Q: When is the deadline to submit proposals?

A: The application deadline for the 2008 Catalogue for Philanthropy is April 4, 2008.

Q: Do charities pay a fee to apply?

A: There are no fees to apply or to be listed. The Catalogue’s expenses are paid by generous donors and grant-making institutions.

Q: Our budget is more than $3 million. May we still apply?

A: If you're close, call George at the Catalogue office (617-923-8400) to discuss. The fiscal limitation exists because one of our purposes is to showcase "little guy" charities that often don't have the staff or budgets to reach the public effectively on their own.

Q: How are organizations selected?

A: The subject of the Catalogue is philanthropy in Massachusetts; its purpose is to increase charitable giving. Accordingly, we look for organizations that are excellent (e.g., fiscally sound, highly beneficial and cost-effective, and possibly innovative or influential) in their fields and regions. These charities are likely to be highly attractive and interesting to donors, and help illuminate philanthropy (e.g., how it works, how and why it is important to quality of life in Massachusetts) for the public. All proposals are reviewed by Catalogue staff, seasoned grantmakers and private individual donors. Diversity — across types of programs, fields of interest (nature, culture, human services, international, and their respective subfields), location, and constituency served — is considered in our attempt to create a broadly attractive and engaging publication.

Q: Will sheer philanthropic excellence, by itself, determine selections for the Catalogue?

A: It will be a prerequisite, and will help more than any other single factor, but it cannot be our only consideration. For the Catalogue to attract the widest variety and largest number of donors, we must also be concerned about other factors such as diversity of philanthropic fields, of kinds and sizes of charitable institutions, geographic distribution, mutual reinforcement among listings, and other editorial and marketing factors too numerous to mention.

Q: Are there other benefits we should consider in weighing our decision on whether to apply?

A: If your application has the potential of an attractive and thus productive Catalogue entry, you will receive help in improving its presentation; this is a benefit for other fundraising you may wish to do. If you then are listed in the Catalogue, you will most likely accede to far broader and higher-level fundraising than you could afford on your budget. That is our purpose in focusing on small-to-mid-sized charities. If you then receive donations, volunteers, or requests for further information, you will gain prime prospects for future major- gift-level support; your success thereafter in cultivating those prospects is up to you.

Q: Who receives the Catalogue?

A: The Catalogue is mailed every November to approximately 80,000 households and small private or family foundations in Massachusetts. Our website, which is promoted to the general public locally and nationwide, features every charity ever listed by the Catalogue, which now numbers over 700.

Q: Should our institution apply if we are located in Massachusetts, but provide services nationally or internationally?

A: Yes, all charities incorporated in Massachusetts with budgets at or below $3 million may apply.

Q: If we are selected for the Catalogue, will we be able to review and approve the final text and photographs for our presentation therein?

A: Catalogue copy about the charities is the Catalogue talking about you, in close conjunction with other charities in that section of the Catalogue, and with reference to philanthropy as a whole —not you talking about yourself alone. Accordingly, you will be invited to review our first draft of your charity's description for factual accuracy. All factual corrections will be made. You may remit a list (i.e., NOT an attempted rewrite) of any and all other suggestions, which will be seriously considered but are not binding. After that point all editorial judgements are ours .

Q: Does a charity included in the Catalogue have any responsibilities to the Catalogue?

A: Yes. Every selected charity has a responsibility to: attend a meeting in the fall; to promote its inclusion in the Catalogue through its own newsletters and press releases; and to report to the Catalogue any contributions (financial or in-kind) received as a result of being in the Catalogue. This last item is extremely important, as we rely on such information to quantify the results of the Catalogue in presentations to other philanthropic markets and funders nationwide.