Project Create focuses on kids who would otherwise have no access to the arts. Believing that free after-school activities provide a creative outlet for self-expression and keep kids safe at the end of the day, the organization respects children's differing abilities while nurturing and sustaining their talents. Professional artists-- experienced teachers who also love children--are the backbone of the program, which is also supported by a cadre of volunteers. Small classes of ten to twelve children meet for ten weeks at a stretch to explore bookmaking, paper arts, painting, mural-making, drawing, photography, mixed media, and dance. The idea is to honor the child, recognize the importance of the creative process, and respect the finished product. A Spring Arts Showcase highlights student achievement and celebrates individual accomplishment.

After an inaugural year in the District of Columbia, the Catalogue expanded to the Greater Washington regionÑadding nonprofits in Northern Virginia and nearby Maryland counties. Over 30,000 individuals and hundreds of foundations will receive copies of the Catalogue in mid-November. To date, the Catalogue has helped to raise over $1.3 million in pledges and gifts for local nonprofits.

According to Barbara Harman, Executive Director of the Harman Family Foundation, "The Catalogue is designed to be a showcase for DC region philanthropy and an inviting way for individuals and families to participate in charitable giving." A single check sent to the Catalogue's DC office, or an online donation at its website, www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/dc, can be allocated to as many charities as the donor pleases. Donors may also contact the charities directly. "Because the Catalogue is fully paid for by its philanthropic partners," Harman notes, "100% of every donation goes to the designated nonprofits."

Project Create was selected from a competitive field of nearly 250 candidates. Proposals were reviewed by 50 professional grantmakers and leaders at 30 local foundations and nonprofit organizations. "Charities were selected for excellence, innovation, and cost-effectiveness--and for what they can teach us about the extraordinary ways that philanthropy works," Harman said. These are certainly among the best small charities in the Washington, DC region."