Baltimore Nonprofits Are Eligible For Free Capacity Building Support Through Catchafire Foundation

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Oct 06, 2021, 09:00 ET

BALTIMORE, Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Catchafire Foundation and The Fidelity Charitable Trustees' Initiative have come together to offer time-sensitive, virtual support to more than 300 nonprofit organizations in the East and West Baltimore region. Catchafire Foundation's newest initiative, called Catchafire Baltimore, will provide Baltimore nonprofits with free access to its virtual platform and programming for one year— tapping into a network of more than 100,000 skilled volunteers who will help pro bono with capacity building projects. The program and services will provide Baltimore's historically underserved nonprofit communities with valuable resources to assure they are meeting the expectations and needs of the communities they serve.

Baltimore nonprofits have experienced historic marginalization and economic disparities, and with tangible resources, provided through Catchafire Foundation, these nonprofits can respond and recover in the short term, and build resilience in the long term. Catchafire Foundation imagines a new normal where all nonprofits, especially those that are smaller or BIPOC led or serving, can get access to operational support for free year after year. They believe that if this were to happen, nonprofits could be more long-term oriented and as a result be able to better deliver on their programs and mission, improving their overall outcomes.

"Baltimore and its surrounding area already has all the changemakers it needs to create the community they envision—and the surest path forward to strengthening Baltimore neighborhoods is by bridging the gap to expert talent through consistent access to critical growth building projects and operational support," says Rachael Chong, Founder and CEO of Catchafire.

Through pre-existing foundation partnerships including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore nonprofits have already begun accessing virtual support services by way of Catchafire to help with emergency response, recovery, and resiliency efforts. Carol Walker, Communication Director at Advocates for Children and Youth in West Baltimore says, "I consider Catchafire volunteers as valued members of our advocacy community, as they bring diverse skills and unbelievable talent. Video editing volunteer, Phillip, took our assets and created a compelling video that explained the "who, what, and why," of education funding. He made collaboration easy through his responsiveness and attention to detail even with a challenging deadline."

To learn more about how you can enroll your nonprofit in Catchafire Baltimore visit baltimore.catchafire.org.

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.

About Catchafire Foundation

Catchafire Foundation's mission is to build and strengthen the capacity and sustainability of nonprofit leaders, movement leaders, community leaders, and social entrepreneurs who are on the front lines of the world's most important issues. Catchafire Foundation works wit hCatchafire, Inc. to scalably operate its mission.

Visit baltimore.catchafire.org to sign up

SOURCE Catchafire