Posted on Monday, 8th August 2011 by chris wignall

If wordpress is correct, this is my 200th post on this blog. My hope is that somewhere along the way there has been some value in it for those who read here, I know there has been value for me in the process of writing. Today, a glimpse behind the curtain. As Catalyst has grown [...]

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Posted on Wednesday, 27th July 2011 by chris wignall

Many years ago now a friend of a friend helped me get a job doing contract work for an exciting company doing training and team building programs. Many of my fellow employees were active in churches which made for some fairly profound conversations driving to and from programs.I loved the work and corporate culture, I [...]

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Posted on Tuesday, 19th July 2011 by chris wignall

Two weeks ago I spent a few hours in a garbage dump outside the city of Sosua in the Dominican Republic helping illegal Haitian immigrants scavenge for recyclables, and food. I was there leading a group of young people who have been recipients of the Catalyst Award. Having been chosen for their demonstrated commitment to [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Great Stories, Partners, Philanthropy, Vision | Comments (2)

Posted on Friday, 3rd June 2011 by chris wignall

It does no good to fill your aquarium with cute castles and sunken ships if you don’t feed your fish. A number of recent interactions have reminded me that many of our charities are being slowly starved by donors who are well-intentioned but ill-informed. As major donors we tend to give to specific projects, often [...]

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Posted on Monday, 30th May 2011 by chris wignall

I want to be good at what I do. Professionally this means I’ve spent a great deal of time exploring the fields of philanthropy and nonprofit leadership in an effort to understand best (and worst) practices. Being a good donor involves a lot more than the grants we issue, it relates more deeply to matters [...]

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Posted on Wednesday, 25th May 2011 by chris wignall

Catalyst’s uniqueness seems to be in our strong focus on leadership development as the area in which we seek to invest both our granting efforts, and our time and energy. Feedback from charities we interact with regularly affirms our strategy as helpful. Whether through funding or (formal and informal) consulting, we are becoming known for [...]

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Posted on Friday, 29th April 2011 by chris wignall

I am very aware that there is a certain level of risk involved in a male grantmaker publically commenting on the development of women as leaders in the nonprofit sector, particularly around the Christian context in which there has been so much debate and division. All the same, the conversation is happening in so many [...]

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Posted on Thursday, 28th April 2011 by chris wignall

My friend and colleague Mark Petersen posted some of his thoughts on partnership based largely on what he’s noticed while working on our shared Stronger Together 2011 project. Earlier this year we hosted a small conference for charities we work with called Gather. (Some of my thoughts on the event can be found here). The [...]

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Posted on Thursday, 31st March 2011 by chris wignall

I just prepared this brief summary of the roles a board member plays for a board I chair. For more on it read everything Bob Andringa ever wrote. The Three Hats of a Board Member Bob Andringa (http://www.theandringagroup.com/pages/bob_andringa) is the source of this helpful concept for how board members can better understand the various ways [...]

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Posted on Friday, 11th February 2011 by chris wignall

What role should members of the board of directors play in fundraising for a charity? One of the most engaged discussions I observed at our Gather conference last month was the one about this topic. I didn’t participate on the conversation; in part because I needed to keep on eye on the entire flow of [...]

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