Apply to be part of the Spur Local network
The 2024 application has closed. To be notified when our 2025 application opens in December, click here.
Who We Are: An Overview
The mission of Spur Local, formerly the Catalogue for Philanthropy, is to create a more equitable, more just DC region, creating equity of access for small local nonprofits – access to donors, networks, information, and relationships – elevating their voice and impact, empowering them, and working with them to strengthen our communities. For donors‚ this means we take the guesswork out of giving by identifying critical community-based charities in Washington D.C. and nearby Maryland and Virginia counties. For nonprofits‚ it means we raise their visibility and build their capacity.
PLEASE NOTE: Spur Local is NOT a grant-making organization. To facilitate the giving process for donors‚ we accept donations as agents of our charities and pass these on to them‚ as directed by donors. (Donors also make direct contributions to our nonprofit partners. We ask donors to tell their recipients that they found them through Spur Local.) We charge no fees for the work we do and are supported entirely by outside donations.
Why Apply
Being part of our network means you’ll be recognized as a critical community-based nonprofit in our region—something that means so much to supporters‚ both existing and new. While we do not guarantee a specific financial benefit‚ our track record shows that when nonprofits engage in a committed partnership with us‚ they receive both financial and other returns. Spur Local has helped raise over $55 million for the local nonprofit sector since 2003. Partners also gain access to many capacity building and collaboration opportunities that currently thousands of nonporift attendees take part in annually.
Key Dates (2024 cycle)
- December 11, 2023: Application opens
- 2:00 pm December 14, 2023: Spur Local Application: Overview, Tips and Tricks (via webinar) - Register Here
- 10:00 am January 11, 2024: Spur Local Application: Overview, Tips and Tricks (via webinar) - Register Here
- 1:00 pm January 30, 2024: Spur Local Application: Overview, Tips and Tricks (via webinar) - Register Here
- 10:00 am February 7, 2024: Spur Local Application: Overview, Tips and Tricks (via webinar) - Register Here
- 5:00 pm February 13, 2024: Applications are due
How to Apply
We encourage you to review the eligibility guidelines below‚ as well as our application instructions and our FAQ section before starting your application. Organizations eligible to be part of Spur Local, formerly the Catalogue for Philanthropy, must:
- Be a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization;
- Have an operating budget between $100,000 and $4 million (current partners that have grown beyond our $4 million limit may reapply but, if successful, will be featured on the web only);
- NOT have been featured in the 2021, 2022, or 2023 print catalog
- Provide the majority of your services to people and communities of the greater Washington region & have headquarters locally
- Agree to adhere to our Non-Discrimination Policy which requires all of our nonprofit partners to affirm their commitment to core values of non-discrimination consistent with ours.
Organizations headquartered in Prince George's County, MD, Prince William or Loudoun County, VA, or Wards 7 or 8 in DC are encouraged to apply. Additionally, organizations whose primary focus area benefits immigrants & refugees, the formerly incarcerated, the LGBTQ community, or girls and women are also encouraged to apply. While these areas are of special focus given current under-representation in our network, all nonprofits in our geographic region within our budget range, regardless of issue, are welcome to apply.
Please note that international organizations are not eligible to apply.