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Thanks to the RELIGION Blog | The Dallas Morning News for writing about tomorrow's Urban Engagement Book Club on Jonathan Kozol's 'Letters to a Young Teacher.'
For more info about this free event, visit:
www.UrbanEngagment.org
The book club is an important outreach effort of Central Dallas Ministries. Held on the first Thursday of every month, the event gathers over 100 people from all walks of life: CDM donors, staff, clients and friends... hope to see you there!
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The Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Business Journal both released stories on the big news of May for nearly 100 of the largest and most effective non-profits in Dallas:
United Way gives more than $46 million to 93 area charities
I am proud to say that Central Dallas Ministries received the largest increase of any of the 93 agencies, increasing its allocation to over $800,000 this year.
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Ross Perot Jr. claimed that, although the national economy is sluggish, charitable giving in Dallas has never been more robust. He then backed this up with a 
$50 million gift to the Museum of Nature & Science.
The problem with Perot's claim is that mega-gifts like this can easily mask a declining philanthropic environment. In a city like Dallas -- where Boone Pickens, Harold Simmons and others secure national headlines for their philanthropy -- it is easy for the general public to assume that charitable giving is up.
My concern, which I have seen borne out at Central Dallas Ministries, is that this gives many donors an excuse to avoid contributing: the attitude can almost be that "the mega-rich are taking care of that," followed quickly with a quieter "and they should."
For example: Central Dallas Ministries has raised over $25 million through public and private sources for the first phase of our capital campaign. Some of our donors have not realized that these funds are highly designated and do not help us to pay for operations.
As we have often joked in our office, "we could have marble desktops but be unable to afford the light bill."
Thankfully, overall fundraising is up at Central Dallas Ministries by more than 20% this year. This may not be the trend at other organizations: we benefit from a highly public profile.
Not all organizations are as fortunate, even though they are seeing the same increase in demand for services that we are -- the nation's food banks are reporting facing higher costs but feeding more people. At CDM, we have seen nearly 40% more people than at this same time last year.
What are you seeing at your organization?
Is fundraising up? More importantly, is fundraising up more than demand?
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Thanks to Back Talk Lakewood/East Dallas for linking to this article about "the history of Dallas and how our city developed, 100 years after the Great Flood of 1908":
Ever wondered just why it is the Trinity looks the way it does downtown or who came up with the idea to have a White Rock Lake Park in the first place? The Morning News published an interesting historical look at the development of Dallas after what is now known as the great flood of 1908. Among the things you'll find out by reading the story is why Central Expressway goes north but not south (a dispute over land prices with the railroads), how Union Station came to centralize Dallas' rail service, and who came up with the designs for Turtle Creek Boulevard and Stemmons Corridor. It's an informative look at how things came to be the way they are here in Dallas.See the full article in The Dallas Morning News here:
"The Center for Nonprofit Management is hosting the Get On Board Fair Thursday (tonight!) for people who want to serve on the board of a nonprofit group and other potential volunteers," reported Bob Miller of The Dallas Morning News.
Attendees can visit with more than 100 North Texas nonprofit organizations and learn about what skills they will need to get involved as a nonprofit board member or as a volunteer.More info here:
The fair is from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Cityplace Conference Center, North Central Expressway at Haskell Avenue. It's free and open to the public.
To register, find the list of participating nonprofits and get directions, visit www.cnmdallas.org or call 214-826-3470.
Congratulations to the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance for today's wonderful announcement: the grand opening of The Bridge, Dallas' homeless assistance center. The event drew hundreds of neighbors together to celebrate this wonderful step forward.
But let us remember: this is a mighty step forward, but we have not reached the end of our journey to end chronic homelessness. The road ahead is long, and we must walk it hand-in-hand with our neighbors... those who are homeless and otherwise.
I was greatly encouraged by the editors of The Dallas Morning News, who made a similar statement in their editorial this morning: Editorial: A step toward ending homelessness.
Ending homelessness in Dallas is a marathon event, not a 100-yard dash. Today's opening of The Bridge homeless center in downtown marks an innovative change in the way this city confronts the homeless problem. But it's important to remember that this is still just an initial step in a long and arduous slog.Thanks also to one of The Dallas Morning News' finest reporters, Kim Horner, for prefacing the event with this piece: $21 million downtown Dallas facility will focus on chronically homeless
And congratulations to Judy Noble, wife of my dear friend and college mentor Peter Noble, for launching the MDHA's new Web site:
