(January 6, 2021) The Dallas Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, and Lyda Hill Philanthropies have come together to partner with Catchafire to bring time-sensitive, virtual support to more than 300 nonprofit organizations in the North Texas region.
Through this partnership, invited nonprofits will have access to skills-based volunteers on Catchafire’s virtual platform, where they can complete any number of operational or capacity-building projects together. This support will empower the local nonprofit community to pivot within today’s workplace and environment to assure they are meeting the expectations and needs of the communities they serve. The pandemic has brought many challenges to the North Texas region, and Catchafire comes with tangible resources to help nonprofits respond and recover in the short term, and build resilience in the long term.
“The Dallas Foundation is committed to building the resources and muscle of our nonprofit community, ” said Matthew Randazzo, president & CEO of The Dallas Foundation. “Alongside our funding partners at Communities Foundation of Texas and LH Philanthropies, we are pleased to offer this resource focused on nonprofit capacity building and sustainability, particularly as the community continues to deal with the pandemic and the continued increase in services as a result.”
With this partnership, these three funders have now joined the One Texas collaborative—a statewide program aimed at giving nonprofits in Texas access to Catchafire’s on-demand support. Other grantmakers in the collaborative include St. David’s Foundation, the Meadows Foundation, and Social Venture Partners San Antonio.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Lyda Hill Philanthropies and The Dallas Foundation to bring much-needed capacity support to area nonprofits. Organizations have been working doggedly to meet the ever-changing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, all while being confronted with diminishing revenue and fewer staff. Providing the opportunity for agencies to partner with skills-based volunteers to move forward on their most pressing organizational projects is another way we can support a nonprofit workforce already stretched thin,” said Sarah Cotton Nelson, chief philanthropy officer at Communities Foundation of Texas.
As part of One Texas, nonprofits get access to Catchafire’s innovative virtual platform and programming to leverage a network of more than 100,000 skilled volunteers who will help pro bono with needs such as website development, online marketing, strategic planning, professional development, and other areas of critical work in fundraising, program delivery, human resources, marketing & communications, finance, and technology & operations.
Nonprofits post their immediate needs by choosing from over 140 projects, already outlined with steps and deliverables. Talented professionals apply to complete these tasks, and the organizations select a volunteer to do the work. Through these engagements, nonprofits get critical needs filled, and volunteers become deeply connected to the nonprofits’ missions. Over time, these connections can establish long-term relationships where pro bono professionals become repeat volunteers, advocates, donors, and potential board members.
Now more than ever, nonprofits leverage virtual support services like Catchafire to help with emergency response, recovery, and resiliency efforts. In Texas alone, nonprofits with access to Catchafire completed 357 virtual pro bono projects on the platform in 2020. These projects have focused on fulfilling time-sensitive needs like transitioning to remote work; developing HR policies to keep staff safe and healthy; planning and organizing virtual fundraisers; better understanding the needs of beneficiaries; transitioning programs to a virtual environment; and receiving support from the CARES Act, among other programmatic, fundraising and operational needs. In the process, they’ve leveraged 5,300 hours of volunteers’ time, saving more than $1,000,000 combined.
While our Texas community may be struggling since the onset of COVID-19, Catchafire is now a resource that will help strengthen nonprofits in the region so we are prepared for the long road of recovery ahead.
If you are a nonprofit and are interested in benefiting from Catchafire’s services through this program, please contact catchafire@cftexas.org. We’d like to offer Catchafire to organizations who can benefit from it, but limited slots are available so contact us soon.
To learn more about One Texas or to learn how to participate as a grantmaker, please reach out to Betsy Enriquez, Vice President of Partnerships at Catchafire at betsy@catchafire.org.
About Communities Foundation of Texas
Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT)’s vision is thriving communities for all. CFT works locally and across the state through a variety of charitable funds and strategic initiatives. The public foundation professionally manages 1,000 charitable funds for individuals, families, companies and nonprofits in addition to powering several key initiatives such as Educate Texas at CFT, W. W. Caruth, Jr. Fund at CFT and CFT’s North Texas Giving Day. CFT has awarded more than $2 billion in grants since its founding in 1953. Learn more at cftexas.org. Follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/CFTexas), Twitter (twitter.com/GiveWisely) or Instagram (instagram.com/communitiesfoundationoftexas/).
About The Dallas Foundation
The Dallas Foundation, established as the first community foundation in Texas in 1929, brings together people, ideas, and investments in Greater Dallas so individuals and families can reach their full potential. In 2019, The Dallas Foundation, in partnership with the more than 400 fundholders, invested over $70 million into the community. For more information, visit www.dallasfoundation.org, Facebook or Instagram.
About Lyda Hill Philanthropies
Lyda Hill Philanthropies encompasses the charitable giving for founder Lyda Hill and includes her foundation and personal philanthropy. The organization is committed to funding transformational advances in science and nature, empowering nonprofit organizations and improving the Texas and Colorado communities. Because Miss Hill has a fervent belief that “science is the answer” to many of life’s most challenging issues, she has chosen to donate the entirety of her estate to philanthropy and scientific research.
About Catchafire
Catchafire is a full service, on-demand solution designed to address the wide-ranging and complex needs of nonprofits by connecting them with talented pro bono professionals. Through Catchafire’s innovative web-based platform and network of more than 10 million professionals, nonprofits have access to people with expert skills who can help them with operational needs such as developing a website, building a strategic plan, designing a brochure, professional development, and other areas of critical work. Catchafire’s scalable and cost-effective model makes it possible for grantmakers to provide a full suite of capacity building services to any nonprofit that the foundation seeks to serve. Catchafire and its foundation partners are not only helping nonprofits improve their capacity, sustainability, and effectiveness, but also leveling the playing field by making capacity building available to any nonprofit or changemaker.
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