Connecticut Community Foundation launches new partnership with Catchafire
WATERBURY, CT -- Connecticut Community Foundation has partnered with Catchafire to create an online platform that connects local nonprofit organizations to a network of over 50,000 passionate and skilled volunteers throughout the country—for free.
This new resource is available to 150 of the Foundation’s past and current grantees who serve Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills. By investing in Catchafire and giving nonprofits access to talented volunteers who can donate their professional skills, the Foundation aims to maximize the impact that the organizations are able to make in the communities they serve.
Julie Loughran, president and CEO of Connecticut Community Foundation, said, “The Catchafire online resource is a game changer for our grantees, giving them free access to a huge number of volunteers with a broad range of expertise that they’ve never had before.”
Through Catchafire, for example, a nonprofit organization serving Southbury or Waterbury or Litchfield can now connect with a developer from the Bay Area to create a new website, work with a branding expert from New York City to develop a new logo, or talk through a program evaluation plan with a data analyst from Chicago—and much more.
The Catchafire platform allows organizations to broadcast a potential project that furthers their mission to 50,000+ talented professionals. Once a project is posted on the platform, volunteers from around the country apply to take on the project, highlighting their respective skill-sets, areas of expertise and passion. The nonprofits then interview and choose a volunteer that they think will best fit their need.
“At Girl Scouts, volunteers are the backbone to our organization,” said Mary Barneby, CEO of Girl Scouts of Connecticut. “We are grateful for Connecticut Community Foundation and thrilled to have this opportunity to work with Catchafire and connect with prospective skilled volunteers who want to help girls gain the skills they need to make our world a better place. Without volunteers, there would be no Girl Scouting.”
To learn more about the project or for more information on how to volunteer our professional services through Catchafire, contact Patrick McKenna, organizational development coordinator at Connecticut Community Foundation, at pmckenna@conncf.org or 203-753-1315, x 118. To volunteer your professional skills through Catchafire, visit conncf.catchafire.org/volunteer-now.
Established in 1923, Connecticut Community Foundation fosters creative partnerships that build rewarding lives and thriving communities in 21 towns in Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills. The Foundation provides leadership in addressing the region’s critical issues, strengthens local nonprofit organizations through grants and technical assistance programs, and works with individuals, families and corporations to establish and steward scholarships and charitable funds.
##
Contact:
Carol Buckheit
Director of Communications
Connecticut Community Foundation
cbuckheit@conncf.org
203-753-1315, x107
Website: www.conncf.org