(Fargo, ND) -- A local leader in driving philanthropy in our region is speaking up about a donation effort in the publishing of a "Caring Catalog".
Eric Wilkie is the FM Area Foundation's Executive Director. He spoke on WDAY's Bonnie and Friends to announce the fifth annual Caring Catalog. A list of 25 charities was culminated from over 100 who applied to be a part of the Caring Catalog, with those participating sharing unique goals they are looking to achieve with money that is given to them. Wilkie says this is distinctly different from previous years, when anyone who wanted to be in the catalog could join.
"We're built to help donors maximize their philanthropy so they can create, help us to create, a more vibrant community full of opportunities for everybody," said Wilkie, "Historically we've had about 110 charities in this... what we've found is that it gets a little overwhelming for our donors... [In the past,] each charity just had a thumbnail picture and a short saying. What we wanted to do this year is we thought 'how can we be more impactful'
The FM Area Foundation says that is the reason why the selected a list of charities is highly curated between multiple different objectives, subjects, and communities. This year, each selected charity has a full page in the catalog, a full description of their goals, and their intentions with the funds they receive. You can find the paper catalogs at CashWise or Hornbachers locations, or you can click here for an online version.