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Boston Minstrel Company Chosen for
2005 Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy
Boston, MA (November 9, 2005) — The Boston Minstrel Company has been selected as a Massachusetts 2005 Catalogue for Philanthropy charity. This year’s edition of the Catalogue profiles 72 of Massachusetts' outstanding environmental, cultural, and human service agencies as “examples of excellence” in Massachusetts’s philanthropy. Boston Minstrel Company was chosen from a total applicant pool of over 250 organizations.
One of the great things about human services philanthropy in the vast majority of small-to-mid-sized charities is their abundant creativity and quality of feelings — all the ways people devise simply to help others. The Boston Minstrel Company, for example, is an all-volunteer group of musicians who visit shelters, residential facilities and prisons, because they believe in the power of song to transform lives.
Founded in 1991 by Tim and Jane McHale, the BMC annually reaches 4,000 people, and has logged 15,000 volunteer hours at more than 500 events. WBZ-TV Channel 4 has honored BMC in its “Heroes” community service series. Among many proofs of BMC’s effectiveness in changing lives is Melvin, a homeless person who sang with the Minstrels and enjoyed it so much he followed them to a second homeless shelter for another show. That night the Minstrels asked him to join their troupe, and since then, he has joined the Silver Leaf Gospel Singers, a 50-year-old professional group. As BMC moves into its 15th year, it’s time to hire an executive director, so Tim can focus on developing more material for growth and additional venues. Would you like to help make that happen?
The Catalogue, which was the first of its kind anywhere, was created by a group of leading foundations here in 1997 to help close the gap between Massachusetts’ ranks in income and in charitable giving — then the largest such disparity in the nation. To do this, in addition to the annual Catalogue itself, the project developed the nationally-known “Generosity Index”™, a website (www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org), “Giving Massachusetts Day” proclaimed since 2001 as the day after Thanksgiving by Governors Swift and Romney, and many other “donor-friendly” tools.
Since 1997, charitable giving here has doubled, from $2 billion to $4 billion, and though the Catalogue makes no claim for this growth, the Catalogue Project is widely recognized as a national leader in donor education. There are now similar Catalogues in Washington, DC, and St. Louis, MO, and others are being planned in several other philanthropic markets.
According to George McCully, President of the Catalogue, “The Catalogue is designed as a showcase for Massachusetts philanthropy, and a one-stop shop for a family's charitable giving. A single check, electronic transaction over the web or stock transfer can be allocated to as many charities as the donor pleases, and because the Catalogue is sponsored and paid-for by its philanthropic sponsors, 100% of every donation goes to the designated charities.”
Boston Minstrel Company was chosen in rigorous competition by professional grantmakers, private donors, fundraisers and executive directors of charities. “Charities are selected for general excellence, cost-effectiveness, and teaching value about philanthropy,” McCully said.
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