Posted on Wednesday, 6th August 2008 by chris wignall

Two books are strongly shaping our approach to our philanthropy as we enter our September funding cycle (draft proposals due August 15th): Out of Poverty by Paul Polak, founder of International Development Enterprises. and A Billion Bootstraps by Phil Smith and Eric Thurman, who have had ties to Opportunity International. These two books, combined with [...]

Tags: Catalyst, Partners, Resources
Posted in Partners, Resources | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 22nd July 2008 by chris wignall

A telemarketing call made me feel guilty last night. About 8:20pm yesterday Kristen was finishing up bedtime with my sons and I was tidying up the kitchen when the phone rang. I grabbed it quick (don’t disturb bedtime) and was greeted by a friendly voice who identified herself as from the Cerebral Palsy foundation, calling [...]

Tags: Partners, Philanthropy
Posted in Partners, Philanthropy | Comments (0)

Posted on Sunday, 20th July 2008 by chris wignall

One of our highest values at Catalyst is synergy. We love to see compatible organizations and people drawn together to multiply their impact. Our hope is that as we become familiar with various aspects of ministry, relief, and development work we can help to make some of those connections; truly serving as a catalyst to [...]

Tags: Catalyst, Partners
Posted in Partners | Comments (0)

Posted on Sunday, 20th July 2008 by chris wignall

Ten days with Medical Ministry International in the Dominican Republic was both enjoyable and informative. Having two days of discussions with Executive Director Willie Hunter and his wife Janice (who is the administrator of their permanent hospital in Santo Domingo) gave me a much stronger understanding of the goals and philosophy that drive the organization. [...]

Tags: Partners
Posted in Partners | Comments (1)

Posted on Thursday, 26th June 2008 by chris wignall

I am trying to catch loose ends before I leave for a project with Medical Ministry International in the Dominican Republic tomorrow morning. Point form here we go: -I am very excited about the time with MMI. They (Leanne Graham in particular) have been amazing in the process of making arrangements for this trip after [...]

Tags: Partners, Resources
Posted in Partners, Resources | Comments (1)

Posted on Wednesday, 11th June 2008 by chris wignall

On The Hour tonight one of the guests is Paul Polak, founder of IDE. He is leading advocate of what some people call Market Driven Development. The basic idea is that traditional charity efforts are doomed in part simply because they are based around giving things to needy people for free. Polak and others argue [...]

Tags: Partners, Philanthropy, Vision
Posted in Philanthropy, Vision | Comments (1)

Posted on Wednesday, 28th May 2008 by chris wignall

Among the many areas in which we are trying to learn as much as we can as fast as we can is the nature of the relationship between Catalyst and the various organizations we support. The common term foundations seem to use is “Partner”, which we have also adopted. The intent is that we develop [...]

Tags: Catalyst, Partners, Philanthropy
Posted in Catalyst, Partners, Philanthropy | Comments (1)

Posted on Monday, 14th April 2008 by chris wignall

I got this message from Tim DeYoung, the Haiti director for MMI: (his blog is insightful about what’s really happening there) Chris, I just got a chance to read your blog. Had looked forward to meeting you and having you get to know a bit about what life is like here in Haiti. Based on [...]

Tags: Catalyst, Partners
Posted in Catalyst, Partners | Comments (0)

Posted on Thursday, 10th April 2008 by chris wignall

The situation in Haiti continues to be unstable as the government’s proclamations and pledges to support further indigenous agriculture are not satifying a populace who are needing food now. MMI’s Haiti director Tim DeYoung has decided against bringing our team in at this point because our security can’s be reasonable certain. So we’re not going. [...]

Tags: Catalyst, Partners
Posted in Catalyst, Partners | Comments (0)

Posted on Wednesday, 9th April 2008 by chris wignall

I came home from a meeting about 2pm yesterday to have my neighbour tell me their dog had fallen into the creek and been swept over Webster’s Falls. Miraculously, the dog has survived the fall (absolutely astonishing!), but was now stranded on an inaccessible ledge just below the falls with the current surging by. After [...]

Tags: Great Stories, Partners
Posted in Great Stories, Partners | Comments (2)