CFVI and Catchafire Announce Commitment to Action During Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Conference on Tuesday
This Commitment Project will Benefit Nonprofits in our Community by Providing Resources for Organizational Capacity Building
(U.S. Virgin Islands) – The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) has partnered with Catchafire to bring a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) commitment to the Virgin Islands as announced during Tuesday’s closing plenary session at the University of the Virgin Islands. Catchafire, a social enterprise, will provide capacity building support to the USVI nonprofit community by tapping into the goodwill of millions of pro bono professionals looking to give back their time and talents.
This partnership will benefit 150 nonprofit organizations in the Virgin Islands by supporting their organizational and operational needs. The initial 18-month initiative will include the design and execution of a program focused on technical assistance for nonprofits, and also provide the opportunity for nonprofit organizations to access a network of pro bono professionals with an extensive range of expertise.
“In the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria, the nonprofits in the US Virgin Islands provided immediate and critical services to the most vulnerable residents on all our islands,” noted CFVI President Dee Baecher-Brown. “Now, as we build forward, our nonprofits are again a key partner in assuring that the Virgin Islands emerge stronger and more resilient from the devastation of the storms. At CFVI, we are so thankful for this opportunity to partner with Catchafire and our nonprofit community so that together we can build a kinder, gentler community on our islands.”
“CGI’s Action Network brings together leaders from business, philanthropy, and government to combine resources and address urgent recovery and resiliency needs in the region,” said Lissy DeSantis, Director of the Clinton Global Initiative. “This partnership between the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands and Catchafire will help nonprofit organizations across the Virgin Islands build capacity, help more people, and expand their impact.”
This week marked the fourth meeting of the CGI Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery and the first in the U.S. Virgin Islands. At the meeting, participants discussed the current recovery efforts in the region, progress to date, ongoing challenges, and announced new Commitments to Action that address critical issues such as food security, access to health care, small business support, sustainable tourism, and renewable energy.
CGI Commitments to Action are projects developed in collaboration with members of the Clinton Global Initiative team to address a significant need for recovery from a disaster. The CGI Commitment began with Catchafire’s introduction to CFVI by CGI and came to fruition in May when the Catchafire team began conducting site visits and interviewing local nonprofits in an effort to better understand their operational needs here in the Virgin Islands. Once nonprofits are selected, Catchafire and CFVI will continue working with the nonprofits until January of 2021.
“Catchafire is proud to join CFVI in their continued recovery and long-term sustainability efforts in the US Virgin Islands. Our program will connect the nonprofit community with passionate pro bono volunteers who are ready to donate their time and talent through skills-based volunteering at this critical time. We are grateful CGI facilitated the connection to CFVI and are committed to help build a stronger Virgin Islands community” says Katherine Brady, Catchafire’s COO.
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Catchafire is a full service, on-demand solution designed to address the wide-ranging and complex needs of nonprofits by connecting them with talented pro bono professionals. Through Catchafire’s innovative web-based platform and network of more than 10 million professionals, nonprofits have access to people with expert skills who can help them with operational needs such as developing a website, designing a brochure, professional development, and other areas of critical work. Catchafire’s scalable model makes it possible for grantmakers to provide a full suite of capacity building services to any nonprofit that the foundation seeks to serve. Catchafire and its foundation partners are not only helping nonprofits improve their capacity, sustainability, and effectiveness, but also leveling the playing field by making capacity building available to any nonprofit or changemaker.
CFVI is a community foundation established in 1990 to ensure the highest quality of life for both present and future generations. CFVI’s priorities are to focus resources on addressing needs not met by public funding sources; support innovative programs and projects that show promise of developing into long term responses to the needs of children, youth and families; work to promote long term responses to problems and challenges in the community; and act in partnership with others who share its commitment to the people of the Virgin Islands.